AC Trips Breaker

JimGuy341

Any ideas why the AC unit would trip the breaker?  It has happened twice this summer on two separate occasions.  Seems to occur after extended run times.  When I reset the breaker, the unit starts up and continues running normally.

aero3113

Is it happening with shore power or with the generator on? What other loads do you have on with it?

Liberty44140

If on shore power, see if you can try another outlet on the dock. 

JimGuy341

Shore Power.  This last time, we had AC, cabin lights, fridges and TV/DVD on.  AC shore power has it's own dedicated connection and cable.  It was hot that day and the AC was getting a workout.

aero3113

It’s possible it could be your cord or plug. Try swapping cords and see if it happens again. Look for any burn marks or corrosion on the plug also (cable and boat side).

JimGuy341

@Liberty44140 Good suggestion.  My mind always races to the worst case scenario, which in this case would be an electrical/ac problem on the boat.  Keep it simple.

aero3113

An easy upgrade to do is change all of your cabin light bulbs to LED. They run sooooo much cooler also and hardly and draw.

JimGuy341

Those lights do put out some heat.  

JimGuy341

Does the ring around the light just pop off?

aero3113

aero3113

The inner lens pops out.

Autodog61

Could be the A/C plug.  I was just discussing marine plugs with the Surveyor looking at my boat.  He looked at the plug on the Shorepower and A/C on the exterior of the boat.  He said that there a lot of fires caused by those plug tongs corroding green and causing an electrical hot spot.  So, look at the A/C Shorepower prongs and make sure those aren't corroded. 

Pat310

Is it the breaker on the dock that’s tripping? Are you using a splitter to run AC and shore power off same circuit?  If so lose the splitter and plug directly into the AC input and see if it still happens. If better, try a new splitter or could be breaker on the dock

JimGuy341

@aero3113 Any chance you remember what brand of LED bulbs you went with?  I'm getting ready to make some off season purchases.  Thanks.

aero3113

@JimGuy341 I just looked at my eBay purchases and these are them. The listing is no longer but there are many sellers that sell them.

Grahamu

PO had changed all cabin lights to LED, I like a lot of light in the galley so I changed the main cabin lights up to 3.0 W. I also changed the spreader lights in the arch and the transom light to LED

Grahamu

your breaker problem might be a thermal trip, check your incoming AC plug voltage with teh unit running, the lower the voltage the more amps are consumed creating heat.