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 I’m on a Marina and plugged in to shore power. This morning the fuse box on the boat tripped. Reset it but it keeps tripping. Have unplugged everything and switched off all the sockets but it still trips. All the sockets are on one switch. Can anyone help please? 

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Unplug your lead to the bollard - Does it still trip ?

If it does it a bollard fault.

The 'trips' can age and sometimes 'stick' and default to the off position It should be up to the marina to sort out for you but a GENTLE tap on the actual trip with a hammer (screwdriver handle etc) can dislodge it and allow it to re-set.

 

Edit : Misread it as bollard tripping.

Same applies, give the trips a tap with a hammer.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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7 minutes ago, Jeanie920 said:

 I’m on a Marina and plugged in to shore power. This morning the fuse box on the boat tripped. Reset it but it keeps tripping. Have unplugged everything and switched off all the sockets but it still trips. All the sockets are on one switch. Can anyone help please? 

First question:- do you have a battery charger or charger / inverter in the system?

Second question:- Do you have any other mains device connected (but not controlled via a switch socket - for example an immersion heater

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So with the boat unplugged from shore power does the breaker reset and only trip again once the shore bollard is reconnected? If not, it is a mechanical issue with the breaker (unlikely).

What exactly is tripping? Boats generally have MCBs which trip due to overload, a bit like a fuse. They probably also have an RCD which trips when there is a wiring fault or something (such as a human!) connecting live to earth. Or they may have an RCBO which is the above two concepts combined. A decent photo of what is tripping would allow us to identify it and that would help narrow down what the likely cause is.

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Sorry, should have made clear that I don’t think it’s a bollard problem. There is electricity coming on to the boat because the battery is still charging and the mains power  light is on on the Vitron. We tried another shore to boat cable just to make sure and it was no different. Can’t try it disconnected from the shore power because at the moment the travel power is not connected. We had a problem and had to take it to Cox’s at Atherstone and now waiting for the engineer to refit it. Thanks for all your suggestions. Called a marine electrician who’s coming in the morning thankfully. Last time I wanted an Electrician he couldn’t come for 2 weeks. 

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4 minutes ago, Jeanie920 said:

Sorry, should have made clear that I don’t think it’s a bollard problem. There is electricity coming on to the boat because the battery is still charging and the mains power  light is on on the Vitron. We tried another shore to boat cable just to make sure and it was no different. Can’t try it disconnected from the shore power because at the moment the travel power is not connected. We had a problem and had to take it to Cox’s at Atherstone and now waiting for the engineer to refit it. Thanks for all your suggestions. Called a marine electrician who’s coming in the morning thankfully. Last time I wanted an Electrician he couldn’t come for 2 weeks. 

So if the RCD is tripped you can't use the electric anyway, so why cant you unplug the lead and try and reset the RCD to see if its bust.

 

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7 minutes ago, Jeanie920 said:

Sorry, should have made clear that I don’t think it’s a bollard problem. There is electricity coming on to the boat because the battery is still charging and the mains power  light is on on the Vitron. We tried another shore to boat cable just to make sure and it was no different. Can’t try it disconnected from the shore power because at the moment the travel power is not connected. We had a problem and had to take it to Cox’s at Atherstone and now waiting for the engineer to refit it. Thanks for all your suggestions. Called a marine electrician who’s coming in the morning thankfully. Last time I wanted an Electrician he couldn’t come for 2 weeks. 

So I think you need to answer Nick's question about exactly what is tripping.

Normally I would expect if it were the Residual Current Device (RCD) Nick describes, that if that tripped the whole boat would be off, and that would include the power ro the battery charger, so that would not be working.

A picture of your arrangements indicating which "trip" is tripping might help a possble diagnosis.

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Have you got an immersion heater?

First port of call when the boat RCD is tripping and all the sockets are off.

don't forget a N>E fault will trip an RCD and switches/MCB only disconnect the live.

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9 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Have you got an immersion heater?

First port of call when the boat RCD is tripping and all the sockets are off.

don't forget a N>E fault will trip an RCD and switches/MCB only disconnect the live.

And immersion heater connections often get damp. I agree with Loddon, it’s the first thing to check. 

The immersion heater feed should have its own isolation switch, so switch it off and see if the problem goes away. 

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I’ve tried it with the cable disconnected from shore power and it still trips. I have an immersion heater but it has its own switch which is switched off. I was cooking porridge in the microwave this morning when it tripped but I’ve got nothing plugged in now. The electricity from shore is charging the battery. The monitor is staying on 100% and we have lights on and water pump been running and shower pump. I’ve taken a picture but how do I post it here ?

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12 minutes ago, MartynG said:

So you have the shore power cable unplugged and the breaker on the boat trips off?

Is this a mains breaker or a 12 volt breaker.

It’s the mains breaker. It’s in a cupboard similar to one that you have in a house. With different breakers for different things and a `main switch.  It’s the one marked sockets that is tripping the main switch. Only problem is that all the sockets are on one fuse. So no mains electricity at all. 

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Sounds like you may  have a defective mains socket .

If in doubt get someone in who is qualified. I would have thought the marina will have someone who can help.

 

I assume the battery charger is on a separate breaker which is why the batteries are fully charged.

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15 minutes ago, Jeanie920 said:

It’s the mains breaker. It’s in a cupboard similar to one that you have in a house. With different breakers for different things and a `main switch.  It’s the one marked sockets that is tripping the main switch. Only problem is that all the sockets are on one fuse. So no mains electricity at all. 

So as I understand it, the boat electrical system is fine apart from the sockets. When that is activated it immediately trips, even though nothing is plugged into any socket. Nothing physically plugged in, not nothing switched on!  If so, the only explanation is a wiring fault in the socket circuit. That is, if you are SURE nothing is plugged in to any socket and nothing else apart from sockets powered from that breaker? Could be a wire come off the back of a socket or some cable chafed through. Probably the only way to locate it is to take each socket off the wall and inspect the connections behind.

One other thought - you haven't had any leaks or spillages have you? Damp inside a socket can be enough to trip an RCD.

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17 hours ago, Jeanie920 said:

Sorry, should have made clear that I don’t think it’s a bollard problem. There is electricity coming on to the boat because the battery is still charging and the mains power  light is on on the Vitron. We tried another shore to boat cable just to make sure and it was no different. Can’t try it disconnected from the shore power because at the moment the travel power is not connected. We had a problem and had to take it to Cox’s at Atherstone and now waiting for the engineer to refit it. Thanks for all your suggestions. Called a marine electrician who’s coming in the morning thankfully. Last time I wanted an Electrician he couldn’t come for 2 weeks. 

Is there a clue here?  The travel power provides an alternative mains source when the engine is running.  I would look closely at the "disconnected" leads - could they be shorting?

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  • 2 months later...

Hi. I still haven’t sorted this yet.first electrician I had took all the sockets off and examined them manually. Didn’t find anything. Fiddled around with the box where the fuses are and it started working. Then the following week it started again. Had another electrician who thinks he’s found the problem. A junction box in the wall he thinks,between a plug and the shaver point. Still not sorted because he didn’t want to start ripping my bathroom apart. So I’ve travelled from Milton Keynes to Cheshire and the Marina electrician is going to sort it next week hopefully. In the meantime I can use the plugs on one side of the boat. Thanks everyone for your help. 

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I find one of these socket testers, or similar, to be a worthwhile addition to my toolkit. 

Screw fix £9.99

https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-ms6860d-socket-tester/91596?tc=CT3&ds_kid=92700022850517781&ds_rl=1249796&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249481&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInZfPwIvY2wIVmIjVCh0VWwDvEAQYASABEgIbvvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIXb4tmL2NsCFcEx0wodq8ECBQ

Toolstation £5.68

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p82826?r=googleshopping&rr=marin&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInZfPwIvY2wIVmIjVCh0VWwDvEAQYAiABEgLaLPD_BwE

 

Certainly useful for a quick diagnostic. 

Although it wouldn't of found your junction box problem it would of helped eliminate any potential problem sockets from your diagnostics. 

Edited by reg
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15 minutes ago, reg said:

Not knowing enough about the mains stuff I do wonder how these things cope with a centre tapped earth inverter. I suspect they may show a fault.

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5 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Not knowing enough about the mains stuff I do wonder how these things cope with a centre tapped earth inverter. I suspect they may show a fault.

 

Mine works ok through Victron Multiplus Phoenix 2500/120

Anything else I obviously can't vouch for.

Came in useful when installing my 240v circuits with multiple sockets. 

Edited by reg
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9 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Not knowing enough about the mains stuff I do wonder how these things cope with a centre tapped earth inverter. I suspect they may show a fault.

Yes they would, but it might not be immediately obvious. 

 

Most likely (depending on the circuit but most are similar) one LED bright, one LED less bright and the third LED half brightness. 

 

Edited by WotEver
Extra info added
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