alindquist

So I bought a "new to me" boat and took delivery last Monday. It's at a marina on a lift. I go to plug in the shore power and after about 10-15 seconds the breaker (on marina side) pops. I can't figure it out...
Boat is a 2006 Formula 330SS with 496's, Generator, 3 new batteries, and looks to be unmolested in terms of wiring.
A few things that I did try...
I pulled off the boat receptacle and cleaned all the contacts
I also tried replacing the receptacle with a new one (when that didn't work I returned it and re-installed the old one)
Tried a different cord
Plugged into several different outlets on different breakers with the same results
The way it is wired is from the receptacle to a main breaker, then to the panel. If I turn off the main breaker and plug in it won’t pop. If I turn off the main at the panel (actually everything is off) and turn on the main breaker it pops. Mind you it takes about 15 seconds for it to pop and in the 15 seconds if I turn on the panel main the voltage comes up till it pops.
I'm at a loss, anybody have any ideas? Please feel free to ask questions.
Thanks
Aaron

Perlmudder

I have heard about other formulas having this issue. Do a quick search, I think it was due to a built in GFI in the boat, and a second on the dock. There should be a few threads about this.

Perlmudder

found it
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...pped-help.html

alindquist

Perlmudder - Thanks for the link... That was very helpful...

VoodooRob

I ran into this also. I carry a 3 prong to 2 prong conversion, problem fixed. I have only run into an issue at Lake Cumberland and at my home before I put in a dedicated line.

alindquist

So I dug around for hours last night reading posts and it turns out that I'm not alone and it is not exclusive to Formulas. It turns out that is it the Galvanic Isolator Monitoring System. Not the Galvanic Isolator it's self (that can still function). Apparently all I have to do is remove the fuse to the Monitor and that should fix my problem. I'll be down at the boat today and I'll let you guys know if this fixes it.

alindquist

Problem fixed... It was the monitoring system for the galvanic isolator. Pulled the fuses that run from the monitoring box to the AC panel, plugged in the boat and everything came online.
It is my understanding from reading another thread (link below) that when that system fires up it runs a check and puts some amount of voltage, or amperage, or something, to the ground which in turns pops the breaker... Anyways it's not the perfect fix, my galvanic isolator is working however the little test panel in the cabin does not run. I'm not sure there is a fix for that, I'm going to call ProMariner and see if they have anything.

Thanks for all the help guys.... Here is a link that thread again in case anybody else has the same issue.
http://www.regalownersforum.com/foru...P+GFI+Tripping