loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I have a 2001 382 Formula Fastech. I was plugged into a 50amp shorepower connection. First night everything worked fine, even the Air Conditioning. Next night a couple hours afetr running the shorepower I lost all power. I checked all circuit breakers I could find and they appeared OK. I decided to run the generator for the rest of the night until I could check it out in the morning. About 15 minutes after firing up the generator it shut down as well. (I did have the AC running on both instances) I have not been able to determine the problem yet.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I assume you have either a single 30 amp 120 volt shorepower, or dual 30 amp 120 volt shorepower service. It would surprise me if you had a 50 amp 240 volt service.

I further assume you used a standard "50 amp 240 volt" to (2) "30 amp 120 volt" Y-splitter to plug into to provide shorepower to your boat. When you lost shorepower, did you notice whether you tripped a breaker on the shorepower tower/outlet on the dock?

As far as the genset, did it stop providing power or did it turn itself off?

Finding the problem?
1) Reset the breakers on the shorepower supply and verify that you have power at the shorepower outlet.
2) Turn off all AC breakers on the boat panel.
3) Plug in the boat. Some AC panels will show a green led if power is plugged in. Check that.
4) Turn on only the main bus breaker.
5) Turn on one breaker to a hardwired circuit (battery charger). Check to see if the charger turns on.

If the charger does NOT turn on, then double check to make sure your shorepower is still hot. If not, then double check your cordset for good ground pin connection.

If the charger DOES turn on, then one by one, turn on the remainder of your breakers until either everything is on or something trips. When somehing trips, take note of the breaker. Something on that circuit is either shorted, or has a bad or intermittent ground. All of your breakers, and supposedly the ones on the shorepower, are ground fault breakers that will trip if they see a ground leak or open ground.

good luck.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Thanks for the reply. I used a typical 50 amp y plug and plugged into my 30amp shorepower connection. As far as the generator goes, it ran fine then just shut itself down. I think you may be onto something with the charger. I did not see any reset button on the charger and I don't believe it is showing any power, even thoug I have a direct 110 connect to the shorepowewer as we speak. Where would I find the breaker for the charger? It has the symptoms of a tripped breaker.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I checked the fuses at the charger (C-Charger) all good. Also metered the shore cable and good continnuity on each leg. I didn't see any breakers at the charger. Could I have a bad charging unit or would that not effect my main AC panel in the cabin? Am I missing any other breakers?

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

First plug in shore cord, then flip main breakers on on shore panel, then one by one click anouther sub breaker on untill problem reacures. then you found the problem breaker that is running what ever. Both A/C on will suck major juice, if you use toaster and Microwave at same time with A/c will blow main breakers. Isolate breaker that is the problem, keep off. should be able to run all others till you fix problem. B3

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

With the shore cord plugged in I don't get any AC to the panel. I have a meter built inside the breaker panel and it shows like there is no cord plugged in. I don't know if anyone is familiar with the 382 fastech but maybe I'm missing a breaker somewhere. I looked in the manual and I can't find any. The genrator did run the AC panel for a short time until the gen shut down. I can't run the generator now because it needs a water supply. I don't know if I burned something out with the 50Amp Y cord when I was plugged into the shore tower.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Dukenrock-- What model C-Charger do you have? I'm on my third C-Charger in my boat ( 30 amp, 2000 series). Schematic calls for 10 amp minimum circuit breaker on AC source to charger. Charger has an AC terminal block and a DC terminal block. Both are fused. You can check the terminals on TB-1 to see if it's getting power. If you look close, the terminal blocks are marked AC, DC, + and -. My experience is these chargers don't like surges or "air time". Every time I send them back to the factory they tell me they can't be repaired. I'm considering mounting them with wing-nuts. They've made some design changes to them and hopefully they are more reliable. I can provide more detail, but first things first. Is it getting power?--Lou

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I believe I have a 60Amp unit, but when I get home I'll double check. The unit has a light and a meter, both of which do not register anything when plugged into shore power. The unit has (2) 40Amp car fuses and a slow blow. All tested good. I may call Formula in the AM and see if they have had experience with this problem. Hopefully there will be a quick fix! Any other suggestions? Can I meter the C-charger anywhere to determine if power is making it to the charger?

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

You should be able to put a meter on the AC terminal block. You said you checked both fuses. The AC fuse is on the AC terminal block and the DC fuse is on the DC terminal block. What may be confusing is that these "terminal blocks" typical look like green circuit boards. As I said, the connections on the terminal block are clearly marked. You should see 3 wires connected to the AC block and 2 to 4 wires connected to the DC terminal block based on whether you've got 1,2 or 3 batteries. Unless I'm losing it, you should see 120 volts between white and black and 120 volts between black and green (ground) on the AC terminal block. To check my fuses, you slide up an access panel held by a set screw. While checking the fuses, the wire connections and terminal blocks are directly below the fuses. Good luck. Don't be afraid to ask questions--Lou

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Thanks Lou. I'll check it out. If I have power there am I to assume my C-Charger is bad?

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Short answer is yes. If you have ~120 volts on the input side, you should expect more than battery voltage coming out the output or DC side of the charger. What the manual says is if the fuses are good and you have 120 volts on the AC side, they say to disconnect (and mark) the wires on the DC side. Then you put power to the charger and put a meter across any + or - terminal on the DC terminal block and look for 13.5 to 15.0 volts which indicates the charger is producing output. When you disconnect the wires from the DC terminal block, all you're doing is disconnecting the batteries from the charger. I hope this helps. Let us know how you make out. --Lou

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I'll let you know...thx.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

If you need to talk Charles Marine Products aboutyour charger, get the model number/serial number off the tag on the side of the unit. Customer Service- 847/806-6300 or Fax 847/806-6231. They may be able to send you all the troubleshooting/schematics info I have for my charger. As suggested elsewhere on this thread, you gotta make sure you've got 120 volts coming to the charger--Lou

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Just checked voltage at the C-Charger- 0 Volts. I'm good at the shore cord but I'm losing it between the shore cord connection and the C-Charger. Is it possible thet the switch under the starboard side rear seat that switches from "ShorePower" to "Generator" is bad?

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

It seems as though you are in good hands with the voltage stuff here so I'm gonna go on about why the gen set stopped running. First check the oil level in the gen set. If the level is slightly low it will shut off. Second check to see if the ball valve is open to let water in to the gen, the next time you get to the water, crank the gen up and see if its pumping water. If not the impeller maybe bad. If no water in the exhaust, it will over heat the sensor on the exhaust and shut it off.Also make sure the electric fuel pump is running when you crank it up, it may have failed as well.

Just a few things to look at ya know?!

Pwrbt33
Offshore Performance
1-877-GOFAST1
410-827-0200

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

I've narrowed it down to an open neutral wire at the Shore Power/Generator switch under the back seat. Somewhere between where the shore power plugs in at the stern and another switch under the seat labeled Shore Power/110V. I may need to see if the actual shoreplower plugs are known to go bad. If so I detect that may be the problem. As far as the generator goes, I just replaced the impeller and the oil level is good. The water pumps fine out the side. It may have something to do with the open nuetral as well, not sure. Strange problem, but I may call Formula tech support at this point before I start ripping more things apart, especially considering I'm still under warranty! No Formula dealers within 180 miles! I really appreciate all of the help! May change the name of the boat to:

"Sofa King Broken"

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Found the problem....Should have known better. The shore power cord was bad, even though I could meter the correct voltage at the end, the contact on the neutral wasn't connecting at the stern!!! Can I get the cord repaired or should I replace it? Thanks for all the input from all!

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

New Hubbell end plug will cost $20.
New 25' cordset with molded ends will cost $50.

Re: loss of shorepower/gen cuts off
 

Think I'll buy new....Thanks again!