Onboard Charger Popping the GFI – PLEASE HELP!!

Hey Guys:

The storage place where I keep my boat has an outside plug-in that allows me to plug my boat batteries in so I can charge them.

The problem is when I went to charge my batteries on monday evening I noticed that the GFI kept tripping out everytime I plugged the chord into the charging recipicle on my boat

This is the first time this has happened to me, so I’m completely stumpped as to why it’s doing this.

I bought new, and bigger batteries this spring, and I charged them twice already without any problems, so this sudden issue is kind of cause for concern.

I already tried a different chord, so I know the chord isn’t the problem. The GFI is mounted outside and is covered by a box, so I’m not sure if it’s something to do with the boat or the GFI.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Gfi’s to go bad after time. I would start with replacing GFCI. Buy the 15 dollar one and not the store special 6.99.
Just my 2 cents

How heavy duty is your cord? As weird as it sounds with my boat when I use a real heavy duty cord to plug in inside my garage it pops my GFI when I go to a cheaper lighter duty cord it works just fine. My only though is the current rush can not hit the GFI as hard with a lighter weight cord….

The chord I use is a descent chord, it’s one of those yellow ones with the clear end that glows orange when there’s power running through it.

Unfortunatly the GFI isn’t mine, it’s the guy who owns the storage facilities so I can’t just go and replace it

I’m not 100% positive, but my guess is it’s the GFI, since I’ve never had this problem before now, and my boat is a 2005 Ranger 618VS, so the charger isn’t extremely old

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The chord I use is a descent chord, it’s one of those yellow ones with the clear end that glows orange when there’s power running through it.

Unfortunatly the GFI isn’t mine, it’s the guy who owns the storage facilities so I can’t just go and replace it

I’m not 100% positive, but my guess is it’s the GFI, since I’ve never had this problem before now, and my boat is a 2005 Ranger 618VS, so the charger isn’t extremely old

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Tell him what is going on and that his GFI needs replaced. If he’s charging you to store your boat, he needs to fix his problem.

GFI is bad or wired wrong. If you have a meter you can ohm your cord from end to end and make sure your ground is good. I had a weird stray voltage on my boat when charging, the ground in my extention cord was bad, new cord no stray voltage.

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GFI is bad or wired wrong. If you have a meter you can ohm your cord from end to end and make sure your ground is good. I had a weird stray voltage on my boat when charging, the ground in my extention cord was bad, new cord no stray voltage.

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Yeah, That’s why I tried it with a different chord, just hoping that I just needed to replace the chord, but the GFI still tripped.

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Gfi’s to go bad after time. I would start with replacing GFCI. Buy the 15 dollar one and not the store special 6.99.
Just my 2 cents

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X2

I have went trough two different Pro Mariner on-board chargers. They work for 2-3 years and then dont. Whenever they broke down, my GFI in the garage would “pop”. I would reset it and it would do it again. Try the cheaper end replacing the GFI, but I fear your charger might have an issue.
I know with mine, I would call Pro-Mariner and they would have me run a couple diagnostic checks to make sure it was the charger and both times it was.
leads me to another issue…. I asked Pro-Mariner why I was going through them and he simply told me I needed the upgraded version cause I use mine way too much! He basicly told me their chargers all have a number of charges lifespan and I use mine too much!!!! He said the cheaper ones are for weekend guys, not a tournament guy using it 3-4 times a week on average. Just an FYI

GFI’s monitor current going in and current going out of the receptacle. If they are not equal they will trip. Reasons they may not be equal are bad connections on the GFI, voltage leaking to ground such as internal problems with your charger or just a bad GFI.

Good Luck and let us know what you find.

Can you pull the boat somewhere and plug into another outlet to test?

Yeah, I was thinking of towing it home and running a chord through my bathroom window and plugging it into the GFI in the bathroom. If it trips that GFI, then it’s got to be the boat, if it doesn’t trip I’m guessing the GFI at the shed is bad

I’m probabaly a bit obsessive with charging, so I’ll have to keep that in mind

What kind of diagnostic tests can I do to determine if it is the charger?

Home Depot should have GFI tester that you just plug into the socket. If it is a true GFI tester it will have a button to push that will trip the receptacle (if its hooked up correctly ).Regardless the tester will have LED’s that light up and depending on which LED’s light it will tell you if its wired correctly.

Hey Thanks

I did a little research online and found what you were talking about

Now if it comes back as “Correct” does that mean that the GFI is good or that it’s just wired correctly? Or will it need to read Open hot, neutral, or ground?

The tester just means the receptacle is wire correctly. Not a true test for the problem you are having.

Joe is correct that it does not prove the GFI is weak but it does prove if it is tripping properly.
Have you found the problem yet?
Do you have a portable battery charger you can plug into the outlet? If so hook it up to your vehicle and see if it trips.
Sorry about the delayed response.