Electrical wiring FAQs for manufactured & mobile home, set #3:

Frequently asked questions about manufactured home and mobile home electrical systems, wiring, receptacles, lights, electrical panels.

This article series contains questions & answers that assist in electrical diagnosis & repair for mobile homes, manufactured homes, doublewides, trailers and RVs. We include diagnostic questions & answers about manufactured or mobile home electrical system defects, troubleshooting, repairs, codes. Mobile home electrical panels, wiring, lights, switches: inspect & repair. Safety and building codes for mobile homes

Electrical System Questions & Answers for Campers, Mobile Homes, Doublewides, Manufactured Homes #3

These questions & answers about mobile home electrical systems were posted originally at MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS or otherwise possibly at the bottom of this very article.

On 2021-05-24 - by (mod) -

@Patti,

Your electrician will trace the circuit to find an open or broken connection or damaged wire

On 2021-05-19 by Patti

Outside lights have no power but there is at the switch

On 2020-12-01 - by (mod) -

No, Ron

On 2020-12-01 by Ron Gunter

Does electrical wire UNDER the house, but contained & covered by the skirting, have to be 'shielded cable?'...Ron r-c-gunter@shaw.ca

On 2020-08-08 by Dana Burchett

Are mobile homes wired with 12 or 14 gauge wiring

On 2020-05-08 - by (mod) -

LaDonna

Watch out: you want an electrician to do panel work. Just touching anything in the panel can shock and / or kill you.

Yes there are panel upgrade inserts but usually that won't make sense - if the actual physical enclosure is small.

In that case it's a less costly and better step to go to a physically larger box or enclosure that includes the 200A main and sufficient breakers.

On 2020-05-08 by LaDonna Ash

My mobile home has a 100amp panel inside the home. On the outside there is the power meter and that feeds to a breaker box with a 200amp breaker. Then a wire feeds to the main panel inside. I want to upgrade my panel to a 200amp. Since there is already a 200amp breaker off the meter, I should be able to upgrade my panel inside to a 200amp breaker. Am I correct on this. Want to make sure first. I am going to change the wire coming into the panel to a 2gauge or 4 gauge wire for 200amp. Thank you for your help.

 

On 2019-12-30 by loven

@loven,
This is a double wide. Mobil home

I have a Mobil home. That had a book shelf light which never worked. So I got. A recessed. Led led canister when I took out old light . I forgot which wires went where .

I have one set that has main power then another set that goes to master bath but also controls dining room lights.

And fire alarm. The third set goes to the book self. Light switch. How do I hook light to these wires? This was my bad. Becuase I usually take pictures please help me .

On 2019-12-20 by Anonymous

It’s a 32/60 .. 2006 Centara

Wall plugs and light fixtures are out in .. bathroom, bedroom and hallway..

Have checked breakers and fixtures for reset .. breakers show power .. can’t locate reset

On 2019-12-20 by Andrew - 2001 Oakwood mobile home ceiling fan wiring

It is a 2001 oakwood 16x80

I took a ceiling fan Down in my bedroom. And there is four sets of wires. I hook all of them to together and run it to the light. But my switch doesn't turn off the light. I think the other sets of wire goes to my outlets cause they don't work either. Please help

On 2019-12-05 by (mod) - diagram of the wiring of a 1990 chandeleur

Anon

Let's start with a photo of all of the information on the 1990 Chandeleur mobile home data tag; with the model and serial number we might be able to track down an installation and operation manual for the home that will include its factory-wiring.

But watch out: I would not assume that between 1990 and 2019 the wiring remained un-changed.

Your electrician can trace circuits and label them in the panel if that's what's needed.

Below is a 1999 Chandeleur clipped from a Youtube video - in my opinon that home was in poor condition with an unsafe entry, water damage, and other worries.

On 2019-12-05 by Anonymous

Can I get a diagram of the wiring of a 1990 chandeleur

On 2019-11-17 by (mod) - running new electrical circuits in a mobile home

Well indeed an electrician sometimes uses a "fish tape" to snake wires through ceilings and walls and might do that through a floor, particularly if your floor is covered with something inexpensive such as sheet vinyl so you're not going to object to tearing up the floor to drill a bunch of holes.

But there are minimum crawl space distances under homes; I know that tight crawl spaces are horrible and nobody wants to go into them.

As a result those spaces are where the worst, most dangerous, or most health-risk problems often develop under building s: dangerous wiring, rat-eaten insulation, sewage spills, etc.

That's exactly why I always want, at the very least, that such areas are inspected from access openings even if they can't be safely entered.

On 2019-11-17 by Natalie

Under heath of the mobile home space is limited. Can we go through the floors to rewire.

On 2019-11-17 by (mod) - common causes of electrical problems in older mobile homes

Dee

It sounds as if the circuits in your home are over-loaded

OR

there are loose, corroded, or otherwise intermittently-bad electrical connections.

I can't be as smart as your onsite electrician but a couple of questions to ask your electrician might help sort this out:

1. if the problem is at the meter, wouldn't we lose all of the power at the home or at least all of the power in about half the circuits at the home while the other half kept working?

2. If the problem is at the electric meter, why would running the washing machine cause a circuit to stop working? Doesn't that sound more like a circuit overload or a bad connection>?

3. Are there aluminum wiring circuits in this home? IF so and if they haven't been properly-repaired, there is a real risk of a home fire, and aluminum wiring can cause the symptoms you report

4. Are there "push-in" type back-wired electrical receptacles in the home? Those too often fail and drop power on the remainder of the circuit. If so those ought to be replaced with new receptacles and wired to the screw connectors on the receptacles not the push-in backwire connectors.

Let me know what your electrician says and we can proceed from there.

On 2019-11-17 by Dee

I have an older mobile home and I am having bad electrical problems. When my fridge clicks off the tv goes off.

Sometimes when I run my washer my range beeps and says bad line. My hair dryer and microwave will work but not heat. Does anyone have ideas? I had an electrician out and he seems to think it is the pedestal that my meter is on. I've been waiting a week and a half for the electric company to come check it out.

On 2019-11-15 by (mod) - safety of mobile home electrical receptacles or "outlets"

Alan

Thank you for adding that remark on mobile home receptacles. We agree completely that back-wired or "push-in" receptacles are in general less-reliable and in some cases less safe than receptacles that use screw terminals.

You and Anthony can read about this topic and our view and research at

BACK-WIRED ELECTRICAL DEVICES

and at the end of that home page on the topic you'll see several other articles such as

BACKWIRED RECEPTACLE FAILURE REPORT

in which an owner reports loss of power traced to just this problem.

I hadn't made the association with manufactured housing or mobile home wiring.

The underlying issues - and this supports your comments on heavy-loaded circuits when plugging in electric heaters -

1. the contact area between the little spring edge and the wire surface in most push-in backwired electrical receptacles is extremely small, so a lot of current is flowing through a tiny contact area, increasing the risk of overheating, oxidation, ultimately a contact failure that - if it fails "safe" - fails by simply losing power. That's discussed

at RECEPTACLE WIRE-TO-CONNECTOR CONTACT AREA SIZES

2. Depending on some other conditions such as amount of plugging- and un-plugging of devices at a receptacle, or worse, someone trying to re-use or change-wires in a back-wired push-in receptacle, the spring and contact parts get bent apart and loosened so as to fail to maintain good electrical contact.

So it's certainly possible that **IF** Anthony's 1987 doublewide was wired with push-in type backwired electrical receptacles that a connection failure at one or more of those, aggravated by the heat generated by plugging in electric heaters, could explain the power loss.

The right repair is to have an electrician replace those old backwired receptacles with new ones to which wires are connected by screw terminals.

In many U.S. the electrical outlets are wired in a daisy-chain or "in-series" so electrical power is brought INTO the first outlet in the string and THROUGH that outlet's metal connector parts, then ONWARDS to the next receptacle in the chain or circuit.

Knowing that can sometimes speed-up finding the lost connection when power is lost in a home, particularly if the loss is in electrical receptacles, since what the electrician will do is start checking connections at the very first receptacle in the string - reasoning that if that one is "dead" then everybody downstream from that one will be dead too.

Blowing trash out of receptacles is not a bad idea, but it won't fix loose, bent, overheating electrical receptacles.

Thanks again for the comment Alan as it's important to add this to things to investigate when we lose electrical power in a mobile home.

On 2019-11-15 by Alan

@Anthony,

Most of the outlets in a mobile home, are some kind of knife edge connection, that the wires are pushed into, for a connection. If these have any prolonged, heavy current draw, they heat up, and burn away pretty quickly. Picture a razor blade, against the wire. The main feed wire, which is probably 14 gauge, for a 15 amp circuit, could be fine, but these outlets will have to be replaced

. If you are doing your own work, go to a DIY store, and get an "Old work box", these can be put into the wall, and you can use a standard 15 amp outlet. PLEASE, use the screws, on the side, of the outlet, for connections. They create a good connection. If you hire someone, to do the work, make sure they use the screws. Only LAZY "electricians", use the poke in holes, in the back of the plug.

If your electrician, tries to use the holes, escort them to the door, and call another one. Ok, back to the wiring. It seems that most of these wall circuits are rated at 15 amps. If you are pulling 2 space heaters, off the same circuit, that will overload the circuit. Most space heaters are 1500 watts, or around 12 amps, which will almost max out your circuit, by itself

. If you have to use 2 space heaters, they'll need to be on different circuits. And, preferably, on a plug with a screwed down connection. Whoever designed the knife edge connections, was a flaming moron. Those may be able to withstand 15 amps, during a short test, but they will eventually overheat, and fail, possibly causing a fire.

They will be severely overloaded, with any high current draw motor, like a sweeper. Your 12 amp sweeper, will momentarily draw 20 amps, or more, on start up.
Just a side note here. If you are using the small cube heaters, these plug up with pet hair, and other detritus.

The blockage overheats them, resulting in fires. Several times, during the heating season, blow them out, with compressed air. You'll be amazed, at how much junk comes out.

On 2019-11-15 by (mod) -

Sometimes you can be fooled by a breaker that looks like it's on but it's in the trip position. When you're testing the make sure you switch the breaker all the way to the off position and then back on. If you try that and you still have no power I suspect that there's a burned up or damaged electrical connection somewhere in the circuit.

At that point you did an electrician to trace the circuit and find the problem. Do keep me posted and we may be able to make more suggestions or tell you some questions to ask.

On 2019-11-15 by Anthony

I have a 87 double wide. All my electric works and I ended up plugging in 2 space heaters in my kids room and now half of my house has no power. None of the breakers are trips

Question: I need a honest electrician

2019/08/15 Annie Laib
I need a honest electrician experienced that wont charge a arm and leg for my kitchen light not working.

It seems their is no power to the switch. My husband said the circuit box is fine. The problem since this is a prefab home is trying to find where the wire is going from the circuit breaker to the switch. Too many wires. My son is a electrician but he is just too busy. Live in NJ near the clementon park.

Reply:

I think most electricians are honest and competent; I'd try calling some local electricians listed for your area, describe your problem and ask if they can help. Let me know what you're told and we may be able to offer further advice.

On 2019-07-15 by (mod) -

It sounds to me as if there's a wiring error perhaps on the dryer circuit and that you're back feeding the circuit that otherwise dead when the dryer is on. That's quite dangerous risking a fire or shock. It would make sense to have an electrician trace the circuit to find the mistake or mistakes.

On 2019-07-15 by Josh

Half of the moblie home dosen't have power. But when you start the dryer the side with no power comes on only when dryer is running. Shut the dryer off and lose power. I'm just wondering where the junction box is from side to side maybe there is a loose wire. The trailer is a 1995 skyline sunhaven 1009b doublewide.

On 2019-07-11 by Alma

My socket was smoking so we cut the power off and replaced it and wen we turned power back on no power in bathroom or bedroom and now air conditioning doesn't wrk in living room like it doesn't have full power

On 2019-07-09 by (mod) -

Matthew:

Either there is a fuse or breaker that is defective, or there's one or more you haven't found, or there's a bad electrical connection somewhere in your electrical system - in the panel or along the 240V circuits involved.

I'm always worried about these unknown situations because of the possibility that a live wire end is floating around somehwere waiting to shock somebody. It's time to get help from an electrician.

On 2019-07-09 by (mod) -

Nicki

What you describe is worrisome because it means to me that even if the circuit is "on" we don't know that the breakers will work properly to shut it down in unsafe conditions like an overload or short circuit. The risk is shock or fire or worse.

Does your home's electrical system use

- aluminum wiring?

- one of the unsafe electrical panel brands like FPE, Zinsco, Challenger, older Pushmatics?

On 2019-07-09 by (mod) -

Jannice

By 2006 one would expect all electrical receptacle circuits in any home made in the U.S. to include a grounding conductor.
So we don't know if "not grounded" means that a ground wire connector is open or "broken" somewhere on the circuit, or if instead somebody did amateur DIY wiring and made a mistake.

In either case, since we don't know just why the ground wire is disconnected, we also don't know if the hot and neutral wires are safe either. Because the risk is shock or fire, it would make sense to turn off the suspect circuit until you get an electrician over to trace the circuit and find and fix the trouble.

Let me know what you're told.

On 2019-07-09 by Nicki

I have a 1983 trailer and everything worked fine until I turned my ac off and later that day I turned it back on it blew something.

I checked the breaker box but nothing was blown, so as i was taught I tripped the main breaker and turned it back on and everything worked fine.

The next morning when I got up the ac did the same thing, so I unplugged it and tripped main again but only this time it didn't bring back the outlets in my living rm and overhead lights in kitchen

. I have also tripped the breaker that goes to that but nothing is working to bring them back on. I was wondering what else it could be since it didn't trip the breaker.

On 2019-07-08 1 by Janice

We purchased a Horton 62 x 30 2006 doublewide mobile home. (echo) We were told that the wall between the kitchen and living room were not grounded by the inspector. Is this common and should we have an electrician check it out and should these electrical sockets be used? The paper work is at our CPA's so we don't know if the owners repaired it or not. THank you

On 2019-06-18 by (mod) -

RCA: all of our discussion about your procedures for tracking down the causes of dead circuits in a mobile or manufactured home are now collected at MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING FAQs-7

On 2019-06-13 by (mod) - wiring problems in 17 year old mobile home

Thanks for those details. Back wiring is notoriously and unreliable electrical connection. If you look at my article on this website on that topic you'll see you that the connector surface between the spring clip and the wire is just a very small edge of a piece of bent copper. So it's not a reliable connection.

It also sounds like a lot of poorly made electrical devices in that house. You probably going to need to replace all of them.

On 2019-06-12 by RCA - hazards of backwiring in mobil ehomes

That would be my first guess too, but this house is a manufactured one; is 17 years old; the electrical hardware is lower grade quality; and I found 3 other switches with similar issues. Two are stuck into the on position (inside the switch housing), you can physically move the switch up or down (on or off) but the hot is always hot on the switched side.

The third one is cracked and coming apart in pieces (not as bad as the one I just replaced and caused me to loose electricity to a whole room......mainly because the folks who wired this house used the back push-in connectors, which (I'm guessing if pushed into to much seemed to stress the plastic housing and resulting in cracking it apart in one, two or more pieces). I moved as many outlets and switches to the side screw in terminals to prevent further issues with the existing hardware.

No, all the wiring is copper, thankfully. I was in a house with aluminum wiring and found the fuse/circuit breaker box lighting up at night....loose wire to breaker....which when explored further had to replace the whole kit and kaboodle including some of the wiring....scary stuff Al wiring...melts a lot easier than copper [Al = 1,221°F (660.3°C) versus Cu = 1,984°F (1,085°C)] just over 700 degrees F difference (in coppers favor).

On 2019-04-14 by (mod) - several electrical appliances stopped working in mobile home

Daniel I agree that something is wrong but I'm not sure what;

An electrician would

- check the power coming into the building - both of the 120VAC legs
- check for damage in the panel
- trace the wires from panel to device - to be sure all connections are sound and wiring is intact
- put an ammeter on the circuit when it's on and check the current draw

AMPS MEASUREMENT METHODS https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Amps_Measurement.php

Watch out: if you're not trained in safe and proper electrical work you or someone else could be killed or the place could burn down.

Also see DMMs VOMs SAFE USE OF https://inspectapedia.com/electric/DMM_VOM_Safety.php

On 2019-04-14 by Daniel

Question? I have a old 1972 mobil home. Problem is one electrical line from panel seems to not have full power? I tested at oven receptical and it does have 120 v on each leg for the oven but not a thing is heating up? Microwave same thing it runs but not at full potential. Both oven and microwave are new. Also the hot water heater not heating the water? All this happened at the same time? Thoughts or answers?

On 2018-02-06 by (mod) -

Look at the total thicknesses involved. If wires run through the center of joists and you know the tota l floor thickness, depth of set of screws onto the floor, and joust depth, you can calculate the safe screw length.

On 2018-02-05 by any elec. wiring running along under floors?

we are going to fix squeaky floors in doublewide home, withstud finder, and , , 1 inch and 5 eights woood screws, however, we aint doin nothing till we find out if any of the home elec. wiring is running along under the home floors joists?, ect., any ideas?,

we need to get qualified handyman, or elec. to tell us?, there is no way to get the schemtics, because homes of legend sold out to champion homes around 2008, , any advise?, thank you, were going to use a zircon stud finder with wire warning, , carpet is real thin and padding is a joke, so , it should find the studs easily, up to 1 and a half inches, ,

however, as I said, I will do nothing until, I know that there is no danger of hitting any elec. wires., hank you. ruth d.

On 2018-01-31 by (mod) -

Richard

What you describe sounds like a bad (and unsafe) electrical connection in the circuit.

On 2018-01-31 2 by Richard thomas

The 1996 commodore electrical problem is the outlet only lights and fan work fine

On 2018-01-31 by Richard thomas

I own a 1996 commodore double wide.the second bathroom goes dead then after a time starts to work again ive tried to trace the wiring out but it ends up in the ceiling it does not have a gfi

On 2018-01-25 by (mod) -

Krystin,

Both to get the heater working properly and for safety you should ask a local heating company (gas or oil depending on what fuel your heater uses) to send an experienced service technician to clean, inspect, and adjust the heater for safe, proper operation.

On 2018-01-22 by Kristyn

The heater in our 1997 Southern model mobile home has never worked right. Since we purchased the trailer 4 years ago the heat would cut on and you would feel in blowing hot air , but after it cut off it would not cut back on.

We would set it to 72 and it never stayed on to reach the temp we set it to. You would wake up the next morning and it would be 50 degrees inside. This year when I went to try and cut it on to see if it would do right, it didn't even blow any air out.

 

On 2018-01-17 by (mod) -

Mary

That's an unsafe conditions (as is any electrical short or failure) that deserves inspection and repair by an electrician or a heating service tech

On 2018-01-17 by Mary

My furnace keep going out. Something inside keep shorting out. Nothing else is ever affected.

On 2018-01-16 by (mod) - electricity is only working in half of my double wide home - check panel & crossover connection

Cindy

You need a licensed electrician to trace the bad connection or power loss starting at the electric meter. Chances are one 120 volt side of your electric panel is off.

The electrician will also check your

MANUFACTURED HOME CROSSOVER CONNECTORS

On 2018-01-15 by Cindy

The electricity is only working in half of my double wide home. several electrical outlets not working. What is best way to repair it?

On 2018-01-08 by (mod) - mobile home has electrical plug ins and light switches that pull apart.

Linda

Did you see my reply below?

On 2018-01-08 by linda

My mobile home has electrical plug ins and light switches that pull apart. I removed some old paneling from a wall and had to unhook the plug in to remove a piece of the paneling . two wires pulled loose from the plug in. a black wire, a white wire and a ground. I don't know how to put them back together or where the different wires go. dOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

On 2018-01-08 by (mod) - mobile home has electrical plug ins and light switches that pull apart.

Linda

WATCH OUT: fooling with electrical wires you could be shocked or killed or could start a fire.

DO NOT touch live wires - best to turn power off to the circuit involved.

Sorry to be so scary but I just can't let you risk injury and I don't even have a clear understanding of the situation.

You can attach photos of the parts involved using the picture frame icon next to the Comment button and perhaps I can say something more useful.

On 2018-01-08 by linda

I have a 87 mobile home. the outlet was a pull apart plug in. when i pulled it apart 2 wires came loose that were not supposed to. can anyone tell me how to reattach the wires

On 2017-11-10 by Candy - can't find the switch for the security/decorative lights

I have a 1993 Fairmont and can't find the switch for the security/decorative lights on very front. The switch to back door light has been removed, could that be the switch?

On 2017-10-29 by (mod) - 1973 Fuqua HN mobile home electric oven not working

Susan

I would leave the circuit to the electric oven and stove OFF as there could be a risk of fire.

Then ask your electrician to check for aluminum wire - as that could be part of the trouble and something you might want to replace in the course of repair.

If you are comfortable and know how to use a volt meter or multimeter or even a neon tester you could test for power at the appliance connections but I am way too scared to say that that's OK to try. Keep in mind that if power is on and you touch something live you can be shocked or killed.

The electrician would probably first check for power at the appliances, then check connections, and if there is good power and the connectors at the appliances are good then she might figure that the appliance(s) are shot.

If there's no power to the appliance she might check the breaker: some are problem brands like FPE, Zinsco, Bulldog - tipping us off to a different but important problem. If there is power to the circuit in the panel but not power at the appliance then the wire is bad or there's an open connection enroute.

Leave that appliance power off and ask for help from a trained licensed electrician.

On 2017-10-29 by Susan Zaru

I just purchased a 1973 Fuqua HN mobile home that seems in pretty good shape except that the electric double oven built into the wall and 3 of the 4 burners in a separate electrical stove do not work.

There appears to be no power coming to the oven and the problem with most of the burners not working with the drop in stove.

They are not physically connected to each other. I tried turning off all power at the main power box, then turned back on all circuits- still nothing. For the oven, I can see the wires going down through the floor inside a cabinet below the ovens but no switch.

How do I test to see if it is a power source problem or if the oven and range needs to be replaced? Is there an electrical diagram for these mobiles anywhere? Any suggestions?

On 2017-10-23 by Vincent

Thanks for your advice.

On 2017-10-22 by (mod) -

Vincent

Indeed you're describing a difficult problem to repair - where access to trace wiring is difficult.

I agree that turning off power completely is the most-safe step. Certainly never touch or work on wiring with power on.

With power off, if you can gain access at all, trace the problem circuit - physically following its wires to junction boxes - to find a loose or open or bad connection.

If there is not reasonable access space below a mobile home, you may need to consider elevating it - a step that requires re-making electrical and plumbing connections that come up from the ground, and jacking and setting on approved piers and with approved tie-downs.

The minimum ground clearance specified by HUD is 18" from bottom of floor joists to top of soil - not really enough space for accessing and working on the structure from below. 24" or more is in my opinion (and that of other contractors) more reasonable. Over 36" requires additional steps in the pier construction to assure safe stable foundation support for the mobile or manufactured home.

On 2017-10-22 by Vincent

All the wiring at the switch and the outdoor receptacle seem to be in tact.

Thanks for your reply. But am going to turn the power off to the inside panel from the outside panel. Problem is, all wiring is underneath the mobile home and it is very hard to trace the wiring due to not much room in crawl space but will try. Has no attic or even access.

 

 

On 2017-10-08 by (mod) - sparks when we turned on the window AC in our mobile home

Timothy,

You need an onsite electrician to look for a shorted wire or similar defect, since what you describe is likely to be unsafe. The problem could be in the incoming service entry wires, the main breaker, breaker pane, or one or more circuits and circuit breakers.

Also let me know the brand of circuit breaker panel and let me know if there is aluminum wiring -two other possible problem sources.

On 2017-10-02 by Timothy

Hello someone please help! Turned window AC unit on and power blinked weirdly now this happened in one end of.mobile home when the power blinked a spark flew out of an outlet all the way in living room

so we turned all power off for a few turned back on everything seemed ok and a few hours later 80 or more percent of power went out on our house we tinkered with breakers on/off etc and got some things working but it we for instance open the fridge and the light comes on the kitchen.light will dim till fridge is closed the lights are all crazy acting

we did change a breaker as we thought it could be the problem and it made things a little better not much someone please give us some accual good tip to go off of we are using a generator at moment our mobile.home is a 87 edgewood

On 2017-09-29 by Anonymous - we lost power to one side of the house and only certain kitchen areas

We have a mobile home where we lost power to one side of the house and only certain kitchen areas. In the kitchen we lost the connection to the fridge, stove, microwave. We had a coffee maker, kureg, water cooler and toaster plugged in and what was really weird was only the coffee maker would work.

We checked the breakers and none of them were blown. Any ideas?

On 2017-09-21 by Richard - Crossover connectors in Jacobson 2004 mobile home

The two electrical halves of my Jacobson 2004 are connected by wires, secred by wirenuts and dangleing below the sub floor. A water connection is located next to them and had ruptured, spraying water on the majority of the wires. We discovered this looking at an A/C duct issue.

Turned the power off and fixed the leak but my question is, was this an appropriate way to make the connection of the 2 halves.

On 2017-09-14 by (mod) - overloaded kitchen circuits in mobile home?

some of the possibilities that occurred to me include that you are simply overloading the kitchen circuit with too many things plugged in, or something that's being plugged in is defective and has an internal short circuit, or the circuit itself has been damaged And is unsafe.

another possibility considering the age of your home is that you have aluminum electrical wiring installed. These are questions to ask your electrician. Meanwhile I would be safest to leave the kitchen circuit turned off.

I know that's quite inconvenient but I'm worried about the possibility of a fire. Usually in a kitchen at least to the refrigerator is on a separate circuit and lighting is on a separate circuit from the electrical outlets or receptacles. So it may be that you can keep the refrigerator and lights running without having to use an extension cord.

On 2017-09-14 by Mrs.Thompson - the electrical in the kitchen keeps going out we replaced e kitchen breakers about 3

I have a 1974 single wide 2 bedroom 1 bath acae mobile home that the electrical in the kitchen keeps going out we replaced e kitchen breakers about 3
2 wks ago and it started up again what do i do i only lose power in the kitchen

On 2017-09-01 by (mod) - live current on the ground wire in mobile home

Blaine

When you find current on the ground wire then there is a dangerous connection between the hot (black) and ground wires.

Watch out: You should turn off that circuit to avoid getting shocked, possibly hurt or killed.

An electrician would trace the circuit looking for the problem - it could be as simple as an over-tightened wire clamp at a metal electrical box that cut into the two wires shorting hot to ground, or it could be a wiring error.

On 2017-09-01 by Blaine mccartney

Ground wire and black wire show 120 volts, half of trailer guit working.

On 2017-09-01 by (mod) - 1999 General Doublewide wiring problems

Dave,
Apologies but I do not think I have a clear and complete understanding of the circuits involved.
But what I can say is it sounds as if there are probably too many wires running off of the one switch. And that jumper to a fan - sounds as if someone added a fan and powered it off of the light switch circuit. You will want to review the whole circuit to see just what it's operating, to be sure it's not overloaded.

On 2017-08-31 by Dave

1999 General doublewide. Laundry room, back door outside light, 2 outlets on living room wall, master bath and master bedroom light and 3 additional outlets on 1 circuit. Outdoor light switch ( a single switch directly above a double switch in laundry room) arced and tripped breaker.

Went to change switch to discover 3 separate lines going to this single switch. Removed line going to outside light (putting up a self contained solar).

Left the other 2 (One was hot, the other wasn't) Opened double switch immediately below that powers interior light and exhaust fan. 4 wires going to 2 switches. 1 wire was coming from the switch above it, no power. 1 going to light, 1 to fan and 1 going down and left. None had power.

Removed dummy wire and connected hot to that location. Reconnected just as it was. Works fine but the hot goes into the fan switch, has a single " jumper " connected to light switch. Original hot is hot, but the wire going down is now hot also. Is this normal?

On 2017-06-25 by Jeremy

Also I cut all power and it still dose

On 2017-06-25 by (mod) - continuity found between electrical panel and utility room door?

What you describe is potentially dangerous and deserves help from licensed electrician who, on site, will look for damaged wiring or a hot or neutral short to ground some a grounding error.

Perhaps the door and frame of metal are connected by contact to
The home's steel frame and ground g system. But it is not normal to find current there. So we suspect a wiring fault as well, such as improper neutral connections.

On 2017-06-25 by Jeremy

Why am I getting continuity frome my inside breaker box to my utility room door it's a metal door and when I stand on my deck and grab the door it tingles my hand if I'm barefoot

On 2017-06-10 by (mod) - changed an outlet, wires won't go in

Coy

Maybe, but I'm a bit worried as I don't quite understand what you did. By "outlet" are you describing the slotted receptacle that mounts in the wall into which you plug an appliance?

If so it's best practice to strip the wires and wrap the stripped wire around the screws on the side of the receptacle. Some newer receptacles indeed have a back or side-wired clamping device that allows insertion of a short stripped end into a receiving opening after which the screw is tightened.

If you didn't remove the insulation there would be no wire-to-connector contact and the device wouldn't work.

See ELECTRICAL OUTLET, HOW TO ADD & WIRE at https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Electrical_Outlet_Installation.php

Watch out: you can be shocked or killed working on electrical wiring, and improper wiring can also cause a fire or shock someone else.

On 2017-06-10 by Coy

I changed a self contained outlet I striped the wires back an inch to get them to fit in the prongs . I didn't have a factory tool and the wire would not go in without striping . is that ok?

On 2017-04-22 by (mod) - double wide trailer for outlet says it's hot but when plugging something in it does not work

Howard I don't have a clear understanding of the situation but it sounds unsafe and it sounds as if you need an electrician to trace the circuit and make repairs. It's possible there's something as simple as a loose wire at the bad outlet or electrical box.

If the outlet (we call it also an electrical receptacle) was originally controlled by a light switch then that wiring is probably the problem. There could be a bad switch or shorted switch wires.

Watch out: the risk is fire or injury from electrical shock.

On 2017-04-22 by Howard

I live in a double wide trailer for outlet says it's hot but when plugging something in it does not work and when I try putting new outlets in the box and it's hot every thing comes on but switches won't turn it off

On 2017-04-12 by (mod) 70's trailer - I need to move breaker box

Sue

Your licensed electrician can move a circuit breaker panel however it may be necessary to keep a main switch at the present location.

This is not work that a homeowner can nor should attempt - there is risk of death by electrocution.

On 2017-04-12 by Sue

I have a 70,s trailer I need to move breaker box from one end of trailer and put it in other end.how can I do this??

On 2017-04-12 by (mod) ceiling fan won't work

An open or bad fan switch, loose wiring connection, or (less likely as the fan is probably on the room lighting circuit) a tripped circuit breaker.

On 2017-04-11 by Elsa

We plugged our trailer in (park model trailer) and everything worked but the ceiling fan in the bedroom and living room. What could be wrong?

 

On 2017-03-06 by (mod) - immediately turn OFF any circuits that are not acting properly

Charlotte

I would immediately turn OFF any circuits that are not acting properly as a short circuit or wiring error risks a building fire.

You'll need an electrician to trace the circuits involved to find where wires or connections are damaged, loose, or improperly made. Be sure the electrician also checks for aluminum electrical wiring as that's a fire hazard as well.

On 2017-03-05 by charlptte

help only have power to one wall in this mobile thats very old think problem might be wire under mobile

On 2017-02-28 by (mod) wiring service to a mobile home in dupo

Dave,

I don't really understand the layout nor situation; what about simply asking your local electrical inspector what she or he will accept?

On 2017-02-28 by Dave

I am running service for a mobile home in dupo il I am going from the pole to under the home to my box I am going to come out from the pole box with a 2in conduit under ground about 10in cause of tripping hazard when I get to under the home I am going to be still in 2in conduit but be above ground to my box Can I do it like this?

On 2017-01-22 by (mod) - Humming noise in mobile home when breaker switched on

Terry,

Watch out: Depending on exactly what is humming when a circuit breaker is on the system may be ok and normal OR very unsafe, risking shock or fire.

For example some low voltage transformers that run a heating thermostat might hum when near their end of life.

But if you hear humming at the electrical panel, at a light switch, wall receptacle, leave that electrical circuit turned OFF and call a licensed electrician for repair.

To be more safe you should also make sure that your home has working smoke detectors, properly installed and located, and that the fire exit door(s) from your home are working, operable, and not blocked.

I do not want you to be terrified by these warnings: but you do want to be safe.

We note you also commented on an obsolete copy of another of our web pages - I've copied that question to the current version of that other article at https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Building-Electrical-Systems.php where you can see it in the COMMENTS section near the end of that article.

On 2017-01-21 by Terry

1984 mobile home breaker. Is humming when turned on i switched breakers same thing?

...

Continue reading at MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING FAQs-4 - more-recently-posted questions and answers about electrical wiring in mobile homes and manufactured homes

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• DO IT YOURSELF ELECTRICAL WORK
• ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR - home
• ELECTRICAL OUTLET, HOW TO ADD & WIRE - home
• ELECTRIC LIGHT SWITCH WIRING DETAILS
• ELECTRIC PANEL INSPECTION SAFETY
• ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE CONNECTION DETAILS
• ELECTRICAL SERVICE ENTRY WIRING & AMPACITY - home
• ELECTRICAL WIRING BASICS
• MANUFACTURED HOME CROSSOVER CONNECTORS
• MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
• MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL - FLICKERING LIGHTS
• MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL GFCI DIAGNOSIS
• MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL POWER LOST
• MOBILE HOME FIRE SAFETY

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MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING FAQs-3 at InspectApedia.com- online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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