Shore power runs your charger, heat and appliances at the dock. When it trips, won't connect or burns up an inlet, BoatWired finds out why and fixes it properly. We come to your slip in a Chicago harbor or marina.
Why your boat trips the pedestal
Many marinas now protect their docks with ground-fault protection on the shore power pedestals. This protection is designed to cut power when current leaks out of the boat's wiring instead of returning through it. A boat with a small fault can work fine on an older dock, then trip immediately at a protected one.
Common causes:
- A neutral and ground tied together somewhere on board, often inside an old charger, inverter or water heater
- Moisture or corrosion in an outlet, appliance or connection
- An appliance with an internal fault
- Incorrect wiring from a past repair or addition
We test the boat's AC system for leakage to ground and isolate the fault circuit by circuit, so you get a fix instead of a workaround.
Why it matters in fresh water
Current leaking into fresh water creates a serious shock hazard for anyone in the water near the boat, which is the danger called electric shock drowning. Fresh water is more dangerous than salt water here. That's why ground-fault protection exists, and why a tripping pedestal should be fixed rather than bypassed.
What we repair and install
- Inlets and cords: heat-damaged or corroded shore power inlets, plugs and cord sets, replaced with properly rated parts.
- Polarity and wiring faults: reversed polarity, open grounds and incorrect neutral-ground connections.
- Galvanic isolators and isolation transformers: protection against galvanic corrosion carried over the shore power ground.
- AC panels and breakers: main breakers, panel wiring and circuit protection.
- Adapters and upgrades: 30A and 50A setups, done safely instead of with improvised adapters.
Request a quote and tell us what happens when you plug in, and at which harbor.