RV outlets not working but lights still work
What this usually means
This is the clearest diagnostic split in an RV. Interior lights run on 12V DC from the battery; standard outlets run on 120V AC from shore power, generator or an inverter. Lights working while outlets are dead means the DC side is healthy and the 120V side has failed — which immediately eliminates half the coach.
Check this first
Check the GFCI outlet and reset it. RV outlets are frequently daisy-chained downstream of a single GFCI — often in the bathroom, sometimes in an outside compartment — and one tripped device kills every outlet after it while the lights carry on normally.
Stop-work system
Shore-power and 120V faults — including reverse polarity and open ground at the pedestal — can energise the coach frame. Disconnect and call a technician.
Nothing below is a repair instruction for this system. What follows is what to observe and record — the work itself belongs to a technician.
Most likely causes
Ordered by how often each one turns out to be the answer, with the tell that distinguishes it.
Tripped GFCI outlet upstream of the others
most commonEverything on one circuit is dead at once; the GFCI reset button is out.
Tripped breaker in the 120V panel
commonA specific group of outlets is dead; the breaker is visibly off or mid-position.
Shore power not actually connected or delivering
commonEvery 120V item is dead. Lights run on battery so they mask the loss entirely.
Failed transfer switch
less commonThe generator runs but the coach never transfers; or shore power is present at the pedestal and nothing arrives.
Loose connection at an outlet or in the panel
less commonIntermittent, sometimes with warmth or discolouration at a receptacle.
What you can safely check
- 01
Find and reset every GFCI in the coach
There may be more than one, and they are not always where you expect — bathroom, kitchen, exterior compartment, or behind a panel. This resolves a large share of these calls outright.
- 02
Check the 120V breakers
A tripped breaker can sit in a middle position that looks set. Switch it fully off, then fully on.
- 03
Confirm shore power is actually live
Check the pedestal breaker and whether your surge protector is passing power. If your device shows a fault code, photograph it — that readout is a real measurement of the supply.
- 04
Test whether the generator restores the outlets
If the generator restores 120V but shore power does not, the fault is in the shore path — cord, pedestal, or transfer switch — rather than in the coach wiring.
What needs a technician
Anything inside the 120V panel, the transfer switch, or the wiring behind outlets. Shore-power and 120V faults can energise the coach frame, and a fault that has already misbehaved is not the one to open up yourself.
Parts typically involved
So you know what a quote should be naming. We publish no prices — real costs vary by market, season and technician, and a number we invented would look authoritative and help nobody.
- GFCI outlet
- Circuit breaker
- Automatic transfer switch
- Shore power cord or receptacle
- Individual outlets
When to stop troubleshooting
- You have felt any tingle from the coach body, step or door handle — disconnect at the pedestal and stop
- Any outlet or plug is warm, discoloured or smells hot
- A breaker will not stay set
Can you still travel?
The 12V system runs the lights, water pump and most travel-critical functions, so the coach is fully drivable. If you felt a shock from the body, that is a different matter entirely and needs resolving before the coach is used.
Common questions
- Why do the lights work if the power is out?
- Because they are on a different system. RV interior lights run on 12V DC from the house battery, which is why they keep working when you are boondocking with no hook-up at all. Outlets need 120V AC from shore power, a generator or an inverter. Losing one system leaves the other running normally, which is confusing the first time it happens and is actually excellent diagnostic information.
- Where is the GFCI I cannot find?
- The usual hiding places are the bathroom, behind a kitchen splashback, inside an exterior utility compartment, or behind a removable panel near the entry. It is worth locating it once and remembering where it is — this fault recurs, and knowing the answer turns a service call into a ten-second reset.
Related failures
For the whole system rather than this one symptom, see RV electrical diagnostics.
Next step
Work through structured triage for this system and you will end up with a written service brief: what you observed, in what order, and what has not been established yet. It is the document that lets a technician quote properly instead of guessing on arrival.
Being straight about what this is. No technician is signed to any territory yet — not one. We do not match you, dispatch anyone, or promise a call. What you get is the brief, and a request form that copies it to us so we know the demand is real. If you need someone today, take the brief and send it to a local technician directly; it works just as well that way.