Reverse Polarity Light on & off

[DougR]

My Paneltronics 120v electrical panel is equipped with a reverse polarity light. When I connect the shore power cable and turn on the main 30 amp breaker all is good.....RP light remains off. Turn on the breaker for the hot water heater or battery charger, still good with the RP light off. Turn on the breakers for 120v outlets, both port & stb., still good. Plug devices into the outlets such as light bulbs or resistive items like solder gun, still good.
But, if I plug in a device with an electric motor, such as a vacuum cleaner, space heater with fan or heat gun with blower, the RP light comes on.
Is this normal? If not, give me some hints of where to look. Tks!

[JanH]

Plugging in a device with a motor (a reactive load, rather than a purely resistive load like a water heater) will cause a phase shift between the voltage and current waveforms in the AC circuit, which for some reason is causing the RP 'light' to turn on. I wouldn't worry about it...

[smac999]

a bad neutral connection will cause the light to dimly light as load increases.

you need to measure the voltage of the 3 incoming wires at the panel when this is happening to know what's going on.