Georgetown 378XL Xantrex Inverter

[jbrucemagon]

Love the residential refrig in my 2013 378XL. It's hummed along for the year and a half since we owned it. But the other day, it stopped humming. Removed panel under pantry and saw no fan moving. Pulled up floor to cabinet in bathroom and checked GFCI switch. Unit is on. Displaying 00.0 and 13.5. Showing a green light above LED display. How do I know if it's working? Kill shore power? Should it kick in? I tried that. No action. Help would be appreciated. BTW, always leave inverter on (we're full-timers).

[georgew48]

Why do you always leave the inverter on? The only time you should need it is when you are not connected to 110 power either thru the campground or the generator.

[jbrucemagon]

I leave on the inverter based on recommendations from the forum. In case of a power failure and we're out for the day, inverter would kick in and keep everything humming.

[georgew48]

Makes sense. I am going to install an auto start for my generator because we leave our little four legged son in the coach when we are out doing our work camp job. That way it will keep the a/c going and the refer.

[georgew48]

Back to your original question. Yes it should kick in if you pull external power. Have you tried unplugging it and plugging back in? Check for a reset switch or blown fuse. Not sure when you bought it but I think it has a two year warranty plus if you have an extended warranty it should be covered. You may have already checked all these things but dosen't hurt to check again. Good luck and hope you find the answer.

[AquaMan]

On our first trip out in our 364, I forgot to turn on the inverter for the fridge. 7 hours later and it was just as cold as when we left.

[wrapperman]

Need more info.
What was showing 00.0 and 13.5?
Did the fridge interior light come on when you opened the door?
There is a GFCI on the inverter itself that may have tripped.
You could also use a volt meter to test the fridge plug to see if it is getting 120 volts

[toolman_57]

Originally Posted by wrapperman

Need more info.
What was showing 00.0 and 13.5?
Did the fridge interior light come on when you opened the door?
There is a GFCI on the inverter itself that may have tripped.
You could also use a volt meter to test the fridge plug to see if it is getting 120 volts

Agree. The inverter display will show the voltage even if the inverter's gfi is tripped.

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by wrapperman

Need more info.
What was showing 00.0 and 13.5?
Did the fridge interior light come on when you opened the door?
There is a GFCI on the inverter itself that may have tripped.
You could also use a volt meter to test the fridge plug to see if it is getting 120 volts

the Xantrex says that the battery voltage is 13.5 and there is no current flowing. That means that the converter is running (13.6 is the float voltage of the converter and is significantly above what the battery would yield alone) and the 0.00 says that it is not supplying any current and is at idle. That too is not surprising since the transfer switch would have switched the reefer over to AC and dropped the inverter. The GFI on the inverter has nothing to do in this mode and if it is popped the reefer would run anyway from shore power. Check your circuit breaker for the reefer in the AC panel. If that is OK then you need to find out why the reefer isn't running since it is being powered.

If you disconnect the shore power, the transfer switch will attempt to switch the reefer back to the Xantrex and perhaps it will run. If so the 0.00 will go up to the reefer load and the 13.5 will drop down to 12.6 or lower. I would do that test after you confirm that the panel breaker for the reefer is on.

If the Xantrex doesn't start supplying power to the reefer and the GFI is reset, it has to be the reefer itself or the transfer switch which is a small black box that is plugged into the Inverter and has two additional cables. One goes to the reefer and the other goes to the AC panel. There are no serviceable parts inside the switch as it is simply a relay. I don't remember a fuse and it is rated at 15 amps at 120 volts.

You can plug something else into the GFI to confirm that the xantrex is working, but the symptoms that you are describing do not match a bad inverter.

[jbrucemagon]

Really good info, wrapperman. None of the breakers are tripped in the panel, the GFCI switch was tested and reset, the inverter shows green. The reefer is operating. But I hear no fan or hum that I've been hearing from the inverter always. I would think the fan only operates when the inverter is operating. If batteries are fully charged and I'm plugged into shore power, the fan shouldn't be running right? Now, I need to shut off the shore power and see if the transfer switch sends power to the inverter.

[dutch]

George how are you installing a auto start to gen? What is all involved with that? I have been thinking of doing that because we sometimes leave Buddy in there when we go out and I always say what happens if we loose power to the coach while we are out.

Thanks

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by jbrucemagon

Really good info, wrapperman. None of the breakers are tripped in the panel, the GFCI switch was tested and reset, the inverter shows green. The reefer is operating. But I hear no fan or hum that I've been hearing from the inverter always. I would think the fan only operates when the inverter is operating. If batteries are fully charged and I'm plugged into shore power, the fan shouldn't be running right? Now, I need to shut off the shore power and see if the transfer switch sends power to the inverter.

Correct. The fan in the inverter won't operate unless it is necessary and since you are on shore power the inverter is idling and dissipating no power it isn't necessary as the idle current is pretty low. When you disconnect the shore power it should pick up the reefer as long as the transfer switch is working and then you should get a significant power dissipation number (in kilowatts) and the fan may periodically operate.

[wrapperman]

Jbruce, please clarify something. Are you only concerned that the inverter is not "humming"? I am confusing the "fan humming" with the reefer fan or the inverter fan.
If so and your reefer works with shore power connected or disconnected then we know the inverter and transfer switch is working.
As Scott was saying the inverter fan should operate only when needed to keep the inverter cool.
I keep my "green inverter light" illuminated all the time.

[jbrucemagon]

I am only concerned because the inverter has been humming/buzzing since we've owned it - for a year and a half. When it stopped humming/buzzing, I got concerned and thus started the search. When I disconnected shore power, the reefer continued running. That's a good sign. And it might be possible that the fan itself has quit. I get that if the inverter is not hot, it won't need to run the fan. But it's run continuously for a year and a half.

[wrapperman]

Your smart to be aware of these things.
Happy camping.