Inverter troubles

[bikerduo]

Good Morning.
We've had many problems with our 2011 Sunseeker3120, which i''m sure is the norm for new vehicles, this one so far is mind boggling.
The house batteries not keeping a charge. the TV would shut off. Prior to shutting off, 1st you would hear beeping, three beeps or four, then TV shuts off. Repair people in checking things over, telling us it was the low charge from batteries, to charge them up and everything looks ok. So, you charge them and ok for awhile, same thing again. I should add that we've been coming here to Florida for the last three tears with the same problem. Don't do much long rv'ing during the summer months, 2 - 3 days per month. This time, coming thru Indiana, hit some bad roads and found battery power to Furnace, fridge and HW not working for long. Batteries not charged up. They'd be down to 7-8. Anyways, 2 repair people called in, first one said could possibly a dead cell in batteries! Went to Battery Source, had them checked out and said they were ok. Batteries lasted maybe 6 hrs. So, back to battery source and bought 2 new batteries, installed, they lasted part way thru the night. Talked to worker at the RV resort who led me to another repair person. So, charged them up thru the weekend and then the other repair fellow came by.

He came in, checked things over and found that the receptacle on the back side of the fuse panel, where the converter was plugged into, had no power. The black wire was out of the receptacle box, and the white wire was loose. Could this have been that way right from the factory! Black wire was out of the block and white side loose. Tightened them up, plugged converter into the receptacle, fan started and it started running. Great, everything running again. That was Jan 6th.

Last night, got home, turned TV on for the news, started coffee maker, then the wife heard those famous beeps (inverter), TV shut off. So, I checked the house panel, batteries showing full charge, then checked at the batteries, ok. One point they showed 14.41, then checked again, at 13.54. Batteries ok. We started shutting things off, and found that when the furnace would come on, 10-15 later, yup, the TV shut down.

Anyways, at the moment, we have a stand up heater on when we're watching the tube, and the furnace off.

At the moment, looking to see if anyone has had this type of issue and or possibly a fix.

thanks for listening

Gary

[caper]

Are you talking about the onboard converter or an inverter. The converter reduces 120 volt to 12 volt and will charge the battery if working properly. An inverter chances 12 volt to 120 volt and works off the batteries.

[bikerduo]

The 1st problem was the power to the converter. But the issue now is with the TV shutting off. I then have to go and push the remote circuit breaker switch from the inverter. The inverter is under the kitchen sink, area, with the remote switch located near the entrance step area off of cabinet wall base.
The manual shows that the 7Amp circuit breaker protects the model from overload. When overload condition exists, the circuit breaker stops to supply output AC grid power. To reset, push the circuit breaker switch and then the model will be back to a normal operation, the source fault should be corrected prior to reset. This is what i'm going to have to look for!

I have the WF-600T power inverter Series

[KMP44]

When you had the trouble with the TV shutting off, were you plugged in to 120v shorepower, or was the inverter supplying your 120V from the battery?

With only a 600W inverter it wouldn't be that hard to overload it and trip the breaker if that is supplying all of your 120V power.

[bikerduo]

No. I'm plugged into shore power here at the resort. One would think you could run a few appliances with no problem! I'll have to figure out what's being used and keep a note on how much can be used!

[ironj]

maybe i dont understan MH electrics vs 5er/tt electrics, but why are you using inverter power for tv if you are plugged into shore power??

shore power at 15amp most likely should have NO issue running your tv....(and furnace, and converter, and such)

is there a transfer switch?...it seems as though even though you are plugged into shore power you are trying to run all the 120 off inverter and draining the batteries and/or overloading the invertor...which at 600 watts would not be terribly difficult...?

im curious, to see what you figure out

[bikerduo]

Well, i'm not into electronics myself, just told that the main power switch should be switched to the on position (shore line) until we finish the season. The one problem we found a few weeks ago, was that the wires going into the receptacle on the back of the fuse panel, used for the converter were not tightened down, and the black wire was not connected and white was loose. The black wire may have finally come out of receptacle by the rough roads in Indiana on our way to Florida. Also, we were

Maybe the TV, which is the entertainment center, should be plugged in somewhere else! As far as a transfer switch, none that I know of.

Would be nice to know what exactly should be done as far as setting up for the winter in an RV park!

[ironj]

I can see the loose converter wires causing all kinds of issues....but u say they are fixed....

It still remains to me a mystery why u have anything at all running off the inverter?..the converter 12v/battery runs your heater/fan/lights.....try plugging the tv into a diff outlet?...

Or if possible disable the inverter and see what does/does not work...?

Hmmmmm

sent from fat fingers with no regard to grammer via a space dish thingy

[bikerduo]

I will try that out. Now, I just have to take the TV down from the Center unit! I'm still smiling though.

[RvBill3]

The TV in our 2012 Sunseeker is 12 volt. Has a cigarette lighter plug. No inverter anywhere in the MH. Are you sure the problem is with an inverter? If the wires you mentioned on the converter were loose/disconnected, then the battery would not be charging when parked. Eventually everything using 12 volts could have problems, including a 12 volt TV, especially if you have many things going at once that use 12 volts (like the furnace).

As for a transfer switch, if you have a generator, you have a transfer switch. On the 2300 it is located under the bed. Provides shore power unless generator is started, then transfers to generator automatically as source of 120 volt power. Other than a "click" when it transfers, you wouldn't know it is there.

If reconnecting the wires to the converter hasn't solved the problem, I would look at the converter itself to see if it is working properly.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by bikerduo

I will try that out. Now, I just have to take the TV down from the Center unit! I'm still smiling though.

Try an extension cord while you troubleshoot.

[bikerduo]

Hello again.
Yesterday, I took down the TV, and found that the electrical outlet behind the tv is tied into that inverter, If inverter reset button powered off, then there's no tv, no power on the radio entertainment center receptacle & no power to the receptacle above the couch. I haven't got right in the overhead area, but these three are tied in to each other and now to find where from!
Far as the inverter power, I plugged the TV into a receptacle by the fridge and works perfect without the inverter.

[ironj]

Thats interesting. And may well be why your coverter cant keep up with the battery discharge rate from the inverter....maybe someone familiar with your exact model will chime in!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[bikerduo]

Yes, that would be nice.

thanks again

[osgood]

Had a similar problem with my brothers camper... Bad Power-supply for the converter/charger... Are the batteries fully charged?

[bgilly]

I'm still confused since you mention an inverter for the television so I assume the television is a 120 volt that you are powering with an inverter (inverter will make a beeping sound when power drops too low).
Since you also mention you are on shore power the 120 volt supplied to the coach from the power panel is fine. It seems the trouble is the 12 volt. You replaced the batteries and found a lose connection for the power supply to the converter. I believe you have been mislead by the measurement of 13+ volts at the batteries. Batteries with no load are quick to recover the voltage without a charge and no load. Check the voltage of the batteries with a load on them. If the batteries are indeed low then the problem still lies with the converter. Could be a blown fuse (this will typically happen when positive from the converter contacts ground or reverse polarity). Since you seem to have "some" 12 volt (could be just lower draw off the battery) you might also have a fuse blown in the 12 distribution panel. You can tell an open fuse at the panel with the illumination of the LED next to the fuse.
Basically you have 3 power sources on the coach; 120 volt from shore power,12 volt from the battery, and 12 volt from the converter. Check each separately.

[garbonz]

Whew, this is making me dizzy.