Converter Problems - Whats your thoughts?

[rwtdct]

I was recently on a trip. While plugged into a 30 amp plug (RV is 30 amp) I was running air con. coffee maker and my wife had here blow dryer going. All of a sudden we lost power (we had battery power only) I checked the breakers, none tripped. I have power where the 30 amp plug wires go into the converter none coming out at the breakers. I fired up my on board generator (toy hauler) approx. 30 seconds later I have full power. I turned the generator off no power again. I pulled the breaker box converter out of the wall to check it out. I am not sure what I did but I went and plugged the 30 amp cord back in and I have power again. I installed the breaker converter box back in its spot. I turn the air con. back on left for several hours and came back to the same problem.

Does this sound like a bad converter?

[Skyliner]

You weren't very specific in post as to what power you lose, DC or AC or both? A bad converter shouldn't affect A/C power; even it it went bellyup and shorted a braker should have blown leaving the rest of camper with A/C power.

I'm thinking the coffee pot and A/C exceeded a breaker capacity. Could one have been partially blown?

[HONDAMAN174]

No. Converters just change 120 to 12v. Sound like a breaker issue either at pedistial or inside your unit or you have a power management system kicking off due to low voltage.


2014 Evo 2850 "Woodstock"
2011 Toyota Tundra "Clifford"

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by rwtdct

I was recently on a trip. While plugged into a 30 amp plug (RV is 30 amp) I was running air con. coffee maker and my wife had here blow dryer going.

You definitely exceeded 30 amps with those three items. You should have tripped either the RV's main breaker or the campgrounds pedestals 30 amp breaker.

These links may help you understand what you can have on (and thus must have off) in order to live within your 30 amp threshold. We all have to learn this eventually.

Also remember that Watts= Voltage X amps

or better yet that amps= watts/divided by volts

A 1500 watt hair dryer needs 12.5 amps just by itself.
12.5 amps = 1500watts/120 volts

Basic RV Electricity - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

and this will give you a better understanding of what the converter actually does

RV Converters and Amp Draw - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

Hope it helps

I do wonder about the campground pedestal. Did you turn off the circuit breaker and back on when you say you disconnected and reconnected after everything went off. You may have just tripped the breaker in the campground pedestal, and thus reset it when you were disconnecting/reconnecting your RV's power cord if you flipped it off and then back on....as you should have when disconnecting the cord.

Also campground pedestal breakers get weak over time from RV'ers exceeding their max potential and just the amount of times they are switched on/off. They may trip at less than 30 amps.

[rwtdct]

Originally Posted by TonyD

You weren't very specific in post as to what power you lose, DC or AC or both? A bad converter shouldn't affect A/C power; even it it went bellyup and shorted a braker should have blown leaving the rest of camper with A/C power.

I'm thinking the coffee pot and A/C exceeded a breaker capacity. Could one have been partially blown?

I stated I had battery power only that would be DC. NO AC

I plug into shore power (at home now) 118.4 volts all the way to the breakers. No breaker is tripped. Why am I not getting power to Air con., Microwave, GFI, outlets.

Here is another thing. I turn my generator on and I am back to full power. So why do I have power with my on board generator not shore power?

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by rwtdct

I stated I had battery power only that would be DC. NO AC

I plug into shore power (at home now) 118.4 volts all the way to the breakers. No breaker is tripped. Why am I not getting power to Air con., Microwave, GFI, outlets.

Here is another thing. I turn my generator on and I am back to full power. So why do I have power with my on board generator not shore power?

Sounds like you have a stuck or bad transfer switch. it has absolutely nothing to do with your converter. The transfer switch is stuck in the generator mode and won't switch back to shore power. Perhaps the contacts are arched over or bad, perhaps something else. Interesting that it take 30 seconds for your generator to come on line. This means that the relay is not stuck in generator mode but has to switch over after the 30 second delay, which is normal. The switch doesn't think you have shore power. That is where I would start to look.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Sounds like you have a stuck or bad transfer switch.

X2

This may help explain it, and also why you want to make sure the A/C is off when transferring from shore power to generator.

http://www.rvtechmag.com/electrical/chapter4.php

[rwtdct]

When I say no power I am talking AC. While having this problem I have never lost battery power DC.


So the first thing I did after my last post was to check my transfer switch. So I checked the two wire nuts connecting shore power (AC) to transfer switch, which also goes to my power inverter (its only connected when not plunged into shore power). I untwisted the nuts straighten the wires and reconnected. I plugged back into shore power and walah, I have AC power again. It doesn't make sense though. I had AC power on both sides of my breakers. Main breaker had power on one side when off and both sides when on. Other breakers had no power when main breaker was off and power when main breaker was on, but now AC power in the RV. So why would I have AC power at the breakers and no AC power in the RV, I rewire a couple wire nuts and still have AC power at the breakers and now it works again?? If it somehow reset something why would it not reset when unplugged and plugged shore power? I am puzzled.

[rwtdct]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Sounds like you have a stuck or bad transfer switch. it has absolutely nothing to do with your converter. The transfer switch is stuck in the generator mode and won't switch back to shore power. Perhaps the contacts are arched over or bad, perhaps something else. Interesting that it take 30 seconds for your generator to come on line. This means that the relay is not stuck in generator mode but has to switch over after the 30 second delay, which is normal. The switch doesn't think you have shore power. That is where I would start to look.

I was hooked up to shore power when the problem started. Going through the process of elimination I decided to try the generator and it worked. There has always been an approx. 30 second delay after turning the generator on. I did get it going but I am still puzzled. Read my post above this one.

Thanks for all replies, If anyone else may have suggestion what it may please reply.

I am pretty mechanically inclined in all aspects, common sense would say don't go from shore power to generator with A/C, microwave, blow dryer, power tools etc. or visa versa.

[HONDAMAN174]

What is your voltage at the power cable where it comes into your unit? Is there a 12 x 6 black box that says electrical management on it?


2014 Evo 2850 "Woodstock"
2011 Toyota Tundra "Clifford"

[Bama Rambler]

Since you said that you had power to the connector on the side of the RV when this happened, and you pulled the converter/power panel in the RV out and put it back, My bet is that it's a loose connection at the power distribution panel. Possibly at the main breaker. However it could be a loose connection at the internal plug connections.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by rwtdct

I stated I had battery power only that would be DC. NO AC

I plug into shore power (at home now) 118.4 volts all the way to the breakers. No breaker is tripped. Why am I not getting power to Air con., Microwave, GFI, outlets.

Here is another thing. I turn my generator on and I am back to full power. So why do I have power with my on board generator not shore power?

Pretty sure that if you could run on your Generator and not on shore power, that you just blew a probably already weak Pedestal breaker. When you unplugged and plugged back in I ASSUME you used the correct process and turned breaker off then plugged back in and then TURNED ON. That reset the breaker and most flip only a fraction of an inch so it is easy to miss that the breaker has blown. You are fine, the pedestal maybe not. Calibrate the Wife NO HAIR DRYER with the AC on and remember that a coffee pot is an electric heater so high draw. We stick with a percolator but seems that some here have posted that they run a separate line out the side of the slide to the 20 amp plug on the pedestal for coffee pot or space heater to keep that load off the trailer system. Also remember that the Electric on your water heater is a big draw as well. So if AC then NO HAIR DRYER and NO ELECTRIC WATER HEATER

[rwtdct]

Thanks for all responses. I was out drinking coffee with the fellows when she (the wife) said, we just lost power (AC). Had I known she had the blow drier on I would have shut a couple things off. 99.9% of the time we are dry camping and are on solar with a 2500 watt power inverter. Not to often my generator comes on. I'll drip my coffee in the morning then coffee goes in a SS pot on the stove to keep it warn. She knows not to use a blow drier, heater etc. while the coffee pot is on. She figured while hooked up to shore power we could run everything in the house.


Thanks for all responses. I am still puzzles not seeing a breaker tripped. I am thinking the points or needle in the transfer switch.