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Old 03-21-2017, 11:39 AM   #1
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Transfer switch

On our Isata 3, our back 4 electrical outlets intermittently work.

1. We replaced the rear GFI outlet - thinking it was stopping the entire circuit from working. Still same issue.

Here's some new clues:
1. When just using the inverter - it works intermittently.
2. When plugged in - it always works.

So we're thinking it must be the transfer switch?

Bob - am I in the right track? I think this may be where the issue lies. If so, can you direct me to where the transfer switch is located?

Thanks a million!
Jason
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Old 03-21-2017, 07:32 PM   #2
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you need to clarify a bit. normally when someone says transfer switch they mean the switch that switches ac power between the external shore power supply and the internal generator. you mentioned shore power and inverter, no generator. the term inverter refers to a device that takes dc battery power an inverts it to ac power that can be used by normal ac powered devices.






now here it get a bit confusing. if you have an ac powered device that you want run via an inverter when shore power is not available (such as a residential refrigerator)you need a method of switching the power source from shore power to inverter power. (note that generator is not involved). they make small transfer switches that switch between shore power and inverter power. or many inverters actually have this function built into them. so the clarification needed is to define what you mean be transfer switch. are you trying switch the outlets between shore power and generator power or between shore power and inverter power (using batteries as the power source).
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:31 PM   #3
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Thank you for the thoughtful reply. Yes we are trying to make that circuit work on the inverter. It always works on the generator. My prognosis was I the AC to inverter transfer switch was faulty. Maybe I'm wrong? I'm trying to do root-cause analysis based on the symptoms.
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Old 03-21-2017, 09:15 PM   #4
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ok, you are trying to use a circuit that can be powered by shore power or the inverter. there must be a mechanism to switch between the two. some have a small transfer switch that plugs into both shore power and the inverter and switches the output between the two. others have a built in shore power pass through feature feeds shore power to the inverter output if shore power is present. in both cases they will use shore power if it is available and only use the battery when shore power is not present. inverters have a safety feature that shuts them down when the battery voltage gets below a specified voltage. this is to keep them from fully depleting the batteries. you may be experiencing the inverter shutting down due to low battery. there may or may not be some form of error message on the inverter panel or some blinking lights to indicate the reason for the shutdown. verify via the inverters owners manual. the only other thing I could think of was loose electrical connections involving the inverter and / or the cables going into it or out of it.
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Old 03-22-2017, 10:03 AM   #5
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^^That^^. If it works all the time plugged into shore power, then it is not the outlets and probably not the wiring.

IF it is cutting in and out when running on the inverter, it is only a 1000 watt inverter. So the batteries or low, or you re plugging too much stuff into the inverter. Don't forget, that inverter powers the TV outlets too. So if you have both TV's on, those are drawing power from the inverter. If you plug one or to things in, you could be overloading it....which will then shut down. I think it is an auto reset fuse. I think we test a hair drying. On high, the inverter would cut out. Drop it to low and the inverter would pop back on.

What are you plugging in?
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Old 03-23-2017, 12:07 PM   #6
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Hi Bob!
Thanks for replying to my post. Let me clarrify - We turn on the inverter and the circuit in question (the one under the bed) does'nt work at all (sometimes it will though). All we do is turn on the inverter (nothing else on all circuits is plugged in) on. We then plug a small 10 watt light into the outlet under the bed and the plug is dead. Keeping the inverter on, I then plug the same light into the kitchen outlet and it works fine. If this is related to the inverter, then why would only one circuit work (intermittently) and the others always work?
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Old 03-23-2017, 12:44 PM   #7
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Just a heads up, the whole coach is not inverted. Because its only a 1000W inverter only some of the outlets are inverted. In most cases the kitchen outlet and the TV's. I don't think the bed base outlets are inverted. So yes it would work when plugged in and on gen power but not if its only the inverter on. You could have it rewired to add that outlet if you needed it. Or if you can use the USB portion, which is 12V natively.
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Old 03-23-2017, 03:02 PM   #8
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OK I'll bite!. you say you turn on the inverter and the circuit under the bed does not work, but sometimes it does. nothing else is plugged in. are you sure that circuit under the bed does or did work solely on the inverter? could it be possible that you were plugged into shore power (or generator) when it worked? I was at our trailer today doing maintenance tasks and looked at our inverter. it has two output receptacles. is it possible that your inverter has two (or multiple) output receptacles that are protected by separate circuit breakers or fuses? is it possible that the kitchen circuit and the under bed circuit from the inverter are separate and a fuse or circuit breaker has tripped? does the circuit under the bed run also on shore power or solely on the inverter? if so, there must be a transfer switch for it somewhere that may not be working. if none of the above then there must be a loose wire connection somewhere. but all of this is based upon you being absolutely sure that the under bed receptacle did actually run off the inverter in the past.
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Old 03-23-2017, 03:29 PM   #9
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Easy check is plug in that light, fire up the generator. if it lights up, its a working circuit that just isn't connected to the inverter. (which is what I am guessing). If it still doesn't work, we need the mystery machine.
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