Inverter Problem

[WBDAvis422]

I have a 2019 FR Wildcat 290RL 5th Wheel. I have a LG Residential Refrigerator. I was told by the salesman that the unit had an inverter that would run the refrigerator on my battery for a short amount of time while travelling. As soon as I turn off the shore power the refrigerator is off. I have looked all around the battery compartment and on the roof of the compartment of an Inverter thinking that it might just be turned off. I cannot find the inverter. I have searched all over the coach. I am hoping another Wildcat Owner can tell me where the inverter might be installed. Thanks in advance,
Bill

[007matman]

Is your battery switch on? Do you have a battery?

[ScottBrownstein]

Battery and inverter must be on. If that doesn't suffice, the GFCI on the inverter probably needs to be reset. You need to find it. Look in the basement under or near the reefer or the cabinets next to the reefer.

[CHICKDOE]

check to see how the large battery cables are wired to the battery. if there are two positives they probably go to the inverter and converter. trace them and you'll find the inverter. it is probably within 5 feet or so of the battery. probably but not guaranteed. or you may have a combination converter / inverter. look closely at the converter to see if it is a combination converter / inverter.

[WBDAvis422]

Thanks very much for the responses.

007Matman – Yes, the battery switch is on and I do have a battery.

ScottBrownstein – I have looked in all of the compartments with special attention to the front compartment and have not been able to find the Inverter.

CHICKDOE – I believe that the battery only has one cable attached. My camper is in storage and I will check it again this afternoon.

Thanks again for your help. I think I am going to end up taking the coach back to LazyDays for a few minor issues (holding tank lights are connected to the wrong tanks) and I will of course report that my inverter is not working. I am sure I will feel silly when they show me where the inverter is located and it is simply turned off or the GFCI is tripped.

[AquaMan]

My inverter has a remote switch inside the coach. First time out, I forgot about the switch.

[WBDAvis422]

Can you advise where the remote switch is located?

[CHICKDOE]

i don't know where you converter, inverter, or converter/inverter is located. but many inverters have some indicator lights and status displays on them that show the status of how they are operating (or not). i would want these visable. not behind a wall.

also, many inverters have a remote switch that allows you to turn them on/off from inside without having to go outside and access the inverter itself. do you have a switch inside. it will probably have a light on it that comes on when the inverter is on.

are there any access panels in the walls near the battery compartment. if so it might be behind.

where does the battery cable go once it leaves the battery terminals? the inverter is going to be somewhere on those cables? it is a high draw device mounting near the batteries allows for smaller cable gauges. on our trailer the cable leaves the battery and then it splits into two runs. one to the converter and fuse panel, and a direct run to the converter. not saying yours is the same.

one last approach would be to see if you can follow the ac power line from the refrigerator back to the inverter.

[Chascin]

On my 32WB Wildcat the inverter is located on the ceiling of the basement pass through.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by WBDAvis422

I have a 2019 FR Wildcat 290RL 5th Wheel. I have a LG Residential Refrigerator. I was told by the salesman that the unit had an inverter that would run the refrigerator on my battery for a short amount of time while travelling. As soon as I turn off the shore power the refrigerator is off. I have looked all around the battery compartment and on the roof of the compartment of an Inverter thinking that it might just be turned off. I cannot find the inverter. I have searched all over the coach. I am hoping another Wildcat Owner can tell me where the inverter might be installed. Thanks in advance,
Bill

Being told by the salesman is not always reassuring.

Take a look at the wires connected to the battery. If there is an inverter installed somewhere the wires should be a lot larger than what's usually used as battery wires. Most common wire size seems to be #8 awg and the wire diameter (less insulation) is a little over 1/8" (.1285").

Something larger like #4 is just under 1/4" (.2043") which would make more sense if there's an inverter installed to run the refrigerator. (even larger wire if the inverter was meant to run other appliances like the microwave).

First step is to find the inverter. Hopefully there is one installed and you aren't the victim of "the salesman told me".

[WBDAvis422]

Thanks again CHICKDOE, Chascin, and TitanMike. I will swing by my storage facility this afternoon and look once more for my Inverter. I will advise any updates. Have a great day.

[CHICKDOE]

Look for the on/off switch also

[WBDAvis422]

I just wanted to report on the end result. I took my 2019 FR Wildcat back to the Tampa LazyDays RV Center where I purchased the coach. I informed them that I could not locate the inverter and therefore I could not turn it on which caused the residential refrigerator to stop running while travelling. Turns out that my unit made it through Forest River Quality Control without ever having an inverter installed. Lazy Days was awesome about it and they installed a new 1000 Watt Inverter in my coach along with an extra battery and it was all covered under warranty. Just a tip for those of you purchasing a new coach with a residential fridge, when you do your walk thru inspection, you might want to unplug the shore power and make sure that the residential fridge is running on the inverter. I did not think about that during our walk-thru inspection. Lazy Days and Forest River were awesome in fixing the problem and I am a very happy camper. While it was there, I also installed 4 New Good Year Endurance tires for an added measure of safety. Happy Camping Everyone.

[CHICKDOE]

amazing!!!!

kudos to LazyDays!