Electrical problems

RoamingEngineer · 08-03-2010, 04:16 PM

So the inverter was acting odd since we took delivery of the coach. I talked to Magnum on the phone and took some meter readings for them. They said the inverter had a problem so I they sent me to the local Magnum warranty center in Central Florida.

These guys were top notch and really did a great job getting me back on the road. If you ever need work on inverter / electrical issues in Orlando, it's Southeast Power Systems of Orlando.

I also noticed yesterday that I had melting wires in the box for my Automatic Transfer Switch. The people at SE Power Systems said it was probably due to loose connections. The box itself had started to melt and had the problem continued, could have resulted in a fire.

The Inverter was swapped out by Magnum at no cost to me. The transfer switch I had to pay for but Forest River said they'd reimburse me.

tmmar · 08-03-2010, 04:56 PM

Wow- glad to hear that everything was taken care of before it started an electrical fire. Hope that you don't have any further problems.

RoamingEngineer · 08-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Thanks. Today was a good day. I got all the known kinks worked out. While the power guys were working on the inverter, I also found a coolant leak.

I got a low coolant light on the way home from the dealer but thought that the factory had probably not filled the surge tank as full as they should. The light only came on when I was braking or accelerating so I figured they filled it to the bare minimum when it was level. I bought some extra coolant to carry with me and to top of the tank that I thought the manufacturer didn't.

Well, when I pulled out the generator to start it for the power guys, I noticed the top of the generator was all wet. I've noticed this before and figured this was just condensation from the cab AC unit until I wiped it off with some paper towel and noticed the fluid was pink. I smelled it and it was coolant. I realized the coolant from the radiator is circulated through the heater core at the front. The rubber pipe that goes into the heater core had an adjustable hose clamp that wasn't tightened down enough and coolant was oozing out when the pressure built up in the system.

Fixed that when I got home and looking forward to a weekend of trouble free camping with the kids at Fort Wilderness.

tmmar · 08-04-2010, 09:37 AM

Engineer,
Hopefully everything will behave for you. Have you been to Fort Wilderness before? If not I think you will really enjoy it. We go there every February with our kids (35 & 32) and their families (4 soon to be 5) grand children. Hope you have a great trip. Let us know how everything goes.
ps- where are you travelling to Disney from?

RoamingEngineer · 08-04-2010, 09:58 AM

We've been to Disney a zillion times but never Ft. Wilderness.

This is just a short weekend trip for us to try to work out more bugs.

We live in North East Orlando near the University of Central Florida so this is a REALLY short trip for us.

We'll take some bigger trips when were confident the bugs are worked out.

I think we'll be heading to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. Probably stay at Stone Mountain.

My brother works for the airlines in Salt Lake City so that may be our first big trip over the Christmas break.

Dbt803 · 08-05-2010, 10:14 AM

Have a great weekend.

cfsoistman · 08-05-2010, 11:47 AM

We didn't lose the transfer switch just a lug that fried from the neutral on the cord not being properly tightened. I cut the cord back until I found non-discolored copper wire, about a foot and used one of the other spare lugs to reconnect. My Inverter had started to show a low AC Input Warning on the Monitor Panel. Glad to hear it wasn't too severe. I've made a habit out of checking those connections every time we go somewhere.

RoamingEngineer · 08-05-2010, 02:43 PM

My wires were fried too. The terminal blocks in the ATS had gotten hot enough to melt and burn the plastic fins that separate them from each other.

My wires were fried back far enough that they could no longer reach the ATS. The SEPS guys put a junction box behind the wall where the ATS is and spliced in new wires from there. The good thing is that if I ever fry another ATS, replacement will be very easy. Just run new wires from the junction box and put in the new ATS.

I plan to check the ATS bolts regularly too.

revrnd · 08-05-2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoamingEngineer

I think we'll be heading to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. Probably stay at Stone Mountain.

I checked out the aquarium when I was visiting friends in Suwannee (east of Atlanta) in '07. Very educational & entertaining.

If you do stay @ Stone Mtn Let us know how it is. I might be in the area next spring & am looking for a place to stay while we're in & out of the Atlanta area.

Have good trip.

06nighttrain · 08-07-2010, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoamingEngineer

I got a low coolant light on the way home from the dealer but thought that the factory had probably not filled the surge tank as full as they should.
The rubber pipe that goes into the heater core had an adjustable hose clamp that wasn't tightened down enough and coolant was oozing out when the pressure built up in the system.

I had about the same problem with ours on our 3rd or 4th trip out with the coach. The low coolant light came on, I pulled over and noticed coolant pooring from front of the coach. One of the heater hoses blew off. I checked the hose clamp and it had never been tightened. I inspected the other 3 hose clamps and they were never tightened either.

We stayed at Stone Mountain 5 years ago and it was an awesome trip. We really enjoyed the laser light show. Hope you have a safe trip there and an enjoyable time.

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