No AC power > Open Ground on battery power

[JD70]

I had no issues with the camper on shore power. I arrived at the camp ground and the first night no issues. The next day my inverter read Hi voltage E -3. The panel reads 12-14. I’ve checked fridge and breakers. Nothing off, fridge u plugged and still problem.

The GFCI tester showed open ground.

I did replace my batteries before the trip. I reconnected the same way I disconnected. I’m not expert at all but I didn’t see a ground wire for those just terminal cables.

The GFCI can’t reset when on battery power and the inverter shut down. When I first noticed this I smelled something like overheating yesterday and believe it was the inverter.

If I use shore power (via my truck) it works fine. So it has to be something with these batteries.

I have a 2018 BH19. The battery info is in a picture. Maybe I got The wrong batteries but the car place guy told me this would work. Duracell Marine / RV platinum.

DC power still works via batteries.

Any way to figure out where the issue may be?
Amy ideas you’d suggest?

[reidfo]

If your DC system is working, then the issue is not the batteries. Look at the inverter. Check all connections to the inverter to make sure they are secure, not broken or corroded, and any ground is attached to a spot clear of things like paint, powder coat, etc.

The reason the AC side of things works when on shore power is likely because the issue is at the inverter and/or its connections. The inverter could be on a transfer switch, thus not being used when on shore power.

[JD70]

Thank you.

No clue where the ground is for inverter. Was bumpy road in so perhaps something is loose.

Can you suggest where I’d find the ground in the pics attached ?
I’m also unsure whether I can even disconnect the inverter from here(?) - is that something I need to do or just push any cables in firmly?

Thanks again!

[CHICKDOE]

please clarify the questions in red

Originally Posted by JD70

I had no issues with the camper on shore power. was this prior to arriving at the campground?I arrived at the camp ground and the first night no issues. were you plugged into shore power that first night? The next day my inverter read Hi voltage E -3. what make / model inverter? The panel reads 12-14. I’ve checked fridge and breakers. Nothing off, fridge u plugged and still problem. is this a residential refrigerator powered by the inverter?

The GFCI tester showed open ground. when you did this test were you on shore power or inverter power?

I did replace my batteries before the trip. I reconnected the same way I disconnected. I’m not expert at all but I didn’t see a ground wire for those just terminal cables. just to confirm the batteries you replaced were 12 volt batteries wired in parallel and you replaced them with new 12 volt batteries wired in parallel

The GFCI can’t reset when on battery power and the inverter shut down. is the gfci powered by the inverter? they will not reset if they do not have power. When I first noticed this I smelled something like overheating yesterday and believe it was the inverter. most inverters have status display on them that shows error codes. by chance it your showing that it shut down due to low battery voltage?

If I use shore power (via my truck) it works fine. what does this mean? how can you get shore power from your truck? So it has to be something with these batteries.

I have a 2018 BH19. The battery info is in a picture. Maybe I got The wrong batteries but the car place guy told me this would work. Duracell Marine / RV platinum.

DC power still works via batteries.

Any way to figure out where the issue may be?
Amy ideas you’d suggest?

from what you say it sounds to me as if things run on shore power but you are having problems getting the refrigerator to run from the inverter. or maybe it ran the first night. if it did it probably ran the batteries down so that the inverter shut down due to low battery voltage. how were you recharging the batteries?

i may be wrong in my assumptions and questions but it a bit hard to follow what you are saying. we really need to understand just what the configuration was.

[JimM2109S]

Reading the manual for this series of PD inverter, an E-3 error is an AC output overload:

E-3 AC output overload shutdown
Output power has surpassed the continuous power limit or the peak power limit. The PD1200 Series inverter will not automatically restart. A manual restart is necessary.

Maybe someone attempted to use an appliance whose current draw overloaded the inverter's max output? Electric griddle, hair dryer, coffee maker, toaster, etc.

Have you attempted a manual restart: turn the inverter off using the power switch at the display, then back on? You can use the Select button (next to power switch) to cycle between display states: Input Voltage, Output Voltage, Output Power, Sleep, Error Code (if applicable)

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by JD70

I had no issues with the camper on shore power. I arrived at the camp ground and the first night no issues. The next day my inverter read Hi voltage E -3. The panel reads 12-14. I’ve checked fridge and breakers. Nothing off, fridge u plugged and still problem.

The GFCI tester showed open ground.

I did replace my batteries before the trip. I reconnected the same way I disconnected. I’m not expert at all but I didn’t see a ground wire for those just terminal cables.

The GFCI can’t reset when on battery power and the inverter shut down. When I first noticed this I smelled something like overheating yesterday and believe it was the inverter.

If I use shore power (via my truck) it works fine. So it has to be something with these batteries.

I have a 2018 BH19. The battery info is in a picture. Maybe I got The wrong batteries but the car place guy told me this would work. Duracell Marine / RV platinum.

DC power still works via batteries.

Any way to figure out where the issue may be?
Amy ideas you’d suggest?

Wish you had come here BEFORE buying those batteries.
Why did you go to some "car guy" to buy batteries for a RV? What you bought were not true deep cycle batteries. You got dual-purpose AGM marine batteries, which have a CCA rating, which is useless for a trailer.

Also what brand is a BH19? FR has around 100 different brands. Also the model number is probably a 19BH. I'm asking because some of your questions are model-specific.

[JD70]

First night was batteries: didn’t seem to drain them - they were at 70% or so in morning. It’s not an RV hookup - I connect the shore line to my truck AC outlet and it worked.
GFCI tested on shore.

The batteries were wired in serial I believe. It’s on black cord that runs from each terminal in B2 to B1. Like this since I bought it.

12 V batteries. GFCI powered by inverter.

Ahit down sue to too much >12. Amps is 0.

Turned off on box fully and that didn’t work. No breakers flipped.

Domestic that came with trailer.
No other appliances used.

Think I’ve answered all.

TY!

[Aussieguy]

quick reference for your Inverter
https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-co...ide-814141.pdf


E3 is 120v overload
you got too much being powered by the inverter
discconnect / turn off all your 120v stuff
turn them on one at a time
1000w inverter will NOT power a lot of stuff


you probably can't make coffee with it!

[JD70]

I’ve used it before on battery. I’ve got nothing plugged in and it won’t reset. And never had more than what it came with. Fridge is only AC thing I believe. And outlets. Nothing in outlets.

[Aussieguy]

post a picture of your battery setup showing the cables


if it worked before your battery swap
and it works of truck voltage

high probability you got something wrong when installing
the GREEN photo show 12.8 v
is this while on shore power / truck or just rv battery

12v batteries need to be in parallel
positive joined to positive
you mentioned serial (series?) which would NOT be good

[JD70]

It’s parallel then. I used wrong electric terminology. Red:red blk:blk .

The 12.7 is the reading on the inverter when I attempt to turn on. Then goes to E-3 error. Battery power.

It’s pouring out so will get battery pic shortly but it’s definitely in parallel if you link as I said above.

[JD70]

Battery pic attached.

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by JD70

I had no issues with the camper on shore power. I arrived at the camp ground and the first night no issues. The next day my inverter read Hi voltage E -3. The panel reads 12-14. I’ve checked fridge and breakers. Nothing off, fridge u plugged and still problem.

The GFCI tester showed open ground.

I did replace my batteries before the trip. I reconnected the same way I disconnected. I’m not expert at all but I didn’t see a ground wire for those just terminal cables.

The GFCI can’t reset when on battery power and the inverter shut down. When I first noticed this I smelled something like overheating yesterday and believe it was the inverter.

If I use shore power (via my truck) it works fine. So it has to be something with these batteries.

I have a 2018 BH19. The battery info is in a picture. Maybe I got The wrong batteries but the car place guy told me this would work. Duracell Marine / RV platinum.

DC power still works via batteries.

Any way to figure out where the issue may be?
Amy ideas you’d suggest?

The issue is your batteries, and or inverter, IMO. You don't have enough DC power to run an inverter. With an alternator powering your TT, everything works. My bet is that everything will work on shore power too with only the converter breaker flipped on and running off the inverter.

The fact that your system worked the first night is indicative of depleted batteries. Test your battery directly with a multimeter.

To have and use an inverter you need strong and long lasting batteries. Invest in at least 200 amp hours of lithium (lifepo4) as a start.

[JD70]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

The issue is your batteries, and or inverter, IMO. You don't have enough DC power to run an inverter. With an alternator powering your TT, everything works. My bet is that everything will work on shore power too with only the converter breaker flipped on and running off the inverter.

The fact that your system worked the first night is indicative of depleted batteries. Test your battery directly with a multimeter.

To have and use an inverter you need strong and long lasting batteries. Invest in at least 200 amp hours of lithium (lifepo4) as a start.

The batteries are brand new. And I’m not running anything more than what came with the factory installation from Rockwood. It has all worked like this before.

[Aussieguy]

Disconnect the wires for the inverter OUTPUT 120v

plug in a lamp or other 120v appliance directly to the inverter's 120v gfci plug
if the error goes away you have a fault or something turned on in the trailer wiring
possible you got the hot water heater set for 120v?

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by JD70

The batteries are brand new. And I’m not running anything more than what came with the factory installation from Rockwood. It has all worked like this before.

I am just saying that probably 98 percent of issues like this posted here are connected to battery power in combo with usage demands both the obvious kind and the hidden kind. The water heater possibility, as Aussie mentioned, is an example.

[jlankford]

As already stated here, you don't have nearly enough battery capacity for what you're trying to accomplish. From your first post, I gather you are attempting to boondock at a campground without shore power with this setup, and to power a 120VAC residential fridge from the 1000W inverter. You can only do this for less than one day with your current setup.

The batteries you bought are rated for 55 amp-hours at a very low current load of 2.75 amps (i.e the "20 hour" rating). At the much higher loads pulled by the inverter the battery capacity won't be that much, let's assume it's 50 amp-hours but it's probably even less. You shouldn't discharge these batteries below 50% of their capacity, so you only have about 50 Ah of usable capacity in this battery bank, not the total 100Ah.

Without knowing the power requirements of your fridge, let's assume it draws 100 watts. The efficiency of the inverter is 90%, so the inverter will really draw 110 watts from the batteries to power the fridge. Now assume the fridge compressor runs with a 50% duty cycle. So it will consume on average, 55 watts per hour. This amounts to 1,320 watts over a 24 hour period, which is equal to 103 battery amp-hours consumed in one day. This is more than the capacity of your two batteries, and over twice their usable capacity. Figure out the actual power consumption of your fridge and adjust these calculations accordingly.

It's possible there is nothing wrong with your inverter and it is just behaving badly with a weak battery input. But that doesn't explain why it's showing an output overload error (E-3) and not a low battery error (E-1). The manual says the inverter E-3 error will not automatically reset. What are you doing to manually reset the inverter? As Aussieguy suggested you should remove all of the 120VAC loads from the inverter, including the fridge, and then manually reset the inverter. If the E-3 error still returns then you possibly have a bad inverter.

You should fully recharge your batteries, then reset the inverter and try again. Chances are the system will work again, but as explained above it will only work for a few hours before these batteries are dead again.

[JD70]

Thanks, I’m clueless with electric. To remove the output, assume that’s the one or two wires (purple or green) leading out the back? I’ve left hot water heater off the entire trip. Only other wire is red and can’t be removed (sealed and under floor).



Thanks for help!

[jlankford]

Originally Posted by JD70

Thanks, I’m clueless with electric. To remove the output, assume that’s the one or two wires (purple or green) leading out the back? I’ve left hot water heater off the entire trip. Only other wire is red and can’t be removed (sealed and under floor).



Thanks for help!

Yes, from the diagrams in the manual, it looks like the purple cable is the 120VAC input (from shore power) and the green cable is the 120VAC output.

It's probably simpler to just unplug all items from the outlets, though. The fridge is probably plugged into its own hidden outlet.

[jlankford]

Post a pic of the label information inside your fridge and we can give you a better estimate of the amp-hours you need to power this system.