Power problems

[Jacksonjack1]

I’ve got a 2015 Danamax DynaQuestXL . I park it out back plugged into the house simply to keep the batteries charged up .
I went out yesterday because a friend came into town and was going to stay in the rv. I noticed the time on the microwave wasn’t lit . I went out and checked to make sure the power cord display light was lit so I know power was coming into the plug of the RV .
I fired up the generator and the Rv had power and acted normal. I turned off the generator after about 30 seconds I had power to the Rv .
Later on I went back out and once again noticed no power to the RV.
Started up the generator and this time no 110 power to the plugs , refrigerator, or microwave.
In the past I noticed at times when I would plug in the Rv it seemed to take a while before the electricity would come on .
The Air Conditioners run and cool when the generator is running
All 12 volt systems seem to be working fine.
Started poking around….. Dang these fancy things sure are complicated .
Any ideas where I should start ?

[AbdRahim]

Are you plugged into 20A? Do you need to adjust you inverter, for that low amperage? How well are your batteries? Does your inverter turn off when the battery charge is low?

[Jacksonjack1]

Well …. I went to the xanbus control panel and figured out somebody had put it standby
The bad news is I don’t get to use this thing enough to understand all the systems. I really need to change that !

[Jacksonjack1]

I went back out this morning I and once again had no shore power in the RV ….. not sure what’s going on with this thing

[tomkatb]

I always start with the battery. After sitting idle, the voltage of the house battery not plugged into shore power is 12.6 volts.

Plug in to shore power. Voltage at the battery should be 13.1 to 14.5 depending on the batteries state of charge.

Takes about 24 hours to recharge.

If the battery is dead all kinds of other issues emerge.

Verify the battery capacity.

Motor homes are more complicated. Salesman switches! BLM and other backup switches. Disconnects. Inverters. Etc. Got to figure it all out.

A battery monitor is a lot of help.

For new owners the learning curve is steep.

Practice.

[Jacksonjack1]

Batteries appear to be good . Replaced them last year. I can’t understand why I loose shore power when plugged in. Even though it’s only plugged into a 20 amp plug I don’t have anything turned on. I’ve done this for years. My first thought is that the it’s the power transfer switch ? I can play with starting the generator connecting and disconnecting shore power and it will get power like it should. I’ve got the generator running now to make sure everything is getting charged up .

[CHICKDOE]

it does sound like there is an issue the shore power takes to get into the rv. it could be any

number of things.

bite the bullet and use a systematic approach to track down the issue. get a meter and test for 120 volt power starting at the receptacle you are plugged into. if it is good move to the next junction point on the shore power path and check it. keep moving towards the rv until you get to the rv distribution panel. at one of those junctions you will lose the 120 volt power and you will then know what to look at in detail.

many people have reported similar problems and issues have been found in several different places. could be anything from a loose connection, a burnt contact, etc.

i hope this helps but when you don't have a clue about what the problem is you need to use the process of elimination to find out where there is not a problem. this will eventually result in finding the issue.

[tomkatb]

Eliminate one item at a time.

If the battery and converter operate according to specs, next is incoming power. Breakers, wire, lugs, dogbone all need to be checked out.

Plugs wear out!

Breakers wear out. Next best guess is plugs. Or extension cords.

Cycle the main breaker.

You are going to wear that voltmeter out!

[clr]

I would start the search with the transfer switch. This device allows only the generator or shore power to be supplying the unit at one time. You do not want both generator and shore power to attempt to supply power to the unit at the same time, just trust me on this, very bad things will happen if both attempt to supply power at the same time. I would start by locating the TS, then I would take the cover off and make sure all connections are clean and tight. Make sure that the generator is not running and disconnect from shore power, before opening the lid. Good luck!

[bclemens]

If someone was messing with the Inverter, I would start there.

The Xantrex needs to be set a certain way...one of the most common areas is "Search Mode". it will look for a load source so it will turn on, if not there, it won't.

here is a list of what it should be.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack1

I went back out this morning I and once again had no shore power in the RV ….. not sure what’s going on with this thing

What do you mean by this rather broad statement?

No power at your shore socket;
No power at the coach plug;
No power to the Inverter;
No charge to the batteries -

[Jacksonjack1]

Pulled the cover off the surge protector / transfer switch.
139 on the side where shore power comes in , nothing on the other side .
Does that confirm what my problem probably is ? I’m thinking so.
We have had a few storms roll thru with lightning in the area over the past weeks.

[dward51]

139 volts is too high for 110v (you said it was on a 20amp plug, so that implies 110v). Do you have an EMS or does the Xantrex check to see what the power coming is and block the output if it's too high/low? A 30 second delay is about right for a EMS to check power quality and connect. If it changes later, it will block it. Just a thought.

[Jacksonjack1]

What is an ems ?

[dward51]

EMS is an "electrical management system". It will be the plug in type or can be hardwired inside the RV. Some people just call them RV surge protectors. Also the Xantrex may have EMS functions built in. The plug in type looks like this (brands may look a little different). The hardwired ones have a remote display mounted where you can see it. It shows the info on the quality of the power (voltage, number of amps in use, etc...). 1st photo below is of a plug in unit for the end of your RV power cord, and the 2nd photo below is of a hard wired unit (Shows the unit which is usually hidden in a compartment and the remote with remote cabling).

Either one (brand does not matter either) will disconnect your power if it gets too high or too low. Since you said you read 139v, that is too high and may be your issue. The units are to protect the wiring and appliances in your RV from damage from bad electricity.

[Jacksonjack1]

You may have figured it out . I checked some plug ins in my house and garage. They all read 139 volts.
I went into the rv to see what voltage it said I had coming in and it was zero.
I went out and started the generator and it said I still didn’t have any volts coming in .
I went out and disconnected the shore power and boom I had 120 volts coming in from the generator and everything worked .
I’m thinking that when the shore power is hooked up with its 139 volts it’s causing the surge protector / transfer switch to shut everything down since the transfer switched first choice is to always try to use shore power first .
Now the next question is why do I have 139 v going to my house ? No wonder the microwave in the house pops popcorn really fast

[dward51]

It sounds like you need to call your POWER COMPANY. I can't think of any way that you are causing this. They clearly are supplying your house with bad power that is over voltage. I would bet if you measure across a 220v circuit you will see 278v (2 x 139v). Neither are good and can easily damage your appliances.

[Jacksonjack1]

More info …. I live in the country, I’m the last guy on the electric run with a transformer between me and my neighbor. About 10 days ago I had an electric strike that knocked out power. The electric company came out and reset the electric at the transformer .
I went up to my neighbor and he has 120.
Im thinking there is something wrong with my transformer or connection at my pole.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Jacksonjack1

Im thinking there is something wrong with my transformer or connection at my pole.

Something is wrong and that's as good a guess as any. You should NOT have 139 v coming into your house.
Call the electric company immediately before you have damage to your house or appliances.

[Brother Les]

Thank your camper for 'acting up'.... you (may) would have never known that you had to much voltage in your house until something very bad had happened.