Inverter open neutral

[dougie fresh]

I have installed 1500 watt inverter for my frig. But my tester shows a open neutral. I tried using the clip ground that came with it. But still shows open. This is a dedicated line only for the frig. Is this needed?

 

[TitanMike]

Normaly a 120v inverter has no "neutral" as you would find in a 120/240 "split-phase" supply. Because r
The inverter is only supplying a single voltage there's no need for the neutral. Only test needed is if there's 120 volts at the inverter output ( often ranging from 118-122 volts which is OK) and if your device/appliance works.

 

[dougie fresh]

Normaly a 120v inverter has no "neutral" as you would find in a 120/240 "split-phase" supply. Because r
The inverter is only supplying a single voltage there's no need for the neutral. Only test needed is if there's 120 volts at the inverter output ( often ranging from 118-122 volts which is OK) and if your device/appliance works.

Thank you..

 

[ScottBrownstein]

Neutral bonding the is responsibility of the source. When on shore power the pedestal or park does it, when on generator, your generator does it. Some inverters do it permanently, some by option and some not at all, but as others have said, neutral bonding isn't a big deal on a single 120 volt circuit.

 

[TacomaJoe]

I see two things in this thread, "open neutral" and "neutral bonding". On my 3 light tester, open neutral is just that, no power between the hot and neutral but power does exist between hot and ground. Seems backwards to me that an inverter would supply power between the hot and ground and rely on a bonding neutral jumper to make it work.

 

[ScottBrownstein]

No, there is 120 volts between hot and neutral, but the neutral is well above ground. Hence a floating, unbonded neutral.

 

[TacomaJoe]

No, there is 120 volts between hot and neutral, but the neutral is well above ground. Hence a floating, unbonded neutral.

So a two prong lamp cord wouldn't work if you didn't use the bonding jumper? I have an old test light on a two wire cord that would have thrown me for a loop, and added some time to me chasing an issue.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

I'm not sure an inverter has a neutral. With AC 60 Hz, during 1/2 of the cycle one leg is positive and the other leg is negative. Then on the other half of the cycle, they swap. Hence alternating current. In other words, the two outputs have equal current flowing. In a split phase system, the neutral carries the difference in current between the L1 load and the L2 load. If the load on L1 is equal to the load on L2 then there is no neutral current.

Bob

 

[ScottBrownstein]

No, a two pronged plug will work just fine, with or without bonding. All it cares is if there is voltage between the prongs. Don't confuse this situation with the floating neutral problem in a split, 50 amp RV connection. In that case, the neutral isn't connected to anything and one side will have more than half of the 240 volts, possibly as high as 200 volts which can fry components in the RV.

 

[Larry-NC]

The white wire on the output side of the inverter is not connected properly, either at the outlet or at the inverter, or possibly inside the inverter.

 

[TacomaJoe]

The white wire on the output side of the inverter is not connected properly, either at the outlet or at the inverter, or possibly inside the inverter.

Exactly my point in post #5. My tester has a light wired between each of the 3 wires. If no 120VAC between black and white, it shows as "open neutral". A properly wired circuit will show a light between the black-white and a light between the black-green. Those two lights show as "OK".