Community Forums

dane63 · 04-12-2015, 03:22 PM

During my return home this winter we made a stop in Amarillo. Just before leaving I lost AC power to the coach, a 2014 Ventana 4037. Power at the pedestal was on. Coach breakers were all on. I called Newmar customer service and went through the possibilities with them, including the GFI circuit. They suggested that perhaps the inverter needed to be reset. I drove home and checked the inverter reset button and it didn't seem to need a reset. Took the coach to storage, plugged it in to the 30 amp service. Checked it today and I had a fault showing on the magnum remote. Low coach battery. 12.1 volts. So obviously the AC power was still gone and the inverter was picking up the refer, etc. I went tnrough all the same things I had checked before and could find no problems. Am I missing something? The inverter runs however I have it turned off now as well as the coach batteries. Could the transfer switch be bad. Any thoughts?

redtail · 04-12-2015, 04:02 PM

Hello I think you got the problem figured out with transfer switch. i had the same issue with my last coach. i took the switch apart cleaned contacts ect and it worked for two years when i sold her. good luck mike

wa8yxm · 04-12-2015, 04:29 PM

Inverter will not kill all A/C power You used the word COACH so I will assume this is a motor home with a generator.

Normally on modern coaches power from both SHORE and GENERATOR comes into an automatic transfer switch
(Optionally generator power goes to an outlet you plug the shore cord into,, I call that a poor man's transfer switch)

Possible sources of tribble

1: IF plug is not original (Shore plug) wires loose inside
1B even if it is original molded on they may have messed up

2: Screws loose in OUTLET end of cord (Applies only to detachable cords)
2b: And Motor home inlet (like a)

3: Loose wires Transfer Switch incoming or outgoing
4: Bad transfer switch

and the very biggest one: The MAIN breakers on your power panel.

You said you checkd them but DID YOU CYCLE THEM.. I have seen breakers look set but really are tripped more times than I can count.. TOUCH is a good way to tell, VISION is not.

Oh and on edit.. If you have a Surge Guard such as a Progressive Induristies EMS or a Surge Guard brand....that can do it too.

dane63 · 04-16-2015, 02:17 PM

After looking into all suggestions, I finally had to let my dealer take a look at the AC power issue. The glendenning power cord reel was bad. I was not aware that the shore power terminated inside the power cord reel and from there goes to the transfer switch. So for now I have the power cord straight piped to the transfer switch until I can get my issues settled with glendenning with Newmar customer service in the middle. The cost of the replacement cord reel quoted to me was $1200 which was about what I paid as an option. Seems like it ought to last a lot longer than 15 months. So anyway, if you're faced with an AC power issue there's something else to consider.

GaryKD · 04-16-2015, 03:12 PM

Hi dane63,
Welcome to the Newmar Owners forum. Sorry I'm a bit late to your thread. Glad to see you are on the road to recovery.

"007" · 04-16-2015, 09:16 PM

Welcome to the forum and irv2 dane63.
Cord reel does seem a little steep to me also here is one of our sponsors reel cost's.
Check your warranties for reel maybe covered.
Some power cord reel problems have been covered in this link along with many other things in need of repair over time.
Check all the links below in my signature for your Newmar.

quadder · 04-16-2015, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dane63

After looking into all suggestions, I finally had to let my dealer take a look at the AC power issue.

I hope your problem is sorted out.
As an aside, I installed my surge suppressor last weekend. Note that I have not yet driven the coach (except home from the dealer last fall).
When I took the main power wires off the transfer switch, I found that two of them were loose.
I re-tightened all of the connections in there, and used Locktite on the screw threads.
It is something I think everyone should check, even with new coaches.
Just my .02.
Rob

"007" · 04-16-2015, 10:38 PM

Rob you may want to check the load center terminal screws and 12v fuse panels also, road travels can loosen up connections, especially stranded wiring.
A new coach they should be tight already, that said, when I got my new coach home I found a loose battery ground cable on chassis battery, its a wonder it started.

dane63 · 04-22-2015, 12:56 PM

Two calls to Newmar customer service and one on the line with Glendenning the reel manufacturer yielded a replacement cord reel and installation. Thanks to Newmar for stepping up. It would have been easy to just say sorry you're out of warranty. All's well that end well.

mvcrowsnest · 05-03-2015, 05:42 PM

I just had the same problem this weekend on my 2012 Essex--no ac power
The gen will run everything but nothing on shore power,
I was thinking transfer switch, did not think it could be cord or reel,
I am calling Newmar on Monday, maybe I will take reel apart before the call, thanks for the post

alan1 · 06-26-2015, 11:30 AM

After 14 months of service my Newmar began losing shore power. At first Newmar thought it was my transfer switch and authorized for it to be changed it was at Newmar expense. This did not fix the problem, but I noticed if I moved the power cord I would lose power, or if I had power I would lose it. At that point Newmar said it was the power cord reel. I decided to wait until I could get to the factory repair center. Newmar replaced the cord reel and cord at my expense and it now works. I have attached pictures of the problem spots on the reel and the power pickup bands showing the one that 1/3 of it has deteriorated. My question is this normal and what might of caused it? It was a lot of money to spend for it to last such a short time. At first Glendinning was interested in addressing the problem and asked how it was used etc. then no response to my emails.

"007" · 06-26-2015, 12:05 PM

Do you know the actual wire lead that would be connected to that pickup band, power lead or ground lead.
The reason I ask is a loose wire will create heat and cause wires to burn or short out because of high resistance of the connection.
We have had people with loose wires in the connections to the cord reels and most just reconnected the leads or the whole unit was replaced.
Your the first to point this problem out.

alan1 · 06-26-2015, 12:16 PM

One of the first things I did was to check all of the nuts for tightness and all were very tight on both sides of the reel. The copper wire block has a "B" on that post so I would think the blue wire was on it.