Inverter?

[Rodneykrantz]

Went camping this weekend at Tom Johnsons in Charlotte NC Had no power to my 3 TVs I checked everything I knew to check all outlets worked except ones to the three TVs called Newmar they thought it might be a loose wire so I ran a drop cord to watch TV the last day a neighbor came over to look and he cut on a switch to the inverter over the door and they came on I never had to do that before when I got home and pressed the store button the TVs stayed on I had to turn off the inverter to turn off the TVs Does the inverter only power the 3 TVs and does it have to be on when connected to shore power Does anybody have a wiring diagram for the unit it is a 2011 Canyon Star

[GaryKD]

Hi Rodneykrantz,
I do not know your particular coach. However, all the inverters I know that Newmar uses have a bypass feature. When the coach is connected to shore power or the generator is running the inverter is in "stand by" mode. If neither if these power sources exist, then it will take over the 120 VAC power requirements for the circuits that it is connected to. The number of circuits depends on the size of the inverter. To determine the circuits and appliances connected to the inverter, make sure the coach batteries are fully charged and disconnect the coach from shore power. Determine appliance by appliance what works. Determine outlet by outlet what outlets have 120 VAC. I labeled my outlets so everyone can easily tell which are inverter outlets and which are not.

[Rodneykrantz]

The only outlets that have power from the inverter is the 3 tvs the only thing
I did different was I ran the generator for the first time while driving to Charlotte about 2 hours I turned it off and plugged in the 50 amp cord
When you are plugged in does the inverter stay on?

[Iron Man]

The inverter is seperate from the chassis disconnect switch. The inverter can be turned on and off. When it is on and the it sees power from the generator or shore power it goes to stand by mode. If power is lost the inverter supplies power to the electrical devices connected to it. It sounds like the inverter was not turned on.

[harleyman134]

If I had that problem on my mh I would go to the circuit breakers and make sure the circuit breaker going to the inverter/charger had not been tripped. On my coach power from the "shore" or genny goes to the circuit breaker thru a transfer switch, from the ts it goes to the main circuit breaker, in the main circuit breaker is a circuit that goes to the inverter, then the inverter will either pass thru the power if any is present (doesn't matter if the inverter is on or off) or use batteries to make power(if the inverter is on), this power goes back to a sub pannel in the main circuit breaker are and from there it goes to three different circuits (noted by breakers). If the circuit breaker to the inverter is tripped the inverter will not get power from the shore or genny so it will use batteries to make it's own power.

[GaryKD]

Hi Rodneykrantz,
When you get a chance, do a test with your inverter. When connected to shore power, have the inverter on and the TVs on. Turn the inverter off. What happened to the TVs? This will tell you the configuration needed to run the TVs. Please post the results here. If Newmar is now using inverters without a by pass feature, it would be great for everyone to know this.

[Rodneykrantz]

Hooked to shore power no tv turn on inverter tv is on turn inverter off lose power to tv there is a light on the switch in the cabinet above the door that says - invert- AC in - Fault
The only light that lights up is invert so I am guessing that it is suposed to
switch to ac in when plugged into shore power and it is not doing that

[Rodneykrantz]

A little more info it is a Magnum Energy I have 110 volts on power in and 0 volts coming out unless inverter is on so the 110 is not passing threw the inverter all resets on on not tripped

[harleyman134]

It sounds like you have a bad inverter. Based on my understanding the inverter should pass current when turned off. I also don't understand why the AC in doesn't light up when hooked up to shore power or genny. Since you have a 2011 mh it should be under warranty, if you have a Newmar dealer close by you might be well off to have them look at it. I would also contact the inverter manufacturer and see if they have a authorized repair location in your area. In the mean time you might want to unhook the batteries and hook them back up, probably won't help but it won't hurt anything. Good luck

[Rodneykrantz]

I called Magnum and they had me do some tests and reset the unit it is a bad pass though circuit in the inverter Thanks for all the help I might just unhook it for now and wire the 110 volt wires together so my TVs can work I really don't ever see me useing the inverter if all it does is power the TVs I can run Gen or Shore power for that.

[harleyman134]

Rodney,

I think your inverter is also a battery charger. If things like lights operate on 12 volt I would be worried that I would run the batteries down and not be able to charge them up if you bypassed the inverter. It might just be easier to turn the inverter on/off via the overhead switch when you wanted to watch tv. Hopefully someone with more experiences with inverters will jump in and give you some advise on you idea or provide an altermative solution now that you know what the problem is.

[wa8yxm]

Some inverters double as battery chargers, some do not.

I would turn that switch he flipped on to make it work OFF when storing the rig, I suspect your inverter is a "Stand-alone" type (Does not contain a battery charger) and will remain in inverter mode drawing power all the time if left on.

NOTE: Key word is "Suspect".. but turning it off may save your batteries.

[DandS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodneykrantz I might just unhook it for now and wire the 110 volt wires together so my TVs can work

Just a thought: Are your tv's plugged into double outlets and if so, have you tried the other side to see if that is straight 110 volt, not from the inverter ??

[Rodneykrantz]

I tried the other side of the outlet it is dead also I ran a drop cord from the bedroom outlet to the TV. I don't know if the inverter charges the batteries if someone knows let me know.