Smoke in Inverter Bay

[SnowMan1974]

Hello everyone. This is my first post. I am a total noob.

I just purchased a 2004 Dutch Star. I am actually stuck in Nevada waiting for a new hydraulic motor since a hydraulic oil leak was my first big surprise from this coach.

Today I was researching inverters as I intend to upgrade. The coach currently has a Trace 2000 watt modified sine inverter. When I opened the bay that contains the inverter, a little bit of white smoke came out. Nothing billowing, it looked as though 2 or 3 inches of light smoke had collected at the top of the bay.

This has me totally freaked as I don't know exactly what to do. I immediately turned off the inverter from the control panel in the coach. I looked through the menus and can't see any errors. No breakers have been tripped.

Currently I am in an RV park and connected to 50 amp shore power. I have been running the AC today (I have now turned it off).

Any suggestions as to what my course of action should be?

[okcnewbie]

Welcome to the forum and I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Eventually you'll get there and hopefully most problems won't be show stoppers.

If the smoke cleared after you turned off the inverter than you likely found the problem. I work in electronics and have found that the nose never lies when it comes to burnt components. Just leave the inverter off until you're able to pull it and take a look.

It seems like you should be able to use your coach while plugged in. Is your inverter also your battery charger? If it is you could use a separate car charger to keep the batteries charged while you sort this out. Keep an eye on your house batteries.

Good luck!