Community Forums

FRED MASINO · 07-20-2015, 10:50 AM

I didn't notice that you stated, AC in is indicated on panel. That means one of the fuses is OK. You would have to remove the inverter to remove cover.
Don't tie the inverter wires together, tie the house 110 wires together. This will stop the charging circuit from working I believe
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Old Scout · 07-20-2015, 12:02 PM

Fred's clarification is correct--asssuming the charger portion of the inverter is working, you could tie the income 120v line with the inverter input lug and the outgoing 120v line. If 120v power is getting to the input side of the inverter, then the charger will still work and the pass-thru will be temporarily by-passed......

wolfe10 · 07-20-2015, 01:39 PM

If you do this bypass, make sure to bypass BOTH hot and neutral.

Brett
2003 Alpine 38' FDDS

Old Scout · 07-20-2015, 03:26 PM

Curious--the neutral connector on the inverter is a buss bar--why would you need to by-pass both, especially if you decide/wanted to leave the charger side active???

wolfe10 · 07-20-2015, 03:59 PM

Dean,

This from the Xantrex Freedom 458 Installation manual: "For safety purposes and NEC Code requirements, the Freedom Combi unit internally bonds the AC output neutral (white) to the AC output ground (green) when the unit is off or in the inverter mode. When incoming AC power is applied and the transfer switch is engaged, the neutral to ground bond is automatically lifted."

My point is that with a very questionable internal pass switch, I would want to insure that both hot an neutral from main 120 VAC breaker box are hard wired to the 120 VAC output wires that have been removed from the inverter and that the neutral and ground are not bonded in the wires going to the GFI's.

Said another way, the downstream circuits normally fed through the inverter are now absolutely direct fed from the 120 main breaker box. May be overkill, but beats having to dissect exactly what has failed in the inverter and what is still working.

alpinedrvr · 07-21-2015, 10:04 AM

I just spoke to Xantrex and they said to try a hard reset by removing all sources of power AC/DC for 4-5 hours and then start it up again. The guy said it is rare for the pass thru to fail so that may be good news. If the hard reset doesn't work then I got the standard contact an authorized service center.

Our trip is almost over so I will wait for this when we are home and I can cut some access panels in to get to the inverter to work on it. Why do they always put stuff in and then build the coach around it!! If anyone has had to find access to their inverter and have some ideas let me know. Mine is under the drawers by the bedroom and behind the electrical panel and has a small removable vent panel that reveals (barely) one side of the inverter.

We don't have reliable internet so I will be going "dark" for a few days and won't be able to check the forum....thanks everyone for the help.

Geoff

a johnson · 07-21-2015, 10:32 PM

Is there an easy way to get to the inverter? Everything on the coach is surprisingly accessible compared to every other coach I've had but then there is the inverter. Down in a hole behind a screwed in place cover?

alpinedrvr · 07-22-2015, 08:34 AM

Aaron

Exactly! As you say most things are accessible fairly easily...not so my inverter. It is under the drawers and between the bedroom and the washer /dryer with only the small vent on the bedroom side for access. I think I will have to take the W/D out and remove the pocket door and cut a hole in the side of the W/D cabinet and cut another hole thru the side of the drawers and then sit inside the W/D space and try getting at the inverter from there. I haven't yet tried the hard reset. Going to today and while waiting go play golf (which will be probably as frustrating as this it!)

Rich and Cork · 07-22-2015, 05:56 PM

Not that this applies to your situation, but I had a power failure some years back where nothing worked off the GFCI circuits in the bathroom, which included kitchen functions. This is in case someone has a somewhat similar problem.

I used an ohmmeter to measure each of the 120v lines from the breaker to the GFCI and found an open. Since all the wire is hidden, I ended up running a new Romex line from the breaker to the bath GFCI. It was not easy.

Good luck on your troubleshooting.

alpinedrvr · 07-23-2015, 05:01 PM

Well....hard reset did not work so I will have to remove the inverter and open it up and see if the fuses inside are good. If not I guess I will either have to send it away or throw it away! I will check the ohms too before I do that. I am going to have to do this in the next 3 or 4 weeks as we have bought a house and need to sell ours so I won't have time to do this for a while. I'll keep you all posted.

Geoff

alpinedrvr · 08-28-2015, 07:51 AM

Well, got back to my coach to work on removing the inverter. Took me a couple of days to figure out how to get it out and then do the removal! I found that if I took the drawers out that are above the electrical panel and removed the panel under the bottom drawer that there was barely enough room to work from above.

After I got the inverter out I removed the cover and looked inside. I found the two glass fuses (why would they put them inside??) but they are fine. I don't see anything obvious to my completely untrained eye. I may have found an electronics guy that has worked on inverters nearby.

Does anyone have an idea where the pass thru relay or circuit is located?

I'll keep you all up to date on the progress or lack there of!

bcbowers · 08-28-2015, 05:42 PM

Geoff,

Just a thought ... there's an authorized Xantrex Service Center in Seattle which appears to be the closest center to you. The name is S3 Maritime LLC. I would imagine they can diagnose & repair your inverter as necessary. You could either take it there or perhaps make arrangements to ship it, repair it, & return it. Of course the diagnostic fee is probably around $250 which can be applied to the repair cost.

You should also be prepared for the possibility that the expense to repair it can be greater than purchasing a rebuilt unit (that possibility actually occurred to a fellow owner here in Arizona). They should provide that information once a failure determination is made. IIWMI'd probably opt for a new model of inverter especially if it's an old 458. Yes, it's going to cost you $1,600 to $2,000 but an inverter/charger is the "heart" of your house systems (in my opinion).

alpinedrvr · 08-29-2015, 08:02 PM

Hi Bob

Just what I'm thinking! I am bringing it to a guy here locally who does marine electronics. He will take a quick look and let me know if it is something simple or more complicated. If more complicated I will bring it to Seattle when we head south and see what they say. If too much I will then go for a new or rebuilt Magnum!

Geoff

alpinedrvr · 09-04-2015, 08:44 AM

So the local guy here could not find what is wrong with my inverter so I have decided I will take it to Seattle when we head south at the end of Oct and have the "authorized" service center look at it and decide then if I will have it repaired or tossed. I'll report back then!

Geoff