Source Manager problem .. I think

[Bagman68]

I have a 1999 40ft Fleetwood American Eagle that uses a heart interface Source manager 20 monitor/inverter. Recently, the following problem surfaced. After arriving at a location with no shore power available, I started the generator. After the usual "cycle through" waiting period, it was evident that the generator was not receiving the load. Never could figure it out, so we returned home where I connected shore power and everything worked fine. With shore power connected, I started the generator and allowed it to cycle through and it accepted the load transfer from shore power. I unplugged shore power and the generator managed the load fine. However, when the coach has no shore power available and the generator is started, the source manager will not pick up the generator output and switch it to the load.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated, will be glad to provide more information if needed. Thanks!

["007"]

Welcome Bagman68 to irv2.
Sounds like you may have a dirty contact on one of the relays in your Transfer Switch. If you can take cover off run a dollar bill thru the contacts of relays. This will clean any carbon or iron fillings that maybe causing contact from closing.
Be careful with anything metal on the internals of switch the capacitors maybe charged. DO NOT have any power on!!!

[Bagman68]

thanks for the action step, 007. It didn't seem to help at all. Some additional info: When starting the generator with shore power connected, the transfer to generator as the source provider causes the 50amp shore power circuit breaker to trip! Not sure what conditions cause this to happen, but it might be when both air conditioners are running.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Sure sounds like the relay is dragging, leaving one set of contacts in place (or at least too long after the other moves).

I know a guy who can help if you need Source Manager repairs or replacement. His name is Kevin Mallory and he is a retired American Coach electrical engineer. Has his own business now and specializes in those no-longer-available systems like your Source Manager. Give him a call on 419-852-0791 (and tell him Gary Brinck sent you).

[Bagman68]

Thanks, Gary. I will give him a call and let you know the outcome. Have a great weekend, Bill.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I forgot to add that his business is called Crusingamericarv and is located in Celina, OH, about 30 miles from the American Coach factory.

I have no financial interest in this, but Kevin has worked on my coach (new satellite dome, replacement batteries, etc.) and he does good work.

[Bagman68]

Gary -

Additional troubleshooting over the weekend revealed a solid state problem, not a relay problem. The portion of the source manager that selects the incoming AC voltage (a circuit board in the bottom of the cabinet) was found to be the root cause. I was finally able to reach Kevin Mallory this morning, described what we found, and he acknowledged it as a common failure on a coach this age or older where the source manager had not been properly maintained. Mine had not. When I first opened the cabinet a couple of weeks ago it was very dirty, the inlet air filter was missing and the cooling fan was not working. Describing this to Kevin, he believes the lack of air filtration allowed the cabinet to injest dirt that caused the cooling fan to fail, subsequent overheating, and eventual circuit board failure. We're hopeful he has the parts to repair it.

Thought I'd provide all the detail for those who might have similar systems. I just bought this coach in April and can see how this part of the system might not get the maintenance it should.

thanks again, Bill.

[Gary RVRoamer]

May I suggest that you join the American Coach Owners Yahoo Group. There are many AC owners there, including older models with the Source Manager, and you can get a lot of excellent help there.

American_Coach : American Coach Group

[Bagman68]

Well, I'd feel less of a person if I didn't follow-up with a completion report.

As mentioned earlier I got some great troubleshooting tips and with a little hands-on help, reached a conclusion and purchased a rebuilt source manager from Cruisingamericarv.com, Kevin Mallory. While waiting for it to arrive, I was performing some preliminary source manager removal steps and made a startling discovery .. the positive cable leaving the coach battery bank going to the source manager was disconnected and hanging loose between the battery compartment wall and the battery bank. After thinking for a few moments, I began to piece the puzzle together.

Shortly after purchasing the coach in late April, the fuel injection pump failed and it stayed in the shop for 4 weeks being repaired. After getting it home the coach stayed plugged in to shore power for a month while I was getting familiar with everything. It wasn't until the end of June that I discovered the generator not working when preparing for a July 4th trip. We made the trip anyway since we had shore power available at our destination. After returning home, I began looking for technical resources (this forum for example) to help diagnose the problem and based on the information I provided, you folks gave some excellent advice and direction. Kevin Mallory's instructions for removing the old source manager led me to the battery bank that I found disconnected!

Back to "root cause analysis":

The mechanic repairing the fuel system had disconnected the battery bank knowing the coach would be idle for an extended period of time. He failed to reconnect it after completing the job, and I failed to check out everything once getting it out of the shop.

Sorry to be so lengthy, but hope the experience might be helpful to someone else in the future.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Glad to hear you got it solved and it was something simple. Often is, once you find it!

And Kevin Mallory is a great resource for American Coach owners and also a good place to get aftermarket electrical/electronic accessories and repairs for any brand. He is located near the Ohio/Indiana border but usually sets up shop at Quartzite in the winter. Kevin has done work for me and many of my friends and everybody has been very happy with the results.

cruisingamericarv.com