Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Monaco Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 08-08-2012, 08:59 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Holiday Rambler--Inverter/Charger Issue

Hey everyone...it's been a while since I've been able to post, but we are finally moved into our new house. Now that we get to start camping again...I noticed that our Trace Engineering Inverter has stopped charging our house batteries when hooked up to shore power. Also noticed that the same issue applies when the gennie is running.

Anyhow, I checked the 15 amp battery charger fuse and think it's bad but when I take the cover offer the box, I'm leery about reaching into the 'house of power' that is the inverter box.

So my question have you heard if these fuses go bad and if so where do a I get a replacement?

By the way...the inverter side works just fine and converts our 12 VDC into AC. The problem is that some of our outlets are wired to run off the inverter and so it's draining our batteries a bit because the charger is not replenishing the juice.

As always, I bow to the knowledge on our forum.

Thanks for your help!
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 08-09-2012, 12:25 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Robi.1014's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 1,043
A little more info please. Model # of inverter/charger? How about the remote controller.... What lights do you see there that look abnormal. Etc.
__________________
Robi & Dale ---- Go Navy ----
2016 Winnie TOUR 42'
Tow: '19 Buick Envision
or: '08 Buick Lucerne
Robi.1014 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2012, 02:23 PM   #3
rex
Senior Member
 
rex's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Foley, AL
Posts: 1,247
If you are talking about a fuse that is INSIDE the inverter, meaning that you have to take the cover off the inverter to get to the fuse, then you need to shut down all power to the coach before doing anything else. Disconnect from shore power, shut the generator down, and turn the House and Chassis battery disconnect switches off. Then pull the fuse and check it. If blown, install a new one and connect to shore power to see if the fuse holds. Turn on the battery switches and again make sure the fuse holds. If so, disconnect from shore power, turn OFF the battery disconnect switches and put the inverter cover back on. Then you can turn everything back on.
__________________
Rex

2001 Monaco Diplomat 40' PDQ - 08 Honda CR-V
rex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2012, 06:36 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Okay now that I'm in the rig here is the make and model. We have a trace inverter charger and the model # is L1512. It also has a rc9 remote control.

Some other symptoms are the outlets that are hooked up to the inverter do not work when connected to shore power or with the gen set running. They all work with the inverter turned on.

The remaining ac outlets work fine on gennie and shore power. Really strange but it solidifies my hunch that the problem is related to the inverter charger.

And yes I am referring to the fuse inside the inverter box. It seems to be blown and the reset on the front of the inverter has no affect on the charger.
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2012, 08:37 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Mike Canter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Freeport, ME
Posts: 4,707
Can you check the fuse with a multimeter to see if it is really blown? What does this fuse look like? Does it have a number on it? Take it into Radioshack and they can test it for you and can tell you where to get one.
__________________
Mike Canter
"Gunner" USN Retired, Airdale
2004 Monaco Signature 44' Conquest. Detroit 60
Mike Canter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2012, 05:42 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
I read through the trace owners manual and it shows that this is an ac fuse. Also found out it only charges or inverts. Kinda makes sense it doesnt do both at the same time. Also checked the electrical management system and its fine. Next step is to isolate and remove the fuse for testing
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2012, 06:47 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
So on this problem I have been wondering if it might be the transfer switch. The reason I bring this up is all of the outlets that are connected to the inverter work in the inverter but are dead when the inverter is off and we are on shore or gen power. Its a Todd transfer switch.

What are your thoughts here? My downfall this weekend is I left my multi meter at home so I'm unable to check pin voltages.
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2012, 07:04 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Mike Canter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Freeport, ME
Posts: 4,707
Not all the AC outlets are connected through the inverter the roof ACs are not for sure. Do all the roof ACs run on shore power and on generator power both? They divide the ACs up on different legs of the 50 amp power so if you can turn on each AC individually then your transfer switch is just fine an both legs of power are working.

SpursMVP you need to buy a multimeter and put everything back to the original configuration. Right now without a multimeter you are guessing as to what is happening and maybe adding problems. You can buy them at Homme Depot or Radio Shack. Get one and plug into shore power or be on the genny, make sure your RC9 control box shows on and read the charge voltage coming out of the charger going to the batteries at the charger and let us know. When everything hooked up and on shore power or genny power what do the little LEDs on the RC9 control box indicate? Does it show that you are charging or does it display and error?
__________________
Mike Canter
"Gunner" USN Retired, Airdale
2004 Monaco Signature 44' Conquest. Detroit 60
Mike Canter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2012, 05:11 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Thanks for the tips mike. As of this time I haven't changed anything on the inverter. Both acs work fine as does the rest of the house outlets. The rc9 shows the voltage which keeps dropping. Please know I have solar panels and a battery meter so i can see the level of panel charging and volts on the batts. Right now we are at 60% charge due to the sun being behind the clouds.

I'll get home tomorrow and use my multimeter to check volts at the batts but its pretty clear the charger in the inverter is not charging. The system was full on Thursday from the panels but with us being parked in the shade and with no charger the house batts keep dropping. By the way all 4 house batts were replaced in april and I've checked them for open cells before the trip.


Also the charge light that would normally come light in the front of the inverter will not light. So its either the fuse in the charger or there is a power break before it gets to the charger.

The outlets linked to the inverter show no ac when hooked up to shore power. The trace owners manual seems to indicate that the unit switches from charging to inverting when it doesn't sense ac to it. This would explain why those outlets only work when the inverter is turned on.
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2012, 08:44 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Mike Canter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Freeport, ME
Posts: 4,707
Well we can say it is not the transfer switch. The question is if the connection between the batteries and the charger is good. If the battery voltage reads 13 volts of less and in your case less than 12 volts then is there a wire not connected to the battery positive terminal or has broken off. Can you also check the charge voltage output at the charger end. Have you tried disconnecting all the power to the inverter/charger and then power it back on so it resets.
__________________
Mike Canter
"Gunner" USN Retired, Airdale
2004 Monaco Signature 44' Conquest. Detroit 60
Mike Canter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2012, 05:44 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Hey Mike...I did remove all power (AC/Solar/Gen) for about 4 days last week. No reset occurred. Now that I'm home and unpacked I'll begin testing voltages with the multimeter after work.
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-13-2012, 08:25 PM   #12
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Eagle ID
Posts: 8
Subject: RE: Chassis Batteries are not charging
>
> It is likely that not charging the chassis batteries while plugged in and the boost not working are related. Both functions use the solenoid back between the battery banks. If the solenoid is bad or there is a wiring issue between the boost switch / Isolator relay delay and the solenoid then both functions would not work. Basically you need to check for power on the purple wire at the solenoid when plugged in and while someone is pushing the boost switch. If you have power at the purple wire then the solenoid is bad, if no power then either a wiring issue or the IRD is bad and something wrong with the boost. I have attached a diagram for the boost switch. You should press and hold the boost switch, wait about 30 seconds, then while still holding the switch down try to start the coach.
This took care of my problem.
cpbmwwww1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2012, 10:33 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Hey everyone...it took me a few weeks to get back to my RV but thanks to all of the great suggestions I was able to troubleshoot and locate the problem.

I removed the cover to the inverter so I could access the AC input terminal block. Then started up the generator and checked the inputs with my multi-meter. There was plenty of power (~110AC) to the terminal inputs.

The next step was to check the outputs from the terminal which has a wire running to the 15 amp charger fuse. There was proper AC going into the fuse, but no power coming out. After trying to reset it multiple times it has become apparent the fuse is bad and I checked the resistance of it and it show 'infinite.'

Found a replacement fuse online and just ordered it so once I get it installed I'll check back in with the results. Thanks again for the great suggestions!

By the way...the fuse is made by Potter & Brumfield and the number is W28-XT1A-15. Found several sources with pictures/specs and it matches the info on the fuse body.
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2012, 05:37 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
SpursMVP's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Hastings, NE
Posts: 399
Success! It seems the 15 amp fuse that I replaced was the culprit. The charger is now working perfectly. Thanks for all the tips everyone!
__________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
500 HP Cummins ISM
2007 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 (Hemi)
SpursMVP is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:00 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.