Inverter or Relay Problem?

[jimkate]

I may need the advice of those familiar with the older coaches on this one.

I have the Freedom 20 Inverter/Battery Charger.

Here's my problem.

When plugged into shore power, inverter on or off, there's 110V at the receptacles.

When boondocking with generator running, inverter on or off, there's 110V at the receptacles.

I always leave the inverter turned on.

HOWEVER, when boondocking, when I turn the generator off, there's a buzz sound somewhere upstairs near the back of the coach (sounds like a relay buzzing). It buzzes only long enough for the generator to shut down. Then the Inverter light will switch from on-solid to on-flashing, which I have understood indicates that 110V is now coming from the inverter.

The problem is, after the buzz, there may not be any 110V at the receptacles. Sometimes I have to restart the generator, run it momentarily, shut it down, listen for the buzz, and then there MIGHT be 110V at the receptacles. Sometimes I must do that two or three times before it will 'catch'.

Is there a relay of some kind causing this?

[wa8yxm]

I gather the "Buzz" is coming from somewhere OTHER than the inverter (you did not say where the inverter is)

Sounds like a transfer switch.. I have seen units that had a second transfer switch for the inverter or a 3-way transfer switch.. I've seen them set inverters on fire too.

I'm a firm believer in KISS (keep it super simple) and this type of hook up.. ID NOT KISSable.

But it sure sounds like a transfer switch buzzing

Suggestion. TURN OFF inverter before turninf off generator, wait for full shut down, then turn inverter back on.. Might help.. No guaranteee, In fact I"d give it only about a 30% chance. (But the price is right)

[F&D ABQ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimkate I may need the advice of those familiar with the older coaches on this one. I have the Freedom 20 Inverter/Battery Charger. Here's my problem. When plugged into shore power, inverter on or off, there's 110V at the receptacles. When boondocking with generator running, inverter on or off, there's 110V at the receptacles. I always leave the inverter turned on. HOWEVER, when boondocking, when I turn the generator off, there's a buzz sound somewhere upstairs near the back of the coach (sounds like a relay buzzing). It buzzes only long enough for the generator to shut down. Then the Inverter light will switch from on-solid to on-flashing, which I have understood indicates that 110V is now coming from the inverter. The problem is, after the buzz, there may not be any 110V at the receptacles. Sometimes I have to restart the generator, run it momentarily, shut it down, listen for the buzz, and then there MIGHT be 110V at the receptacles. Sometimes I must do that two or three times before it will 'catch'. Is there a relay of some kind causing this?

Not familiar with the exact symptom, but I have the same inverter-charger. There are two sets of relays, one in the Freedom 20 and one somewhere else, known as a "transfer relay", which switches between the generator and shore power. My transfer relay failed after about 6 years and in my case the symptom was that if I started the generator while attached to shore power I'd blow a circuit breaker on the generator or on the shore power supply or both. If the transfer relay and the generator are working correctly, the inverter should behave exactly the same on generator as on shore power. The relay in the Freedom 20 has been reliable for ten years so far. Perhaps they don't last 15 years! Try to locate the source of the buzz- I suspect it's your inverter since the transfer relay usually is somewhere underneath the floor. As to the lights, on the inverter box there should be two green lights when plugged in to shore power or running on generator; one steady, to indicate it's charging, and one flashing to show the inverter is in standby. The remote panel, of course, has lots of lights - but on shore power (or generator) the light on the inverter button is flashing to indicate standby, or off to indicate no standby (which seems to be the default when you hook up to shore power or turn on the generator.) When on inverter, the inverter button light is steady green. If you don't have an owner's manual, go to xantrex.com and navigate to the Freedom 458, which is substantially the same unit; then download the owner's manual. Under Troubleshooting there's a chart that shows what lights (on the inverter) mean what. Green lights are good; red lights are bad. Before you tear things apart, check the batteries and their connections, make sure the voltage is okay.

[KIX]

There is a transfer switch integral inside the Freedom 20. the transfer switch passes power through the inverter when shore power or the genset is providing power to the coach. When shore power or genset power is stopped the Freedom 20 transfer switch automatically transfers the power source to batteries. It sounds like the internal transfer switch is not fully latching......sometimes. It will eventually completely fail.
All the above is if, indeed, the buzz is coming from the inverter

[F&D ABQ]

Go to Tekris Power Electronics Inc, tekris, xantrex powerhub 1800, xantrex sales, xantrex service, inverters, chargers and look for Freedom-fleet power troubleshooting (a pdf file) and scroll down to the Transfer Switch section. If you are lucky, your problem is a low battery.