Community Forums

vmyoung61 · 08-10-2018, 12:49 PM

Just got our Palazzo out of storage. It started right up and we drove to the campground. We couldn’t get the 12 volt to come on. Even turning the battery disconnect back to run. Even though we are now plugged into 50amp, we have no power anywhere. Is there a reset somewhere? Jacks won’t come down. No lights. No fridge. Nothing.

WinnieView · 08-10-2018, 01:04 PM

There may be a reset switch on the converter.

mcbeth · 08-10-2018, 01:12 PM

Is there power at the post your plugged in to?

There are circuit breakers in the main panel. (end of the bed ?)

Do the jacks come down with the engine running?

Does the generator start? if not start the engine and use the crossover switch.

UFO Pilot · 08-10-2018, 01:13 PM

When "plugged" in to power, your converter should supply 12V power to your RV. Possible that the converter breaker has tripped? Possible the converter has failed? Do you have 120V power anywhere in the RV, if not then possible power supply is bad?

Robf · 08-10-2018, 02:07 PM

Look under the inverter, as I recall this happened to us, there is a reset button on the bottom of the inverter cabinet......also dumb question, did you hit the "store-use" switch on accident ? that and leaving the fridge un locked are my normal crowd pleasing tricks.........

vmyoung61 · 08-10-2018, 05:52 PM

Thanks for all the replies, but it’s a negative on all of them. We have current into the inverter, but nothing out. Batteries are dead. Hubby removed each one and tried charging them. 3 of the 4 wont take any charge at all. Now, the question is - are the batteries gone because the inverter is bad or is the inverter not working because the batteries are down for the count? I’ve been told that dead batteries can make the inverter do goofy things. I believe everything goes thru the inverter, so absolutely nothing works in the RV. No plugs, no lights, no fridge, no tv, no microwave, NO A/C . . . nada. We already paid for two nights at the campground and there are no refunds or credit for any reason. Extension cord running in the window for the one small fan we have with us, a lamp and the tv. Guess we will tough it out. We already had an appointment at the factory service center for Monday for the rotted floor so we will let them deal with it. We bought this coach brand new, 15 months ago. Not happy right now.

UFO Pilot · 08-10-2018, 06:19 PM

I still believe you have a 120V problem, I highly doubt your AC's go thru the inverter.

appsol · 08-11-2018, 10:19 AM

The air conditioners do not go through the inverter, so their failure to function points to a shore power problem or tripped breaker in the coach. The dead batteries would result in no power to items that are on the inverter fed circuits, which is most of the coach, if the shore power is defective.

We were staying at the New Mexico fairgrounds and had bad power that 30 amp rigs did not experience. Turned out one leg of the three phase power feeding the RV area failed, so the resulting voltage was too low to operate rigs that were using 50 amp service. I diagnosed this because we have a power conditioner/surge arrester that displays the line voltage on both incoming legs.

nothermark · 08-11-2018, 10:40 AM

If the 12 VDC system is down the A/C's won't work because it uses the 12 V to control the A/C's. That is not a 120 VAC problem.

If the batteries ran really flat while in storage they will draw so much current that they will cause the Converter to fault. That may be a fuse, breaker, or electronic fold back circuit depending on the converter. You may also have tripped or damaged something in the engine alternator to house battery system for the same reason.

The answer is to put a new/good battery or two in the house bank position then try the charging system and see if that works. All that takes is to plug in the shore cord and check to see if the battery voltage went up over 13 volts. If that works replace the house batteries. If it does not work then start looking for breakers or fuses in the charging system. All it takes to test is 12 VDC worth of batteries that is one 12 V or two 6 V batteries.

mcbeth · 08-11-2018, 12:44 PM

The 120 V shore power is independent from the inverter.
With shore power you should be able to run the refrigerator, microwave and all the 120 V outlets.

vmyoung61 · 08-11-2018, 06:57 PM

The way it was explained to me - this inverter is an inverter and a converter and has an internal switch. When you plug into shore power, it automatically goes to charger for the batteries. As soon as it achieves 12v, the switch goes to 120. For some reason, it’s not charging the batteries and not switching to 120. Thus, we have nothing. Power has been checked and we have current from the pedestal on both legs. We have current thru the transfer switch, we have current to the inverter. No current out of inverter. NOTHING works in the coach. The genny won’t start. No radio. No back-up camera. No leveling jacks. All breakers have been checked and reset. The reset button in the inverter never popped. Our fridge most certainly does run off the inverter. It’s a household fridge.

We leave for Wakarusa in the morning for a Monday appointment. Will let you know what we find out.

vmyoung61 · 08-11-2018, 07:00 PM

We have a Progressive EMS and always plug it in to check the pedistal before plugging in the coach. Both legs are good.

z3406 · 08-11-2018, 08:13 PM

I had a similar problem awhile ago. Look in the inverter compartment and see if there is a white Magnum Energy cover plate in there. If you take the cover off there is a large 300 amp fuse behind it. Use a multimeter and check that fuse for continuity. A visual check will not tell if the fuse has blown it takes a multimeter. Lack of continuity in that fuse was the cause of your symptoms on our coach.

vmyoung61 · 08-13-2018, 06:36 PM

Here’s the rest of the story - We pulled out Sunday morning and still had no power anywhere. About an hour out, I decided to give the battery disconnect switch another try. Pushed “Run” and turned on a light switch . . . THEY CAME ON!!!

I told the tech at Walarusa what happened and he knew immediately what happened. When you switch the battery disconnect to “store” there is a solenoid outside the inverter that has a magnetic switch in it. That’s what turns off all power. Sometimes, if the batteries completely drain, that switch can stick. So, even if you switch to “run” it stays disconnected. With batteries disconnected , nothing works.

We will be replacing the batteries and hope we won’t have a repeat. If we do, thanks to Thor’s tech, we know the solution. Use a small wire to create a connection between the two terminals on the solenoid. Start the engine and let it run until the switch trips.

Sure wish we had known three days ago, but we do now and knowledge is power.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.