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kmghmg · 12-15-2015, 07:19 PM

Hi All,

Many thanks for making this forum a tremendous source of information!

We have a Xantrex RS3000 inverter on our 2009 Allegro Bus. While connected to shore power about 3 weeks ago, we lost power for a while, and the house batteries got quite low. (We weren't in the coach when it happened, so power was off for perhaps 12-18 hours.) Since that time, the inverter's control panel inside the coach has only worked intermittently. Sometimes it's on, sometimes it's completely dead (no lights whatsoever). I called Xantrex, and they suggested that I first test the wire that runs from the inverter to the panel. I ruled that out as a problem by removing the remote panel from inside the coach, taking it outside, and connecting it directly to the inverter with another cable. The panel still didn't work. So, the next step, per the tech support guy, was to replace the panel, which I did. The new one arrived Friday, and it didn't work either...for 24 hours or so. Then, I opened the cabinet and it was working! So, I immediately plugged in the old one, and it worked as well...for perhaps a day. Now it's dead again.

When the panel isn't working, the "network" light on the inverter itself is not illuminated. But, it IS illuminated when the panel is working.

I've tried unplugging the panel at the inverter and at the panel itself for both, say, 30 seconds and up to 30 minutes with no success.

I would greatly appreciate any insights you may have into what I should do next.

Thank you!!!

Matt

Mr_Fixit · 12-15-2015, 08:11 PM

Matt,

Is your inverter working i.e. is this a panel issue or an inverter issue? Do you do a reset using the reset on the inverter?

kmghmg · 12-15-2015, 08:14 PM

I should've stated that! Thanks for the questions. Yes, the inverter appears to be working just fine. And, I reset it a couple of times, once pressing the reset button briefly and once for probably 15 seconds.

Mr_Fixit · 12-15-2015, 08:36 PM

Matt,

I can't think of much else you can try with this. You have established it is not a cable or panel issue so anything else is going to be inside the box. I can't make any clear case for what might have happened. The panel communication is not a high power draw and the inverter should just shut it self down under low battery conditions. Since you were on shore power and lost it, was the invert on stand-by when that happened or were you simply using it to charge batteries?

Steve

kmghmg · 12-15-2015, 08:39 PM

The inverter was, I believe, just being used to charge the batteries when we were on shore power. But, I assume it began inverting when the power tripped off. To be honest, although I'm pretty mechanically inclined, I have no idea how that thing works! Always been a mystery...

Thanks for your help/input. Much appreciated!

Matt

Mr_Fixit · 12-15-2015, 08:46 PM

If it simply was charging and the invert was not on stand-by I would not expect the batteries to discharge as quickly. I don't know your bus system, so I don't know what the invert runs. If it was on stand-by, when the shore power vanished the invert would have taken over shore power functions for whatever it is wired to that was turned on.

The only thing I can think of at this point is to try a cold boot by powering down the AC and DC input to the inverter so it basically would be starting up like a new install. These thing operate a lot like computers and you know how reliable those are. It is a long shot, but otherwise I think you have a board that is going down in the box and that has to be dealt with at an authorized service center.

Wish I could be more help,

Steve

kmghmg · 12-15-2015, 08:50 PM

Thank you so much, Steve. I'll try to determine what it takes to completely remove power to the inverter and see if that works. I'm thinking maybe I should hit it a few times with a hammer...

Mr_Fixit · 12-15-2015, 09:00 PM

A final thought and that's it for the night. If you have a meter, see if there is any correlation between battery voltage and panel operation.

Steve

kmghmg · 12-15-2015, 09:01 PM

That's a good idea, especially given how random it is...

Mr_Fixit · 12-16-2015, 01:31 AM

Matt,

I read through the entire manual for your inverter and your remote panel. When the panel is lit, have you attempted to read the fault log and have you attempt to reset to the factory defaults? It looks to me like it is about the same as a Windows operating system thought simplified.

Reset to factory defaults using the remote panel should take your system back to when it was first installed.

Steve

kmghmg · 12-16-2015, 06:00 AM

Wow! That's great, Steve. I'll give that a shot as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your help!!!

Matt

kmghmg · 02-13-2016, 11:00 PM

Just wanted to followup to describe the final results. To make a long story short, the inverter was working fine, but it wasn't sending a signal to the panel inside the coach. Nothing we did made any difference whatsoever. I called Xantrex and two of their authorized service centers, and they all told me it wasn't rebuildable. I placed a call to Custom RV in Red Bay, AL and spoke with Brannon. He happened to have a few used ones in stock, and he sent me one as a replacement, which worked just fine. Overall, a relatively simple and not overly expensive fix. Thanks once again to all of you who provided advice! You're what makes this forum truly wonderful.