Pulling Inverter...any advice

[Cdn-Tx]

I need to pull my inverter out for a quick repair. Looks simple enough…plan on disconnecting battery power first then simple mark each connection and unbolt it. It’s a Freedom 458 combi. Before I start ripping into it, if there are any cautions or recommendations, please forward on.


BTW….are the inverters a somewhat troublesome unit or are they usually pretty reliable? This one inverts and charges but it won’t shut off. As it is now, it will drain down the house batteries to 10.5 volts before it automatically disconnects. Coach switch and front face switches inoperable. Done some troubleshooting to determine it’s the $165 control card inside the front face.

[F&D ABQ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdn-Tx I need to pull my inverter out for a quick repair. Looks simple enough…plan on disconnecting battery power first then simple mark each connection and unbolt it. It’s a Freedom 458 combi. Before I start ripping into it, if there are any cautions or recommendations, please forward on. BTW….are the inverters a somewhat troublesome unit or are they usually pretty reliable? This one inverts and charges but it won’t shut off. As it is now, it will drain down the house batteries to 10.5 volts before it automatically disconnects. Coach switch and front face switches inoperable. Done some troubleshooting to determine it’s the $165 control card inside the front face.

I have a Freedom in my '01 Alpine and it's not given me a lick of trouble. Tried substituting a used RS2000 and discovered why the previous owner replaced it!

While you can find several posts on inverter problems, the devices don't seem to be any less reliable than anything else in a motorhome. Often the trouble that seems to be caused by the inverter turns out to be something else, like an automatic transfer switch -- they *are* trouble-prone.

Be sure to disconnect both the positive and negative coach battery leads; there's a lot of energy stored there and there are interconnects with the chassis batteries (and maybe other devices.) Good luck with your repair.

[RV Wizard]

Be sure to identify and mark which lines are input and output on the 120 vac side.

[JCM]

Be carefull, it is heavy. Put a set of workgloves over the battery terminals (at the inverter) to prevent a short.

[wa8yxm]

If it is a combo (I assume you mean converter/inverter) then you need to "pass through" the 120vac while it is being fixed

Normally label the 120 volt wires as to IN and OUT, and hook the white in to the white out, black to black and green to green and that's all there is to it.

[popsuscdds]

Gordon:
I had all kinds of weird things happening like all of the batteries (house and chassis) would totally discharge. The over temp light was on a lot.
I couldn't get the batteries to stay charged. I sought the services of a local RV service person.
1. The local service person found that the transfer switch was not wired properly. It was corrected.
2. The TSC was connected to the auxiliary port of the 458. The over temp light was on a lot.
3. Due to some experimentation on my part earlier the $165 circuit board was destroyed.
First
I disconnected the 458 at the battery bank by disconnecting all of the cables at the battery bank.
All of the leads to the 458 were disconnected at the 458.
I lifted the 458 out and disassembled it and replaced the $165 circuit board. Some experienced people can replace the $165 circuit board without removing the 458. Not me.
The new circuit board was slightly different but it fit ok.
The 458 was originally placed in a corner with poor air circulation.
I reinstalled it about four inches away from the original location for better air circulation.
All of the cables connecting the 458 with the battery bank were connected. A cable was installed to connect the tsc with the + terminal of the battery bank.
The 458 is an excellent inverter charger and ours behaves now as it should. It is not original equipment. I have an idea who installed it incorrectly along with a jillion other miss steps in our coach.
Have fun!
Milt

[wa8yxm]

You might also wish to add a battery minder or other converter to keep the house batteries charged till you get the repaired inverter back

I used a magic marker and wrote IN and OUT on the Romex cables themselves by the way.. Mad it a whole bunch easier to ID them later.

[Cdn-Tx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by popsuscdds Gordon: I had all kinds of weird things happening like all of the batteries (house and chassis) would totally discharge. The over temp light was on a lot. I couldn't get the batteries to stay charged. I sought the services of a local RV service person. 1. The local service person found that the transfer switch was not wired properly. It was corrected. 2. The TSC was connected to the auxiliary port of the 458. The over temp light was on a lot. 3. Due to some experimentation on my part earlier the $165 circuit board was destroyed. First I disconnected the 458 at the battery bank by disconnecting all of the cables at the battery bank. All of the leads to the 458 were disconnected at the 458. I lifted the 458 out and disassembled it and replaced the $165 circuit board. Some experienced people can replace the $165 circuit board without removing the 458. Not me. The new circuit board was slightly different but it fit ok. The 458 was originally placed in a corner with poor air circulation. I reinstalled it about four inches away from the original location for better air circulation. All of the cables connecting the 458 with the battery bank were connected. A cable was installed to connect the tsc with the + terminal of the battery bank. The 458 is an excellent inverter charger and ours behaves now as it should. It is not original equipment. I have an idea who installed it incorrectly along with a jillion other miss steps in our coach. Have fun! Milt

Good information Milt.

I got mine out and could just buy the board but figured for 75 bucks I'll have the guy bench test it...confirm and put in the new board. Then bench test again to make sure its working fine. I looked inside and the board is easy to change by the looks of it.

[Cdn-Tx]

Update on the inverter fix. Took it to the repair shop and the guy bench-tested. Confirmed it wasn’t working correctly. He replaced the control card and re-tested. I installed it the next day and all is 100% since. So….if for some reason your inverter won’t respond to the controls on the inverter itself or on the remote switch….its probably a bad control card. Cost of the card is 165 bucks.