Automatic Transfer Switch Install

[Bilito]

As I started to remove the old ATS one of the first things in the instruction is to remove the main breaker, as I took the wire off and went to pull the breaker out that all came out at one. The main breaker itself was badly burned and in turn the breaker bridge assembly the breakers all clip into was melted and metal gang bar was disconnected. Upon closer exam we saw the dual 15 amp breaker was also burned and the contacts onn the dual 20 amp air conditioning breaker was badly pitted. I had not yet even started to remove the bad ATS.

We proceeded on and removed the ATS cover and then removed all the wire nuts, when I removed the switch and looked inside I found the Hot and Neutral wires had chaffed badly and the neutral chaffed thru the insulation down to bare wire and had shorted out and burned the white neutral wire brown and melted the last 4 or inches of insulation right off.

Off we go looking for a new bridge assembly, the folks at HD did not have a clue and the folks at an electrical supply house said I had to buy a whole new electric box. So we went to the K & K RV store, showed them the part and they said they doubted if they had anything like that but would look thru a box of stuff they had and sure enough they had one. 24.99 and it was made by the same folks that made the ATS. I also bought all new Circuit breakers.

About an hour and a half of sweating and cursing in that hot stuffy RV even with a big fan blowing on me I go it all together and up and running, but I still have no AC power down the left side of the RV fwd of the microwave. I was promised rain today but all we have is a bright sunny hot day. I took lots of picture and included are 8 of them.

Is that converter box supposed to have a cooling fan in it? It is very warm to the touch

[Dave78Chief]

Wow! You were lucky you didn't have a fire. Lucky they even had that bridge assembly. I suspect a lot of this is due corrosion build up over time. This increases resistance which results in heat being generated. I hope you used something like a dremel tool to clean up all contacts you reused. If not, this will come back with time.

Dave

[Dave78Chief]

BTW - Not sure if this was a picture after final wiring but I notice there is no ground wire from the ATS ground buss to the AC distibution panel ground buss. That is required.

Dave

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

BTW - Not sure if this was a picture after final wiring but I notice there is no ground wire from the ATS ground buss to the AC distibution panel ground buss. That is required.

Dave

I set it up just like the instruction sheet, I think I will look at it again tomorrow before I put the cover on., Everything in there is new.
Does that box have a cooling fan?
I never took the bottom panel off the converter to look in there, it was too hot without the ac
I could swear both the ac units are running colder now then before.

For kicks the main 30 amp c/b was 2.99 at the HD, at the RV place it was 10.95, both of the double c/b, 15 and 20 amps were 7.95 at HD, at the rv place they were 25.99

[gg]

The breakers are the same or very simular to the Stick built home we have and I don't think that were tested for use traveling down bumpy roads at 70MPH .

I recommend Loctite 290 wickin added to the terminal screws to keep them tight.

My owner manual states - all main juction blocks , switches and battery connection to be checked yearly for looseness and corrosion.

Good job on posting pics and source of replacement parts.

[Dave78Chief]

Not sure what document you are talking about but both of these ATS301 documents show the ground conductor from ATS ground buss to the Load center I am talking about (Item D):

http://www.parallaxpower.com/ATS/ATS...20BULLETIN.pdf

http://www.parallaxpower.com/ATS301/...01%20REV_B.pdf

That ground wire would be a electrical code requirement. Has to be there or you would not have a properly installed safety ground.

Far as I know an ATS does not have a fan in it.

Dave

[shaman52]

Please make sure you replace all the wiring that you can that connected to and from your ATS to power distribution panel. Like Dave8Chief says clean all contacts. Whoever wrote those ATS replacement instruction may have saved your life.

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

Not sure what document you are talking about but both of these ATS301 documents show the ground conductor from ATS ground buss to the Load center I am talking about (Item D):

http://www.parallaxpower.com/ATS/ATS...20BULLETIN.pdf

http://www.parallaxpower.com/ATS301/...01%20REV_B.pdf

That ground wire would be a electrical code requirement. Has to be there or you would not have a properly installed safety ground.

Far as I know an ATS does not have a fan in it.

Dave

You are right I missed that ground wire to the ac bus ground becuase there was none on my existing setup. I will fix that today

Yes there is no fan in the ats, but there is a fan in the bottom part of the 6300 box., when I opened the lower half of that box today first I found everything in there was covered in a bunch of dust balls and other debris. I spend some time with little brushes and a vac and got it all cleaned out

I did not see a fan, so I took a close up picture and in the picture in the rear corner there was a fan. I had to lay down on the floor on my belly and turn my head to one side to see the damn thing.

I reached in to turn it and sure enough it was frozen, tried to get it free and the fan itself came loose on the shaft. I assume there is a heat sensitive switch in there to turn the fan on and off, correct?

How do I get the fan motor out of there, any suggestions? There must be 50 assorted wires in there.

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

BTW - Not sure if this was a picture after final wiring but I notice there is no ground wire from the ATS ground buss to the AC distibution panel ground buss. That is required.

Dave

Ok Dave, I have installed that grounding wireas you pointed out was missing, I did not have any bare copper wire so I used a piece of insulated solid core red wire for the ground connection

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Bilito

You are right I missed that ground wire to the ac bus ground becuase there was none on my existing setup. I will fix that today

Yes there is no fan in the ats, but there is a fan in the bottom part of the 6300 box., when I opened the lower half of that box today first I found everything in there was covered in a bunch of dust balls and other debris. I spend some time with little brushes and a vac and got it all cleaned out

I did not see a fan, so I took a close up picture and in the picture in the rear corner there was a fan. I had to lay down on the floor on my belly and turn my head to one side to see the damn thing.

I reached in to turn it and sure enough it was frozen, tried to get it free and the fan itself came loose on the shaft. I assume there is a heat sensitive switch in there to turn the fan on and off, correct?

How do I get the fan motor out of there, any suggestions? There must be 50 assorted wires in there.

I called Parallex about the fan, they told me how to remove only the lower section of the 6300 power box which houses the fan, but they do not have the fan or it's thermostate controller. so they put me on to a company out on the west coast that stocks the fans, it is called Laurelhurst distributing. I'll have to wait until after lunch to call them, big time diff.
Thanks for everyone's help and advice, will keep you posted as I go along

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Bilito

I called Parallex about the fan, they told me how to remove only the lower section of the 6300 power box which houses the fan, but they do not have the fan or it's thermostate controller. so they put me on to a company out on the west coast that stocks the fans, it is called Laurelhurst distributing. I'll have to wait until after lunch to call them, big time diff.
Thanks for everyone's help and advice, will keep you posted as I go along

Holy Moly Batman, Laurelhurst wants 80 bucks plus 15.00 shipping for that fan & motor, no way JOSE the search goes on, it is made by Jakel inc.

[Dave78Chief]

Parralax 6300 Converter documentation (even has pretty pictures and the schematic):
PPS LINEAR CONVERTERS TECHNICAL

Seems like I said something about dirt and such somewhere along the way!

Food for thought: Now you know how some people become knowledgable about this stuff. Each layer has given you new insights.

Dave

[Dave78Chief]

Radio shack carries an assortment of 110VAC muffin fans that I am sure you could adapt. They run about $25 or so. Is the thermostat bad? If so then try a appliance repair store or fan thermostat | eBay

Dave

[Bilito]

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

Radio shack carries an assortment of 110VAC muffin fans that I am sure you could adapt. They run about $25 or so. Is the thermostat bad? If so then try a appliance repair store or fan thermostat | eBay

Dave

Radio Shack, I never thought about them. As far as the thermostat, is has no continuity right now, I thought about heating it up with my wifes hair dryer to see if it closes.

So they are called muffin fans,,,Hmmmm

I found a guy on ebay offering that Parallax 7345RU lower unit upgrade for 219.00 plus 5.00 shipping, that is my last resort. I want a flat screen tv for the RV.

So far I have paid 3500.00 for the RV and have spent well over 2500.00 on this and that, and I have not even added up the last months receipts yet. I will NEVER buy an RV again that has been just sitting for years, I don't mind upgrading a completly functional unit but I will never bring one back from the grave again.

Yesterday when I was at the RV place they had a 17 ft lightweight travel trailer there by gulfstream and it was only 20K. I just had to step inside to have a look, It did not even come with a battery system that was an option and It felt very cheap to me compared to my old Class A.