Inverter

[JR123]

Did our 2013 Thor Freedom Elite 23u MH come with an inverter or was it added by first owner or is it part of the generator? I'm obviously not knowledgeable about these things. Want to learn something before taking it in to the shop for repair. Someone borrowed the RV and they were boondocking and had an issue not no power or generator.

[Old-Biscuit]

IF it has an 'INverter' (12V DC input with 120V AC output) it was 'added'

RV came with a 'CONverter' (120V DC input with 12V DC output) OEM.
Used to power/supply DC System when on shore power or gen power AND recharge battery
W/O shore/gen power the RV battery supplies DC System


INverter is used to power AC Equipment when not being supplied AC Power via shore cord or gen......but can run Battery DC Voltage down fairly quickly

[Gary RVRoamer]

Someone borrowed the RV and they were boondocking and had an issue not no power or generator.

Could you be a little more specific about what this "issue" was? Why do you think the inverter or converter is bad?

If they were without shore power, of course some things don't work. Did they try to start the generator? Did it run? How about lighting and such?

[JR123]

They were using the generator, the heat was on. They had gone to bed. Heard a loud pop and the coach filled up with smoke. They ran out. This morning no power and the generator wouldn't start.

[nothermark]

What were they running off the generator?

I'd start by checking the house battery voltage. If the battery is too low the generator won't start. If the battery is up around 12.5 VDC then make sure the storage relay toggles. It is a can type relay probably near the battery. Measure the big lug away from the battery to ground to see if you can turn power on and off to the house. If that works then try plugging in to see if the Converter works. The voltage at the battery should go up to around 13. 6 VDC when plugged in and the relay set correctly.

I expect it will fail somewhere in there so we can define a problem. If the battery is low use an external charger to charge it overnight and see what it does. If it's below 10 VDC it may not charge with the charger.

FWIW it's considered bad practice to run the generator all night. That is what batteries are for...

[MisterT]

Originally Posted by JR123

They were using the generator, the heat was on. They had gone to bed. Heard a loud pop and the coach filled up with smoke. They ran out. This morning no power and the generator wouldn't start.

need more details:

- did the generator stop on it's own, or did THEY turn it off?
- the 'heat'... meaning the propane furnace?
- 'heard a loud pop'... when? right after going to bed, or being woke by it sometime during the night/early morning?
- 'loud pop'... from the generator area? or near the breaker panel?
- 'filled with smoke'.... really 'filled', or really just 'some' smoke? what 'kind' of smoke ... burnt wires 'smoke'(rubber smell)? burnt wood 'smoke'?

... Gas generator, or diesel? if the generator wouldn't start, it could be that the House battery(s) are too low. There may be a 'Aux' or 'Emergency Start' switch that ties both the House AND Chassis battery(s) together to help start the generator.

... check the breaker on the Generator itself, it could also be tripped.
... check the main breaker in the breaker box

a loud 'pop' and loss of power could be the result of an 'arc' due to wires crossing/burnt/overloaded circuit and a tripped breaker... or it could have been the Converter blowing a fuse in conjunction with low House batteries not 'really' being charged by the generator/charger if the generator breaker had tripped. It's a common problem when the generator breaker trips - you really may not realize it, so the generator is running, but not providing any Charging to the batteries - all the while the Inverter is still in use, running down the batteries, along with the Furnace fan running as well. When the House batteries reach a critical state, a fuse could have 'popped', and everything may have lost power, though the generator may even still be running. If it was then shut down, it may then not have had enough House battery volts to restart it.