Canyon Star Inverter?

[ericllucas]

HI - I just bought a 2016 Newmar Canyon Star. It has the Magnum MS2012 Inverter installed. I don't think it works, however, because the refrigerator doesn't work when there is no shore power and the generator is off. No circuit breakers are tripped. No damage to cables. I have two breaker boxes in the bathroom. I assume one is powered by the inverter or main panel, the other is the main panel.

There are also two maybe ten gauge red and white wires wound up and tied off with an electronic cable terminated in a RJ45 in the basement just behind the coach battery tray. We don't know what those are. They look factory installed though.

Finally there is a solar panel on the roof generally above the driver. The previous owner said it wasn't hooked up and didn't know if it worked or not.

How could we test the inverter to see if it is really working or not?
How do we figure out what those cables and RJ45 cable are in the basement next to the batteries?

Thanks in advance!
Eric

["007"]

Welcome to the forum Eric.
Here is one link you need and maybe a couple of others. Brochure, Owners Guide.
Are your house batteries fully charged and is your shore line plugged into at least 110 power?
Information on your inverter MS2012.
Extra wiring could be a option for large solar panels on roof to be added.
Information on small solar panel on roof for chassis battery only is at the end of this link.
Enjoy the forum, safe travels.

[rwhit323]

I have a similar problem on a 2014 Newmar Baystar. Just started happening. No power to the inverter. Batteries charged and working well everywhere else. Cannot find a breaker or fuse tripped. Coincidentally power went out with 12 V receptacle on dash at same time.
Any ideas welcome.

[Mike and Cha]

Check the rocker fuse breaker on your inverter which is hard to see. Ours is located in the passenger side front bay. It will trip if you plug anything into a receptacle that is on that circuit that exceeds the draw. I did it using a shop vac one time. Looked for a few hours thinking I must have shorted something major out. Finally found that breaker, reset it and everything worked again.

[ericllucas]

excellent idea. Found the breaker, 30A pushbutton thing. Its in, not popped out. Darn, that would have been nice if that was it. Thanks anyway

[Mike and Cha]

Did you try pushing it in/out again, some of those require you to do that, and don't look like they are popped out, but are actually tripped. I'm pretty sure mine is more of a rocker type switch and you couldn't tell by looking at it that it had been tripped. Good luck, I've found that most electrical things in these are minor things that have come loose due to vibrations, or tripped by using something that exceeds the circuit. Hopefully it is something simple. As for the solar panel on the roof, I have the same thing, which is supposedly hooked up, but it alone will not keep up the chassis battery.

I'd have to go and check mine but I don't remember all those wires just wrapped up like yours are, so maybe it's just not hooked up. In my MH, the wires laying next to the coach batteries are the wires for the pre-wire for solar panels should you decide to add them, they are already on the roof( at least that's what mine are). My coach batteries are in the front of the engine compartment though. Is there any way to contact the original owner who may have the answers as to what was originally installed.

[2Escapees]

Just checking: is the switch on the inverter remote panel ON?

[ericllucas]

Hi again - I have a remote on the panel above the entrance door. I read the manual generously provided by 007 (Thanks!) I started pushing buttons and found that when I pushed the On button, inexplicably the INV light came on. When I pushed the On button again, to my bewilderment, the INV light went off. I'm sitting here racking my brain to figure out why I push the On button and the INV light comes on. I'm going to have to think about that one.

Hey, I got it. Pressing ON turns on the Inverter. Genius!

Okay. that's really humbling. I used to be an electronics repairman. I would SWEAR I pushed that On button before and nothing happened previously.

So tomorrow when I detach shore power, I'm going to - wait for it - push the on button and see if the refrigerator comes on.

I know there are supposed to be certain outlets that are powered through the inverter. I think there is one for the refrigerator and one in the entertainment center cabinet. I have to get a tester and walk around and see if any of them are powered up when that magic inverter light is on.

Thanks everyone!

[GaryKD]

Consider leaving the inverter on full time. When it senses 120V from shore or generator the inverter goes into standby mode. My inverter is turned off only when changing house batteries. Been this way for 14 years without a problem. The most difficult thing an electronic appliance can do is "boot up".

[tacksondeck]

We don't have Magnum inverter but our Xantrex inverter has a 110 GFCI outlet that is the output power. You may want to look at that if your inverter has one. Not obvious because the inverter looks like it's working but no power to the fridge.

Your 2 wires + RJ45 is the solar wire from the roof. Newmar sells a pre-wire solar option if you want to add solar later. There is a plate on the roof with the red and white wires underneath. The RJ45 goes to the panel over the door.

The solar panel is 10W. It provides just a small charge to the batteries. I'll bet it's still connected on your coach. My battery monitor shows it charging the batteries at 1-3 watts today.

[Dan McMartin]

We leave our fridge inverter on all the time. Even on shore power, it's on just in case the power goes out. The fridge will continue to keep things cold until the power returns.

Also, our fridge wasn't working when we arrived at our current boondocking spot. After a few minutes of troubleshooting, I discovered the GFCI on the inverter had tripped. Reset it and bam, we had power. Not sure what tripped it but it's been working fine ever since. Maybe a pot hole on the road jarred it just right.

[ericllucas]

I'm loving this forum already. Thanks for the quick responses, really. I can't wait to push back tomorrow and see if everything works as it should.

[doc]

Eric, we have the Canyon Star (2016) handicap edition. It too has the inverter and the wire package. It says "solar ready" on the electronics control panel. Since we just got this thing, I have not been on the roof and am still learning about it. Is the solar panel part of the "solar ready" package or is that something that has to be added by the owner??

Also, when the fridge is running on battery/inverter only (engine, genset, and shore power removed) will there be lights on the front of the door of the fridge? I am trying to figure all this stuff out and at my age, it is getting a little complicated. Thanks

[bigchick]

there is an on/off indicator light on the inverter itself. you might want to see if it turns on/off when you press the remote on/off button