No power from Shore and Generator

[martinr]

Hi everyone,

I'm the John Snow of rv'ing, I know nothing. I might put too much details since I don't know what info is useful.

My problem is: I am not getting any more power from the shore line and the generator anymore.

My only power seems to comes from the batteries, recharged by the solar panels. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Here are more details.

I have 2 solar panels on the roof.
If the switch next to the Go Power Digital Solar Regulator is off, only 12vDC works. If I put the switch on, all the 110v AC work but the Go Power tells me I am draining my resources rapidly.

When I get to 0%, my inverter starts sending an alarm sound until I put the switch next to the solar regulator back to off.

I am plugged in a 30 amp shore line and it doesn't make any difference.
I tried starting the generator, same thing. Still the same.
No 110v ac outlet or appliance works if switch of the Go Power solar is off.

Current setup:

- Right now, I am hookep up to a 30amp shore line. I hear the click in the Automatic transfer switch when I plug in. I also hear the transfer switch humming, so there seems to be power coming in.
The main transfer switch is a Iota ITS-50R

- The power seems to go in a Iota DLS-75 AC/DC Power converter and battery charger.

- The power also seems to go into a TODD engineering power switch.

- From the TODD power switch, the power goes to an Enerwatt EW-3000 Inverter.

- Under the bed, there is a 50 amp breaker box, all the breakers are on, I resetted (off/on) them just to make sure.

- Under the dash, there is a 500W Maxx Vehicle Power System

Any idea what I should check, where the problem could lie?

I'll try to upload photos later. Bad connection here.

Thanks!

[mel s]

Originally Posted by martinr

Hi everyone,
I'm the John Snow of rv'ing, I know nothing. I might put too much details since I don't know what info is useful.
My problem is: I am not getting any more power from the shore line and the generator anymore.
My only power seems to comes from the batteries, recharged by the solar panels. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Here are more details.
I have 2 solar panels on the roof.
If the switch next to the Go Power Digital Solar Regulator is off, only 12vDC works. If I put the switch on, all the 110v AC work but the Go Power tells me I am draining my resources rapidly.
When I get to 0%, my inverter starts sending an alarm sound until I put the switch next to the solar regulator back to off.
I am plugged in a 30 amp shore line and it doesn't make any difference.
I tried starting the generator, same thing. Still the same.
No 110v ac outlet or appliance works if switch of the Go Power solar is off.
Current setup:
- Right now, I am hookep up to a 30amp shore line. I hear the click in the Automatic transfer switch when I plug in. I also hear the transfer switch humming, so there seems to be power coming in.
The main transfer switch is a Iota ITS-50R
- The power seems to go in a Iota DLS-75 AC/DC Power converter and battery charger.
- The power also seems to go into a TODD engineering power switch.
- From the TODD power switch, the power goes to an Enerwatt EW-3000 Inverter.
- Under the bed, there is a 50 amp breaker box, all the breakers are on, I resetted (off/on) them just to make sure.
- Under the dash, there is a 500W Maxx Vehicle Power System
Any idea what I should check, where the problem could lie?
Thanks!

martinr
Look for a circuit breaker, (or some circuit breakers) on your inverter... (my inverter has 2 pop-out breakers on the face of the inverter itself).
The incoming 120VAC, (from either a campground pedestal or my genset), "passes though" the inverter and those breakers before energizing the receptacles in the RV.

Good luck!

Mel
'96 Safari

[wa8yxm]

What you need to see is a flow chart

Shore-----ATS
Generator--ATS
ATS----Main power panel main breakers

Now.. you will notice there art TWO things that are common to both shore and generator power..1: the ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) and 2: The main braker(s) in your RV

I would start with the main breakers.. They are easier to find.

Then if they have not tripped (CYCLE them off and on.. compare the feel to other breakers) check for power on the screws (Measure connection screw to white bus)

IF no power find the ATS and check for power on the SHORE in (When plugged in) Generator in When genny running and LOAD (out)

Report results.

Looks like the TODD is the ATS

In your case you need to check for power in and out of the inverter as well.

ALSO.. Some inverters (Mine for example) have ye old BIG SWITCH (ok so it is not that big) but if it's off,,NOTHING passes that box.. I mean NOTHING.

it has smaller (physically) switchs that disable/enable the features (inverter, Charger and display).

[VP Chianese]

Originally Posted by martinr

Current setup:

- Right now, I am hookep up to a 30amp shore line. I hear the click in the Automatic transfer switch when I plug in. I also hear the transfer switch humming, so there seems to be power coming in.
The main transfer switch is a Iota ITS-50R

- The power seems to go in a Iota DLS-75 AC/DC Power converter and battery charger.

- The power also seems to go into a TODD engineering power switch.

- From the TODD power switch, the power goes to an Enerwatt EW-3000 Inverter.

- Under the bed, there is a 50 amp breaker box, all the breakers are on, I resetted (off/on) them just to make sure.

- Under the dash, there is a 500W Maxx Vehicle Power System

Any idea what I should check, where the problem could lie?

I'll try to upload photos later. Bad connection here.

Thanks!

So reading your above statement you say "the power seams to go into the TODD". Does it? In other words have you checked with a meter to see where the 110 V starts and stops. Take nothing for granted. Is the 110 V going into the ITS-50R? Hum or not. Does it come out and then go into the DSL 75? Does it go into the TODD? Does it come out? and so on. Resetting the 50 amp breakers does no good if there isn't anything going into the breakers in the first place. You will have to isolate where it stops coming out.

[zrobotman]

Try to soft start the inverter. A voltage spike may have kicked the system off.

[Scottybdivin]

Originally Posted by VP Chianese

So reading your above statement you say "the power seams to go into the TODD". Does it? In other words have you checked with a meter to see where the 110 V starts and stops. Take nothing for granted. Is the 110 V going into the ITS-50R? Hum or not. Does it come out and then go into the DSL 75? Does it go into the TODD? Does it come out? and so on. Resetting the 50 amp breakers does no good if there isn't anything going into the breakers in the first place. You will have to isolate where it stops coming out.

Precisely. If the obvious tricks don't work, get the meter out and start at the shore panel and work your way down the line until you no longer have power.

["007"]

Welcome to the forum.
Here is a Brochure and Owners Guide that will have some electrical info in it.
Here is a link to tech info for different power info.
Below in my signature are links to many more for you.
You do have a volt meter and have you checked the wire terminations leading into and out of your load center for tight screws both the power and grounding side of circuit. You need to tale cover off and disconnect power while doing so.
Wire connections in your transfer switch will have your Gen, load center and your shore power leads plus a Surge Protector may have shore power leads before the TS.
Road vibrations over the years can loosen connections especially stranded cable wiring.
Could be the hot or grounded side of a power circuit.
Because you say no Gen or shore power I would start at your transfer switch.
You have relays in there that may have dirty contacts run a dollar bill through them to clean.
Be careful in TS you have circuit board that holds a stored charge don't cross anything near it may have to replace if you do.

[martinr]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I wasn't sure if I needed a volt meter to follow the power but it seems from your comments that I do.

I'll get one, I'm sure it comes handy every once in a while.

Now a surprising follow-up (for me at least).
My wife has been telling me to switch on a power strip that is in the kitchen cabinet next to the MW oven.
Being a know-it-all who really knows nothing, I of course said this power strip couldn't be related to our problem whatsoever and that it would drain our batteries even quicker, so not the best idea in the world (not in these terms, or we wouldn't be going on 17 years together! I actually said it was a super good idea and I needed to check something else before I tried it).

I'm sure you guessed where this is heading.
Late afternoon yesterday, I figured, hey, let's give her idea a shot, what have I got to lose.
And she was right -- and so was I for listening to her, right?

I have no idea why this works so far. But if I put that power strip at On and I also have the Inverter activation button at On as well, the shore cord seems to power the appliances and outlets. I say seem because I have no proof that is the case, apart from the fact that our batteries stay near 100% of their charge even if we open lights, plug in the laptops and use the coffee maker.

I'll do my best to get to the bottom of this by understanding our wire diagram and following the whole think with a volt meter while checking all breakers and fuses. So much fun ahead of me!

[VP Chianese]

Originally Posted by martinr

Thanks a lot for the advice. I wasn't sure if I needed a volt meter to follow the power but it seems from your comments that I do.

I'll get one, I'm sure it comes handy every once in a while.

You don't need one as two fingers work as well. And it won't take you long to see if there is current there.

Just kidding, get the volt meter. 12 V is hard to read with the two finger method.

[martinr]

Originally Posted by VP Chianese

You don't need one as two fingers work as well. And it won't take you long to see if there is current there.

I'll make sure I have wet socks when doing this :-)

[martinr]

Follow-up. The problem is fixed for now. It fixed itself without any human help, probably because our RV knows I'm a newbie and wants to spare me.

A friend/licensed electrician looked at everything and he is pretty certain there was a tiny debris in the transfer switch.

When the shore power wasn't working, the transfer switch was humming super loudly. It went back to a slight hum and everything went back to normal. He hit the switch with his screwdriver a couple of times and even the light hum disappeared almost completely.

The humming sound came from the switch not being fully in place and the electricity trying to go through.

More testing to be done, I'm going camping this weekend, I'll be able to confirm this was really the problem.

["007"]

If you have relays in the TS take a dollar bill and run through the relay contacts, may have iron filings getting caught in contacts or filings in the relay magnet keeping from closing completely.
Glad its working better.

[martinr]

Originally Posted by "007"

If you have relays in the TS take a dollar bill and run through the relay contacts, may have iron filings getting caught in contacts or filings in the relay magnet keeping from closing completely.
Glad its working better.

I live in Canada 007, the lowest number bills go to is $5 ;-)
I can check this your way when I cross the border in late August

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by martinr

I live in Canada 007, the lowest number bills go to is $5 ;-)
I can check this your way when I cross the border in late August
Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it.

I use only $20 bills or larger... (a cheap fix never lasts long).