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Old 06-07-2015, 10:59 PM   #15
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Ed the inverter started coming on by itself a day or 2before I got the solar hooked up so I dont think that is it.

However I did replace all 4 coach batteries about a week before and although they are hooked up correctly I hooked the negative up last and I'm wondering if for some reason the Heart system didnt like that. I didnt have the problem right away because I keep the coach plugged into shore power when its at home and the inverter is kept off I believe by the shore power.


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Old 06-09-2015, 03:01 AM   #16
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Wow I think you got me Baffled again,

I doubt but would not rule out that you hooked up Neg. last may have done something, as a rule I do hookup Pos. last. Less chance of sparks. I Think

I'm tired I need another sleepless night,
I'll talk to you tomorrow! or is that in the morrow???

Regards,

Ed
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Old 06-09-2015, 03:31 AM   #17
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Do you happen to have an amp clamp to check the pull on the batteries while sitting? What about your fridge, is it set in both or the water heater electric on?
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Old 06-09-2015, 11:56 AM   #18
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Do you happen to have an amp clamp to check the pull on the batteries while sitting? What about your fridge, is it set in both or the water heater electric on?
Can you explain this a little more!
what do you mean is it set for both? 12v and 120v? I don't think you can.
BTW. I have Norcold 4door. HWH would be gas and 120v, how would that make a difference if you can do that?

No I don't have a AmpClamp (time to get one) to follow this experiment, lets hope Jim has one and can do this.
That said our Heart monitor 1000 for the Inverter can tell us the Amp draw difference reasonably accurate.

Regards,

Ed
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Old 06-09-2015, 12:32 PM   #19
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Hi everyone....I hope someone can help me with this. I was working in my MH yesterday and did not have the shore power hooked up. Then I noticed that the inverter was running with a cooling fan on. So I shut it off at my control panel and an hr or so later it came on again and I shut it off. This happened several times and this am I went in the MH and the inverter was running and the batteries were low...had to plug it in to shore power and recharge the batteries.
Has anyone experienced this? I dont want that inverter on unless I tell it to come on as the cooling fan will just kill the batteries.
Hoping someone has a solution
Cheers. Jim
2001 American Eagle 40 US 8.9 ISL, towing 1999 Cherokee or 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 with Polaris RZR in the back.
Jimalberta
What is the make/model of the inverter are you are asking about?

Why did you post what coach... what engine... what toads... and what 4 X 4 you have... and not include the make/model of the inverter you are talking about?

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Old 06-09-2015, 01:55 PM   #20
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Can you explain this a little more!
what do you mean is it set for both? 12v and 120v? I don't think you can.
BTW. I have Norcold 4door. HWH would be gas and 120v, how would that make a difference if you can do that?

No I don't have a AmpClamp (time to get one) to follow this experiment, lets hope Jim has one and can do this.
That said our Heart monitor 1000 for the Inverter can tell us the Amp draw difference reasonably accurate.

Regards,

Ed
Sorry I should have asked if your fridge was set on auto, 120 or gas as it will default to 120 if it sees it.

Ok if you can read the amp draw does it show how much you are losing? This being while the coach is not plugged in of course. If you have solar, you need to shut it off for a total amp draw.
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Old 06-10-2015, 01:24 AM   #21
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Jimalberta
What is the make/model of the inverter are you are asking about?

Why did you post what coach... what engine... what toads... and what 4 X 4 you have... and not include the make/model of the inverter you are talking about?

Mel
'96 Safari
I know that Jim has not said to much about the Inverter But I certainly have said many times that we are talking about a Heart inverter system in both of our coaches, I am pretty sure If you read back it's all pretty obvious.
His Eagle is a year younger but the electrics are pretty much the same.

Regards,
ED
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Old 06-10-2015, 02:11 AM   #22
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Sorry I should have asked if your fridge was set on auto, 120 or gas as it will default to 120 if it sees it.

Ok if you can read the amp draw does it show how much you are losing? This being while the coach is not plugged in of course. If you have solar, you need to shut it off for a total amp draw.
This is an experiment for Jim to try since I don't really have the problem although I could replicate it to see what should happen. I don't have an AmpClamp
My fridge is off, It has been so far. For this You would want to run it to see what gives.
I would try it both with the Solar on and the Solar off, you can see how much you're taking in Ah or KWhr and see what your losing over a given period.
The question is where?

I think with what Jim said in his last post You should start from the beginning, disconnect the Solar and test everything from the ground up including load testing the batteries , the charger, the hookups and run things for a day or three without any changes to see if everything goes back to normal!!!!!

THEN go to step N0.2

Up to you Jim

Regards,

Ed

P.S. My heart monitor is still bonkers after having been plugged in for a few hours we'll see tomorrow morning.
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Old 06-10-2015, 07:30 AM   #23
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Jimalberta
What is the make/model of the inverter are you are asking about?
Mel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVingDutchman View Post
I know that Jim has not said to much about the Inverter But I certainly have said many times that we are talking about a Heart inverter system in both of our coaches, I am pretty sure If you read back it's all pretty obvious.
His Eagle is a year younger but the electrics are pretty much the same.
Regards,
ED
RVingDutchman
Although it is obvious what inverter YOU are talking about it was not obvious what make/model inverter Jim, (the OP), has in his coach, (because he did not include that information in his post).
IMO it doesn't matter what inverter you are talking about or what is in your coach... but it does matter what inverter the OP is talking about ... (which may, or may not, be the same as yours and/or mine).
There are more than one model of of Heart inverters.
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Old 06-10-2015, 07:55 AM   #24
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Is this a stand alone inverter or an inverter/charger? If it's just a stand alone inverter, you could install a switch in the line from the battery to the inverter. Many modern inverters send out a small pulse of 120 v power to search for a load on the line. If you have an appliance, or phone charger, or some other thing that's triggering the inverter, you could unplug those devices or plug them into a power strip that can be turned off.
J'm surprised that nobody else ha mentioned this. The DC current through the switch, and in to the inverter will be a little more than ten times the AC current out. If you are only drawing 5 amps from the inverter, the 50+ amp input wil quickly melt any any switch smaller than something like a battery disconnect switch.
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Old 06-10-2015, 08:45 AM   #25
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J'm surprised that nobody else ha mentioned this. The DC current through the switch, and in to the inverter will be a little more than ten times the AC current out. If you are only drawing 5 amps from the inverter, the 50+ amp input wil quickly melt any any switch smaller than something like a battery disconnect switch.
Sorry, I would assume the OP has the sense to not install a wrong sized switch. If it's a 6 AWG wire I would think even an idiot wouldn't control it with an RV style 12 v light switch. At the time I made the suggestion, we didn't know if it was a small stand alone or large inverter/charger.
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Old 06-10-2015, 10:49 AM   #26
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Years ago I had this type of problem with my freedom 458. If memory serves, the ground fault outlets had smarts in them and would actually draw a minute current and the inverter would trigger off of this.

The sleep/hunting mode had different settings for '0' to a few watts to trigger to inverter on. Default was '0' of course, so I set the hunt mode to the highest setting and solved the problem. Also put the Microwave on a switch (got tired of using the circuit breaker) so it won't keep the inverter on just for the clock.

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Old 06-10-2015, 12:25 PM   #27
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Sorry, I would assume the OP has the sense to not install a wrong sized switch. If it's a 6 AWG wire I would think even an idiot wouldn't control it with an RV style 12 v light switch. At the time I made the suggestion, we didn't know if it was a small stand alone or large inverter/charger.
I no longer ever assume things like that. I once explained to a neighbor how to install a light fixture in a bedroom. I gave him a list of everything he needed to buy I explained how to cut the plasterboard. I explained hoe to install a bar hanger and box. I explained about turning off the power. I drew pictures of how to do the wiring and lent him a fish tape. I assumed that he knew that walking in tha attic, he should only step on the joists. WRONG! He landed on his dining room table.
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Old 06-10-2015, 03:24 PM   #28
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hey Guys I'm back from camping so now have better internet.

First of all....I am a tradesman and very experienced with electrical...... well enough to know that you don't want some wimpy switch when you have a cable the size of your thumb coming off the batteries and then through a catastrophic fuse that is probably 100 amps or more. you need a major switch.

I have a Fluke True RMS multi meter and amp clamp meter but have never tried the amp clamp on DC electrical before....not sure it that would work......I guess I could read the manual....lol.

Mel you are right I guess I assumed that we all had the same Heart system but its a Heart Interface II with a 2000 watt inverter built into it.

it was doing all kinds of wierd things at its worst such as all of the lights both red and green flashing at the same time....this is on the panel right on the unit. After removing the hot wire from the batts to the Heart it has settled down now and is behaving normally but the wife and I are considering upgrading the entire system now because we dont want a failure while on the road.

at the vary least I want to talk to the fellow that took over from Fleetwood on the Heart systems and see what he has to say.
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