Community Forums

Bootjack · 05-23-2019, 08:34 AM

The original PACS 1500 inverter died on me in my 89 Country Coach Concept. Thanks to this great group of members I found one through this site. I now own a Magnum 2012.
Has anyone taken out an old Pacs and done this replacement ? Any tips or advice? I hope this change out is something I can do on my own .

Samdon · 05-23-2019, 12:39 PM

If you are so inclined; inverter replacement is extremely simple...at least in theory. In practice; the stuff you run into physically removing and mounting the replacement unit will probably take the most time, especially if it is located in a hard to reach spot. The electrical connections are the easy part. Before you disconnect anything; put a piece of painter's tape on the cable and write exactly what it is clearly on the tape. Remove old, mount new, connect cables to the correct terminals....done!

Before you start, of course you should unplug from shore and disconnect the batteries. Beyond those safety points; I always, always check everything at both ends with a multimeter.

I have done this job twice. First run took about two hours. Second, about an hour. If faced with it again; I figure somewhere between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

Bootjack · 05-23-2019, 01:21 PM

That sounds great, I do have lots of room so that part wont be bad. I just didn't know if the same wires are used since the old PACS was an inverter only and I have a separate converter charger. I guess I can toss that ? Do the wires that went to the converter/ charger now hook into the new Magnum ?

Samdon · 06-07-2019, 12:23 PM

I can't speak directly to that setup. Never even seen such in person. But, the big, fat wires (R&B) will run directly between the batteries and Inverter/Charger. You shouldn't need the old converter/charger nor its wires at all. Rip it all out and enjoy the extra space. The new inverter/charger will push power through those wires when on shore or gen to charge the batts. It will pull DC battery power through those same cables and convert to usable AC for the coach when boondocking. As scary as these systems seem; once you gain a firm grasp on what does what and when, it becomes clear as mud. You can certainly destroy things in the process but you have to try really, really hard to do so.