Inverter Help-OVERTEMP

[CountryB]

114 C is 237 F - that's hot!

[YC1]

Sounds like you are onto the issue. Those temps are really high.

[jowmore]

Inverter service center White House Tennessee I had the same problem and they repaired one fan that was out and a control ribbon that was bad. Turnaround from door to door was eight days. Once they get it it’s out for shipment in less than three days great service and phone calls back and forth as they find problems very reasonable and knowledgeable. I would use them again. Beats $1700.00 for a new one my bill was about $170.00

[pduggs]

Originally Posted by YC1

Sounds like you are onto the issue. Those temps are really high.

Not as yet. Called Magnum yesterday and today without reaching anyone. Left message.

We moved to a 50 amp shore site. I got batteries fully charged then shut off the 50 amp, to check inverter. Turned on all lights, both TVs, and residential refrigerator running so that there was a load on batteries. Turned on generator to charge batteries. Before all this, I noted temperatures at the inverter. Trans 45C and FET 43C. Within 5 minutes of starting genset, temperatures increased to 116C and 65C. I looked at inverter and found fan running, but seemed to be running at a very low speed. I stopped everything and turned on 50 amp.

Should the inverter temperatures raise this quickly?

[YC1]

Temperatures of a device that works this hard will soar in just minutes without proper cooling. For example. If you have ever seen the inside of a PC where the microprocessor lives there is usually a huge heat sink that lives right on top of the thing. Between them is usually some thermo compound to help transfer the heat.

A fan is often attached directly. If that fan dies the internal temps will rise very fast. If the heat sink is not in place the microprocessor will destroy itself quickly.

So yes, things can heat up quickly. Of course a component crippled can create heat itself.

One of the things I used thousands of times is just touching components with my fingers to feel for heat. After working on many of the same devices it was often easy to determine the problem area with just the touch of a finger.

If you have any kind of fan you could try putting it right on the vent area of the thing just for a test.

[pduggs]

I have called Magnum several times over the past two weeks without success. They claim they will call you back if you leave a message, but that isn’t true. Finally today I waited on the phone for one hour and seven minutes to finally get to one in the queue. Then they disconnected the call saying my call can’t be connected.

This is very disappointing. I have heard they had good customer service, but I haven’t experienced this. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[pduggs]

LATEST:

Just got a phone call from Glenn Darby Senior Product Support Technical Specialist. He said they were closed due to snow in the Seattle area.

He gave me good information. As some have stated in this thread, it is likely the two internal fans are not operating properly. He told me it is easy to replace the two 12V fans and they only cost $15 each. He said remove the seven torque screws holding the top cover on the inverter, to access the fans. The fans are held in place by one torque screw and two zip ties.

The fans run at three different speeds. The high speed setting should kick in when bulk charging and temp on Trans reaches 176F. At 242F (117C) the inverter will shut down and go into fault due to over temperature to protect it from heat damage. He said the fans run at half speed when Trans reaches 140F.

You can buy the fans only from their approved distributors. Magnum does not sell them to the public. Part #44-0004. Their website lists locations of distributors.