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GregHensel · 05-15-2013, 03:55 PM

Hello,

I have a 1999 Executive, every day at around 1:0p the control unit on from the Inverter/Converter/Charger starts beeping, the error light comes on and after 20 minutes the power is shut off. When I turn on the Inverter and back to shore again, it is fine for maybe 2 or 3 minutes then the problem repeats. This goes on between 1pm and 2pm every day! After 2pm everything works perfectly.
2nd sympton is while driving (or when the generator is on) I get the same thing but is every 20 minutes regardless of what time it is. It shuts down every 20 minutes, I reset it, the problem comes again after 20 min.

When this happends these are the indicators:
1) Error light on the Inv/Con/Carger itself blinks 4 times "Battery Charger Fault"
2) Error light on controle unit inside the RV soid red error light with the following display:
--- System Status: "Charger fault"
--- GenSet Status: "Low AC input V"
3) Beeping from controle unit inside the RV.

I sent the unit to Tekris Power, they replaced the relays and sent it back. I put it back in and the exact problem happened again. (These guys are great BTW, they will retest and if can't find anything wrong they will refund the $ I spent).

Could this be the Transfer Switch or something like this? I don't know why it would be time dependent thought. Also this happends at every camp sight I have been to. (mayb 5 different places so far) so I don't think it's the input voltage like the Status displays.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Greg

Full.Monte · 05-15-2013, 06:54 PM

I don't have your model MH, but I'll try. I suspect that there is an internal circuit breaker in your inverter that is tripping and then re-setting after it cools down. It may be over-heating. Overheating problems often come from low voltage at the supply side. Since it happens on shore power as well as generator power (right?), it appears to me that it is not low voltage being supplied, but low voltage being produced by a loose wire connection with line voltage coming into the junction and lower voltage coming out. Since all electrical devices operate on POWER, not just voltage, a low voltage will cause the device to draw more current, and this causes overheating. I would try checking all your connections coming into the inverter, even back to the batteries. You may find the problem.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!

GregHensel · 05-16-2013, 08:36 AM

Thanks for your response and the welcome! Awesome answer this makes sense. Yes it happens with both shore and gen power and more consistent with gen. Actually my electric bill has been high I called the electric company to complain. Also noticed clicking a few times when this happens (could be relays or something) but not always and when it did happen it stopped before I could figure out where the sound was coming form (for sure was coming from the cabinet where the inverter and transformer switch stuff is), maybe a low voltage would cause this. I won't be back to the RV till next week end, I'll check the connections then and also try to find if some of the wires are hot.
Thanks for your help and I will let you know what I find.
Greg

GregHensel · 06-27-2013, 01:00 PM

Ok, I have a conclusion for you. Last we spoke I sent the unit back to Tekris for them to have a look because the problem I send it in for was not fixed. They were able reproduce the problem in their lab after a few days. They guy said he had never seen one act like this, especially the fact that it happened at 1:00 every day. They replaced the microprocessor which didn’t fix it, then replaced the Triac which also didn’t fix it. In the end they debugged for 3 weeks and could not fix. They gave me all the $ back that I put toward a new unit. I can’t say enough about these guys. Chris was the guys in the repair shop that I dealt with mostly. They did the right thing without any prodding or even asking from my side.

The problem was the Inverter/Converter/charger. The new one works perfectly!

Thanks for all your help,
Greg