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fishdoc · 02-02-2017, 05:42 PM

Ok men I tested voltage at the Xantrex(Trace) inverter in bay at red and black terminals as the inverter tripped on and off.. The voltage measured 13.17 and stayed at that number as inverter tripped on and off. (Tested voltage at battery terminals also) No fluctuation as inverter went from 120 to 0 every 10 to 15 seconds..
This tells me that problem is with inverter and not a draw down on batteries. Batteries to me look strong here..
What say you?

twinboat · 02-02-2017, 06:03 PM

If the 120 volts is kicking in & out with a load and the battery voltage is steady, as you say, I would lean towards the inverter too.

Have you tried it with a lighter load ? Coffee maker maybe.

Do check the 120 volt wiring for loose connections.

fishdoc · 02-02-2017, 07:05 PM

Ok Thanks.

Woodchopper · 02-03-2017, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishdoc

Ok men I tested voltage at the Xantrex(Trace) inverter in bay at red and black terminals as the inverter tripped on and off.. The voltage measured 13.17 and stayed at that number as inverter tripped on and off. (Tested voltage at battery terminals also) No fluctuation as inverter went from 120 to 0 every 10 to 15 seconds..
This tells me that problem is with inverter and not a draw down on batteries. Batteries to me look strong here..
What say you?

fishdoc
I suspect you may have a electrical short somewhere in the wiring causing an "Auto Resetting Circuit Beaker" to trip OFF/ON.

AUTO RESET CIRCUIT BREAKER

billdreamlv · 02-03-2017, 08:53 AM

It might also just be the circuit breakers. They do go bad. The more they trip the worse they get.

jharrell · 02-03-2017, 09:15 AM

Still sounds like search mode, the threshold might have changed slightly with age and now its going into it. This is from a Trace manual:

"Use a small jeweller's style flat-head screwdriver to adjust the current threshold
required to bring the inverter out of search mode into full inverter operation.
With search mode enabled, the inverter minimizes energy consumption by pulsing
the AC output looking for an applied load, rather than remaining at full inverter
operation when there is no load. Disabling the threshold by setting the
potentiometer fully counter-clockwise to the Defeat setting causes the inverter to
remain on (in full power operation) even when there is no applied load.
See “Setting the Search Mode Threshold” on page 2–9."

Please confirm as reading back through your post its still not clear:

1. Inverter model number
2. Are any loads on when this occurs? You keep mentioning the microwave, but it sounds like its occurring when NOT running, does it occur while on and cooking?

The microwave is a a decent dummy load for testing, you could also plug in a heater for load testing as well.

Kiawah · 02-03-2017, 09:24 AM

I'm assuming your mwave works fine on shorepower and generator. Correct?

And you stated the mwave is the only thing on the inverter circuits, Correct?

You might want to try unplugging the mwave, and then starting your inverter again to see if the inverter still fails. If it does, I would then try disconnecting the output wiring at the inverter, just to be sure it's nothing to do with the wiring. If that still fails, then inverter bad.

If after unplugging the mwave and starting inverter it doesn't fail, then plug in some low wattage device like a light bulb (which would be about an amp), to see if it begins to fail under load.

fishdoc · 02-03-2017, 06:06 PM

Thanks again, all.
1.Correct Kiawah micro and every 110 outlet works on shore power and gen.
Yes micro only 110 on invertercircuits..Have thought it could be the microwave a short in the mechanism..But if that were the case wouldnt the same short come into play on shore power?
Will figure out to how to unplug "built in" microwave and plug in a fan or something.
2.Jharrell have never in 3 years have seen a search feature..As I say this has worked fine on present settings ..Its a 2000 watt Xantrex(trace) . Sorry do not have model # with me.
3.Wood I wish it could be that simple and thus less expense. I don't know what or where an "auto circuit breaker" for this is .
4.Bill if it were a 110 breaker it would stay off...correct?
My thought at this time it is a bad circuit board or something inside the Inverter that is defective. 11 years old, I'm thinking entropy at work here and something has just worn out.....However I'm not abandoning a short in the Microwave or a loose connection. Will spend more time on this with a technician friend in the coming week.