Community Forums

fishdoc · 02-01-2017, 04:05 PM

No shore power and no generator on, only battery power.. Inverter trips on and off every 10 to 15 seconds..Microwave only 110 draw, on and off. Could be batteries but hygrometer shows good charge on all..Checked cables connections and appear ok. Can Big Boy malfunction cause this? As I say every thing works fine on shore power and generator. What do you suggest?

twinboat · 02-01-2017, 04:40 PM

Has this worked in the past ?

How many watts does your micro draw ? Not cooking power, but watts used.

How many watt inverter ?

The inverter should be connected directly to the house batteries. There should be a 250 to 300 amp fuse but typiclally, no disconnect.

The Big Boy is usually for connecting the chassis batteries to the house batteries.

If your microwave is a full size model and your batteries are a few years old, you may be drawing your volts down to the inverter cut out point. The volts jump back up and it starts again.

As a test, run the micro and quickly feel the battery cable ends for heat. A hot one is dirty. The often " appear " OK.

If the cable ends seem normal, hold your boost switch and try the micro.
If it works by adding your chassis batteries, you may be over drawing your system or have failing batteries.

fishdoc · 02-01-2017, 05:02 PM

Thanks Twin..
This just started week ago.
Don't know watt drain of micro.
2000 watt inverter
Microwave is full size.
I will check voltage draw on battery when microwave comes on and compare volts to microwave off.
Batteries are slightly over 2 years old.
Will try boost switch.

Kiawah · 02-01-2017, 05:07 PM

2000 watt inverter is about 17amps ac, so if the mwave is the only thing on then it should be okay load.

Check the condition of your batteries, and their voltage. As indicated earlier, could be the battery voltage when loaded is dipping below the low battery cutout you have specified in the inverter configuration.

fishdoc · 02-01-2017, 05:51 PM

Agree with you guys so far...Afraid batteries are problem since I believe there is direct connection from batteries to inverter..Twin mentioned fuse but if fuse blow would not have intermittent symptoms having..Will spend more time with batteries tomorrow. Only other problem I believe would be inverter itself the problem. Thanks

twinboat · 02-01-2017, 06:03 PM

I mentioned the fuse as a point of resistance at its connections, not suggesting it was bad.

jharrell · 02-01-2017, 06:40 PM

Sound like its in search mode. If there is no/little load some inverters go into search mode to save power turning on and off looking for a load. My Magnum did this with only the microwave and tvs plugged in but off, you would see the micro clock go on and off a few seconds.

It wasn't clear in your post if this was happening with the significant loads like the microwave being on and cooking, or just being plugged in.

I disabled search mode on my Magnum to prevent the on/off cycle with less than 5 watts, uses more power at idle but not worth it.

computerguy · 02-02-2017, 07:00 AM

I had a '05 Monaco. It had a Magnum inverter. I would presume HR also has Magnum. They are great for support. Give them a call 425-353-8833
I would check all connections from the batts to the inverter including all grounds. Could be a loose or corroded connection.
Let us know how it turns out.

fishdoc · 02-02-2017, 09:17 AM

Jharrell thanks..Microwave off not in operation..I would agree with you except its never searched before..
computer guy its a Trace inverter.
I think batteries are the problem. Will let you know.
frank

luckyd · 02-02-2017, 09:29 AM

Have you tried to reset your inverter?

Woodchopper · 02-02-2017, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishdoc

Agree with you guys so far...Afraid batteries are problem since I believe there is direct connection from batteries to inverter..Twin mentioned fuse but if fuse blow would not have intermittent symptoms having..Will spend more time with batteries tomorrow. Only other problem I believe would be inverter itself the problem. Thanks

fishdoc
There is a direct connection from batteries to inverter.
In fact, as you may know, an inverter uses/needs battery power to make 120VAC.
No connection to batteries, (or discharged batteries) = no 120VAC inverter output.

fishdoc · 02-02-2017, 09:46 AM

Lucyd I will do that.
Wood Yes I do. When this started however I was thinking an interim switch or breaker to just flip but alas not..
Lead acid wet interstate deep cycle and Ive maintained them well so did not think batteries problem......Now to find cause of premature battery failure is next project.

twinboat · 02-02-2017, 12:47 PM

Cycling below 50%, 12.0 volts will shorten the batteries life. If you go to 20% charge, less then half the cycles.

Storing at less then 100%, 12.6 volts, charge will shorten their life.

Letting them drop below 20% charge, more then a few times will do them in.

And freezing discharged batteries is a sure fire killer.

You don't mention how many AH your bank is or how often you run the micro.

You can draw 5 amps from a 100 AH battery, to be in the 20 hour rate.
Using a 400 AH bank, that's 20 amps.

When your drawing 150 amps from your batteries, you are running then down at a much faster rate and the capacity drops faster.

Most folks use the generator for the large draw items.

YC1 · 02-02-2017, 12:53 PM

The Big Boy will not cause the issue.

Put a voltmeter on your batteries, start your engine and see if the voltage goes up close to 13.5. If it does not, then prop your Aux start button and measure it again. If you have an assistant that will be easier.

If the voltage goes up as it should then try your inverter again. If it holds up ok you still need to measure the voltage on your batteries with the engine and microwave running.

If it holds up your batteries are probably bad. A hydrometer test is just one tool to help diagnose a bad battery. It does not tell the story if they can hold up under heavy load.