No 120 power plugged into shore power or using Generator

[larliebler]

My wife turned on the microwave and about 20 seconds later we lost all 120 power, microwave, residential refrigerator etc...We had quite a few 120 volt appliances running at the time, so even though it's 50 amp service we may have overloaded the circuit. I think we had washing machine, 3 space heaters, the fireplace, two laptops, a router, the refrigerator and of course the microwave going. In my last coach which had 30 amp service when it got cold last year here in Denver every time we turned something on it became a math problem, when our math wasn't so good we tripped the breaker.
Yesterday when the 120 volt appliances powered off neither the breaker for shore power or the breakers in the coach tripped. I tried running the generator and still no luck. I'm not very handy, so I asked my neighbor to help me and we verified that the transfer switch was working properly. When I looked at my inverter it was not charging. We decided to just run on battery for the evening since we really didn't have a choice. I woke up in the middle of the night panicked that by morning I may not have enough battery power to run my 4 slides in, so I woke the wife and we moved the slides in. On my previous coach you needed to run the engine when you moved the slide in or out, this coach you must have the engine off, but either plugged into shore power or run your generator in case you get a dip in battery power. Well I didn't have shore or generator power charging my batteries so I was relieved when the last slide came in. My wife and I are sleeping on an air mattress in our office for several weeks and taking showers at our gym until we can get into the dealer to have our coach repaired. I already had an appointment for a list of other things that needed repair, but we can't live in our coach without 120 power. Any clue what may have happened and what the root cause of the no 120 volt power with shore or running the generator?

[Unplanned Tourist]

Look at the connections out of the transfer switch. Maybe you burnt out a wire that had a bad connection.

[GPWayne]

Hope you checked the Breakers on the inverter.

Dear wife ran our microwave with a space heater on the same line.
Knocked out power in half the motor home.
Our inverter was under the bed and covered with a screwed down cover. Hard to get to the breakers (Not any more...I installed a door to get to the breakers)

Good luck with this problem.

[Rodg495]

Yes, your inverter has its own breaker. Usually a small switch right on the inverter. Some of the inverters are mounted up on the "roof" ( upside down ) of the compartment where all of the A/C and DC fuses and boards are located.

[Sundancer268]

I had that issue with my inverter and the problem was the transfer switch in the inverter. When I disassembled the inverter I discovered the transfer relay was only rated for 25 amps even though the circuit breaker was 30 amps. The #10 wire to the relay had burnt out and the relay was fried. I replaced the Heart Freedom 1000 watt inverter with a 2000 watt magnum and have not had any problems since.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by larliebler

My wife turned on the microwave and about 20 seconds later we lost all 120 power, microwave, residential refrigerator etc...We had quite a few 120 volt appliances running at the time, so even though it's 50 amp service we may have overloaded the circuit. I think we had washing machine, 3 space heaters, the fireplace, two laptops, a router, the refrigerator and of course the microwave going. In my last coach which had 30 amp service when it got cold last year here in Denver every time we turned something on it became a math problem, when our math wasn't so good we tripped the breaker.
Yesterday when the 120 volt appliances powered off neither the breaker for shore power or the breakers in the coach tripped. I tried running the generator and still no luck. I'm not very handy, so I asked my neighbor to help me and we verified that the transfer switch was working properly. When I looked at my inverter it was not charging. We decided to just run on battery for the evening since we really didn't have a choice. I woke up in the middle of the night panicked that by morning I may not have enough battery power to run my 4 slides in, so I woke the wife and we moved the slides in. On my previous coach you needed to run the engine when you moved the slide in or out, this coach you must have the engine off, but either plugged into shore power or run your generator in case you get a dip in battery power. Well I didn't have shore or generator power charging my batteries so I was relieved when the last slide came in. My wife and I are sleeping on an air mattress in our office for several weeks and taking showers at our gym until we can get into the dealer to have our coach repaired. I already had an appointment for a list of other things that needed repair, but we can't live in our coach without 120 power. Any clue what may have happened and what the root cause of the no 120 volt power with shore or running the generator?

What happened was that with the microwave, refrigerator, and 3 space heaters running they were most likely all plugged into inverted outlets. Your inverter has a pass through function so that when shore power is available the power passes through the inverter and powers the outlets that are connected to it. The problem is that the inverters breaker (usually located on the side of the inverter) is most likely rated for 30 amps which with turning on the microwave put the load over the top and tripped it. It is not that you do not have shore power or generator power (I bet your air conditioners will still work) it is just the outlets that are connected to the inverter that are not powered. The key to it being the inverters breaker is the fact that you said the inverter was not charging which is also a symptom of the inverters breaker being tripped.

When running a large draw item such as the microwave (which I am sure is on the inverters circuit) plug your space heaters into outlets that are not inverted (if you have such a thing). The way to find such outlets is to unplug from shore power and have the inverter turned ON and plug something into each outlet one at a time. Every outlet that is not powered is a non-inverted outlet.

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by 757driver

What happened was that with the microwave, refrigerator, and 3 space heaters running they were most likely all plugged into inverted outlets. Your inverter has a pass through function so that when shore power is available the power passes through the inverter and powers the outlets that are connected to it. The problem is that the inverters breaker (usually located on the side of the inverter) is most likely rated for 30 amps which with turning on the microwave put the load over the top and tripped it. It is not that you do not have shore power or generator power (I bet your air conditioners will still work) it is just the outlets that are connected to the inverter that are not powered. The key to it being the inverters breaker is the fact that you said the inverter was not charging which is also a symptom of the inverters breaker being tripped.

When running a large draw item such as the microwave (which I am sure is on the inverters circuit) plug your space heaters into outlets that are not inverted (if you have such a thing). The way to find such outlets is to unplug from shore power and have the inverter turned ON and plug something into each outlet one at a time. Every outlet that is not powered is a non-inverted outlet.

Great advice on noting the outlets not on the inverter, our three are marked with a white dot we put on the cover

[larliebler]

So this may be a stupid question, but would I still have power on the display of the inverter if its breaker had flipped? I have a digital display on the inverter, but it no longer shows that it's charging. I have no experience with RV inverters, my last coach only had a converter.
This may be a separate issue entirely, but I was really shocked to find that my new coach has a generic manual. What I mean by that is it's non-specific to my coach, it encompasses all Forest River Class A diesel coaches. My last coach wasn't nearly as nice, but the Winnebago manual was very specif to my coach and every system within that coach.

[okcnewbie]

So you verified that you have output from your transfer switch? Does this go to some type of power management system or straight to the AC power distribution panel? Can someone check at the panel for power?
Hang in there and hopefully you'll be back on the road in no time at all.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by larliebler

So this may be a stupid question, but would I still have power on the display of the inverter if its breaker had flipped? I have a digital display on the inverter, but it no longer shows that it's charging. I have no experience with RV inverters, my last coach only had a converter.
This may be a separate issue entirely, but I was really shocked to find that my new coach has a generic manual. What I mean by that is it's non-specific to my coach, it encompasses all Forest River Class A diesel coaches. My last coach wasn't nearly as nice, but the Winnebago manual was very specif to my coach and every system within that coach.

No stupid questions at all. Yes, the display can still have power with the AC breaker (actually more like a button) tripped. With it tripped there is no AC power to convert to DC power to charge your batteries but the display gets its power directly from the batteries.

What brand/model of inverter do you have Xantrex, Magnum, Outback? The general manual you get with the RV will not cover sub systems very well. Go the the individual manufacturer site for a more detailed description and operation.

[larliebler]

Originally Posted by 757driver

No stupid questions at all. Yes, the display can still have power with the AC breaker (actually more like a button) tripped. With it tripped there is no AC power to convert to DC power to charge your batteries but the display gets its power directly from the batteries.

What brand/model of inverter do you have Xantrex, Magnum, Outback? The general manual you get with the RV will not cover sub systems very well. Go the the individual manufacturer site for a more detailed description and operation.

Thanks, Magnum

[larliebler]

Originally Posted by 757driver

What happened was that with the microwave, refrigerator, and 3 space heaters running they were most likely all plugged into inverted outlets. Your inverter has a pass through function so that when shore power is available the power passes through the inverter and powers the outlets that are connected to it. The problem is that the inverters breaker (usually located on the side of the inverter) is most likely rated for 30 amps which with turning on the microwave put the load over the top and tripped it. It is not that you do not have shore power or generator power (I bet your air conditioners will still work) it is just the outlets that are connected to the inverter that are not powered. The key to it being the inverters breaker is the fact that you said the inverter was not charging which is also a symptom of the inverters breaker being tripped.

When running a large draw item such as the microwave (which I am sure is on the inverters circuit) plug your space heaters into outlets that are not inverted (if you have such a thing). The way to find such outlets is to unplug from shore power and have the inverter turned ON and plug something into each outlet one at a time. Every outlet that is not powered is a non-inverted outlet.

Thank you, I'll check for the breaker on the inverter as soon as I get a chance.

[larliebler]

Originally Posted by 757driver

What happened was that with the microwave, refrigerator, and 3 space heaters running they were most likely all plugged into inverted outlets. Your inverter has a pass through function so that when shore power is available the power passes through the inverter and powers the outlets that are connected to it. The problem is that the inverters breaker (usually located on the side of the inverter) is most likely rated for 30 amps which with turning on the microwave put the load over the top and tripped it. It is not that you do not have shore power or generator power (I bet your air conditioners will still work) it is just the outlets that are connected to the inverter that are not powered. The key to it being the inverters breaker is the fact that you said the inverter was not charging which is also a symptom of the inverters breaker being tripped.

When running a large draw item such as the microwave (which I am sure is on the inverters circuit) plug your space heaters into outlets that are not inverted (if you have such a thing). The way to find such outlets is to unplug from shore power and have the inverter turned ON and plug something into each outlet one at a time. Every outlet that is not powered is a non-inverted outlet.

So I noticed after I had issues the inverter was set for the default setting of 30 amps instead of 50 amps

[757driver]

Originally Posted by larliebler

Thank you, I'll check for the breaker on the inverter as soon as I get a chance.

It will be on the side of the inverter. Round and white with 30A stamped on it. Push to reset.