Community Forums

djholmes01 · 05-08-2011, 04:05 PM

I have a 2006 Country Coach Intrigue 530 I'm hooked to shore power 50 amp. The electricity has gone off occasionally for just a few seconds. My inverter is not taking over. Usually when electricity goes off then inverter takes over long enough so that when power comes back on we don't even notice it. Lately the inverter is not staying enabled. When the power goes off the inverter disables at the same time. I've gone and enabled inverter when the power comes back on but same thing happens when power goes off again. I've been parked here for 10 weeks and haven't had a problem until the last couple of days.

Tha_Rooster · 05-08-2011, 04:28 PM

Do you have a surge protector if not sounds like you need one. If your power just goes off for a few seconds why would you need the inverter? When the power goes off you said so does the inverter why is the inverter on when the power is on? This is new to me I've only used my inverter once so I am curious myself.

djholmes01 · 05-08-2011, 05:05 PM

I was told to leave the inverter enabled so that if I lost shorepower it would take over until the shorepower came back on. It has proven helpful because the TV, coffeemaker clock, etc. doesn't quit.

djholmes01 · 05-08-2011, 05:06 PM

I do have a surge protector. Doesn't that just help if you have low power, not no power? I wish I understood the rv power issues better.

Tallyrver · 05-08-2011, 05:27 PM

My 2011 Journey has a 2800 watt inverter and 6 house batteries ,I was told to leave the inverter on all the time. I have a res. frig. In a low power (30 amp) etc. situation the energy control system will use the inverter power and the shore power together to keep things on. This weekend i stayed at a 30 amp park and had no power issues. stayed at the same park this time last year with another coach and could not run the ac's and the microwave at the same time.

I also installed a surge protector which has a 2 min. time delay ,I shut off shore power and everything but the ac's stayed on until the 2 min time .

GaryKD · 05-08-2011, 05:37 PM

Hi djholmes01,
Leaving the inverter on is correct, for the reasons previously posted. Your inverter not stepping up to the plate when the shore power goes out is not correct. Based on the information you have provided, gut feel says the inverter circuit breaker has activated. Depending on the brand of inverter and how it was mounted in the coach this breaker can be a very small button and in a very, very hard to get to location. If you have documentation try to locate the inverter internal breaker. It may take getting into some awkward positions, but it is there.

Consider asking this question in the Country Coach Owners forum on iRV2. I'll bet another coach owner has the same coach as you and has the same problem.

bbeane · 05-08-2011, 06:12 PM

Have you checked your connections at your batterys for clean and tight?, and your 110V connections at the panels?

Bob (WA0MQE) · 05-09-2011, 06:19 AM

Check all the connections at the batteries and the Inverter. Find the main DC (usually a large red cable that will have a very large 200 to 300 AMP in-line fuse) cable that goes between the Inverter and the batteries. Make sure the connections are free of corrosion and very tight. Open the front panel of the inverter where all the input/output AC electrical wires are connected and make sure these are tight. Have you checked and tested your batteries to make sure their up to the challenge to supply the inverter? A proper load test is a must to know what their capacity is. This is the first place to start. If these all check out okay then you'll probably need to get the inverter tested.

djholmes01 · 05-10-2011, 08:33 AM

Thanks for all the replies. I tightened the connections behind the panel on the inverter which fixed the problem. Also, the plug in for shore power wasn't completely plugged in and "Line 1" wasn't making connection. Apparently the clothes dryer is on "Line 2" and it was still making connection. We had some bad winds here in Las Vegas and I guess the vibrations wiggled the shore power loose. Thanks again.

Dennis
#12055

Cat320 · 05-12-2011, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallyrver

My 2011 Journey has a 2800 watt inverter and 6 house batteries ,I was told to leave the inverter on all the time. I have a res. frig. In a low power (30 amp) etc. situation the energy control system will use the inverter power and the shore power together to keep things on. This weekend i stayed at a 30 amp park and had no power issues. stayed at the same park this time last year with another coach and could not run the ac's and the microwave at the same time.

I also installed a surge protector which has a 2 min. time delay ,I shut off shore power and everything but the ac's stayed on until the 2 min time .

I was at my dealer's yesterday...he said there's no point in leaving the inverter on unless you are going to be away from the coach for more than a day and need the inverter to pick up the load on something that must have power. In your case you need it for the refrig. I have propane to back up my refrig, so there is nothing that I would need back up power to keep running.

bbeane · 05-13-2011, 03:47 AM

Not to steal a thread, but why would you leave the inverter on when you don't need it to run something. Thats about the same thing as leaving the water pump on when you hooked to city water, or leaving the fridge on when the coach is stored for long periods with nothing in it. Food for thought electrical componets are like any thing else they are only going to run so many hours then they die, so why use them when you don't need them?

H. Miller · 05-13-2011, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeane

Food for thought electrical componets are like any thing else they are only going to run so many hours then they die, so why use them when you don't need them?

I come from the "use it or lose it" school of thought. Over many years I've lost more components to lack of use than use (mechanical or electrical)
PS - Started in the electronics biz in 1958

paz · 05-13-2011, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H. Miller

I come from the "use it or lose it" school of thought. Over many years I've lost more components to lack of use than use (mechanical or electrical)
PS - Started in the electronics biz in 1958

Ditto. Most failures of electrical or electronic components occur on start-up.

We're full-timers, and our inverter has been running 24/7 for almost 5 years now, even when we're on the road.

If the inverter is off and there is an electrical outage (even for a second), the satellite receiver looses its memory. It can take 5 or 10 minutes to download a new program guide during which time the receiver is inoperable - a real PITA if you're in the middle of watching something.

docj · 05-13-2011, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paz

Ditto. Most failures of electrical or electronic components occur on start-up.

We're full-timers, and our inverter has been running 24/7 for almost 5 years now, even when we're on the road.

If the inverter is off and there is an electrical outage (even for a second), the satellite receiver looses its memory. It can take 5 or 10 minutes to download a new program guide during which time the receiver is inoperable - a real PITA if you're in the middle of watching something.

We have a hard-wired surge suppressor with a 2 minute time delay; this exacerbates the effects of momentary power outages. Having the inverter on eliminates this issue (except, of course, for things like the A/C that don't run off the inverter.)