Lost half my electric power

[entirelynutz]

When I was plugged in to show power only half of my breakers were working. I checked the panel box and only had 110v on one of my feeds. I then tried running the generator and I had power on both legs. I opened the transfer switch box and checked that I had 110v coming from the shore power to the relay switch. However I only had power on one leg on the output side of the relay switch. The model is PD52. Does this sound to the rest of you that the relay went bad? Can just the relay be swapped out or do I need to replace the entire relay switch?


Thanks for any input.

[Lt Dan]

It's common for the relay contacts to get arc burned to the point they no longer make contact. You can try disconnecting all power and using an emery board to clean the points to see if that fixes it, but it may require replacing the ATS. The relay itself may be replaceable depending on the unit. You also might check to make sure all of the screw lugs are tight and making contact.

[rarebear.nm]

Sounds like a bad relay to me as a starting point.

When you plug into shore power do you make sure the breaker is off, then plugin the shore cable and then turn the breaker back on. If doing it otherwise, you might be making contact on one leg before the other thus creating a small spark.

[entirelynutz]

LtDan - since I am on the road do you think I could but a section of 8 Gauge wire and splice it around the relay box? I would think that as long as I never start the generator while plugged in to shore power I wouldn't have a problem.

[entirelynutz]

Fred & Denise - I always plug in with the breaker off. I will try unplugging and replugging in with the breaker off in the morning. Thanks for the reply.

[iowaone]

Sure if you are comfortable with wiring you can bypass the ats. I would disconnect the out put side front the ats entirely so you don’t accidentally feed generator power through it. When I did it I had enough slack I was able to wire nut the three pairs of wires. But a jump we would work. I carry some large wire it’s for such times.

[Mudfrog]

The transfer switch could be causing the issue but I'd be checking the wiring ahead of it before tearing into it. The problem might possibly be a lose connection in the junction box where shore power comes in, the shore power plug, or at/in the campsite pedestal itself.

[Persistent]

Lots of good advice above.

One point is a significant safety issue and bears repeating. Multiple AC power sources rarely play well together.

Connecting both shore power and generator power at the same time can be a major safety issue. Smoke and fire are frequent results. Equipment damage and personal health issues result.

Relying on personal discipline to not activate both at the same time is highly risky. Thus, disconnect the generator input to the ATS first. Then bypass the shore power around the ATS.

[arcaguy]

There's not much to that ATS, just a circuit board some wire and 2 contactors (relays). If you call Progressive Dynamics they will likely sell you the parts that you need. They sold me the board. You can completely disassemble the contactors if you want to inspect for burned contacts. The screws below the hex drive screws that retain the input and output wires are what attaches the contacts to the body of the contactor. PD suggests that you use an impact driver to remove the phillips head screws, I concurr. I used a DeWalt drill not an impact driver but it worked. Good luck

[entirelynutz]

Thanks for all the great replies. So can I conclude that all of you think my problem is totally within the transfer box?