Community Forums

frthornton · 05-30-2020, 08:58 AM

Hi. I am the "new" owner of a 2007 Beaver Contessa. While camping last week, there was a thunderstorm and we lost shore power for about 4 hours. When power went out, I checked inverter panel and had a red fault light, but didn't read the fault code. I pressed Inverter on button and red light went out and inverter came on. Ran from batteries for about 4 hours. After this, I noticed house batteries were not charging. I turned on charger by pressing Charger button, green light comes on, after about 20 seconds, amperage goes from 3 amps to bouncing around and green light starts blinking about every 2 seconds. After some period of time, the charger shuts off. I started the generator, press charge button, and green light stays on and it appears the batteries are charging normally. The ME2012 is original one. The house batteries are marked Mar 9 so I assume they were installed March 2019. I tested with hydrometer and all cells on the 4 batteries were all around 1.235 which is in white area right below red. (I don't know much about this you see.)

I suspect the inverter needs to be replaced, but would like to verify this. I read multiple forum entries and some suggest a battery could be bad. I am looking for suggestions on how to determine the problem before I just take the coach somewhere to get it checked out.(Coach is in storage area plugged into 30 amp power right now, so I have a little time before next trip to figure this out. All suggestions would be appreciated.

A32Deuce · 05-30-2020, 09:04 AM

If shore power goes off and the generator is not running, you can not charge the batterys from the same batterys the inverter/charger is connected too! Sorry but that would be perpetual power!

frthornton · 05-30-2020, 04:42 PM

Thanks for response A32Deuce. I was not clear. I turned on charger the next day after shore power came back on. Further analysis today suggests the charger is charging some but not enough to get batteries back to full charge. And there is a difference when running from shore power compared to generator power, which makes no sense. On generator power, the charge light on the Magnum remote panel is steady. On shore power, the charge light blinks. And on both, the charging amps jump all over the place. And charger eventually stops charging.

A32Deuce · 05-30-2020, 04:53 PM

Charger may be dieing or maybe a loose connection some where in the circuit.

twinboat · 05-30-2020, 05:13 PM

As mentioned, check every battery cable and the 200+ amp fuse in the inverter cable.

If you have the big battery disconnect switchs, turn them on and off a few times.

krivanj · 05-30-2020, 05:54 PM

Maybe shore power pedestal is messed up from the storm. Check it with a voltmeter. I’d guess inverter is okay if it charges with the generator.
Could be the transfer switch too if the pedestal is ok. See if both ACs work. Then you know both sides of the 50 amp is working.

carl.swoyer · 05-30-2020, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frthornton

Thanks for response A32Deuce. I was not clear. I turned on charger the next day after shore power came back on. Further analysis today suggests the charger is charging some but not enough to get batteries back to full charge. And there is a difference when running from shore power compared to generator power, which makes no sense. On generator power, the charge light on the Magnum remote panel is steady. On shore power, the charge light blinks. And on both, the charging amps jump all over the place. And charger eventually stops charging.

The charge amps jumping is normal for a bulk charge.

krivanj · 05-30-2020, 07:05 PM

I did not read about the charge amps jumping all around correctly. Call Magnum. They are very helpful. I called them last Fall for an issue.

frthornton · 05-31-2020, 07:27 AM

Thanks everyone for the responses. The RV is at storage site and I have placed an external battery charger on house batteries. I want to make sure the batteries are fully charged. Then I need to make sure all are ok. I plan to call Magnum Monday to see what they say.

gatorcq · 05-31-2020, 08:02 AM

I would download the manual.
Next learn how to verify the setup (Charger & Inverter) for your batteries.

In Bulk Mode - High Current - Low Voltage (13.1 and higher)
as it is charging, the current goes down and the voltage goes up (14.5 ish)
Absorption mode is a TIMED event. This times is setup by the program, For Flooded about 2 hours.
Then final Float.

Get The Manuak

frthornton · 06-02-2020, 08:09 AM

I may have made progress. Talked with Magnum technical support (they know what they are doing!), described the problem, and tech took me through a number of steps. The fact that under generator power the charger appears to work, and under shore power, charge light flashes and eventually cuts off, tech thinks I have a shore power voltage issue. My next step is to trace the AC voltage starting at the Inverter AC input. If voltage at inverter is 120 volts, then I'll call Magnum back. I plan to check this out today. Will post updates as I make progress to potentially help others. Thanks for the posts above.

frthornton · 06-02-2020, 06:07 PM

I checked voltage inputs at inverter. Generator was 118v and shore was 123v. Called Magnum, tech guy took me through a number of steps. He says batteries are behaving as they should and inverter is good since it does fine with generator power. Based on this, he thinks problem is fluctuating amperage coming from shore power. Based on this, tech says the problem is either the shore power reel contacts or the transfer switch. He suggested that I connect 110v 15 amp power to the transfer switch in place of shore power cable. If the charging works, then the problem is the reel. If the problem still exists, then the problem is the transfer switch.

I believe the transfer switch is above a panel in back storage bay between chassis rails. Does anyone know if this is correct?

I plan to remove the panel tomorrow morning, and if the switch is there, connect power to the transfer switch and hope to isolate the problem! Will post progress. All feedback will be appreciated.

powerboatr · 06-02-2020, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krivanj

I did not read about the charge amps jumping all around correctly. Call Magnum. They are very helpful. I called them last Fall for an issue.

ditto.

their tech line is really good.

frthornton · 06-03-2020, 04:00 PM

To repeat what one of the Magnum techs said, this is an interesting problem! A friend and I removed the panel in center top of back bay, found the transfer switch, opened it up, and it looks good and appears to work well. We disconnected the shore power input and moved the generator input to shore power side, fired up the generator, and charger worked as it always does from generator power, good. This points finger at power reel. But, an RV owner next to me who has electrical background came by, did some checking, and thinks the problem is the inverter! The Magnum techs think it is not. This RV guy has a power quality checker and suggested we see what it indicates from the shore power side before I go order a new inverter. He will help me do this as soon as he can work out a schedule.

So I will check to see if I can even get a power reel replacement, talk with Magnum again, and get the power checked by a power quality meter before trying to remove the power reel.

Any feedback? Thanks!