Mysterious intermittent issue on Bass Panel Fridge Breaker

[hobobimmer]

Good morning.
We are experiencing a problem which I will describe. I have a guess as to what is wrong, but before I do the wrong thing, I wanted to post it to get the group's opinion and ideas.

When on shore power or when generator is on, the breaker light on our bass panel for our fridge is on and fridge is on.

With no shore power and no generator and sitting in the barn not moving, the fridge light on the bass panel is on and fridge is on(test was for several hours and no problem detected).

When rolling down the road, and no generator, twice our fridge light on bass has gone out and fridge was not on. One time it came back on on its own a few minutes later. Then we drove three thousand miles without a repeat of the symptom. Then it happened again two nights ago. This time it did not come back on on its own. Light stayed out until I turned the generator on and it came back on. It stayed on about 10 min after I turned the generator off and then it went out. Light also comes back on when you go back on shore power.

So, it seems to run ok without being plugged in if it is sitting still. It seems to go out sometimes when moving, unless generator is on. It has happened only 2 times, well 3 times now, as it happened yesterday when we drove it again to test it more ways, so I can't say for sure the pattern I have described is exact, but it is what I have observed so far.

Does this sound like it might be a loose connection behind the breaker in the bass panel? But if it is loose, why does it seems to be fine with both generator and shore power?

If it were an inverter problem, wouldn't I have more symptoms than only on the fridge?

Are are there other tests I need to do to determine what is happening?

If it is loose connection, how scary is it behind that big bass panel with all the electrical connections? Is it worse than behind the dash? I know simple electricity concepts, and can follow directions, but I want to make sure I stay safe. Eric said open it up and root around in there with a stick, but I thought I would ask you guys and gals first!!!!! So do I just turn off all the breakers before I peep back there? Is there any certain order that you have to turn them back on besides 1,2,3,4 going on first?

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Debbie Faires
Huntsville, TN
40' Angola, 1992

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Deb, what brand inverters do you have?

JIM

[hobobimmer]

That would be good info, Jim. Thanks.

We have two "Vanner Series 20 Dual Vanner-Verters"

Deb

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Cant help you with that brand. I have Heart, but regardless of brand,
I think you need to know what voltage goes into, out of, around and through your inverter and under what circumstances. In other words you need to know how your system is set up to operate. This may be difficult to do?

There may be a bad connection in the inverter switching?

All of your connections at the panel of course must be complete and tight, both positive and negative. Your grounds and neutrals are usually in a common area, but who knows where they are on your conversion, must also be complete and tight.

I don't think your problem is at the panel, but recommend you start there and check your connections. After that follow the ground and neutral wires (from the panel) and try to determine their end point destination, which will possibly/hopefully be their common bonding point. Check all connections at that point also.

Be careful when exposing yourself to the back of the electrical panel. You will need a well insulated screwdriver of the proper size and should only work with one hand (in the "pot" at a time) have your helper watch you for safety with out chitter chatter and questions;)
Also have available a good flashlight such as Liberty supplies with their conversions:p.

If this all checks out up to specs post back and there may be a new direction in which to proceed.


JIM

[Bob Makin]

92 Angola has a timer at inverters to delay start up after Coach is un-plugged or gen set is turned off. This delays the frig. from trying to restart at high head pressure. The timers were usally set to delay from 5 to 10 minutes before inverter would reset. You could have a loose wire at timer or have a timer going bad.

Don Panterra Coach

[lonesome george]

Don: that is some good information.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of Angola Conversions, priceless.

[dale farley]

Deb,

The first thing I would do is make sure which inverter is running the fridge by turning on the fridge and shutting off each inverter to verify which one powers the fridge. Next, I would find other items on that same inverter and make sure that nothing else is going off when the fridge goes off.

I say do this first, because you may not be noticeing anything losing power at the same time unless you know what to look for specifically. That will let you know for sure if the problem starts with the inverter or is downstream from there.

[hobobimmer]

I just had a great conversation with Don at Panterra Coach. He gave me very specific instructions for finding the timer he referred to in his post. I'll check it out and see what I can find and post again, so you won't be left in the dark.

FYI, he said he was rarely on the POG site and just happened to see "Bass Panel" question this morning. I guess it must be my lucky day!! He said he wasn't sure exactly how we felt about converters commenting on our issues, but he thought he needed to respond to a question about a Bass panel, because they are not used all that much anymore. I told him that we loved it when someone from a converter (who has the expertise to answer a question) posts a response. I told him it was very helpful to us and made us feel like they cared about us as owners.

He encouraged me to tell the POG group that they are always happy to help troubleshoot problems with Angola, but also some of the guys there have experience with other conversions, so call them if you need some help, especially with electrical.

I hope he just solved my issue. I'll report what I find.

Debbie Faires

[dale farley]

Deb,

It is always nice when your first step can be "asking someone who knows what they are talking about." Keep us posted.

[hobobimmer]

Dale,
Don said one inverter was designated to fridge only on a 92 Angola. FWIW.
Thanks.
Deb

[dale farley]

If the timer doesn't turn out to be the problem, I would be looking at the inverter and associated connections. Hopefully, the timer will solve the problem.

[grantracy]

Eric: I don't know if this is helpful but I was getting a "low house(battery)" light when rolling down the road anytime I put a modest load on the inverters. I checked voltage and found that the charging rate from engine driven alternator was minimal. It turned out that the cable from my isolator to bus bar( and then to batteries) was compromised.