Don't Get Zapped by Low Voltage

[dale farley]

This link is to a simple article on the woes of low voltage in your bus. Of course there are other components that will alert you to this problem also. The article appears to be a little dated, but the results are the same. The main thing is that we know we have good voltage before connecting the bus to any power source.

http://rvtravel.com/blog/lowtech/2007/03/dont-get-zapped-by-low-voltage-problems.html

[tommybahama]

Yet another reason to buy a surge protector, Dale. Refer to your thread about them here

http://bit.ly/1dxgSqr

At the Nashville Rally I was frightened into ordering one after talking with several members. Apparently, an exquisite nightmare awaits the naive owner who plugs into a shore power stanchion with reverse polarity.

I bought pportable Progressive 50 amp "Electrical Management System" because it has a lifetime guarantee.

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Do any of the converters have this protection, monitoring, and safeguards built into their electrical systems?

[dale farley]

Some of the Converters have the protectors built in.

[Sid Tuls]

Does Marathon??

[dale farley]

I've heard some of the members say they thought they had an on-board protector in their Marathon but don't know that it was a fact. I know later model Country Coaches and some of the Royals had a built-in unit. The units are more common in the later model coaches, but I've never seen a list of which converters actually install them.

[pwf252]

I know my 02 Country Coach has one built in so CC goes back that far for sure.

[dale farley]

I think CC started it in 2000 or 2001. I think Jamie's 2000 has one built in?

[Gil_J]

If you have one that's built-in it should be in an obvious location or have a remote display. You need to be able to see the fault lights or display. Another indicator of having one built-in is you will have a delay of about 2 minutes after you turn of shore power before power is applied to the coach. This is not the delay associated with generator power is controlled by the transfer switch, not the energy management device.

[Texas 40]

On my 2002 CC it's in the second bay just inside the bay door. Easy to spot.

[jbchevy3]

Mine has a polarity breaker switch with an indicator light which will illuminate if polarity is wrong before it enters the coach.

[Gil_J]

It might be helpful for everyone to understand there are several power management devices.

Surge Suppressor: This is the simplest device that will likely only have lights indicating it is working or not.
Polarity Monitoring: This only tells you if the polarity of the power being supplied is of the correct polarity. This is common on marine system circuit breaker panels.
Energy or Power Management: These protect against almost all common power issues. In addition to supporting surge protection and reverse polarity it monitors for over and under voltage, open ground or neutral and frequency.

I would recommend a power management device. Here are the 2 dominant potable products. They have hardwired units as well.
http://trci.net/products/surge-guard/hardwires-portables/50a-portable-wlcd-display
http://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems_pt50c.htm

[Steve Bennett]

Sid, you have the green lights in your DS bay #2 where the switch is for your shore power. There is a red light that will illuminate if you have reversed polarity. If you throw the switch on with the red light illuminated you will let the bad power into the coach. You always want to shut that breaker off before you plug in, and always turn it on after you plug in as long as you have the green lights, and no red.

[Steve Bennett]

Sid, sorry I typed it wrong. Shut the breaker off before you UN PLUG, and turn it on after you PLUG IN.

[BenC]

I would like to interject a comment about "surge protectors"

The setup Royale put in as standard is just MOV's that absorb voltage spikes, and this is also the case with many units aftermarket that are available. TRC "Surge Guard" unit actually has a sensing ciruit that looks for open neutral, hi AND low voltage too, and will not pull in it's internal contactor if all is not within safe parameters. Both lines and neutral are physically disconnected until the unit pulls the contactor in. Most on the market do not provide this level of protection.
Simply absorbing "spikes" is only a small portion of the insurance claims we see in RV's, so just consider this before deciding on which unit to purchase.

[Gil_J]

Ben, you are echoing what I've said many times. Surge suppression, just cheap MOVs, is just one electrical issue we should protect against. TRC and Progressive Industries are probably the leaders in systems designed for RVs. BTW,TRC doesn't help customers understand the difference with their product family name of Surge Guard; they are much more than surge suppressors.