Inverter Problem.....I think ??

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Blacklab needs to test power directly at the inverter inputs and outputs. If none is present he can work backwards from there, but if the transfer relay for the coach is closing and providing power to one inverter, my money right now is on a failed inverter internal transfer switch, not to be confused with the coach transfer switch.

[blacklab]

A buddy of mine is on his way over to my shop. (he swears that he knows more than I do). Anyway, with all shore power off, breakers off (& none tripped) ditto on the inverters we will test the AC input (charger & transfer) and the AC output and see what we get. I will test each inverter one individually. Pic for your viewing pleasure.

[blacklab]

Jon & I connected last nite & we traced my #2 inverter problem to a bad 30 amp breaker @ the main panel. For $6.00 at Home Depot, I am up & running. Can you imagine how much this COULD have cost me ?? Hat's off to Jon !! Thanks again.

[phorner]

Great job!! Nothing better than a successful project accomplished with a simple fix...

[Jon Wehrenberg]

You made my night Tom. Really glad we were able to chase it down.

[dalej]

Paul, I have a feeling yours is going to be that simple.

[truk4u]

And they won't spend a hundred bucks to join this group!

[mikedee]

I lost an inverter in my Royale and was just sitting down to write you a detailed description of the inverter system when I saw the good news. I did about what Jon suggested and determined my inverter was the problem.

I removed the #2 inverter and jumped the 120 V output to the first inverter. Every thing worked great on one inverter, just had half wattage. I am a big Ebay user and found a factory rebuilt 2512 with 1 year warranty from a solar dealer in Florida for $975.00. It came in a factory box and I swear it was new, no marks at all.

I installed and programed the unit and it works perfect The inverter just passed out of warranty, should fail any day now.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

FWIW I believe that some inverters can be easily repaired. My Heart Interface Freedom 2500 inverters (identical to Blacklab's) have a couple of boards and a fan, all of which are replaceable.

If you have a "failed" inverter it might be worth talking to the folks that built it to see if boards are slide in type and thus can be replaced by someone with no particular knowledge of an inverter.

I do know from installing by-pass switches in my coach that inverters need cooling, and one of the things I am going to very much aware of in the future is the cooling fan operation with the hopes that if my fan fails to function, I will notice that and get the fan replaced before it costs me repairs to my inverter. On my coach the converter provided a secondary pair of fans powered by the inverter output to insure constant airflow through the inverter so it is critical and likely extends the life of the inverter.

[Just Plain Jeff]

A long time ago and far, far away, we plugged into a box that some genius had wired improperly. It 'blew' the inverter and some other stuff.

A really smart guy at a local RV shop was undaunted in his quest to fix the inverter instead of replace it.

What he found was a 35-cent fuse had blown in the power supply. Instead of paying the big bucks for a new one, we were back on the road in short order for short money.

Sadly, Jon happens to be correct on this one.