inverter repair-again

[Bill1170]

I want some opinions, should Buddy Gregg make this inverter good?
The facts are this: In sept of 08 I had the inverter repaired to the tune of about $1100 bucks, it went bad after running the AC on the inverter. Buddy Gregg said there was no way this caused the problem.
I did not try to run off the inverter again untill talking with several owners that do with out causing problems.
Then on the last trip I ran the AC and after about 3 hours the AC quit and the inverter has a problem. I now am going back to BG in Knoxville to have q repair made. How strong a case do I have to get them to stand behind this?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Bill what make inverter is it? How big is it? Was any other loads on it?

I know of another 2002 Royal with the exact same issue. His has 1 of the 2 2500watt inverters set up to run 1 air.

This is what spurred my recent thread inquiring about inverter set-ups.

[dalej]

Bill,

Electrical problems can be a very touchy issue. I have never heard of a electrical part that could be returned once you have it installed or for that matter have left the store and opened the box. There are just to many operator errors that can not be traced.

ps, good luck and let us know how you come out.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

before you do anything you might want to verify the gauge of the all the leads to and from the inverter both a/c and d/c along with the length of the run against the manufacturers spec.

I have recently moved a cruise air over to a 2500 watt inverter successfully. The inverter is forward second bay and the batteries are way back by the chassis batteries. The converter used 2 BIG (ott something) cables paralleled to carry the load and reduce the voltage drop.

Bill I can hook you up with the 2002 you two can compare notes.

[garyde]

If the original design intended for the A/C unit to run off of the Inverters, and it has recently stopped working, and the work was to have repaired that componant, then it should be replaced. Dale is correct on electronics, they are not returnable but you do need to find out what is happening.

[dale farley]

Bill, If you end up having to replace this one, you may want to check on a new one. I bought a new 2500 watt Xantrex last September for $946 including shipping to my house. It took about an hour to install.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Bill,

This is not a vote of confidence in BG or any converter or service facility. I doubt if the AC had anything to do with a failed inverter, nor do I think BG needs to stand behind the repairs. Unless.......

If I understand you correctly the inverter failed. You were running the AC from it when that happened.

The inverter was repaired, and until you ran the AC from it again it worked.

What is absent in your description is the description of the inverter. Please give us the make, model and rating.

An AC unit can draw almost 40 amps on start up, and a sustained 13 to 15 amps when running (4800 watts and 1560 to 1800 watts respectively). Those are big loads. That means the inverter is going to be working hard and drawing a lot of power. If the fan was not previously replaced, and it turns out the fan has failed, or is intermittent the heat generated cannot be dispersed and it is possible internal components can overheat and fail.

So, before any work is done on the inverter, I would check the fan. If it turns out it is not working, or can be shown to be intermittent then you may have a reason to ask BG to stand behind the repair.

If the inverter that carries the AC unit has other loads such as a refrigerator, or an outlet or whatever you may wish to calculate just how much work the inverter was doing. You may find the problem is as simple as a tripped circuit breaker on the inverter due to excessive loads or an inverter too small for the job. I would feel comfortable with a 3500 or 4000 watt inverter, less comfortable if the inverter was of less capacity.

[Bill1170]

Thanks for all the replies. The inverter is a xantrex sw2500 and I have been told that if I replace it with a different model the remote also would need tobe replaced.
The refrigerator runs on this same inverter and that is about all that was being used at the time of failure, which time we were driving the bus.
The first failure the inverter went out and no power came through the inverter from the gen, this time we have power but not correct voltage while inverting.
The coach is set up with a dash rocker to use either the front or center AC. Both failures were while using the front AC.
I feel BG should stand behind repairs as I was using the inverter in the manner thy told me to.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Bill IMHO Royal could be a culprit here.

Again IMO a fridge and an A/C is too much for a 2500w inverter.

If you decide to upgrade to a larger inverter you will need to verify the gauge of the leads for it and most probably will have to replace all the existing ones with larger to safely carry the larger loads. For that matter I am still not completely convinced that the existing leads are big enough to begin with and could also be your problem.

How far are the inverters from the batteries?

It also does not make sense that they would put the two biggest draws while on inverters, the fridge and the a/c, on the same inverter. If the wiring checks out to be in spec you might try moving either the fridge or the a/c to the other inverter separating them.

[dale farley]

My refrigerator only draws about 2-2.4amps while running, but it spikes 19-21 amps on startup. That could cause a problem if the AC was already running and the fridge kicks on.