Liberty Coach Service

[phorner]

Just returned from Liberty Coach in Stuart, FL for a service visit. The plug end of my shore cord was very badly cracked and needed replacement.

So, naturally, as we are pulling out of our lot, I discover that one of our inverters isn't, well, inverting..... only 12 volts showing on the display .

The great news is that Troy Moody and his team quickly found the problem... sticking contacts on a relay.... cleaned them up and then performed the same procedure on the second inverter. Problem solved!

The shore cord replacement went very well in spite of torrential downpours that would interrupt work. Our technician needed several changes into dry clothes before the project was complete.

A big Thank You to the service and parts staff at Liberty Coach!

Good service experience . As a plus, we met "jack14r" there and we had a very good time together at dinner. See ya down the road, Jack!

[jelmore]

Paul, how did they repair the end of your shore power cord?

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Paul, where are the relays that were sticking and cleaned located? Was it the transfer switch?
I think I need this also. Did it look like a DIY kind of job?

Did you take pictures of the job?

JIM

[phorner]

Jim and Jim,

It was suggested that I could try a replacement end, or, if the cracking was minimal, perhaps the old end could be repaired with epoxy. Mine was in pretty bad shape. In fact, I had stopped using it and was using a borrowed 50 amp Marinco cord until I could get mine repaired. My old cord would get so hot that you couldn't touch the plug end for more that a couple of seconds


I elected to replace the entire cord. As it turned out, this was a good decision because apparently someone had been in the cord storage area before. We found that the straps that anchor a portion of the cord to the floor of the bay were not in place and the insulating tape around the connections between the cord and the bus was not the correct grade.

Liberty has "reconditioned" cords from Glendinning that has a new molded end. The entire cord looked new to me. Figure 4 hours or so for labor to remove and install. The cost of the cord was $266, about half of what a new one would cost. And, this cord is 10' longer than my original.

The new cord plug is cool to the touch with 3 Cruiseairs running and the meter spinning in 90+ weather.

I didn't get to take pictures of the contacts being cleaned in the inverters as it is quite crowded in that bay and I didn't want to interfere with the progress being made. The covers come off easily. However, there isn't much clearance between the cover and the circuit boards, so easy does it with removal. I would say if you were comfortable working on the innards of the inverter, cleaning the contacts should be a DIY project. Perhaps someone can post here that has first hand experience with these inverters.

[phorner]

As an aside, any work on the inverters MUST be preceded by a complete disconnection of shore power and a clear understanding of the way to isolate the batteries, so that there is no possibility of current passing through the inverter. I'm sure that this goes without saying, but you can never be too cautious.

Although access to my inverters is pretty good, others may be in more confined areas, so it is best to be extra careful.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Paul, thanks for the info.

Your cleaning was in the inverter then and not in some other area such as the transfer switch. You weren't clear on that point in your first post. I will contact liberty to see what they did. My inverters are under the bed and very difficult to access.

JIM

[phorner]

Yes, the contacts were internal to the inverters. I believe that it was the relay that senses that AC power has been removed.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jim here is that switch in our Heart 2500. It was attatched to the backside of the front panel.

I have removed it from its cover.

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[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Thanks Joe, that is very informative for me.

Does the relay unplug?

I see it is of Chinese origin.

Did you ever clean the one you are holding?

JIM

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jim it does unplug but it is not 1 big plug but all individual wires and unless you are very very good they need to be marked before removal (11 wires).

The one in my hand is new. One of those 3 internal contacts was burnt on mine it was beyond cleaning. I tried sanding them down and cleaning it before I replaced it to no avail.

Mr. Gustdorf tuned me up.