Inverter problem

[bill lambrecht]

My VOGUE XLV 1999 has 2 TRACE RV-3012 inverters.It has intermittently shown by red light and beeping"charger fault".Eventually it clears itself.Help needed to know what to do.Works OK rest of time. I would like to buy a spare RV- 3012. THANKS BILL

[bill lambrecht]

Found problem.The heat sensor on coach battery was defective.Paul at BUDDY GREGG found.I would highly recommend Paul.

[bill lambrecht]

Problem not solved.Came home,parked bus,plugged in and felt relieved.Came back and checked bus few days later.Inverters dead ,everything dead.Started checking and found all six AGM batteries swelled out ,ready to burst and explode.Paul at BUDDY GREGG had disconnected the battery temp senders,said did not need them.My charger fault warning was not beeping and no red flashing but all batteries ruined.All six batteries were near new.Have ordered 6 new AGM batteries.What is my recourse with BUDDY GREGG? Do they owe me for the new batteries and other repairs to get my bus going?I have disconnected 4 of the 6 batteries.I hope the other 2 dont explode.I need advice real bad.Coach is 99 VOGUE xlv.Inverters are RV 3012 TRACE.Bus stil sitting in my garage.Think I will call XANTREX and BUDDY GREGG manager tomorrow.I have the invoice from BG stating TEMP SENDERS were not needed.I am a VICTIM of a mechanical mistake.I still like PAUL,he just made a mistake

[truk4u]

Bill,

When I read your post that they had found a bad sensor, I just assumed they replaced it. Paul, even though you like him, made a huge mistake and should have known better if he's a qualified Tech. The purpose of the sensors is to adjust the charging voltage based on temperature and they have cooked your batteries.

There must be something else going on though to find your inverters shut down. Even if they got hot and stayed in bulk or absorption too long, the inverters should have shut down with fault codes on your remote display. Maybe Ben will jump in here and offer an opinion.

BG needs to step up and cover your batteries and repairs.

[dmatz]

Bill

I am sure you paid the invoice, they caused the damage. A business builds it's reputation by standing behind it's work. The real difference in companies is how it's handled when it does not go right. The tech did not find out why the sensor was faulty if in deed it even was. Sounds like it was doing it's job. I have had tech support from xantrax before and they are very good. Buddy Gregg should make it right. The eventual repair may entail more than the original sensor and this may give them reason to ask for more mula. I would get it right and ask for your continued business and referrals. Please let us know how they handle it. I agree they should cover the damage.

[BenC]

Prevost Dallas/Ft Worth did the same thing (removing the battery temp sensors) on a coach just recently. The customer called me and said his batteries looked pregnant! That is surely the first indication of a problem. I have never worked for a battery company, but as a qualified Battery Charging Electrician on a nuclear submarine, I thought I know a few things about batteries. Heart Interface engineers would argue with me every time I brought the need for temperature compensation up to them. At Vogue, we changed to Trace within a year of the Freedom Series Inverter production introduction, moving to the RV-Series Trace which had temperature compensation and battery temperature sensors. Let NO ONE ever touch your inverters or batteries if you mention the subject to them and they brush it off as unnecessary. This is my best advise to you on the subject. The sad development since the buy-out of Trace, Heart, and Stat Power by Xantrex is that most of the Trace engineers and the Trace product line and factory has been fired, shut down, and dissolved. The people they kept were mainly from Heart Interface. I take talking with anyone from that organization with a grain of salt to this day, knowing where they came from and their backgrounds.

As for the issue of Mr. Lambrecht's situation, sir, I would look at the repair order for how long of a warranty Buddy Gregg states about repairs made. You may not even have a fight if he is within a warranty period for the MISWORK performed. If I can be of any assistance, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss you coach with you. My name is all over the wiring diagrams by the way. I would like the opportunity to go over the situation with you on the phone at your coach so you can be my eyes as to what is going on with it. There are multiple scenerios that could have played out here and it is difficult to offer suggestions. It would be much easier on us both for us to discuss it. Thanks.

Sincerely,
Ben Cummings
Coach Worx LLC
813-830-8619 (cell)