Transfer switch not locking into Short Power mode reliably

[Bill Lampkin]

We were hooked up to some iffy 30a shore power connections this summer. A couple of times, I had to set the inverter to 15a (shore power) in order to get the charge amps low enough as to not trip the shore power breaker. So setting the inverter to 15a might work.

[Eric Maclean]

Mike
I'm not sure which inverter you have but if your running on a 20 amp circuit your inverter should have a setting to limit it's charge rate based on the shore power input amperage to avoid over taxing the shore power circuit breaker as Steve mentioned .
It may be worth checking to see if you have the inverter set for a 20 ,30 or 50 amp input setting.
If it is I would be suspect of the cord your using perhaps too long or to small a wire gauge for the length and amp draw it should be at least a 12 that's wire for 20 amps and heavier if the length is more than 25 ft.
If the cord is heavy enough I would look very closely at the connections and you adapters for burnt connections or poor (loose connections ) or maybe try another plug in your garage the problem might be a connection in the garage or breaker panel.

Eric

[Mike Shumack]

Mike,
Eric is probably correct. However, since this circuit setup worked for a number of years, if I read your write-up correctly, something has changed to cause the problem. Some things to consider; Why isn't the garage circuit breaker tripping? If the inverter is applying enough of a load to drop the voltage from 120+ to less than 105, it's drawing considerable amperage. Are all the connections tight from the garage CB to to the RV? Have you tried a extension cords?
Steve

Steve, the voltage drops from 122VAC to around 114 or 116.
No breakers are tripping in my garage or the coach. I checked the tightness of the wire connections in the SurgeGuard. They are torqued to 41 in-lbs.
I have not tried anything else.

[Mike Shumack]

Mike
I'm not sure which inverter you have but if your running on a 20 amp circuit your inverter should have a setting to limit it's charge rate based on the shore power input amperage to avoid over taxing the shore power circuit breaker as Steve mentioned .
It may be worth checking to see if you have the inverter set for a 20 ,30 or 50 amp input setting.
If it is I would be suspect of the cord your using perhaps too long or to small a wire gauge for the length and amp draw it should be at least a 12 that's wire for 20 amps and heavier if the length is more than 25 ft.
If the cord is heavy enough I would look very closely at the connections and you adapters for burnt connections or poor (loose connections ) or maybe try another plug in your garage the problem might be a connection in the garage or breaker panel.

Eric

Eric, the Inverter input (a.k.a. "Shore Power" setting) is set to 20A. The breaker in my garage is a 20A and has never tripped. The extension cord I'm using is 10ga 100 ft. Then it goes to a 20A to 30A reducer and that plugs into the 30A to 50A which plugs into my coach's shore power cable. But I have enough voltage at the SurgeGuard (at least 114VAC) so it looks like the problem is in the SurgeGuard.

I don't see the voltage dropping below 114VAC - however there could still be an intermittent fault (ground issue or open neutral) I suppose. I'm not sure if I would see those faults on the Aladdin screen since the Aladdin is just showing "No Shore Power" while its trying to connect. Once it connects the Aladdin shows everything is normal.
 It's a Xantrex 2512GS.

[Eric Maclean]

Mike
The volt drop that you stated is well within the working limits of the surge protector ( monitor) .
At this point I'd dona volt test at the contactor pull in coil to see if the controller is shutting down the contactor or the contactor coil is faulty and just dropping out.

Using a volt drop calculator a 120 volt circuit over 25 feet on a 12 ga wire and a 20 amp load should yield an end voltage of 118 volts of course the end voltage is reliant on the nominal voltage at the panel which varies depending on the local supplier and their infrastructure.

Eric

[Mike Shumack]

At this point I'd do a volt test at the contactor pull in coil to see if the controller is shutting down the contactor or the contactor coil is faulty and just dropping out.

I'm not sure where the coil connections are located inside the Surge Guard unit. Can the voltage to it be measured or is it internal to the contactor? It's easy to see/measure the voltage at the "incoming wires" but beyond that I don't know what wires/connections go to the coil or where it is located.

Do you see anything in this photo indicating the connection (measuring point) for the pull-in coil? (ignore the yellow arrows, I was using that for a different post)

[Eric Maclean]

Mike
I don't see the leads in the picture but there must be a pair which run to the circuit board to control the contactor after all it's the circuit board which ultimately decides wheather or not to connect the incoming power to the coach with that contactor.
I would assume the leads to the coil set are likely closer to the mounting base and the lead will run directly over to the circuit board.
I'm not sure how easy it will be to access them or get meter leads connected but that's about the only way to know wheather it's the pulling coil at fault or a controller issue.

Eric

[Bob Disney]

We had reliability issues, it turned out the was a intermittent short in the plug attached to the coach.
twisting the cord by the plug allowed it to show up
It also showed up at first when we were plugged into a 20 amp plug

[Mike Shumack]

That's a good point.
 I did first suspect the 50A to 30A adapter. My Coach came with two and the first one (when my problem first started a year ago) seemed to be related to the adapter. I tossed that one out and now use the other adapter, but the problem still occurs Maybe I should toss that one too. It looks fine on the outside, but one can't see inside it.
Currently I use a 50A to 30A and a 30A to 20A plugged into that.

Does anyone make a single one-piece adapter for 50A to 20A?

[David T. Richelderfer]

Amazon has a couple of 20 amp to 50 amp adapters.  I am assuming you are plugging into a 15 amp or 20 amp receptacle in your house and going to the 50 amp cord on your coach.  In that case, you want a one-piece 15/20 amp to 50 amp adapter.

[Mike Shumack]

Amazon has a couple of 20 amp to 50 amp adapters.  I am assuming you are plugging into a 15 amp or 20 amp receptacle in your house and going to the 50 amp cord on your coach.  In that case, you want a one-piece 15/20 amp to 50 amp adapter.

Yes. That's what I'm doing.
I'll get another adapter just be sure that's not the problem, or contributing to the problem.

[Richard Davis]

Mike
I know this is an old thread, but I am having the same problem.  My ATS is dropping out and reconnecting randomly after it gets hot.  It is doing it on both shore power and generator power.  I would just replace the ATS, but I don't want to give up my Aladdin.  Replacement contactors for the 40250 are simply not available.  What was your solution and does anyone else have suggestions as how to proceed.  Can the 40260 be made backward compatible with the Aladdin?
Richard 

[Bill Lampkin]

Reset your inverter-follow steps in your manual. Happened to me too

[Bill Lampkin]

Unplug the battery temp sensor from your inverter

[Richard Davis]

Bill
I am puzzled by your suggestion.  My inverter is turned off and my battery charger is on standby.  How can it be possible that the inverter/charger can in any way influence the function of the ATS.  I'm confused.
Richard