No Power

[Al Postma]

Went to go into coach yesterday and found there was no power, no 12 volt and no 110 volt. I have had the coach plugged into 50 amp.  It was getting dark so I didn't get a chance to check the battery voltages, but chassis battery is 4 months old and house batteries are 14 months old. can anyone give me an idea where to start looking?

[Fred Cook]

Check your battery quick disconnect switch near your batteries. Mine went bad a few years ago.

[Jerry Carr]

check your ground wire pull on the wires to check they are all firm I had a ground that was never crimped at the factory on our 06 PT

[Fred Brooks]

     Al,
I would start with the 120volts a/c power. Is the microwave display lit up? Is there any warning lights on the surge guard protector? Does the power cord source have a tripped circuit breaker? Is the switch for 12volt power at the entry door turned off? If the house batteries are dead, there is a failure or loss of power going to the inverter/charger. Fred

[Joel Ashley]

As Fred suggests, the fact that you don’t have 120v inside the coach implies that’s why the batteries aren’t charged.  Start your checking at the 50 amp power source.  Check first for voltage there at both outlet slots and its breaker or fuse.

[Al Postma]

Sorry for no responses for awhile, was called out of town for a few weeks.  Back to my problem.  I checked power at plug, 240 volts.  I charged both the house batteries and the chassis batteries with a portable charger.  The engine started and ran good, only now I have an engine warning light. Might need to be cleared because of attempting to start with low batteries previously.  I have 12 volt lights with batteries charged.  Generator starts and the lights get brighter with generator on.  Now, the remote for the converter/charger shows all lights.  The power, fault, charger and inverter all lit and stay lit until I push select button, I assume that resets fault.  After pushing select button, only power light stays on.  Pushing charger on and inverter on does nothing. This occurs with shore power plugged in or not.  When I cycle the power, all the lights come on again. Refrigerator is plugged into inverter socket and never comes on.  I have attempted to reset converter by pushing power button and holding, no light at all, power light is supposed to blink and then solid, nothing.  Reset a/c breaker on side of converter and nothing happens.   Sorry for the long story, but I am at the end of my knowledge and need help.

[Fred Brooks]

   Al,
Perform a "hard reset" on the inverter/charger. With the coach unplugged, remove the battery cables at the inverter/charger for 5 minutes. Reconnect the cables to their respective locations. (You will get a big spark momentarily) and this is normal. This will reboot the initial software. If all the lights are still blinking on the remote, remove the remote and unplug the RJ-11 plug for 5 seconds and reinstall. Also check the inverter/charger for any tripped breakers located on the case. Check the 30 amp circuit breaker in the main electrical box panel. Please advise with model of the inverter/charger. Fred

[Al Postma]

The converter/charger is a Magnum ME 2012.  By disconnecting the cables, do you mean the 12 volt cables?

Additionally, I have no 120 volt AC with the 50 AMP plugged in or the generator running.  Hope that helps.  Thank you, I really appreciate all the help I have been getting.

[Fred Brooks]

     Al,
Thanks for your reply. It is starting to look like your issue is no 120volts making it past the transfer relay or the surge protector (if equipped). If you follow the shore cord it should take you to the transfer relay/surge protector. It may be a Surge Guard on your coach. There are 2 screws, 1 on each corner of the cover. The cover then unsnaps from the box. With a multimeter and the coach plugged in, check incoming voltage (look at the schematic on the lid). Check the voltage on the relay going to the coach interior circuit breaker box. If no voltage, then the transfer relay has failed. Please advise the model on the lid. If it is a surge guard, the model has been replaced by a newer model. Fred

[Al Postma]

Once again, thank you all for your help-.  This is where I am now, the converter/inverter is so close to a brace that I needed to get an offset screwdriver to get the cover off the positive post. I have not done the hard reset yet, if I disconnect the battery cable, does that do the same as removing the positive cable at the converter/inverter?  I have looked for a surge protector and have not found it yet, I haven't given up yet.  I took the cover off the transfer switch and got my meter out.  I have confirmed there is 240/50 amp at the pole.  The supply line into the transfer switch when checked gives me erratic readings one leg shows nothing the other like 59 volts. I checked the line to the panel and got the same readings.  Now with the generator OFF, if I use the neutral from the generator to line 1 and line 2 of the supply I get 120 volts.  When I check the panel line 1 and line 2 using the generator neutral I get 120 volts on both lines.  I took the plug apart and all looks okay, but I need to replace the plug because I lost the screws in the leaves.  I know, rookie mistake, I should have put them into a container. 
I assume that the reason the panel line is showing an issue with the neutral is because it is getting the power from the supply.  What I don't understand, I have run the generator and still had no 120 in the coach.  I have not started the generator since I have had the cover off the transfer switch box. I will do that as soon as I can.

[Al Postma]

Fred,
Do you have any ideas?  I would appreciate all help.

[Fred Brooks]

    Al,
Give me a call at 520-309-1260 when convenient and I will walk you thru this. Fred