Need help- No Shore Power

[Tom Kaye]

I left my coach last weekend and upon my return yesterday noticed that the shore power which had been working had cut out. I confirmed that there was power at the post and I have an external surge protector as well that showed power going into the surge guard. The generator started up and powered the coach and the inverter works as well and the fridge switched over to LP after I lost shore power. I asked around in the park and there was no hydro issue over the past week and I had the park owners confirm the hydro to the post.

I have checked all of the breakers that I can find and the fuses. The transfer switch was replaced last October under the Monaco recall so its only 9 months old and has only been used since May of this year as I put it in storage right after it was changed out. I am at a loss to find out what could be causing this? The transfer switch seems to be the only culprit but maybe I'm missing something? Any other ideas would be appreciated. I have looked for a fuse or reset switch for the house batteries but I can't find anything for that. I just got the coach back after having the front steps all re-wired after they stopped working but I doubt that the repairs to that would have anything to do with this? The wiring was just corroded from road grit according to the technician who fixed it. Its a 2009 Monterey Sunset. Tom

[Dick Simonis]

From the sounds of things, it may well be your surge protector is either acting up or it's detected a fault in the pedestal power.  Are there any diagnostics lights on the surge protector??

[Tom Kaye]

I thought of that but I removed the surge guard and plugged directly in to the post so I know I have hydro in just not to the coach so I'm thinking the more research I do the transfer switch that was put in under the recall must be faulty. Its at a service centre now so hopefully they will track it down by by next week when I leave on vacation.

[Joel Ashley]

Forgive my ignorance here, Tom, but what is "hydro"?  I haven't heard that term in electric terminology, aside from being dam-sourced power production.

Joel

[Jeff Watt]

Joel,

Dam sourced power is what Tom is referring to when he says hydro. It is a common term for power providers in some canadian provinces, i.e. Manitoba hydro, Ontario Hydro (now Ontario 1).

Here in Manitoba, almost all electrical power is derived from large dams with expansion/addition of dams in the works to export even more power to the U.S.

Tom,

Last year on my 05 patriot, the SurgeGuard transfer switch failed for no apparent reason. Like you, I could  get power from the genset but no shore power. Others can describe better than me, but inside the SurgeGuard there are two fuse type devices(?) one that lets power from shore into the coach, the other from the genset. i.e. two power sources into one. Check to see if there is power going through the shore side  input into the coach - carefully!

Jeff

[Tom Kaye]

Thanks I will check for that fuse, and you are correct about the term Hydro. I live in Ontario Canada and the power company is called Ontario Hydro who provide electricity in our area which we refer to as hydro. Forget sometimes how big the audience is on here sorry if I caused any confusion.

[Joel Ashley]

Interesting that we are trying to get rid of dams in the US and my Canadian cousins are still building them.

Joel

[Orman Claxton]

Hi Tom
Try checking your Power cable reel,
There are slip rings w/brushes on each one, i had a problem with one of the brushes.

[Gerald Farris]

Tom,
Orman is correct. The highest probability for the lost shore power in your coach is a defective power cord reel contact. Check to see if there is shore power into the transfer switch. If not you have a defective power cord reel.

Gerald

[Tom Kaye]

I will drop by in the morning at the repair shop. The tech said this morning that he thought it may have something to do with the built in surge protector which I believe is built in to the new transfer switch that was installed under the call back.  He tried to call the manufacturer this morning but they are closed in lieu of Independence day so he is calling tomorrow. I'll let him know about the power reel. Tom

[Tom Kaye]

They did a thorough check of the system this morning and it turns out the replacement transfer switch which was installed in October of last year under the recall from Navistar is defective as well. I spent most of the day talking to the authorized dealer who is about 4 hours from my home and where Navistar forced me to go for the repair (as they were the closest authorized dealer) and they were less than helpful stating that TRC (who is the manufacturer of the replacement) provided a number of these units to Monaco via navistar who then sold the company blah blah blah. The replacement is $270.00 so I just said do it. With installation it will be over $500.00 but you get to a point where sometimes you just cut your loss and move on. My only condition was not to use any of TRC's stuff for the new one. On a brighter note I am leaving for a two week road trip this Friday and it will be fixed by then. Thanks to all who offered there help.