No power to passenger side outlets

[Bill Sprague]

There are four holes in the 50 amp adapter that the motorhome cord will plug into.

The top and bottom are ground and neutral.  The two sides should be "hot".   If you have a voltmeter and insulated probes, you can measure for 120 volts from each of the side holes to either the top of bottom holes.  Both should show 120 volts if the two adapters are working.

[John Padmore]

OK, I have a volt meter and I know how to use it (sometimes, LOL) . It measured 119 volts on each side of the 30/50 amp plug. Measured with red probe on each side and the black probe on the top or bottom....same readings on each. I will now assume the adaptors are OK? ...thanks.

John

[Joel Ashley]

It sounds like Ed and Gerald's notion is likely.  If John has voltage at both legs of his 50 amp adapter's female side, the culprit must be a transfer switch connection.  I know where mine is, but I can only guess on John's much different model coach.  Still, wouldn't he look wherever his big coach cord terminates?  Mine wires directly into the Surge Guard Transfer Switch in the cord compartment/bay.  He needs help locating the switch on his '97.  Richard Ames has a similar model doesn't he?

That said, would his 15 amp source be any cause for limitation?

John, switches I've seen look like those at this website:  
http://www.trci.net/products/surge-guard/transfer-switches/
Just make sure you are unplugged and genset off before messing with it.

Joel

[John Padmore]

Thank you Joel, I think I have seen this thing in the basement....next to the inverter - even though the manual says it is behind the rear wheel! I will check it out tomorrow ...used up my crawling around the motorhome quota today! Time for an adult refreshment.....thanks.

John

[Joel Ashley]

Hope we can help.  I'm a couple hours away from some of that refreshment myself.  87 degrees so far near Portland, so I may not wait that long for a Henry Weinhard's.  

Joel

[Edward Buker]

John,

It could be ether of those. The 15 to 30 or the 30 to 50 amp adapters could be bad. You also have the cords and transfer switch where the problem could be but if the coach has been OK power wise in campgrounds without the power adapters then look closely at the adapters. If you know how to use an ohm meter then you can check those adapters, if not get some help John.

Later Ed

[Frank Bannert]

I had this problem on my previous coach and there is a box on the underside of the living room slide and one of the wires was loose and that solved my problem. Hope this will be all it is. Simple fix just cleaned the wires and replaced the wire nut.

Frank

[John Padmore]

OK, I was able to find the transfer switch. Now, I can unplug my cord supplying power to the RV and turn off the inverter. Do I need to do anything else so this thing doesn't light my hair on fire when I open it up?  ??)Thanks......

John

[Edward Buker]

John,

As long as you are unplugged from AC power, inverter is off, and generator not running all should be well. Once you are able to clean or blow out the contacts you can reconnect at the power pole and see if it all works. If not you can then take a meter, set on AC volts, and measure between the white wire which is neutral, usually the center wire in the transfer relay, and the black or red wire which are hot legs. Measure on both the input and output side of the relay to see if voltage is available at the input and if it is passing through. Only one of the two relays will have power on the line side with the generator off and the main RV cord plugged in. If one side is not passing voltage that is your problem. If one side does not have power coming in then your problem is before the transfer switch, possibly the cord or plug, or a loose connection, or even the power source at the plug in. If you are unsure about taking measurements with power on then get some help to trouble shoot this. Safety first...

Later Ed

[John Padmore]

OK ED, here is what I found:
Two sets of heavy wires - white red black
Both had the same readings:

white to black = 115v
white to red = 0
red to black = 115v
I took these reading with the shore power plugged in, the inverter on and the coach power switch on.

Tried to remove the 3 relays - wouldn't budge.
Checked all connections and were tight and everything looks clean. Thanks.....

John

[Edward Buker]

John,

The white is the neutral. White to black at 115V is fine that leg is working. White to red should also be 115V, I think there is no power coming into the red side. I am confused about three relays, there should be just two. Can you take a photo, post it, and show us what you are seeing. If you start the generator which seems to power both legs in the coach you can look at the same measurements with that power source and see what is different. Usually there is a relay for the genset and one for the power cord. The output side is paralleled together and the input side is the separate  power sources. The circuit board selects one or the other. It takes about a minute for the circuit board to switch over to the genset once started.

Later Ed

[John Padmore]

Ed, as my dad was fond of saying....."Now we're cooking with gas"! (rest his soul)

OK, here is a pix of the unit that I have....it is a Parallex ATS 501

Now, with shore power plugged in, I again tested voltage across white and red wires, just to make sure I was looking at it correctly = zero.
Started the generator.
115 volts across the red/white on the far left terminals.

Here is the odd part - across the white/red terminals on the middle set of wires the voltage would run up to about 53 volts and then down to about 35 as I kept the probes there.

Herein lies the problem ( I think) What do you think? Thanks.....

John

[John Padmore]

By the way, I just looked at the picture and it looks like the fault light is lit.

The fault light is NOT lit.....thanks.

John

[Edward Buker]

John,

You will have to read the info on the board where the wires are connected to be sure. As I look at the photo I think the generator comes in on the top right. There are two black wires one to the right and left of the terminal with the two white wires. With the gen running check between the white and each of the the two black wires. So one probe on the white and the other on each black wire one at a time. You should get 120V. Then check wires marked load, the left three wires, white to black, white to red. The load feeds the coach AC power panel. You should see 120V there also. The white red black wires in the center I think are the line in wires. With the coach plugged into the power pole, generator off, you should see 120V between the white and red and then 120V between the white and black. If that is O.K. then check the load wires to see if you again get 120V white to red and white to black. Unfortunately by design this board has sealed relays so that the contacts are not accessible. If you have the coach unplugged you should not see 120V on the center set of wires. If the generator is not running you should not see 120V on the right set of wires. With either source of power you should see 120V at the input wire set and the Line Out set of wires if the relays and switching circuits are working properly.

Later Ed

[John Padmore]

Sounds like a good plan....tomorrow.
Raining hard today.....thanks.

John