Patriot ID & Inverter Problem

[Eric Maclean]

Hi I,m new to the forum  (or forums in general) I just picked up a 1997 beaver patriot Im not sure of the model it's 40 feet  and built on a magnum chassis. the only indication i have found is in the left front electrical Bagage comp where the legend for the panel says monterey

I have several problems
1) the inverter transfer or bypass does not put shore power to the coach circuits with 120 volts at input side and charger fails to charge as well the remote panel shows no input but the inverter circuit works when turned on
my question is the transfer switch in the inverter replace able or is this a circuit board and are there parts available to repair it.

2) The coach has floor issues in the bed room at the foot of the bed at both sides is this a structural issue and what may be the cause and fix

any help would be appreciated
Eric

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Eric,
Welcome to the Forum! The transfer switch should be in a grey box. Not sure where it is located in your coach but they normally are either near where the shore power cable enters the coach, near the inverter or bolted to the overhead of  a bay. In any case it is separate from the inverter. If the inverter senses the generator, it is probably the transfer switch that is malfunctioning. You can check it with a multimeter. Corroded contacts can be cleaned.  As far as the ID, check the brochures to match the paint scheme or interior layout. https://get.google.com/albumarchive/113237604154774826589/album/AF1QipPaGk6jzJVNmn6t_KU7gT1gj-sDD4PgEBL-DNgU/AF1QipOOIVwGMpOTLlkwhreYq5JtA3wd5uttHNVFYW8q   Brochures are located on the BAC website under the History tab.
We need a bit more info or pictures re the floor issue.
Steve

[Eric Maclean]

 Thanks Steve as it turns out apparently what i have is a Patriot Yorktown with many of the options ( leather, aqua hot,etc)

Its not the shore/gen set transfer switch ( black box with shoe and gen set feeds to the main power panel) the pass through in the inverter which feeds two circuits and the 12voltchargeing system inside the heart freedom 20d inverter.
i believe the way it is supposed to work is when the 50 AMP shore power or Gen set is supplying  power to the main breaker panel
a breaker in that panel fed a 30 AMP circuit down to the inverter input, where the inturnaly the inverter circuitry would go into pass
through with its own (built in transfer switch) feeding the two circuits on the out put and also turning on the internal battery charger
to handle the 12Volt loads.
when the inverter is turned on (usually no shore or gen power applied) the inverter pass through is now switched the other way and the
inverter is now using the batteries to invert or create 120 Volts for the two out put circuits.

my problen is the inverter works fine and will produce 120Volts for the two outputs with no problem when turned on
but when the shore power is connected the pass through does not feed the two output circuits and the charger does not work.

my question is the pass through a switch or electronic board andare there service parts available for a Freedom 20 D.

thanks Eric

 

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Eric,
If I understand correctly, the inverter works when on batteries. It and the charger work when on generator. On shore power you have no AC in the coach and the charger doesn't work.  If this is correct, I would suspect a problem in the AC wiring hookup feeding the inverter/charger. Try a different power source. Also, remove any "extension cords" and plug the coach AC cable directly into the shore power outlet if possible.
 The manual is available at  http://www.serenitysys.com/beaver/archives/FREEDOM_%20458%20Series_COMBI_Inverter_%20Manual.pdf
(I also added it to the Coash Assist library for future use).
As to parts, try "freedom 20d inverter parts" on Bing or Google. There appear to be a number of sources.
Steve

[David T. Richelderfer]

Don't shore power and generator power both go to the transfer switch, and from the transfer switch there is a common set of wires transferring all power from the transfer switch to the coach?  Since power from the generator successfully proceeds to the transfer switch and from there the generator power successfully proceeds to the coach, then isn't the transfer switch and/or the shore power wiring to the transfer switch the problem?

[Gerald Farris]

Eric,
I think that one of the problems here is that you are using the wrong terminology in referring to the suspected defective part as a transfer switch. The part that you are referring to is called the pass through relay, and it is a replaceable component in your inverter, but it comes as part of a circuit board. I am not sure if the battery charging circuit is on the same board or if it will take two boards to repair your inverter.

A point to consider is that Heart inverters (now Xantrex) are not the most trouble free inverters, and with the age of yours, it might me a better plan to think about just replacing it with a more dependable unit like a Magnum inverter if the repairs get anywhere near the price of a new inverter.

Gerald

[Richard Davis]

Eric,
You need to make sure you are actually getting power through your shore power cord.  I was having similar problems as what you are having.  I tested the power cord for continuity.  It tested fine.  However, I finally determined that one of the load wires was broken inside the power plug on the end.  It would test fine for continuity and voltage, but would fail under load.  Replacing the 50 amp male plug solved my problem.  If your problem does turn out to be a failed component on the Heart inverter, I would echo previous advice to replace it with a new Magnum unit.  My Heart 20D became nothing but a boat anchor years ago.  I am much happier with the Magnum unit.

Richard