Jensen 32" LCD and DC/AC Inverter

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IslandGuy

IslandGuy

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Posts
468
Location
Saddlebrooke, AZ
I have a new Winnebago View 24A which comes with a Jensen 32" LCD TV and Jensen AWM970 wall mount stereo/DVD player. The TV is 120 VAC and runs through a 300 watt Sensata inverter which has a transfer switch built in. Everything has been working great, fantastic picture and sound.
The problem came when I ran the system on battery power only...no generator or shore power. So the TV is running on the inverter and the stereo is a 12VDC unit. I put on a DVD and noticed immediately that there were 2 horizontal lines on the TV that slowly scrolled up....hmmm....I raised the antenna and switched to TV only and the picture was great....hmmmm. Further investigation revealed that if I plugged the TV into an extension cord that was connected to shore power and ran the DVD it worked fine as well. Even though this is all under warranty I'm guessing it is the inverter or a wiring problem.
Any thoughts?

Kind regards,

Jim
 
If I read this correctly, this is the first time you've run the TV on battery alone?

If this is the case, then the TV has had shore power until this time, and has not been running off the inverter.

The lines are a result of electronic "noise" in the power from the inverter. If you look HERE , you'll find that the inverter creates a quasi-sine wave. You will need to have an inverter that creates a true sine wave unless someone else in the forum knows a trick I do not.

Road Trip America has a pretty decent write up to help decide which inverter to buy.
Here is another link that somewhat explains the difference between the two inverter types.

If the inverter and TV were provided by a dealer and you still have warranty coverage, talk to them about your findings. Bottom line, your TV is not compatible with a modified wave inverter.

Joe

 
Joe,
Yes you are correct in your assessment, first time using the tv on battery only. I spoke to the dealer I purchased the View from and he contacted Winnebago directly and they said they have matched the inverter with this tv in other motorhomes without any problems....so since the motorhome is only a few weeks old it is under warranty and I will let the dealer figure out what is happening. When I contacted the manufacturer of the inverter he suggested that the inverter needed for this application should be a pure sine wave inverter...so who is correct? Winnebago or the manufacturer of the inverter?
Thanks for your input,
Jim
 
Stepped square wave, or square wave inverters play well with some electronics, and not with others.  I'm siding with the inverter manufacturer.  One of the very first upgrades I did for my brand new Horizon was to replace the standard Dimensions inverter for a pure sine wave Xantrex inverter.  Never ever any issue like you are describing.

Sold the Dimensions on eBay.  Do yourself a big favor and replace your inverter.
 
I'll let Winnebago replace the inverter for a pure sine wave one if that is the problem. I have a hard time believing that I am the only one having this problem and it is because of a incorrect type of inverter? I am sure the dealer will just get a new inverter and put it in...
John, if you have a contact in Winnebago he should be aware of a problem with this inverter and the Jensen 32" TV?

Thanks for your input!

Jim
 
It's not necessarily the inverter that is generating the noise. Some other 12v electrical device can be feeding the noise back into the 12v system and it passes through the inverter to the tv.  I have a pair of fluorescent ceiling lights that did that to my old Sony analog tv when running on the Xantrex RV2512 inverter but the problem went away when I upgraded to a Sony digital. Must have better input filters on the new tv.
 
Agree...could be alot of different things. I have a 2010 View 24A with a Jensen 32" 120VAC LCD and the 2009 View 24A had a Sharp 32" 120VAC LCD. It could be the power supply in the Jensen LCD is a little more finicky than the Sharp?
I asked the dealer, Lichtsinn where I purchased the View from, if they had another one on the lot so they could check that one...but they did not. I am taking the MH to Roy Robinson in Marysville, WA on Dec 1st to check it out.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Brought my MH into Roy Robinson last week and the tech found both the Jensen AM/FM/DVD player and the Inverter defective. Will have the parts in a week...hope that fixes it!

Best regards,

Jim
 
Just got back from Roy Robinson in Marysville, WA. They replaced the Jensen radio due to there was no AM reception. Well the new radio was fine, this tech found out that the antenna was bad. New antenna now I have AM reception.
He replaced the Dimension 300w inverter and still had the same result. Horizontal lines in the TV while playing a DVD and using the inverter. Now if I use a ground isolater adapter on the TV the lines go away. Winnebago was called and they said the problem is a known issue and they have no resolution! Say What!! I was told that Winnebago found out about this problem several months ago and beefed up the ground to the inverter. Supposedly some MH's are worse than others...this is pretty fishy to me and I am not very happy about this!


Jim
 
IslandGuy said:
Now if I use a ground isolater adapter on the TV the lines go away..........this is pretty fishy to me and I am not very happy about this!
Click to expand...

Jim - two suggestions.  Use the isolator (ground loops are a problem in PA systems as well) or buy a better inverter.  It's just one of those things  :p .
 
John,
It burns my butt that I have to purchase an isolator or purchase a different inverter on a brand new motorhome still under warranty!! The particular inverter that is used with this application has a transfer switch built into it that is why it is expensive, $499. I heard back from another owner of a 2010 View 24A and their dealer ran a dedicated heavy gauge ground wire from the battery directly to the inverter and that solved their problem. Winnebago started to put in a heavier gauge wire at some point, which I supposedly have in my MH, but that has not solved my issue.

Jim
 
Jim - Winnebago Tech Support contacted your dealer and the dealer will give you a call.  Your particular problem isn't a common one - hopefully they can make another run at the issue and get you squared away.
 
John, received a call this morning from the dealer...looks like they are going to get an isolator for me...hopefully that will fix the problem. Thanks for your help!

Kind regards,

Jim
 
I received a call from Ron Lichtsinn this afternoon. I asked him if he would check the 2010 View 24A he has on his lot  to see if it had the same issues when watching a DVD on battery power. Sure enough the TV  had the dreaded rolling horizontal lines...I also received an email from another 24A owner that has the same issue. It seems that Winnebago "forgot" to install the video isolator on the DVD player...Ron ordered a couple of the isolators and will have one installed on the 24A on his lot and let me know if in fact that solves the problem...I am awaiting a call from Roy Robinson to get my isolator installed...now we are getting somewhere!!

Jim
 
I received the isolator yesterday from Lichtsinn (the one that Winnebago forgot to install per the schematic) installed it and no more horizontal lines while using the inverter.  Winnebago dropped the ball on this one as there are a few 2010 24A's out there that are missing this video isolator. If you are one of them...easy fix for you!

Jim
 
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