1996 american eagle convertor location

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knc1951

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Sep 10, 2014
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newbee to rving. just purchased this old girl and in my quest to get familiar I am trying to locate the major componets. so far I have found most of them except for the convertor . does. anyone know the location of the convertor on this model/year coach.
 
Look under the bed in the rear bedroom.  Most of the American Coaches of that era had the converter at the foot of the rear bed.
 
thanks for the reply's. the only thing under my bed is the breaker panel and the power transfer switch. the inverter is located in a side bay :'(
 
Thanks Gary    I sure hope your right, I was about to break out the sawsall to find the darn thing. Pouring rain now but as some as it clears I will check it out. Will it say inverter/converter?
 
Probably not. I'm all but certain that an inverter/charger was standard equipment on your 96 Eagle and, if so, it definitely functions as the converter as well. Any combination inverter & charger provides 12v conversion as part of its function. If, however, you have a standalone converter (no charging function), then you will have a converter/charger somewhere. If won't be hard to find, cause it will have major size cables to the batteries.

If you can give me the brand and model number from that inverter, I can put your mind at ease.
 
Your "box" should be gray in color and say on the lid:    Heart interface
                                                                                source  manager
                                                                                        20
  in the lower right corner it will say                              inverter/charger rating (and give the various inputs)

  This is the unit that was developed and produced for American Coach during those years, mine was built in 1997 and is still going strong, I keep it clean on the inside and keep all connections tight.>>>Dan  ( There are also five glass fuses in the lower part to check for problems)
 
I didn't think the Source Manager was used in 1996, and the location of the inverter away from the transfer switch suggests his coach doesn't have it. I suspect he has a standard Heart 20 or 25, which is all but identical to the inverter in the Source Manager anyway. Essentially the same components, but in multiple boxes instead of all-in-one under the bed.

This manual is two years newer but should be very close to what he has:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/135113120/Manual-Heart-Interface-freedom-25
 
WELL, FINALLY GOT TO LOOK AT IT, IT IS A GO POWER ELECTRIC 3000W. ALSO IN THE COMPARTMENT IS ANOTHER BOX LABLED GPC-45.
INSIDE THE COACH NEXT TO THE MONITOR PANE IS ANOTHER PANEL  LABLED GP-SWR-B . THIS LOOKS LIKE A MONITOR PANEL AS WELL BUT CYCING THE SWICHES HAS NO APPARENT EFFECT. SO NOW IM REALLY COFUSED.
 
OK, that is not OEM stuff. Your Eagle did not come with Go Power electronics, no way! Somebody has re-done both the inverter and the charging system.

The 3000W is a modified sine, standalone inverter with no charger or converter function. The GPC-45 provides that function - it is a "smart" charger and converter, with multi-stage charging. The GP-SWR is a remote control panel & monitor.

You can find some information on each on the Go Power web site:
http://gpelectric.com/products
http://gpelectric.com/products/smart-converter-battery-chargers (for info and manual on the GPC-45)
http://gpelectric.com/files/gpelectric/Docs/Manuals/Go_Power_MAN_GP_SWR-B-REMOTE_vC.pdf  (manual for the remote)

http://gpelectric.com/support/product-support
 
Gary, cant thank you enough, just starting out this stuff can be pretty confusing and having folks like you and the rest of the nice folks on the form as a fallback in case I get in over my head is very reassuring. thanks to all.
 
Howdy!

I have been reading the articles as I am a new owner of an American Eagle (1996).  It was abused and I am trying to fix it so I don't loose my assets...  I won it at an auction and it was over promised and under delivered.  Thus far I fixed an oil leak (BAD), and did a complete routine maint on it.  Fixing items one at a time.  Replaced a bunch of fuses....Then installed shorepower at my house.

I have a 1996 American Eagle.  The "Heart Interface" is showing dead. (no lights).  I plan on using it this weekend but don't want to end up dead on the road due to batteries not being kept to snuff.  The ckt breakers on the interface are ok.  All breakers checked ok.  All fuses checked ok.  (But I haven't checked the ones inside the heart interface - indicated in this article if I understand it correctly.).  If that is the case do I need to pull it from the wall mount in the belly box and open the bottom?

I have a degree in electrical engineering but 50 amp 120 is a bit scary because I have been hit by it before in a motors lab.... it hurts~  And the amount of wires is a bit much!

Also the TV's were blown, and the micro.  I hope the micro is a fuse but haven't gotten to it yet.  Fixed and replaced some dead switches and working through a bunch of stuff one item at a time!

Please help and thanks in advance!
Cj
Hartford, Wi
[email protected]
920-904-6099
 
With the amount and type of stuff blown, it sounds like the previous owners may have connected to a badly wire 50 amp outlet (ie 220V from a clothes dryer type of service). This is an oft reported problem as many electricians do not understand how to correctly wire an outlet for an RV's 50 amp 120 Volt service.

It may depend a little on the distribution system. For example, does your power panel have both fuses and circuit breakers in it? If so, the converter may be skillfully hidden behind it and/or be part of that. What is the brand of that panel?  Good luck with your repairs. 
 
You probably have the Heart Interface "Source Manager", which will probably be under the bed. It is a combined inverter/converter/charger plus auto-transfer switch. Most of them have failed by now and they get replaced by separate components, i.e. an inverter/charger and an auto transfer switch.

This owner manual may help:
http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/Source%20Manager%20II%20Owner%27s%20Manual.pdf

Kevin Mallory, owner of Cruising America RV service and a former employee at American Coach Electrical Engineering group, has a kit for replacing defunct Source Managers. Kevin owns a '96 Eagle himself and specializes in repair and upgrades of American Coaches.
https://www.facebook.com/Cruising-America-Rv-Service-Co-190566297646802/
 
knc1951 said:
newbee to rving. just purchased this old girl and in my quest to get familiar I am trying to locate the major componets. so far I have found most of them except for the convertor. does. anyone know the location of the convertor on this model/year coach.
Click to expand...

knc1951
On my BIL's '95 American Eagle the "converter" and the "battery charger" are built into the Heart Freedom 20 Inverter: http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/Freedom%20series%201.pdf
 
Sorry I expected to get an email with replies.

I continue working on problem resolution. 

It is a Heart Interface 25.  I think I now have all outlets working (minus the one by the power plug in the left rear).  The big fuse was blown on the inverter between the batteries and it.  TV's still fried.  One Air Unit isn't working.  Microwave fuse replaced but didn't revive it...

My biggest issue now is the Batteries do not charge generator or via utility power.  Heart Interface is on and the remote panel is one I thought the box should be off itself with the remote on)?  But tried both ways.  NO DC amps but shows inver.  No CHARGING....  I have a "POWERSWITCH" in the rear of the coach where the power comes in for shore power.  I assume that's the transfer switch but not sure how to check that. 

I have tried looking at resetting the Heart Interface 25 but I don't see the 6 screws indicated by others to dig inside and press a red reset button.  All fuses checked out ok.  All breakers ok (under the bed) ok.  Some oher 12 volt fuses need to be found but.... the biggest issue now is that I want to reboot (reset) the Heart interface but don't know how..... (hoping that reset button is in there somewhere)....  No blown circuit breakers on the unit itself.  Havent dug into it to find any internal fuses. (Mounted on the side, in a bellybox)  8-12 screws to remove?

Will check back regularly!
Thank you
Courtney!!!
\


 
utahclaimjumper said:
Your "box" should be gray in color and say on the lid:    Heart interface
                                                                                source  manager
                                                                                        20
  in the lower right corner it will say                              inverter/charger rating (and give the various inputs)

  This is the unit that was developed and produced for American Coach during those years, mine was built in 1997 and is still going strong, I keep it clean on the inside and keep all connections tight.>>>Dan  ( There are also five glass fuses in the lower part to check for problems)
Click to expand...

utahclaimjumper (AND knc1951)
The combination inverter/converter/battery charger in my BIL's '96 Amererica Eagle looks like this:
http://216.117.131.111/3EuIe7oEiI/M1598.1.jpg
 
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