1988 fleetwood transfer relay

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Justinneisius

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My rv transfer relay will not switch over to generator power by itself. The relay has a spring holding it in position to use shore power, but when the generator is turned on and the shore power is unpluged the relay will not switch. If I take a screwdriver and use it to push the relay, the generator power will work. As soon as I remove the screwdriver, the power quits working. Do I simply need a new relay? Is there an electromagnetic circuit  that is not activating? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
 
Check the voltage on the coil. Should be 120 vac from the generator. Could also be the time delay relay in the switch, also power by the generator.
 
Yes, there is a electromagnet (solenoid) that is not working. When the generator produces power, that 120v power is supposed to activate the solenoid and pull that relay into the genset position. Could be power isn't reaching the solenoid, or the solenoid itself is burned out.
 
Almost all ATS have a time delay circuit board that controls the relay. So it could be the relay or circuit board. Check for voltage on the relay coil to determain if it's the coil or board.

Richard
 
I tested the Voltage across the two wires that attach to the relay from the generator. It was receiving full voltage. Does the part that looks like a capacitor (is it?) need to be replaced?
 

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I couldn't identify parts very well in that photo, but there is a solenoid (electro-magnetic switch) that pulls the contactor part of the relay into the generator position. Either it has failed or it is not receiving power to operate. The solenoid may be the thing that "looks like a capacitor", but I can't tell for sure. No reason I can think of to have a capacitor on a transfer switch, though.
 
I suspect that the relay is the square black component on the right dide. The smallest two wires to it are probably the solenoid connections.

Ernie
 
The round part that is hanging down in the center is a sequencer, it is what they are using for the time delay.  The coil on that should be powered by the generator. The switch side of that sequencer will also have power from the generator, then goes to the coil side of the transfer relay. So when you start the generator it powers the coil side of the sequencer, it heats up and closes the switch side, which sends power to the transfer relay. That sequencer is the same part used in many electric house furnaces. They go bad all the time. The coil will have a hot and a neutral wire and the switch side will have a hot coming from the generator, going to the coil on the transfer relay. If the part is bad, make sure you replace it with the exact same kind= amp rating. Some with have 12 v, 24 v or 125vac coil.

It does look like it has a start cap on the right side, don't know why they would need that. You aren't trying to trouble shoot this while being plugged in are you? that may be pretty confusing.

Check the sequencer operation first. You should have no power to it until you start the generator. Then you should have 120 vac measured at the coil. Each side of the switch should have 120 vac measured to ground . If you don't the sequencer is bad.
 
It looks like a standard open-frame double throw contactor relay.  The red and yellow wires are the coil voltage; when they're live the relay should pull in. Can't tell from the pic whether the coil is 120VAC or 12VDC, but it's most likely one of the two. The black thing hanging from the plate above could well be a sequencer. The black tube on the right looks like a flexible duct for the low current control wires. You can see the relay coil wires, a white neutral wire and at least one black wire going through.

As 92GA says, with the genny running, look at the voltage to the coil (red and yellow wires) should be either 120VAC or a low DC (12 or 24, most likely 12 I would expect). Look for AC first so you don't risk toasting your meter on the DC range. And be real careful around those contacts. It looks pretty tight in there and you're going to be working close to full line voltage.

Ray
 
The thing on the right with the yellow and red wires coming out of it looks like a capacitor not a conduit. it also has a white and black wire coming out of it. the white and black wires have a 120 V drop across them. there is no voltage drop across yellow and red wires. does this mean the cylinder thing on the right (that looks like a capacitor) is the problem? the time delay relay in the middle has 120 volts across it and lets power go to the transfer relay.
 
Fleetwood usually specifies a delay when transferring to the genset, so that the switch doesn't occur immediately when the voltage gets above 90 or so, i.e. to give time for the genset to reach operating speed and stabilize. Maybe the 'delay' has become infinite, i.e. is defective. The red & yellow might be the output of the delay circuit (not sure how a delay is accomplished in this switch). For example, it could be 120v or 12v, depending on how it works.

Did you ever identify the make & model of transfer switch? This is kind of guess work without more to go on.
 
Justinneisius said:
The thing on the right with the yellow and red wires coming out of it looks like a capacitor not a conduit. it also has a white and black wire coming out of it. the white and black wires have a 120 V drop across them. there is no voltage drop across yellow and red wires. does this mean the cylinder thing on the right (that looks like a capacitor) is the problem? the time delay relay in the middle has 120 volts across it and lets power go to the transfer relay.
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Don't know what that part is. I've looked at several images of transfer switches on line and couldn't find one with that on them. I would remove it, and run the wires direct from the sequencer and see if it works. You have to have power to the coil when the generator is running for it to switch. 
 
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