Intellitec EMS problem

I have just inherited a 2006 Fleetwood Revolution so I'm a noob to the forum but been lurking for a few months.  I have an EMS problem that seems to be getting progressively worse.  First off, everything operates correctly while on gen power.  Previously, while plugged into 20A or 30A shore power, I could run the reefer and one AC unit with no problem.  Then, when I picked up the RV from my folks a few months ago, only the fan would run on the AC (no compressor).  And now after our latest trip, I can't get the reefer to run on shore power.

The EMS seems to be shedding appliances incorrectly.  Converter seems OK because everything runs on gen power and I get 120v power at the convenience outlets while on shore power.  I did search and find a previous post where Intellitec had to replace the control module and display but I was wondering if there is anything obvious that I should check for first.  I do have an email into Intellitec and am waiting on a response.

Hi and welcome to our little corner of the Internet!  Look around and make yourself at home here.

It certainly sounds like something is wonky with the EMS.  Is everything normal on 50 amp shore power?  I thought I read where Intellect or whoever owns the EMS product has dropped phone support, so good luck - maybe they will chat via email.

Does the EMS display show that the front a/c and fridge have been shed? Or does the display indicate the circuits are active but they just do not work?

Yeah, Intellitec referred me to my RV dealer when I called and no response from email in two days.  I don't currently have access to 50A shore power so I can't answer that one.  It would be interesting to find out so I'll see what might be available locally.

The only lights on EMS display are for the front a/c (second from the bottom) and the bottom one which is unnamed.  The display is supposed to retain current draw in memory and when I access the info it looks like current value for the reefer is 31 - seems a bit high.  I can't seem to figure out how to clear the memory.

For what it's worth, the house batteries indicate float charging @ 13.4v and all fuses (boy there's a lot of them) and breakers seem OK.

Thanks for all your help....

Intellitec is not quick to respond to emails, but I have always gotten a detailed and helpful response to my questions. And here is a link to a 50A EMS Installation & Service Manual that might help:
http://www.flemingsalesoem.com/intellitec/PDF/5300684.200-2.pdf

There are several variations of this EMS - I have the model 900. If you can identify the model of yours, you can get the specific service manual for it at:
http://www.intellitec.com/techsupp2.htm

Activating the generator should effectively turn off the EMS, so that seems to be working right. 50A shore power does almost the same thing, so testing it on 50A won't tell you any more than you already know.

The load shed order is controlled by jumper switches, as explained in the Install guide above.

Low or no 12v power to the EMS module can cause it to do odd things, so you might check that.

I was not aware there is any way to display individual loads on the EMS remote display. Mine shows only total amp load when in 30A mode or generator mode and nothing in 50A mode, so yours must be a newer and different model than mine if it does that. The 31 amps you are seeing sounds like total load.

Could it simply be that your front a/c has a problem and is drawing too much current? Locked rotor amps on an a/c compressor would easily exceed 30A and cause the EMS to shut it down quickly if on 30A shore power.

Thanks Gary.  I have the model 800 and I did download the manual but I'm no electrician so I've had a little trouble deciphering it.  I did find that if you hold down the "Service Select" button on the display panel you can see the stored current values for the controlled appliances.  That's where I got the 31 amps for the reefer.

Both a/c's are functioning properly on gen power and their current draw w/ compressors running was about 10 amps each according to the display.

I need to locate the EMS control module and check the 12v power and fuse.  Any idea where they might have installed that?  I'm thinking under the master bed so I'll check tonight.

Thanks again for all your help w/ these newbie questions...

I just read elsewhere that Intellitec has laid off their Customer Tech Support Staff and the only help you can get is what is on the web site. That's probably why you were referred to a dealer.  The same source says that a former Intellitec employee is running a fee Tech Help line. It is  1 888 401 7729. Cost is $15.00 to connect and $2.99 a minute.

The sad state of the economy and the crash of the RV industry has hurt a lot of formerly excellent customer support operations.

I've heard it suggested that sometimes the EMS gets flaky and needs a "re-boot" to get itself straightened out. I don't know if this istrue or not, but it's worth a try to find out.

The suggested procedure is to remove both DC and AC power from the EMS panel for 15-20 seconds and then restore power.  There should be a fused 12v power line going to the EMS board, plugging in at J2. You could remove the connector or remove the fuse that feeds the circuit. It may also be possible to simply shut off your battery disconnect to remove 12v power. Also unplug the shore power cord and all power should be removed from the EMS. Restore power after 15-20 seconds and see if the load shedding problem goes away.

If you try this and it works, I would love to hear about it!

That's a great idea!  Certainly could explain the odd values I'm seeing in the display's memory and should be fairly easy to try.  Only issue is locating the control module.  After reading the manual again, I'm thinking it must be an integral part of the distribution panel located under the master bed.

I'll give it a try this weekend and report back.  Had to move the RV to my storage location last night.  HOA was getting antsy with it in my driveway.  Thanks again!

Yes, the EMS is built into the breaker panel. You have to pull the cover off the panel to actually see it, but you can probably locate the wires coming in from the back side.  You could try the idea of using the battery disconnect and unplugging shore power and see if that does anything. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you won't know whether it was because it didn't work or because you didn't actually remove 12v power (i.e. the EMS is wired direct to the battery somehow).  You could also disconnect the house battery ground cable - that ought to stop any 12v power from reaching the EMS.

The display is supposed to retain current draw in memory and when I access the info it looks like current value for the reefer is 31 - seems a bit high.  I can't seem to figure out how to clear the memory.

Click to expand...

I've been educating myself on the stored memory feature and thinking about the 31 amp figure you see.  The stored value is the difference between the total current draw before and after shedding the device. That suggests that the EMS saw a 31 amp change when the fridge load was shed. Since the fridge should be in the 5-8 amp range, you may have a problem there, e.g. a shorted 120vac heating element. You might try manually switching the fridge to propane mode and see how the EMS responds. It won't change right away since shed loads stay shed for awhile, but if you unplug and replug shore power it should reset and see it right away.

The fact that the other load lights in the display are off indicates they have already been shed. If none of them were on anyway (e.g. water heater, rear a/c, washer/dryer), then their stored value will be zero and the EMS would automatically shed the next load when trying to reduce the total draw under 30A. That too is consistent with a problem with the fridge, which is usually just ahead of the front a/c in the shed order. If the fridge is the big draw, then the first 4 loads will get shed almost instantly as the EMS desperately tries to get the total load down under 30A.

After you cycle the display thru all six entries, there is one more that should appear: The running average amp draw of the last 3 hours. What number do you see there? It will usually be followed by a decimal point to show it is the average mode draw.

You can't clear the memory from the display panel but it should zero itself if no loads are being shed. I'm not sure how long it takes to zero out, though. Doing the power off thing we discussed earlier should clear it, though.

I am new to the forum, and this is my first post. I traded in a class C for a class A about two weeks ago, and I am trying to understand all the gadgets, including the Intellitec EMS. Last weekend, while on 30A shore power, I accidentally disconnected the shore power for an hour or so. When I reconnected, things seemed to be working, but by evening the temperature in the coach was unbearable, and I realized neither AC compressor would run. I knew it had to do with the EMS, but pushing the only button on the remote display did not help. I finally shut off all power with the battery disconnect for a couple of minutes. When I turned the 30A power back on, the EMS seemed to be doing something for a minute or so, and then all was well.

I believe your actions are pretty close to what is recommended for the problem you had.  Glad it worked for you.

Gary, yo da man.  It worked!  Uplugged shore power, hit the house battery disconnect and waited about 5 minutes.  Plugged shore power back, energized house batteries and the EMS lit up like a Christmas tree.  Everything worked like it should on 30A shore power.  Tried the front a/c, fan started and about 20 - 30 seconds later the compressor kicked in and we were chillin.

I can't thank everyone enough.  I'll sleep better to night. ;D

GREAT!  We BOTH learned something then. I heard rumors about this sort of problem but have never encountered it until you asked. Now we know how to deal with it!

Thanks for the tip.  I found that disconnecting the coach battery cables and the shore for about the 4 -5 minutes also did the trick. 
Knowing that the batteries where really off when the lights went out was a clue  lol. and my internal battery disconnct switch is bad. 
Anyhow thanks the happened quite a few times where I could get everthing when the generator was on but not when I switched to shore.  This was the real solution.  Now I can get some sleep without the generator runing to cool the place.

Great job Gary!  Your record now stands at 100% correct 99.999% of the time!!! 

Thanks, we all learned something from this thread.

Has anyone really figured out what the E1 Error means. Our new to us Pace Arrow has an electrical gremlin  that popped up during our 4 night stay. Just trying to determine if it is the EMS or in the power converter not charging house batteries at night.

There are a couple different models of the Intellitec EMS but I've never found an error code explanation for any of them. The EMS manuals have installation and service info, but no error codes.  I have always suspected that an error code on the remote display merely meant that the remote was getting no signal at all from the main board.  Since a reset of the main board (by removing power to force a re-boot) nearly always fixes the issue, that seems like a pretty good bet.

Thanks Gary ,I tried that and it does disappear.I guess I need to figure a few things out maybe you can help.On our AC front unit,we have 2, it has a solar charger.I believe its keeping the house batteries charged during the day.Anyways we have the model 900.. We headed out camping Thursday it was dropping to the upper 40's at night so the furnace ran to keep the chill out Thursday and Friday with no issue that I knew of but I did notice the batteries early morning were low on charge Sat.Furnace wouldnt run Sat or Sun evening. I dont think the converter is working in my coach as its not charging the batteries during the evening hours. I guess I need to know if the converter gets its power through the electrical panel as I was on a couple occasions able to turn  the second breaker from the left off and on to get the charger to kick in because the light bar above the the bathroom sink would get bright and then at the remote panel would show  the aux batteries were getting a charge. But I think its not charging later  more like  a quick jolt to start it chargng.I didnt have my Volt meter with me to check voltage or anything. so see if maybe the breaker was bad.I think I see what could be the converter under the Washer but I am not sure if thats it or if it should be somewhere more accessible as I have to pull a register cover of in hallway to see it. but not sure I could get to it too test it with out removing the whole cabinet around the washer/dryer combo and removing it to access it.We just got home so I am going to do some searching and checking with my volt meter . to test some things as it seems my 2nd air wont work and it did when we got the coach a few weeks back.