Charging problems

[Oneton2]

Is there a switch in an inverter that lets it know if you are on shore power or generators? My batteries charge from shore power and from my truck but not from a generator. About to drive me nuts.

 

[kdbgoat]

Does everything else work when running the generator?

 

[Oneton2]

Yes everything else works.

 

[kdbgoat]

First, do you mean converter instead of inverter?
Second, do you have 30 amp or 50 amp service in your trailer?
Third, what generator are you using?

 

[Oneton2]

I guess I mean converter-my bad. 30 amp and tried two generators. An 1800 watt ryobie and a 2800 watt champion.

 

[kdbgoat]

Well, now you have me stumped. I was thinking maybe you had a 50 amp service and only one leg was being fed, the one without the converter on it. It doesn't make sense to me either now.
The output from the generators to the trailer is only 120 volts correct? Not 240 volts? The ones I looked at are only 120.

 

[Oneton2]

No they are 120 volts. It's like the charging circuit for the generators is bad. But how would the converter know where the 120 was coming from? Weird.

 

[kdbgoat]

Yep, weird. Hopefully someone here can provide more of an answer to your problem.

Oh, by the way, Welcome to the site! There's a lot of good folks here. 

 

[Oneton2]

Thank you for your time. I sure appreciate it.

 

[kdbgoat]

You're entirely welcome, it's not a problem. That's why the site exists. Lord knows I have received enough help here.

 

[John From Detroit]

Two suspects.
1: Generator output voltage under load.. Converters like 110 plus, some will work down to around 90, below that, Forget about it.

2: Generator output WAVEFORM.  Some "Open frame" type generators are kind of nasty and the converter may be saying "No thanks".. Inverter types are sweet however and should work, If you can borrow say a Honda 2000i for a few minutes see if it works.

 

[kdbgoat]

Both of the ones he used were inverter type generators. I hadn't thought about a heavy load on the generator bringing down the voltage though. It seems like the genny's breaker would trip if loaded that heavy though.

 

[Oneton2]

The 2800 watt champion is an inverter type and I measured the output at 120.

 

[Oneton2]

I'm back to my original question. Is there something in the rv converter that "knows" where the volts are coming from? I would think 120 was 120. But I'm really light on electrical stuff.

 

[kdbgoat]

Not that I can think of. That's what has me stumped too.

 

[Oneton2]

Well thanks again. I thought I might get an idea before I turned it over to some place that would bend me over. Lol.

 

[Kevin Means]

Are you running any heavy loads while you're trying to charge your batteries on generator-power? Your converter doesn't know, or care from where the A/C power is coming, but it shares its output with the charging circuit and other systems. It will reduce its output to the charging circuit in favor of other systems if the loads are heavy enough.

I'd suggest taking a voltage reading at the battery terminals while the generator is running. You should see greater than 13 volts. However without some type of battery monitor, you won't be able to determine how many amps are going into the batteries, but that voltage measurement will tell you if the charger is working while on generator-power.

Kev

 

[Oneton2]

Thanks Kevin. I'm not running anything else. Zip nada. I will check voltage at the batteries though. Should have done that already. I was just looking at the charge light on my system status panel which doesn't come on when on generator power but does on shore power or plugged into the truck.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Is there a switch in an inverter that lets it know if you are on shore power or generators? My batteries charge from shore power and from my truck but not from a generator. About to drive me nuts.

I gather this is a trailer and the genset is an external one? You plug the RV shore cord into it to power it? If not, can you describe how genset power gets to the RV?

As others have already stated, the converter/charger doesn't know the difference. It's just 120vac power.

 

[Oneton2]

Correct. 2008 5th wheel. Generator is external. Same power cord for both shore and gen power.