Inverter / AC power questions

[devdad71]

Hello,

I am not getting any 120V power to outlets when running on battery power but my inverter is "on" and batteries are fully charged. I have checked the GFCI outlet and it was not tripped. From the LCD display on the inverter, it is not showing the DC voltage input but it seems to be on the AC input even though its in battery mode. I am not sure how to interpret what I am seeing here. Does anyone here know specifically what this means or have ideas as to what is wrong?

Thanks

 

[LTG]

Have you tried to turn on any appliances that are powered by the inverter? TV, microwave, refrigerator?

 

[devdad71]

Yes, the microwave and TV will not turn on as well.

 

[John From Detroit]

I have a 2000 so my display is different but the way I read that display is "NO AC in. Outputtintg 119 VA using battery power (In short no shore power)

On my install the Freedom 2000xc feeds  a "Hidden" breaker box (Instead of the house main box it feeds a sub panel which is in a cabinet behind the main box.. Of course I know where it is but you have to open a door to see it) This feeds only SELECTED outlets (The GFCI chain and optionally the bedroom.. I say optionally because I added a manual switch as this circuit also feeds the fridge so normally I do not want the inverter powering the RV type fridge)  I can however lock the fridge on gas
when traveling)

The 2000 also has a circuit breaker but since I do not have a local outlet on it. NOT connected (Mine is hard wired in) I do not know how yours is connected but you may have a tripped breaker either in a sub panel somewhere on on the inverter itself.

 

[Koodog]

This is the default screen.
Press the scroll button(one with green led lit in pic) to get other screens.
Your pic is showing inverter is running on batteries, outputting 119VAC with a small load 0-25%(shown by lite as 1 bar)
The green lite is also showing you inverter is running on batteries. Look at the symbol.
Your statement about not getting any power out is confusing as your next statement says indeed the microwave and TV turn on.
You do realize theses are AC powered devices?
This is a 1200 watt inverter. TV should be fine, but depending on size of your microwave it may not run or run well. They use a lot of power.

 

[devdad71]

Koodog

That should have read ?not? turn on. Yea I?m not completely ignorant here and know the difference between AC and DC devices.

I?m not sure if there is a sub panel somewhere or not. Our Delivery Inspection sucked as the dealer was going out of business and really just wanted rid of us.

Thanks

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

OK, so the Xantrex inverter is producing power (per its display), yet none is reaching appliances or outlets. That suggests a breaker, possibly the one on the inverter itself, or the breaker(s) for those circuits in the main or sub load center panel.  Since there are at least two separate breakers for the branch circuits, the breaker (reset button) on the inverter seems the more likely fault.  I'm not familiar with your model Xantrex, but most all of them have a resettable circuit breaker.

If you don't have an Operation manula for your inverter, get one at http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Power-Inverters/Freedom%20X/Xantrex%20Freedom%20X%20Inverter%20Owners%20Guide%20(975-0787-01-01_Rev-D)_ENG.pdf

 

[devdad71]

Hi Gary,

Thanks, I already had the manual and went through it, end to end. I am hardwired in but the dealer did not tell us about a sub panel so I am going to have to search for this. The only thing that is confusing me about the display is that the manual states/shows that in battery mode, the display will show the DC voltage on the input side as a 3 digit number and show batt icon. It may be that I need to scroll to see this so I will try that as well. The inverter is in the most God awful location so I have to take everything out of the front storage and crawl in the narrow space to try to see the dang thing.

Thanks

 

[devdad71]

So a couple more discoveries to add to this. First, I found that by scrolling the display on the inverter, it now shows the correct input voltage but I now the output looks wonky. The other thing I discovered is that my residential refrigerator turns on just fine running off of the inverter even with all the house breakers turned off so it must be on a separate circuit that does not run through the main panel. I am about to give up and just schedule it for service at a dealership.

 

[ChasA]

Devdad , if you tell us what make, model, and type your RV is someone may be able to tell you where to look for the subpanel.
BTW welcomes to the forum.

 

[devdad71]

Sure, it's a 2018 OT 328BHS open range travel trailer.

 

[LTG]

Have you tried to turn on any appliances that are powered by the inverter? TV, microwave, refrigerator?

Did you miss the part about the refrigerator?
There is the possibility that the only thing the inverter powers is the residential refrigerator.

 

[devdad71]

Wow LTG, I never considered that as a possibility. That would suck if true but it's possible.

 

[Gizmo100]

Wow LTG, I never considered that as a possibility. That would suck if true but it's possible.

If it's the only thing.....They may have used a inverter just large enough to run the residential refrigerator. A larger inverter will have a larger amount of wasted power when just sitting doing nothing.

 

[cavie]

Did you miss the part about the refrigerator?
There is the possibility that the only thing the inverter powers is the residential refrigerator.

 

[John From Detroit]

Two more possible trouble spots
ONE is the circuit breaker on the Inverter. IF it is hard wired that is supposed to be not connected but who knows since I did not wire it I do not know.

Now the 120 volt connections. On my 2000 watt I really did not like them at all.. Kind of chinzy and it is possible a wire has come loose.

If you are looking at the LOCAL display. and it is normally oriented (Like the remote in your photo)
THe connections are under a cover on teh LEFT end of the inverter. a single screw holds the cover on if it is built the same way as my 2000.  A visual inspectrion is easy.. THe circuit breaker is on teh RIGHT end looking at it the same way..  NOTE... The RIGHT end is where teh outlet (if it had one on it) would be.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Given that the fridge is working on inverter and he says the inverter display is essentially hidden away, I'd say a strong possibility that only the fridge is supplied by the inverter.  I'd check that with the dealer or mfgr before taking in for service. Might even be able to tell from the trailer model info in brochure or website.

UPDATE:  A quick check of the website info for a 2018 OT328BHS  Open Range trailer shows that an inverter is not listed as either standard or optional. However, the residential fridge is an option, and an inverter would have to included in that package. My guess is that the inverter is dedicated to the fridge.

It could possibly be modified to supply an existing outlet or maybe add an outlet for convenience, e.g. phone charging.  That's certainly technically feasible, but whether it is practical will depend on the location of the inverter and the existing 120v wiring.

 

[devdad71]

Based on all the facts so far I think Gary, Cavie and Gizmo have probably nailed it. I found at least one person on the open range forums in an different post who stated that OR wires the inverter for the residential fridge only. We never plan on boon docking so this is not a big problem for me, I was just concerned that there was a larger issue here when I was attempting to test a new TV install and found no power on any of the outlets while the camper is in storage (battery only). I am going to try to place a call with the mfg today to see if I can get confirmation on it.

Thank all of you for all the ideas and help. At the least, you have probably saved me an unnecessary 100 mile round trip to the nearest service dept.

 

[Senator]

Did you miss the part about the refrigerator?
There is the possibility that the only thing the inverter powers is the residential refrigerator.

My inverter only powers the refrigerator.  Mostly that is what you need running while driving.  Otherwise, the battery would only last an hour.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Otherwise, the battery would only last an hour.

Probably more like 5 hours, even for a single smallish battery (group 24).  With a pair of golf car deep cycles, you could power a large fridge all day