No AC Power, Dead Inverter? Need Diagnosis Help & Recommendations

[Rob&Deryl]

We have that setup for when we are at Q this winter.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Sounds like you have a steep learning curve on RV power systems but you are clearly a quick study.

Here is a shot of y 410W inverter at my work station. With the TV and laptop plugged in I am drawing 45W. The basic power equation is W / V = amps so 45/12=3.75 amps. I started work from home in January of this year and am on shore power 90% of the time.

I have about 180ah of battery that is about 70% usable to dead. So that's about 36 hours. But I also have to run lights, fridge controller and water heater controller when on propane so I have probably 24 hours "off-grid" time. Even this complete LED lighting conversion is a must have.

When I am off grid I generally fire up the generator for 1 hour in the morning to make breakfast and about 1 hour at night to make dinner and cool the RV down before sleeping.

To run any significant A/C load off battery you will end up needing huge battery storage and huge solar array to charge it.

The next logical step is more battery say, 4 X 80-100 ah. You will still need to charge this off your generator or while driving. A medium quality charger can produce 30-40 amps. and with battery acceptance levels being what they are the 200 amps or so you have to put in after using it will take 5 hours or so of generator time.

 

[SunFun]

The generator may have an automatic transfer device that will automatically shift loads to the generator when it starts, and you can tell by starting it when not connected to shore power and try operating the 120V things like the air conditioner and microwave, probably the TV, and possibly a few other things.

What happens if I start the generator, and the A.C. doesn't work? I think that's what happened when I tested earlier, but my memory may be faulty. Is there probably a switch somewhere for me to manually transfer?

I'll get to the other responses shortly, I'm currently in the process of moving stuff to storage.

 

[DonTom]

What happens if I start the generator, and the A.C. doesn't work?

If the genny is running and no AC output, I would first check the circuit breaker on the right side of the genny.

Then I would check the other AC circuit breakers.

Then check to make sure no outlets are in the ground fault open mode (includes the ones I am NOT checking for voltage--check them all). If I still got nowhere, I would follow the AC cable right from the genny to see where it first goes.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[SunFun]

Stove top boils water for a French Press pretty well.

In this case, percolator.

I used to have this thing called a Melitta.

I use an AeroPress, and have for years. It's somewhat like an upside-down french-press.

If the genny is running and no AC output, I would first check the circuit breaker on the right side of the genny.

...

-Don- Reno, NV

• I started the generator a couple hours ago, flipped all breaker-switches, made sure the 30a switch on the front of the generator was on, turned the red-switch next to the battery-shut-off in the on position (switch did not light up).
• I checked Air-Conditioning & all AC plugs I could find, and no power. I even plugged into the back of the breaker-box under the bed, and no power there either. I used one of these for tests: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QW7K1JJ and it acted like it wasn't plugged in.
• I used one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M24N714 and wasn't detecting any live AC wires in the breaker-box area, including the ones that run towards where the converter is monted.
• Tomorrow I'll crawl under the RV & generator with a flashlight and see what else I can see. I didn't see any breaker switches, unless the "30a on/off" switch was that thing. I only saw one fuse, which apparently the generator wouldn't run if that was blown. (see pics) I'll also use that AC-detector to see if it detects power coming out of whatever cables I find.
• Apparently, I was mistaken about which generator I had (confusion, from looking at something like 20 RVs). I actually have no idea what model mine is, or specs it has, just the brand. I'll also take a closer look for model # and specs tomorrow.

Sounds like you have a steep learning curve on RV power systems but you are clearly a quick study.

Here is a shot of y 410W inverter....

Useful info, thanks for sharing. My workstation might be a lot more power-hungry, but I'll known soon enough, as I got a power-monitor that I need to setup.

I'm guessing without a significant battery upgrade, I'll be stuck running the generator frequently if I want to run more than a laptop off the (crappy) batteries I currently have However, once I get the generator, a twice-a-day routine for running the generator sounds like a great idea.

I could always get a powerful laptop, but that's just more money, and I've always been a build-it-yourself-desktop-pc kind of guy. I'll probably also get the 80-amp charger, as a few people mentioned, so I don't have to run the generator 24/7.

 

[JayArr]

How long has the genny been sitting unused?

It may just need to be "flashed". When a genny sits too long it can lose the magnetism required to get it started. You can fix it with a 9V battery or a drill depending on which procedure you follow. Once you get it back running for a few minutes it will re-magnetize itself and then you're good to go from then on.

You can search for it on youtube.

 

[SunFun]

How long has the genny been sitting unused? It may just need to be "flashed"....

No idea, how long it's been sitting, I'll try flashing it tomorrow.

Sounds like you have a steep learning curve on RV power systems but you are clearly a quick study.....

Quick Update:

It appears power-usage ranges between 250 to 300 watts, for my desktop PC + 55" Monitor + 32" monitor. It's not as bad as I feared.

The 55" Monitor uses about 75 watts, so I can kill that while "off-grid," making standard usage closer to 175 to 225 watts. I'll need to add other hardware probably, such as a cell-signal-booster. Regardless, it seems even a 500w could probably handle gaming (I'll check gaming power consumption later).
I prefer 2 monitors for work, but lets I turn off the big-monitor, and we average about 225w for 16 hours, and 50w for 8 hours, which is 3600 watt-hours, or 300AH @ 12v.

Another wild-card is how much my 12v refrigerator uses. I'm not entirely sure how I'd test that manually, but my first thought is to look at the specs/manual tomorrow, and that should give me a rough idea.

I might try taking pictures of some of the manuals, so I can get some more model-#s too.

 

[SunFun]

Haven't visited the RV yet, but I think it's this generator, or one very similar to it. There may be a manual in the RV, which I'll also check for.

Generac Power Systems Guardian RV 004701-0 Quietpact 40LP​

I needed an excuse to buy a corded-drill, and I should have one later today to try the flashing trick.

 

[Ex-Calif]

The 55" Monitor uses about 75 watts, so I can kill that while "off-grid," making standard usage closer to 175 to 225 watts. I'll need to add other hardware probably, such as a cell-signal-booster. Regardless, it seems even a 500w could probably handle gaming (I'll check gaming power consumption later).
I prefer 2 monitors for work, but lets I turn off the big-monitor, and we average about 225w for 16 hours, and 50w for 8 hours, which is 3600 watt-hours, or 300AH @ 12v.

So continuous consumption would be about 275W so you can use a fairly small 400-500W inverter.

You might consider a 32 inch smart TV plugged into HDMI - That's what I am using and as shown the TV only draws about 45W. I also had 3 monitors when I was at work but got used to only using 2 after a while.

The powerful laptop may be the way to go. Alternately you can evaluate the PS in your desktop and decide if you really need all that power for the boards being driven.

Going mobile makes one a lot more sensitive to power consumption and what's really needed

I was gonna mention connectivity but that's a whole other subject for which I recommend starting a new thread. There are many, many options here.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Some RVs require that the shore power cord be manually plugged to a generator outlet to get power. Others have an "automatic transfer switch" (ATS) that detects power from the genset and auto-switches to use it. That's an attribute of the RV design, not the generator itself. I don't know which your 2006 Sunseeker may be.

If there is a 30A outlet for the generator power, it's probably near the genset or in a compartment near the shore cord. If an ATS, it will be where the shore cord and generator output wire come together, sometimes near the shore cord end but other times directly behind the main 120v power panel.

 

[SunFun]

So continuous consumption would be about 275W so you can use a fairly small 400-500W inverter.

...

I was gonna mention connectivity but that's a whole other subject for which I recommend starting a new thread. There are many, many options here.

I'm actually surprised I don't need more power. Laptop may come later, but for now I think I like my desktop setup.

I'll start a new thread when I'm ready for mobile internet discussion.

Some RVs require that the shore power cord be manually plugged to a generator outlet to get power. Others have an "automatic transfer switch" (ATS) that detects power from the genset and auto-switches to use it. That's an attribute of the RV design, not the generator itself. I don't know which your 2006 Sunseeker may be.

If there is a 30A outlet for the generator power, it's probably near the genset or in a compartment near the shore cord. If an ATS, it will be where the shore cord and generator output wire come together, sometimes near the shore cord end but other times directly behind the main 120v power panel.

Mine has a 30a cord/plug in the back of the RV, a long ways away from the generator (at the front). so I'd have to guess mine has an ATS, or "Transfer Switch Isolation" according to the manual.

I used the AC-detector and crawled under the generator. I only detected power in one location, where you can see the red light. in the photos below. There was no AC power going out of the generator at the cable pictured in the back, nor did I detect any at the 30amp breaker. I tried with the breaker in both the on & off position. It also seemed as if the breaker had little "tactile" feedback that I'm normally used to, like there was little to no resistance when flipping the switch, or a "click".

My guess is the 30 amp breaker in the generator is blown.

It was starting to get dark outside, at the time I was at the generator, so I didn't go any further than that. The generator has about 1000 hours, and looked slightly under-maintained, filter was dirty, oil was dirty and a little low, so I might need to head over to a shop anyway if I want this done quickly. Although I might have a lot of time to do-it-myself in the near future too. I might stop by there tomorrow again, and see how easy it is to access/replace the breaker-switch.

 

[SunFun]

I found the part-number, Generac 090145, CIRCUIT BREAKER, 30 X 1 (60HZ). I found a supplier on eBay, but I'll check around locally, to see if I can find one a bit sooner.