Transfer switch burned - Again
I had a failure of the original IOTA 50 amp transfer switch in March 2012. Jayco replaced it with a Progressive Dynamics PD52 since IOTA was no longer making transfer switches. Well this morning the P...
Forum Discussion
Glad to hear that you had enough wire to work around the problem.
Chances are that someone did not tighten the lugs on the 50 amp connections properly the first time, and then the wire overheats. Now you might need to get rid of some very rigid and somewhat melted wire near the connections, so that the next transfer switch will work for a longer time.
Good luck! And be sure to inspect the job when picking up the RV. If it does not look like it was done right, you have the right and ability to make them fix it right. If the wires are melted insulation around them (discolored) all of that wire needs to be removed. Then large blue wire nuts and new wire is attached to the undamaged wire, and those new 12" - 18" wires would be attached to the replacement transfer switch.
Rated at 50 amps, it should not have been overloaded. Afterall you are not transferring loads while under loads, there really should not be more than 2-3 amps going through the switch when it transfers. All air conditioners should be off when you shut off the generator, and before turning it back on. When driving into a campground and ready to hook up, then the transfer switch would be in the unpowered 'off' position, so the contacts are already closed for shore to RV. It is once the generator is started, and then it will go through a 30 second waiting period that it will energize and move to generator to RV position.
You are not plugging in while the generator is on - are you? That is not good on the transfer switch or A/C units. Let the A/C units stay off for 3-5 minutes while shutting down the generator before plugging into shore power. .
Fred.
Chances are that someone did not tighten the lugs on the 50 amp connections properly the first time, and then the wire overheats. Now you might need to get rid of some very rigid and somewhat melted wire near the connections, so that the next transfer switch will work for a longer time.
Good luck! And be sure to inspect the job when picking up the RV. If it does not look like it was done right, you have the right and ability to make them fix it right. If the wires are melted insulation around them (discolored) all of that wire needs to be removed. Then large blue wire nuts and new wire is attached to the undamaged wire, and those new 12" - 18" wires would be attached to the replacement transfer switch.
Rated at 50 amps, it should not have been overloaded. Afterall you are not transferring loads while under loads, there really should not be more than 2-3 amps going through the switch when it transfers. All air conditioners should be off when you shut off the generator, and before turning it back on. When driving into a campground and ready to hook up, then the transfer switch would be in the unpowered 'off' position, so the contacts are already closed for shore to RV. It is once the generator is started, and then it will go through a 30 second waiting period that it will energize and move to generator to RV position.
You are not plugging in while the generator is on - are you? That is not good on the transfer switch or A/C units. Let the A/C units stay off for 3-5 minutes while shutting down the generator before plugging into shore power. .
Fred.
