Inverter Questions
I took the coach out solo a couple of weeks ago as a trial local run for dry camping. Everything went as expected except for the 600W inverter. Totally inoperative. Not a deal breaker for this trip. Used the downtime to read 'gasp' the manual and get a basic grasp of the theory of operation & trouble shooting steps.
Step 1: check the fuse. On the electrical cabinet side, where the inverter is, all wires enter from the back side, no inline fuse visible. I'll get back to this in the driveway.
Today in the driveway, I find the fuse. It is in the battery compartment on the side opposite from electrical cabinet. Visual inspection yields no obvious defects. Then I find that the positive lead is not connected to the battery. Aha moment.
Hook it up with a modest spark from an instant current draw. Okay a wee bit discerning. Mad checked the switch to ensure that the inverter control panel is in the off position. Not to happy about the immediate current draw.
The power transfer box is now humming mightily along. This is a power consuming load in & of itself.
Next, into the coach,flip the switch & check outlets for power. As expected, mostly around the entertainment devices. So it does work.
So my questions are:
Why would the previous owner have the power disconnected at the battery? Perhaps because of the power transfer box load? ( it draws power even with the inverter control switch set to off). If so, why not put an in-line cutoff switch?
Further research required!
PS I want a real power monitoring panel for the inverter, one that shows both voltage, current drawer and battery life meters.
What are your inverter stories & experiences?
Step 1: check the fuse. On the electrical cabinet side, where the inverter is, all wires enter from the back side, no inline fuse visible. I'll get back to this in the driveway.
Today in the driveway, I find the fuse. It is in the battery compartment on the side opposite from electrical cabinet. Visual inspection yields no obvious defects. Then I find that the positive lead is not connected to the battery. Aha moment.
Hook it up with a modest spark from an instant current draw. Okay a wee bit discerning. Mad checked the switch to ensure that the inverter control panel is in the off position. Not to happy about the immediate current draw.
The power transfer box is now humming mightily along. This is a power consuming load in & of itself.
Next, into the coach,flip the switch & check outlets for power. As expected, mostly around the entertainment devices. So it does work.
So my questions are:
Why would the previous owner have the power disconnected at the battery? Perhaps because of the power transfer box load? ( it draws power even with the inverter control switch set to off). If so, why not put an in-line cutoff switch?
Further research required!
PS I want a real power monitoring panel for the inverter, one that shows both voltage, current drawer and battery life meters.
What are your inverter stories & experiences?
