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SpeakEasy
Explorer
Mar 19, 2020

Inverter Installed - Open Ground?

I finished installing my new Victron 250w 12v inverter. I hard-wired it with direct connections to + and - battery terminals using 9 feet of 8AWG wire. There is a connection point on the inverter for a ground wire. The manual tells me that the "AC outlet is isolated from the DC input and the chassis." (They mean the inverter's chassis, not the trailer.)

My circuit tester registered the AC output as "open ground."

I tried running a ground wire from the inverter's ground connection to the trailer frame, believing the trailer frame to be the ground in this case. The circuit tester still registers "open ground."

First question - is any of this a concern?

Second question - why is it still registering "open ground"?

Third question - if I do need to ground it, how do I do so?

Thanks in advance.

-Speak
  • Checked the inverters now in our RV.

    2000w PSW (PowerMax brand) showing its green no-fault lamp, tester shows two yellows, meaning "correct".

    300w MSW (Can Tire-don't know supplier brand) shows all three lights on tester. (same as with previous MSW inverters) Tester does not have a code for what all three lights on means.

    EDIT--no chassis ground connected on either inverter
  • Agreed, not a concern.

    IN THEORY, and if you really want to "play by the rules" and insure absolute perfection, you should bond the neutral to the ground and then drive an 8 foot grounding rod into the dirt beside your rig, attaching it to both the RV chassis AND the inverter ground pin with a huge honkin' bare copper wire, I think 6 gauge is required, but I'd have to look that up to be sure. Not exactly the most portable setup, to be sure, so . . . .

    Good thing it's not a concern, eh?

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