2015 Thor Challenger Residential Refer

[Cbones]

A friend of mine purchased a 2015 Thor Challenger. It comes standard with a Residential refer and a Xantrex 1800w inverter running off 2 6v deep cycle batteries, as well as a rudimentary Magnum Autogen start. The problem is that the refer will only run if connected to shore power or running the genny. Does this make any sense, or is this a wiring issue? Would an 1800w inverter be large enough to handle the refer load? The inverter is definitely working, as he can watch tv and power the sat receiver off the batteries, however, we were unable to find any hot outlets when only in inverter operation. We were boondocking this past weekend, and he had to run the genny continuously, which kind of defeats the purpose of having quiet time. Unfortunately, I have very little experience with the late model gas coaches.

[mikensallyt]

Oops, yes do have two 6v batteries hooked up in a series for power of 12 volts. But why couldn't I just run or replace them with one 12v battery or even 2. I'm not technical savvy at all.

[RayChez]

Some coaches do not have all the outlets hooked up to inverter use. They only have a couple. But one of them should be the refrigerator outlet. Maybe Thor figures this coach should only be plugged into shore power in order for the refrigerator to work. Two house batteries is just not enough to run everything in the coach unless you have solar panels. I have seen coaches with four six volt batteries and a 2000 watt inverter have problems keeping the batteries up while dry camping. Generator has to start every eight hours.

[bullydogs1]

you said certain outlets were inactive on the inverter..check to make sure one of the inverter circuits is not tripped..that would do it as well... So GFI check, inverter check, outlet check to make sure you are plugged into right outlet....

[tropical36]

mikensallyt wrote:

Executive wrote:
My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

6 volt batteries, I thought they were all 12 volt batteries. Am I wrong? Never have had a prob with my fridge yet. I best see if I have any resets (gfi or whatever) just in case. I still haven't been able to find my on/off switch for the outside exterior small fridge, lol. So I don't know if it works or not.

Well, you're wrong and you're right. You do need 12vdc with however you might be able to get it, but the preferred and most efficient method is for having two 6v batteries connected in series for a total of 12vdc. For those having more batteries, then these banks of 6v are in turn connected in parallel. This keeps the voltage at 12, but doubles the capacity. True deep cycle or golf cart batteries are also preferred and not the common 12v marine type that you find quite often.

[tropical36]

Cbones wrote:
A friend of mine purchased a 2015 Thor Challenger. It comes standard with a Residential refer and a Xantrex 1800w inverter running off 2 6v deep cycle batteries, as well as a rudimentary Magnum Autogen start. The problem is that the refer will only run if connected to shore power or running the genny. Does this make any sense, or is this a wiring issue? Would an 1800w inverter be large enough to handle the refer load? The inverter is definitely working, as he can watch tv and power the sat receiver off the batteries, however, we were unable to find any hot outlets when only in inverter operation. We were boondocking this past weekend, and he had to run the genny continuously, which kind of defeats the purpose of having quiet time. Unfortunately, I have very little experience with the late model gas coaches.

Doesn't take much of an inverter to run a fridge of any sort, but adding a couple more 6v golf cart batteries (connected in series for 12v) would sure help on longevity. If you can't find an inverter outlet back there and when all else fails, find a convenient inverter circuit to tap off of and run to an outlet behind the fridge. Not much to that and I did so in a campground with an overnight stop one time, when our RV fridge refused to stay on gas. Once I got back home, I made up a auto relay circuit for switching back and forth on it's own, so no more on gas when going down the road and without even having to think about it.

[mikensallyt]

Executive wrote:
My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

6 volt batteries, I thought they were all 12 volt batteries. Am I wrong? Never have had a prob with my fridge yet. I best see if I have any resets (gfi or whatever) just in case. I still haven't been able to find my on/off switch for the outside exterior small fridge, lol. So I don't know if it works or not.

[Cbones]

Mr.Mark wrote:
I'm going to throw this out...

Check to see if you have tripped one of the GFI outlets in the bathroom or maybe in one of the under bays. It might be as simple as that. Also, aren't there two breakers on the inverter itself? Double check the inverter to make sure everything is OK.

Good luck,
MM.

There is only one breaker on the inverter, it is a push to reset, already checked. The gfci circuit is working when the genny or shore power is on, just not when inverter only.

[MrWizard]

It's not the inverter...The inverter is plenty big enough
And it's not the batteries, they are enough for over night ,or a weekend when doing daily charging

Something is miss wired, or malfunctioning
The fridge circuit should come from aka thru the inverter
Thor should make this right...The dealer should be doing the work to solve this problem and fix it

There should be hot outlets with the inverter on, not just the TV..nobody needs 1800w to power the TV and Sat receiver

[Mr_Mark1]

I'm going to throw this out...

Check to see if you have tripped one of the GFI outlets in the bathroom or maybe in one of the under bays. It might be as simple as that. Also, aren't there two breakers on the inverter itself? Double check the inverter to make sure everything is OK.

Good luck,
MM.

[Cbones]

Checking on the 2 outlets behind the fridge. Second question, wouldn't it be expected that there are some other outlets in the coach that would run off the inverter? I checked the outlet by the passenger seat as well as the outlets in the kitchen, and bathroom. None are hot off the inverter. The only hot outlet that we could find was in the entertainment cabinet for the tv and sat receiver. I would have expected at least another one somewhere.

[Ivylog]

If there is not an inverter outlet for it on a 2015 unit, the dealer needs to run one from the inverter to it as a home refer without one is totally wrong. Some are running their units on 600W inverters so it's not the inverter.

[JimM68]

Executive wrote:
My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

Yup. This is it, either it's plugged into the wrong outlet, or the coach is a bit miswired.

Our, (NOT A RESISDENTIAL FRIDGE) has 2 outlets behind it, an inverter outlet for our icemaker, and a "not inverter" outlet for the fridge.

The residential fridge needs to be plugged into the inverter outlet.

[jorbill2or]

That fridge would run on a 1000 watt inverter! New refrigerators sip power and aren't the electric hogs people remember them as . something isn't right the fridge should be plugged into a power outlet that's powered by the inverter perhaps there are two recepticals ? 2 6 volts should run it for hours. A friends large Samsung with 4 6volt batteries runs all night and most of the next day about 20 - 24hours as long as the ice machine isn't running .

[Executive45]

My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis