Forum Discussion

KcBorne's avatar
KcBorne
Explorer
May 21, 2013

Surge Protector didn't work?

A couple of weeks back my AC and DC power killed simultaneously, and i had been trying to figure out the problem. I was getting 125v at all the breakers, but still no power. I finally opened my Progressive Industries Model EMS-HW30C surge protector, and the green wire had burnt completely in half on the line going IN the unit. My power converter also got fried when all this happened. The people at Progressive said the converter looked like it had been plugged into a 220v line.

I cut/cleaned/re-installed the wire and i got my AC power back on, and I received a new PD 4655 55 amp converter replacement, but i want to understand why my surge protector didn't stop the surge from damaging my equipment? I'm hesitant to install this new 220$ converter without adequate protection.

My surge protector was bypassed at the time that the surge happened because the computing system in the EMS unit was having problems(continuous previous error code), but the manual says regarding a Bypass: "This switch is located on the remote panel, and allows the user to bypass the computer circuit in the EMS in the event of computer failure, thus allowing AC power into the RV. This does not disable the surge protection portion of the EMS; however, all other features are disabled."

If the surge protection isn't disabled in a bypass, why did the surge fry my converter? Any help is appreciated.
  • GaPete's avatar
    GaPete
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2013
    wantabe351 wrote:
    When switching off the unit and only having surge protection and if I read this right 220v went into your camper...you might want to ck your cords connections inside the plug..this had happened to me! (reason I bought the EMS from Progressive) I traced the problem to my cords plug to the camper/ taking my cords plug apart found the neutral wire sliding in and out its neutral prong slot,the scerew was lose. so if cord was moved while plugged in trouble happened..tighten the screw alls fixed plus 2 TV's 2 VCR's and one radio all from 240v surge and thats why i bought my progressive hi/low voltage protection..

    As stated above, you most likely had a neutral issue. If the neutral opens anywhere (including the power pedestal) it is like putting 220v on the camper. If the PMS had been functional I feel sure it would have prevented the problem.
  • wantabe351's avatar
    wantabe351
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2013
    When switching off the unit and only having surge protection and if I read this right 220v went into your camper...you might want to ck your cords connections inside the plug..this had happened to me! (reason I bought the EMS from Progressive) I traced the problem to my cords plug to the camper/ taking my cords plug apart found the neutral wire sliding in and out its neutral prong slot,the scerew was lose. so if cord was moved while plugged in trouble happened..tighten the screw alls fixed plus 2 TV's 2 VCR's and one radio all from 240v surge and thats why i bought my progressive hi/low voltage protection..
  • KcBorne's avatar
    KcBorne
    Explorer
    May 21, 2013
    I've had my grounding checked since then and rewired, but I've never gotten the computer replaced. The first time i had this problem and contacted Progressive they assured me it was a computing problem because it should not continuously read PE-2 upon rebooting, but would in fact say E-2.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    May 21, 2013
    E2 is open ground. Have you checked the supply with an outlet tester and then check same inside the RV?
  • tvman44's avatar
    tvman44
    Explorer
    May 21, 2013
    I agree with Scott, did you call progressive Industries yet? They have a life time warranty. The voltage would have gone high with a bad neutral causing a in balance on the line( extremely high on one side and extremely low on the other). With the unit bypassed you bypassed the high voltage protection. :(
  • KcBorne's avatar
    KcBorne
    Explorer
    May 21, 2013
    The PE didn't clear after it restarted. It shows PE-2 every time it reboots, then within about 10 seconds it repeats the process of killing the power, rebooting and showing a PE-2 code. I called Progressive a while back and they replaced the computer in the EMS, but it started doing the same thing about a year later. Since that time i had an electrician rewire my outlet, but i've never gotten the EMS computer replaced since then.
  • KcBorne's avatar
    KcBorne
    Explorer
    May 21, 2013
    Thx for the reply. I'm no electrician, but i don't see how the line could have went from feeding 125v to 220v and now be back to normal. The people at Progressive said it appeared to have been plugged into a 220v line, but i can assure you that no one has messed with or changed anything with our electrical set up. In fact, i was still getting 125v, 60a reading on my surge protector remote immediately after the power failed.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    May 21, 2013
    Sounds like over voltage rather than a surge. Not sure where one stops and the other begins.

    Get the Progressive fixed.... or did the prior error clear with the ground repaired?
    What was the error code?
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    May 21, 2013
    Just a guess but if the line went to 220V for a length of time then that isn't really a "surge". A surge is more of a momentary (fractions of a second) occurrence. If the voltage was that high for longer than that then I think it needed the computer section to deal with it (ie shut it down).
    Again just a guess but I worked in the engineering field and thats how we would have looked at it.

    Scott

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