No coach power with Generator

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

I had an odd thing happen this week. I used the generator to power up the microwave after I arrived at the campground. Didn’t need a/c so I didn’t turn it on. After I used the microwave, I turned the generator off. The next morning when I turned on the generator I didn’t have house power. I checked breakers, GFI, nothing. So I gave up. Then when I got home I plugged into shore power. Still no power for a few minutes. Then lo and behold while I was unloading everything the power came on and I could hear the inverter. Unplugged, tried the generator and the house power came up perfectly. Huh? Can’t figure out what all that means, but you know dependability means a lot. Wonder what went wrong.
Any ideas?

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by sueasher1@netzero.net

I had an odd thing happen this week. I used the generator to power up the microwave after I arrived at the campground. Didn’t need a/c so I didn’t turn it on. After I used the microwave, I turned the generator off. The next morning when I turned on the generator I didn’t have house power. I checked breakers, GFI, nothing. So I gave up. Then when I got home I plugged into shore power. Still no power for a few minutes. Then lo and behold while I was unloading everything the power came on and I could hear the inverter. Unplugged, tried the generator and the house power came up perfectly. Huh? Can’t figure out what all that means, but you know dependability means a lot. Wonder what went wrong.
Any ideas?

I suspect your transfer switch has several loose wires. It could also be caused by corroded contact points or there is dirt in the solenoid but that is unlikely.

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Thank you. Kinda confirmed what I was suspecting but didn’t want it to be that. To get to the transfer switch that was replaced in March 2019, the heater has to be removed. Ugh!

[16ACE27]

Soooo, Make, Model, Year of your coach narrows the guessing factor.

I'm guessing you don't have an inverter and what you heard come on was the fan in the converter.

I'm guessing your RV has an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATM) which automatically selects power from the generator when it is running, and from Shore Power (SP) when it is not.

Your symptom of not having 120 VAC from SP when you first plugged in (and not from the generator when you tried it in the morning) could be caused by the ATS being stuck in between selecting the generator and SP.

Or, it could be caused by poor connections to the ATS by Thor. Thor makes these connections by wirenut and doesn't always do a good job. Vibration can make them loose and cause intermittent contact which is NOT GOOD.

You need to hunt down your ATS and look at these connections. Redo them with all voltage removed if suspect, continue troubleshooting the ATS if not. Take it to a good RV repair shop if uncomfortable about working with electrical things or give us more information and ask more questions if you want to dive in head first.

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Thank you and sorry, I thought my info was included. Thor Axis 2014. Had the ATS replaced by a very competent technician last (2019) spring so I don’t think anything Thor did is involved. I stood by the tech’s shoulder as he did his work so it really didn’t seem very complicated to replace the bad ATS just a bear to get to because it’s behind the heater which had to be removed. The tech I usually use here at home is not available because of COVID.

[The_Breeze]

Ace pretty much hits on the mark. He may have been thinking it but didn't say it directly. If those connections are loose, they could heat up - maybe to the point of starting a fire. Check it out or have it checked out and look over their shoulder. You learn something new every day here and I, for one, am grateful for that.

Safe travels.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by sueasher1@netzero.net

Thank you and sorry, I thought my info was included. Thor Axis 2014. Had the ATS replaced by a very competent technician last (2019) spring so I don’t think anything Thor did is involved. I stood by the tech’s shoulder as he did his work so it really didn’t seem very complicated to replace the bad ATS just a bear to get to because it’s behind the heater which had to be removed. The tech I usually use here at home is not available because of COVID.

Well with that information about a new ATS and installation by a competent tech it may not be an ATS issue. But since you got no juice from either the generator or SP (until it kicked in) I would look at common wiring from the ATS to the power panel. It may be a loose connection at the main input breaker.
That's where I'd start my search with the new information.
And as The Breeze said, loose connections equal high resistance connections when they are working which does result in heat and burning

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Guess I’ll pull that out and see what I can see. That’s a lot more “doable”. Thank you so much!

[Dick Rohde]

I installed a surge protector and it takes between two and three minutes to click on. Do you have a surge protector?