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Old 07-31-2019, 01:11 PM   #1
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Voltage inside my 35m

Can anyone tell me what they get for voltage throughout thier Thor 35M outlets? I noticed that the voltage going in from my panel is 114 volts however all my outlets read only 109 volts. Is this normal?

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Old 07-31-2019, 01:18 PM   #2
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That depends:

How are you measuring voltage?
Are you measuring your "going in" at the post with nothing connected?
Are you measuring your outlets with the RV plugged in and the Air Conditioning running?

If so, a 5 volt drop from no load to loaded is not unusual.

But the real question is: Since you have a 50 Amp system, how are you measuring "going in" since it should be 220 VAC?
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Old 07-31-2019, 01:28 PM   #3
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The test is simple. I open the electrical box in the RV and tested each hot lead voltage. I read 114 volts on each lead. I then used my meter in a couple of outlets. The outlets always read 109 volts even it the incoming lead float between 114 and 118. That's why I looking for someone with a 2018 35m. I wonder if the 120 volt outlets go thru the inverter/converter and are controlled by that.
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Old 07-31-2019, 01:38 PM   #4
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Some outlets do go through an Inverter (if installed) BUT it should have an integrated Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) so that when plugged in to shore power it just passes the AC voltage from SP to the outlets. So in your case, I would say there should not be a 5 volt drop between the Distribution Panel busses to the outlets.
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Old 07-31-2019, 01:38 PM   #5
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In a 50 amp coach, you have two input legs of 50 amps each. You can very easily have different voltages on the legs depending on the electrical draw (watts used). The front part of my coach is on leg 1 so if the A/C is on and the GFCI kitchen is being use the voltage is around 118 on leg 1, while leg 2 is reading 121 volts. Turn on the electric water heater, microwave, rear A/C and leg 2 voltage will drop to 116 volts while leg 1 remains at 118 volts. I have a Progressive HW50-EMS so monitoring leg voltages is easy.
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Old 07-31-2019, 04:53 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by BobPetit View Post
The test is simple. I open the electrical box in the RV and tested each hot lead voltage. I read 114 volts on each lead. I then used my meter in a couple of outlets. The outlets always read 109 volts even it the incoming lead float between 114 and 118. That's why I looking for someone with a 2018 35m. I wonder if the 120 volt outlets go thru the inverter/converter and are controlled by that.
Is your inverter turned on while you are measuring voltage at the receptacles?
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Old 07-31-2019, 04:55 PM   #7
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Yes the inverter is on but nothing else is on.
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Old 07-31-2019, 05:05 PM   #8
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Yes the inverter is on but nothing else is on.
Take some measurements with the inverter off and see what you get. It is my understanding that there is a bypass switch in the inverter that allows shore power or generator power through the inverter to the inverter receptacles and your residential refrigerator. If not on SP or Generator your battery bank and inverter power these items.
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Old 07-31-2019, 06:09 PM   #9
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Take some measurements with the inverter off and see what you get. It is my understanding that there is a bypass switch in the inverter that allows shore power or generator power through the inverter to the inverter receptacles and your residential refrigerator. If not on SP or Generator your battery bank and inverter power these items.
The inverter uses power exclusively from the house batteries. That said most RV inverters have a pass-through relay that, when in the normal mode, will pass-through 120 volt current; however, the inverter and display are still powered by the batteries. The charger may be supplying power to charge the batteries but the batteries are still powering the inverter. If you have a Xantrex Freedom XI inverter, you cannot turn it off when there is 120 volt power to the inverter's pass-through circuits. The off function of the inverter is only available is there no power to the inverter's pass-through relay.
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Old 08-05-2019, 05:52 PM   #10
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I'm totally confused how to measure voltage in a exact way?

if anyone of you can give me idea it will be grate for me. please advice and thanks in advance.
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Old 08-05-2019, 06:01 PM   #11
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I'm totally confused how to measure voltage in a exact way?

if anyone of you can give me idea it will be grate for me. please advice and thanks in advance.
Does this help?


What voltage are you trying to measure? What are you measuring it with?
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Old 08-05-2019, 09:01 PM   #12
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I'm totally confused how to measure voltage in a exact way? If anyone of you can give me idea it will be grate for me. please advice and thanks in advance.
To measure the inverter output voltage, the shore power and generator must be off and the inverter circuit breaker or fuse (12 volt) on - along with the inverter itself must be on. To measure the pass-through voltage, the generator or shore power must be supplying voltage to the main breaker (120 volt) power center and the specific 120 volt circuit breaker for the inverter must be on. The inverter can be on or off.

Some inverters have a default setting for the inverter relay so the they will continue to supply 120 volts through the pass-through relay even if the inverter is not powered. Other inverters will not pass-through any 120 volt power if the inverter is not powered. The way to check that is to disable the inverter by the 12 volt inverter circuit breaker (100 to 250 amp) or inverter fuse (100 to 350 amp) and check the inverter circuits for voltage. IEEE standards require a 120 volt circuit breaker for each 120 volt circuit. Of course, each protected circuit can contain a daisy chain multiple duplex receptacles. That said few coaches meet IEEE standards.
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Old 08-21-2019, 12:37 PM   #13
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Thanks everyone for your comments however I still need someone to answer my original question. I need someone with a 35M to take a volt meter and read the voltage in any of the 110 outlets on your rig. What do you get for a value when your tied into shore power?
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Old 08-21-2019, 12:48 PM   #14
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My question is 'why'? Why do you need this from someone else's coach? Why do you think yours is a 'problem'....? Do things work when you plug them in? If so, you have plenty of power.
120v power, whether from shore, gen, or your inverter will certainly have a range, or spectrum, of voltage variation - just because you happen to have measured what you perceive as a 'low' number is not indicative of any problem.
Many even who use an electrical management device, or use their Inverter's Low Voltage Drop Out, have numbers even less than what you are seeing. Variations can be 20% either way, and most any and all 120v appliances and devices are perfectly designed to handle these variations.

Are you worried about something the rest of us aren't?
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Old 08-21-2019, 12:56 PM   #15
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The test is simple. I open the electrical box in the RV and tested each hot lead voltage. I read 114 volts on each lead. I then used my meter in a couple of outlets. The outlets always read 109 volts even it the incoming lead float between 114 and 118. That's why I looking for someone with a 2018 35m. I wonder if the 120 volt outlets go thru the inverter/converter and are controlled by that.
You have a high resistance loose connection someplace.
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Old 08-21-2019, 01:03 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by BobPetit View Post
Thanks everyone for your comments however I still need someone to answer my original question. I need someone with a 35M to take a volt meter and read the voltage in any of the 110 outlets on your rig. What do you get for a value when your tied into shore power?
I have a 2017. My receptacles read 122-123 volts. And that is what the portable EMS reads.
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Old 08-21-2019, 01:03 PM   #17
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My question is 'why'? Why do you need this from someone else's coach? Why do you think yours is a 'problem'....? Do things work when you plug them in? If so, you have plenty of power.
120v power, whether from shore, gen, or your inverter will certainly have a range, or spectrum, of voltage variation - just because you happen to have measured what you perceive as a 'low' number is not indicative of any problem.
Many even who use an electrical management device, or use their Inverter's Low Voltage Drop Out, have numbers even less than what you are seeing. Variations can be 20% either way, and most any and all 120v appliances and devices are perfectly designed to handle these variations.

Are you worried about something the rest of us aren't?
Well I for one, as a 45 year master electrician am very interested in the problem. A 5 amp voltage drop inside the coach is very unacceptable. There is a problem in the coach wiring. High resistance loose connection some place.
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Old 08-21-2019, 01:07 PM   #18
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Go read the voltage at the Pedestal. 114 volts is considered low voltage in today's world.
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Old 08-21-2019, 01:09 PM   #19
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The 120v outlets are either powered directly thru the Main Panel, via the ATS(auto transfer switch) by Shore power, or Generator power...

or, some of the outlets, including the residential 120v Fridge, 'may' also be powered thru the INVERTER, If you have a whole house inverter wiring scheme, via a sub-panel in your Main Panel... and these same outlets, if so, are powered the same way the others are when you are on shore or gen via the Inverter's 'pass thru' relay, giving them power regardless of 'where' it comes from.

If you have a dedicated Inverter wiring scheme, meaning that the Inverter only powers the Fridge outlet, and maybe one or two others, such as for a TV, they might only be wired or plugged in directly to the Inverter. In this case, the outlet(s) are ONLY powered by the Inverter, and the Inverter would have to ALWAYS be ON for the outlets to receive power, EVEN if you are on Shore or Gen power, since there is no 'sub-panel' or 'pass thru relay'. The Inverter will continue to use your House battery bank for power, although it will also receive charging WHILE you are on Shore or Gen power(or solar, if you have any).

Many inverters have a setting that may allow you to control when the Inverter will 'drop out'(cut off, basically), if the outgoing Voltage is lower than a certain benchmark, such as 104 volts, to protect any possible issues with appliances or devices that use 120volts from the Inverter. This generally will only happen if the Inverter is either 'receiving' pass-thru 120v power from Shore or Gen, or it's own output falls to a lower range, because of potential lower battery output, of course, though that would be very rare since the Inverter itself will cut itself off at a point when it cannot reasonably output 120v nominal power.

I don't imagine, either, that your 'model' of coach has anything to do with why you may be 'seeing' low numbers that concern you - electrical wiring is electrical wiring, whether built in your Thor 35m or my Palazzo 33.3 or another Thor or other manufacturer's RV.
I don't think you have any problem.
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Old 08-21-2019, 01:53 PM   #20
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Can anyone tell me what they get for voltage throughout thier Thor 35M outlets? I noticed that the voltage going in from my panel is 114 volts however all my outlets read only 109 volts. Is this normal?
You don't need an answer from a Thor owner. All RV's (recreational vehicles) are wired the same. 109 volts is low. You have low voltage drop within the coach. Not good. Measure the voltage at the pedestal and see what it is.
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