Inverter flash and smoke!

[markevans]

I have a 300W Go Power! inverter in a 2019 Chateau 24F. I tend to switch it off when not in use, but when I switched it on last time there was a flash, some smoke, and a smell of burning electronics.

What surprises me is it's still working fine, with the light showing green. There is a slight hum, and the fan isn't turning, but I don't know if that's normal. I checked how hot it was every 5 mins for an hour, and had a fire extinguisher on stand by, but it was only slightly warm.

When I turned it on I did have two TVs connected, but on "stand by" power, and a laptop charger, but I don't think they would draw that much power.

Can anyone advise what the flash/smoke was, and is it now a danger (fire/electric shock) and should be replaced?
Many thanks for any help, Mark

[Edensob]

Chances are you blew some type of filtering capacitor. I would not trust it to provide a good clean power conversion and replace it before you toast something else.



I had something similar happen with my converter and thought all was good (as did my dealer) until my batteries were not charging properly. I bought a new replacement unit and installed it. When I pulled my original and inspected it, I found a pair of split capacitors that were also bulging. I bought a replacement capacitor, installed and tested it on a oscilloscope and now have a spare converter "just in case".