Inverter not taking over when power is lost

[CLBeerbower]

Team, quick question. Have a 2018 Thor 35SB Super C and was recently plugged into a 50amp pedestal at a site. Thunderstorm came in while we were away and the campground lost power. When we came back to the unit probably an hour or so after the power was lost I noticed that the inverter was also off and had not kept the residential fridge on. As a test I also started everything back up on generator power, then turned off the generator. When the generator went out I noticed the whole coach was off and the inverter did not click back on.

Is this normal? I would have thought the inverter would have stayed on the power the fridge.

[lwmcguire]

On my Tuscany the Inverter has to be turned on

It will not start its self

Many people turn them off when plugged into shore power

Was you're unit showing the Inverter on when you left and did the test?

If I have the Inverter on and shut down the generator the Inverter stays on as it should

[CLBeerbower]

Yes it was on. My
Particular inverter automatically comes on when who’re power is applied and you have to go back to the panel and turn it off otherwise it is always on. Guess this model is designed this way

[taylorbob1]

What you need is an “auto transfer switch”
The ATS senses when there’s 110 volt power, allows the 110 volts to automatically flow thru the Inverter line.
And when the ATS senses the 110 volts, it places the Inverter into stand-by mode, effectively shuts down the Inverter temporarily.

When 110 volts is removed/unplugged (genny turned off) from the line, the ATS automatically turns the Inverter back on to full power.

Many of the Vegas/Axis on this forum have added the 1200 watt AIMs Inverter with an auto transfer switch to the outlet line of the coach.
Works great!

[EA37TS]

Sounds normal. Inverter must be physically turned on in my coach.

The AGS should have started the generator if the temp or battery voltage got to certain levels depending on how you have the AGS set. That would have allowed the residential fridge to run.

[CLBeerbower]

Thanks but the entire coach shut down like I turned off the main power switch itself. It wasn’t just the 110 that stopped

[TurnerFam]

sounds like you have your Use/Store switch in 'STORE' position, meaning that while you will have all power when you are plugged in, you won't when the power is lost, and your Inverter will be disconnected from the batteries, since your Inverter needs 12v to work.

[CLBeerbower]

Thanks but I do not believe can be the case. I have a rocker type switch that automatically goes hot when shore power is applied. The switch itself is always retracted into the down position but the red led indicating the coach is powered is on. My concern is that it should have switched over when who’re power was lost and it did not.

[TurnerFam]

...could be the breaker on the inverter itself is tripped

[ducksface]

My use/store switch has lied to me a couple of times.
Light was on but the circuit wasn't. We now just click it as if it weren't automatic.
I haven't the vaguest notion that my problem may be your cause, it's just a note to not trust the light on your use/store relay switch.

[TurnerFam]

right, many of these just tell you that you have external power to the coach, not that you have it necessarily in the 'USE' position...

[CLBeerbower]

Thanks
For the idea but the breaker was good.

[TurnerFam]

are you checking the breaker/fuse on the INVERTER itself, or are you just referring to the 'Inverter' circuit breaker in your Main Panel?

[CLBeerbower]

Thanks for the reply. I have checked both and both are good.

[TurnerFam]

is the Inverter actually 'getting' 12v power? it still sounds like a disconnect issue... your solenoid that switches from Use to Store, or vice versa, could be bad.

Are your House battery VOLTAGE readings good?

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by CLBeerbower

Team, quick question. Have a 2018 Thor 35SB Super C and was recently plugged into a 50amp pedestal at a site. Thunderstorm came in while we were away and the campground lost power. When we came back to the unit probably an hour or so after the power was lost I noticed that the inverter was also off and had not kept the residential fridge on. As a test I also started everything back up on generator power, then turned off the generator. When the generator went out I noticed the whole coach was off and the inverter did not click back on.

Is this normal? I would have thought the inverter would have stayed on the power the fridge.

Every type of inverter seems to operate differently.
My Xantrex Freedom XI has three operational modes. In the first if the shore power goes off the inverter is off. Second is, if the shore power goes off the inverter picks up the load. Third is, if shore power goes off the inverter picks up the load if there is a load on the circuit, otherwise the inverter remains off until there is a load on the circuit (power saver mode).

[gmc]

Rule #1 - all coaches are different... even within same model and year...
Sounds like you have an inverter that automatically turns on when shore power is applied and contains a transfer switch within in...
What strikes me is your statement that the whole coach went off... The inverter will not supply 12v to the converter (silly to take 12v from batteries, invert to 110 and power the converter which produces 12v and attempts to charge the same batteries you are draining...) - so that indicates to me that the 12v batteries were not present in the circuit...
Now keeping in mind Rule #1... in coaches prior to 2020, the Use/Store switch lies... It lights up when shore power is present even if the batteries are disconnected with 12v coming from converter instead of batteries... (I’ve seen others report this changed in 2020 and the switch actually does come on...)

Try this.. unplugged... genny off...
Move Use/Store to Use - all 12v should come on.
Turn on inverter - residential fridge should receive power.
Now plug in or start genny - all AC outlets should work.
Unplug or shutdown genny - inverter should continue supplying power to fridge, and 12v power should remain on.

The results whatever they may be should help isolate any issues...

[CLBeerbower]

Greg this is awesome. Thank you very much for the information. I am definitely going to try what you mention this weekend as I have to store my rig at an offsite location. I will let everyone know what I find out.

[CLBeerbower]

Ok called Thor and identified the issue... me. Bottom line is that when shore power is applied it DOES NOT automatically activate the “use” function of the switch. I thought it did. I was wrong. On 2020 models Thor is changing the switch as there is no way to determine wether the LED is on due to shore power being applied or if the switch was correctly moved momentarily into the use position. There is also no way to tell if a child, dog, adult bumped the switch on the way out. Only that you would like see a number like12.6 on the inverter readout like the 13.6 or so that you should see. Ugh.

[TurnerFam]

see! ... I told you WE were just as smart as THOR! Your Welcomed : )