ATS failure

[ptylerp-THOR]

Seems like we have an interesting Auto Transfer Switch problem.

History:
1. New 2020 Challenger 37FH delivered in Sept 2020. Plugged into 50 amp service at house until Sept 30. Traveled and used three different 50 amp service connections on way to Ohio. In Ohio at 5 AM we lost shore power in RV. Breaker on shore power not tripped but I opened and closed it anyway. Power came on in RV until I tried to start fireplace. Lost power and once again cycled shore power breaker on post. Power came back on in RV until I once again tried to start fireplace. Third time we lost power it would not come back when I cycled the shore power breaker. Thor overnighted a new ATS and we installed it. Worked great for 10 days.

2. Roughly 10 days and three different 50 amp services the unit once again reacted the same as before except rather than starting the fireplace it was starting a Keurig coffee maker.

Now for the mystery:

Took it to the dealer for repairs. Dealer just plugged the unit in at their shop and he has 120 volt shore power through the ATS.

And the question is:

Has anyone else experienced anything similar with an ATS and shore power.

 

[16ACE27]

It's usually not the ATS itself that causes these type of issues; it's the wirenut connections to the ATS that fail.

In your case you may also need to look at a cord reel if you have one and any Electrical Power management system you may have.

Sounds like you have a poor connection somewhere and everytime you pull a lot of amps the connection heats up and burns open. When it cools down it makes connection again until the next time you pull a heavy current.

 

[Porkchop-THOR]

It is possible the bad connection is at the contacts in the ats it's self. But yes. It sounds like a loose connection. Good luck

Bill

 

[ptylerp-THOR]

Just got the motor home back from dealer. When they plugged the motor home into 50 amp service everything worked. Tried to duplicate the failure we experienced in South Carolina and it still worked. Plugged in to 50 amp at home and it works fine.

I am now wondering if it was something to do with the shore power connection at the camp ground. Their electrician did check the power box out but I still wonder.

The thing I did not do that I wish I had was to plug in at another campground on the way home. Nor did I plug it in at home before taking it to the dealer. I just presumed the ATS was dead and ran on generator and/or batteries.

Either it healed itself or it was a glitch in the campground power box.

 

[Beau388]

Just got the motor home back from dealer. When they plugged the motor home into 50 amp service everything worked. Tried to duplicate the failure we experienced in South Carolina and it still worked. Plugged in to 50 amp at home and it works fine.

I am now wondering if it was something to do with the shore power connection at the camp ground. Their electrician did check the power box out but I still wonder.

The thing I did not do that I wish I had was to plug in at another campground on the way home. Nor did I plug it in at home before taking it to the dealer. I just presumed the ATS was dead and ran on generator and/or batteries.

Either it healed itself or it was a glitch in the campground power box.

The generator moves the relays in the ATS, shore power does not. If you have a problem on shore power but not on the generator, the chance is you have a bad connection of the power cord. That can be at either end or from the coach receptacle to the ATS

 

[BobPetit]

Had the same problem with my 35M. I had a bad connector on the male side of my cord. It worked fine on most 50amp but if I used an adapter for 20 or 30amp plugs, it gave me trouble. After I replaced that I found the second culprit. Thor likes to gang up all the ground wires into connectors and then screw them into a ground block. I found two of the gang connectors were not pintched correctly and I was getting bad grounds which caused havac in so many different ways. So put a meter on your cord and make sure you have no connectivity between the 4 poles in the cord. Then tug on all the white wires where all your electrical connections are. Make sure everything is tight and secure. Took me a whole season of wierd power disconnects and drained house batteries until I finally found it. Absolutely no issues this year now that the grounds are all solid.

 

[Judge64]

Hopefully they took the cover off your ATS and looked inside. My 2020 Magnitude had three construction screws and a bunch of sawdust in it.

Just what you want...... large metal screws rolling around inside a box with 110V.