Generator running - no house power

[Richro]

On holiday road trip from TX to VA we lost power. Found a lot of good suggestions on the forum but no luck fixing issue. Done: 1) confirmed no blown fuses in converter and reset all breakers, 2) switched genset breaker to off and back to on, 3) switched 50amp breaker in house battery compartment off then on.
Upon arrival we hooked up to shore power and everything has power. Thor CS responded to email with thought it may be bad transfer switch that needs to be replaced.
Any other ideas? If it is transfer switch where do I find it and how difficult is it to replace?

 

[JamieGeek]

Which model Vegas do you have?

If you have a 24.1 the transfer switch is under the drivers side rear bed--pull out the two drawers between the beds and look back there.

You could just have some bad wiring to the transfer switch as its likely they used wire nuts and at the switch the wires may change from stranded to solid core.

 

[Richro]

Thanks JamieGeek. Updated profile, have 24.1.
Was hoping I might be missing something. I've seen other threads discussing issues with those wires/wirenuts. Will investigate and share results.

 

[Bob Denman]

Good luck with the repair; please let us know what happened!

 

[Richro]

Back from trip and able to investigate further. Took out drawers between beds and did not see anything to driver's side. Removed one of the driver's side bed panels but that revealed nothing. See photos - out of curiosity anyone know what the wires are leading to?

 

[Richro]

After taking out drawers between beds and searching to driver's side I looked left and there was transfer switch. It can also be accessed through passenger side bed hinged door to fresh water tank. See photos.
There are 6 pairs of wires joined by wire nuts. The task of replacing transfer switch looks daunting as I'm not an electrician.
How can I confirm it is not operating correctly?

 

[JamieGeek]

Wow, I don't think mine is right there. Hmm

It really isn't that daunting but if you don't feel comfortable doing anything with that then don't and have an electrician or someone more knowledgeable work on it.

The wires aren't labelled but you'll have two inputs (external power, and generator power) and one output going to the converter/breaker panel.

Make sure the coach is unplugged and the generator is off (e.g. no 120V power on any wires) then I'd grab the wires and give them a tug at the wire nuts--see if any pop out of the wire nut (the good news is that looking at your pictures nothing has shorted or melted).

Hey look there is a troubleshooting guide in the manual:
https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/110538A-English.pdf
(although that troubleshooting guide has you poke around in there with the generator running--if you're not comfortable doing so then I'd find someone that is).

 

[gmc-THOR]

I'm gonna back up a step and ask - what power did you lose???
Based on what you tried - 2 of the 3 are on the 12v side of life - and would have nothing to do with the transfer switch...

Done: 1) confirmed no blown fuses in converter and reset all breakers, 2) switched genset breaker to off and back to on, 3) switched 50amp breaker in house battery compartment off then on.

1 (blown fuses in converter part) and 3 have nothing to do with 110 power in coach...


You said you were running the generator and had no house power.
What stopped working?


I'll assume lights stayed on and appliances like TV and Microwave wouldn't work? If so the genset breaker (which you checked) or transfer switch could be the issue... (but as Jamie said - and your pic shows - nothing melted which is good...)

Should hear a mechanical click as the transfer switch moves from genset to shore power and back.
Could be as simple as loose connection - or could be the switch itself...
Since shore power works - would be the genny input wires to check.
Unwrapping each of the connections with NO 110 power present to check for a loose/disconnected wire.



If the loss of power included lights - then something else going on...

 

[ComputerChips]

Please help us help you. When you "lost power", what items stopped working?
TV, Frig, Microwave, lights? Your transfer cable connections show no visible problems. Usually when the problem is in there the wires will look like roasted marshmallows.

 

[etcmss]

Lost power

Recently went through this in my Vegas (25.5).
Had some electrical problems and took in for warranty repairs.
My radio/nav unit would not turn on (at all). The bed area fan had one speed.
None of the inside DC lights would turn on.

With no shore power nothing would turn on.

My main power disconnect switch is located just inside the door under the sink.

Was diagnosed as the main power switch not working. It seemed that the DC was lost completely after AC shore power removed.

Switch was replaced and every electrical problem went away.
Gary

By the way I'm a new guy here, but not a new RV'er. Howdy.

I am looking for someone to post a picture of the inside door window. I believe mine is missing a part (another story) and need your pic to confirm.

 

[10scDust]

I am looking for someone to post a picture of the inside door window. I believe mine is missing a part (another story) and need your pic to confirm.

Which door do you mean?

 

[etcmss]

Lost power

the people door with the window.

 

[MrPalazzo]

it's easy to confirm the operation of the ATS:

- if you plug into any shore power, no matter whether 50amp, 30amp, or even just a 15a household outlet, you should IMMEDIATELY hear a 'thud' from inside the coach, where the ATS is located. It is transferring the connection to the Shore Power side of the switch, with a magnetic latching trigger. You should now have power.

- if you are not plugged into shore power, turn on your Generator. You should have a 30second or so wait, and THEN you should hear the 'thud' of the ATS switching over to the Generator side of the switch. You should then have power again.
This would also work the same even if you are already plugged into shore power, but I didn't want to confuse the issue - but the ATS 'defaults' over to Generator power, using it instead of shore power, but will also switch back over if you then turn the generator back off. That's what it's designed to do.

if you do not hear a 'THUD', or have power for either of these, you could have an issue with EITHER the ATS and it's wiring, OR the power source itself(such as a tripped breaker), OR lost a wiring connection within or at the ends of your Shore Power CORD.

Tripped breakers on generators are the typical 'help' issues for first-time users of generators in motorhomes, as they don't immediately recognize that the generator has it's OWN breaker(s)...(ME!, a great learning experience)...

Shore Power, especially 50amp double-pole RV service, is another culprit. If either side of the campground's breaker wiring is not fully seated, or tightened, they can also cause you to lose power to 'some' of your coach, for 50amp coaches.

The ATS's wiring can easily be assessed when you find where it's actually located. Our's is hidden behind a panel, under the foot of the bed, in a hidden 'chase'. Either of these wires could be loose, could have worked lose during heating of the wires during usage, or may have never been tightened properly at the factory(mine!).

Shore CORDS can also be suspect, since the wiring within them can pull from the ends, even within the cord end itself, but is not normally the first culprit in this case.

 

[Richro]

Ongoing Electrical Problems

This thread is old so not sure if I should continue it or start a new one.
I resolved (at least I thought) the issue on no house power via generator by bringing RV into the shop. I was advised ATS motherboard had gone bad. It was under warranty so had new ATS installed (same PD5100 Series).
No issues during the year with local trips. However, made same holiday trip from TX to VA (25hrs/one way) and electric problems are back with a few extra twists.
12hrs into the trip we made a stop for gas. It was our 2nd or 3rd stop and no prior issues. Shut down Gen, gassed up, and got back on the road. When we fired Gen up - no house power. We had shore power when we arrived in VA and AC power was restored.
Like the previous year I went thru possible issues: 1) confirmed no blown fuses in converter and reset all AC breakers, 2) switched genset breaker to off and back to on, 3) switched 50amp breaker in house battery compartment off then on. No results.
Rather then wait for return to TX, I disconnected shore power and accessed the ATS then manually engaged the relay with Gen running. AC power to house was restored but according to Progessivedyn troubleshooting guide that meant circuit board in ATS failed and had to be replaced. There was no evidence of any wiring damage in ATS. We stopped and restarted Gen several times and relay continued to engage. Also, with Gen running we connected shore power and Gen relay disengaged as it should.
On journey back to TX was initially good. However, about 1/2 way back we lost 12V power. Gen was still providing power then at about 3/4 way home it also stopped.
Now home and trying to figure it out. Everything works on shore power. First want to address no 12V power. DMM confirmed house batteries fully charged. In review of Ed Felker's User Guide, I've found the Use/Store switch is not making "clicking or clunking sound". He mentions the relay contacts may be frozen in the store position and notes the relay is in the black box in driver's side storage compartment. Is this the fuse box, Thor Part 0300224, in that compartment? Pics attached. Or is it somewhere else?