no 110 volts at all in RV

[Beacoal]

everything was fine when I winterized my 2012 Hurricane, when I got home and plugged into 11o volt I get no 110 in coach, the inverter says fault, there is no 110 in coach at all, any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[mcr1010]

I guess you have checked all the breakers. Next easiest to check are the GFI outlets and see if one is tripped. Next, I would check the transfer switch and see if you are getting power to there. Also, are you getting any 120 ac when running the gen?
Good luck.

 

[Beacoal]

Thanks so much for your reply, yes I have checked all the breakers, I checked the GFI but because no 110 V is coming in and I ran the Genny and no 110V either, where is the transfer switch, I do here a click at the front drivers side when I plug into my 110V outlet Thanks Al

 

[mcr1010]

Not sure where the transfer switch is on your coach. On mine, it is under the rear passenger side bunk. It should be a black box about 8" or so sq. or rect. In case you are not familiar with a TS, it separates the shore power from the gen. power. When you find the TS and are comfortable using a mulitmeter, and working with elect., you can start there to see if there are loose or bad connections. There have been several TS's, including mine that have melted the connections due to loose wire connections. I had loose connections at the outside connection also.
There are some more members on the forum more savvy on elect. that will probably help also.

 

[Beacoal]

Thanks I will try to find the transfer switch, even when I start the genny I get no 110V, hopefully someone can tell me were the TS is on my coach, there is a black box at the front of the coach that says battery connections and to disconnect power before opening. Al

 

[Beau388]

The transfer switch will be with in a couple feet of where shore power enters the coach. My Hurricane's transfer switch is under the bed just behind the power center.

 

[Chance-THOR]

A clicking sound suggests you are getting power to motorhome, but may be coming from various sources. Your inverter probably has a transfer switch also, so it "may" be the clicking sound. Best not to rule much in or out initially by assuming too much in my opinion.

Since MH is new to you, do you know if inverter came from Thor, or was it added by previous owner or dealer? Wiring could have been done differently making it more difficult to diagnose problem.

I would personally check to make sure you are not getting electricity at breaker power panel. But only if you feel comfortable with measuring 110 Volts. That's easy to do and will help narrow where problem may be.


P.S. -- Can you share more info? Are you at home or campground? Connected to 15, 20, 30, or 50 Amps? Using adaptors? Anything you share may help.

 

[Beacoal]

Thanks Chance, I am at home plugged into 30 amp, I checked power at0 wall receptacle and am getting 110V, I have a meter, I also checked the end of power cord where it plugs into Rv and I have 110V there also so I know that the cord is fine for the supply. I still cant find the TS but it doesn't matter if I run the genny or plugged in I have no 110V in coach, I will keep looking for the TS. The previous owner had the inverter installed and he put in a xantrex Freedom SW 3000 which is away overkill and he also left the converter working as well which likely isn't the best from what I have read, but everything worked well last summer, this problem only started when I plugged it into 110V this week. on the inverter there is 2 green lights and a red under the fault, I unhooked the power supply from the batteries to the inverter as the 2 fans on the inverter wouldn't stop running, even after I unhooked the 12V supply the red fault light is still on. Thanks for all your help and insight Al

 

[Chance-THOR]

The reason I suggested checking power at panel is because it could be a bad main breaker (30 or 50???) -- it's unlikely but possible. I usually start isolating problem starting with easy stuff first that helps narrow problem area.

I agree with others that it could be the original transfer switch, but now that you've confirmed a large inverter, the possibilities are greater. The Freedom 3000 SW has a built in transfer switch and 150-Amp battery charger, so it's possible the installer placed it across the main line so it could power everything in motorhome (just not all at once). If so, it's possible that that transfer switch is not operating correctly.

Is it easy to check 110 Voltage at inverter in and out? What about 12-Volt output? Are batteries fully charged?

 

[Beacoal]

Chance so I found the transfer switch, it is under the TV cabinet which is midway in the coach and on the opposite side of where the power supply hooks to the RV. So I checked the voltage on the incoming and out on the switch and both are 120V, it goes from there to the breaker panel and all breakers have power to them, all are on and I have switched them all of them off and on but still no power (110V) to anything, I guess I should remove say the microwave breaker and see if power is actually going through the breaker, any more thoughts, maybe my inverter his the problem, so I will try to test the inverter voltage. Thanks Al

 

[Beacoal]

Sorry forgot to answer your question, yes the batteries are right up

 

[Chance-THOR]

Chance so I found the transfer switch, it is under the TV cabinet which is midway in the coach and on the opposite side of where the power supply hooks to the RV. So I checked the voltage on the incoming and out on the switch and both are 120V, it goes from there to the breaker panel and all breakers have power to them, all are on and I have switched them all of them off and on but still no power (110V) to anything, I guess I should remove say the microwave breaker and see if power is actually going through the breaker, any more thoughts, maybe my inverter his the problem, so I will try to test the inverter voltage. Thanks Al

Wow -- that's a tough one.

If you have power to breakers, can't you check voltage to appliance without removing breakers? They all didn't go bad at once.

Also when checking voltages, what are you grounding meter to? It's possible you could have 110-Vots to breakers but nothing may work if there is a bad neutral. Circuits have to be completed.

Also, keep in mind that a bad wire connection can sometimes pass just enough current to register voltage (meters take almost no current), but under load the voltage will rapidly drop to zero so nothing will work right. Those are really hard to find in my experience.

Sounds like you are getting closer to finding problem.

 

[vkb]

Sorry forgot to answer your question, yes the batteries are right up

Ron sez...this may be redundant...
double check your GFI ... we had this situation, once, the GFI on our coach is in the bathroom and in a dark area...thought we reset it..only to find out we did not press it in completely...once done correctly we had 110 !!
Also...knowing you are in good hands with Chance...Ron read all of the posts and is wondering... is your coach is a 50 amp ... if so, and you have not used an adapter this could affect your power.

Ron & Kay

 

[Beacoal]

well thanks so much to all, so here is what I have found our so far, yes the breakers have 110v to them and what I found out is that only the 2 airs, the converter and the inverter are on the breakers in the RV all the plugs including the GFI are somehow run through the inverter, I took apart the GFI and there is definitely no power the to it, so I am thinking that it is something to do with my inverter, I am sure that someone good with electrics could likely figure it out, I see in the RV breaker panel that there are 3 or 4 wires that have been pig tailed together. I guess I need to take it some place that that can check out the inverter. Thanks Al

 

[Chance-THOR]

Makes sense because no one is going to install a large 3,000-watt inverter/charger that nice unless they plan to run lots of things on it. Since you probably don't have drawings of the installation, taking it to an electrician sounds like a great idea.

Please let us know what you find out.

 

[Mo_Mike]

Not sure where the transfer switch is on your coach. On mine, it is under the rear passenger side bunk. It should be a black box about 8" or so sq. or rect. In case you are not familiar with a TS, it separates the shore power from the gen. power. When you find the TS and are comfortable using a mulitmeter, and working with elect., you can start there to see if there are loose or bad connections. There have been several TS's, including mine that have melted the connections due to loose wire connections. I had loose connections at the outside connection also.
There are some more members on the forum more savvy on elect. that will probably help also.

Had the same thing here, no 110 from Shore or Generator. Had 12v lights and coach power. After we "finally" track down the TRANSFER SWITCH (which in our VEGAS was under the stove, while THOR said it was under the refrigerator) we found the same thing, melted wire nuts because loose connections had caused arcing and also burnt the coating on the wire back about an inch. Re-wired the transfer switch and everything has been good ever since.

 

[gmc-THOR]

Merging info from duplicate thread...

Time to get out the voltmeter... does require removing electrical covers and exposing potentially live wires - if you aren't comfortable working with electricity - then don't...

Before that - does the generator provide 110 to the coach?
If so - suspects would be shore power supply, power cord, connector to coach, surge suppressor (if present), and transfer switch.

If the generator doesn't provide power either - then start at the transfer switch - that's where the 2 sources come together.

At each point you should be able to measure voltage.. Assuming 50A rig - should read 110 from either hot to neutral, and 220 from hot to hot (if using a 50A to 30A adapter, hot to hot will read 0 volts - that is ok...)

If everything is fine up to the transfer switch - continue to the breaker panel.

Access will be the biggest issue - in my rig, most of that is under the bed.

Greg here is what I have found out so far, yes the breakers have 110v to them and what I found out is that only the 2 airs, the converter and the inverter are on the breakers in the RV all the plugs including the GFI are somehow run through the inverter, I took apart the GFI and there is definitely no power the to it, I can see that a lot of the wire that would normally be hooked into the breakers are wired together and put through the inverter, (apparently the previous owner did a lot of dry camping) do you think that it would be ok if I undo the wire nuts and just rehook them to the breakers, and yes the genny is working fine but only powers the 4 breakers, Thanks Al

I don't see any issue moving wiring back to the breaker box...
Merging circuits together - while it functionally works - greatly limits the amount of power you can draw... Instead of 15a per branch circuit (up to the RV limit) - you have 15a for all when on shore power/generator - and of course limited by the inverter when dry.

The alternative is of course figuring out what is wrong with the inverter. Might be a simple breaker/reset on it - might be more.

(Something in between with one or two circuits on the inverter might make sense - all depends on how you intend to use it.)

 

[Beacoal]

Greg I think I see what you mean but can you maybe elaborate on your statement: "Instead of 15a per branch circuit (up to the RV limit) - you have 15a for all when on shore power/generator - and of course limited by the inverter when dry."
I don't do a lot of dry camping. Maybe when I put some of the wire back onto the breaker maybe the fault on the inverter might clear. Do you think the battery charger part of the inverter will still operate? Al

 

[gmc-THOR]

Greg I think I see what you mean but can you maybe elaborate on your statement: "Instead of 15a per branch circuit (up to the RV limit) - you have 15a for all when on shore power/generator - and of course limited by the inverter when dry."
I don't do a lot of dry camping. Maybe when I put some of the wire back onto the breaker maybe the fault on the inverter might clear. Do you think the battery charger part of the inverter will still operate? Al

Most general wiring (excluding A/C, water heater, maybe microwave circuit) is 14 gauge wire - rated for 15A... breakers for those circuits will be 15A to match that...
Merging 2 (or more) circuits together doesn't change that maximum - and should still be protected by a single 15A breaker (I'm assuming the breaker feeding the inverter is 15A *OR* there is breaker protection on the output of the inverter limiting to 15A.)

You mentioned there is both a converter and inverter in the setup - so the converter would be the 'charger'... They should be wired to not 'loop back' - converter charging the batteries while drawing power from the inverter which is drawing from the same batteries isn't productive..

As for the fault light (that info wasn't in the other thread) - looking up your inverter - there should be a screen with message - more than a light?? Specifically should be a fault code we can look up.
Library Archive
Troubleshooting starts on page 45 (pdf page 59).

 

[Beacoal]

Greg sorry if I wasn't clear, the red light is on the inverter itself, the remote scree lights up but seems to be frozen as I cant access it to see the code.