[Archived]

Thad,

I don’t have a Royale so I am shooting from the lip. Any time I encounter something as you describe I immediately start to question what has changed. I would assume you haven’t done anything differently, and I assume you have the same switches and systems off as you did previously.

So starting with the tripping 20 amp breaker I have some observations. The first is to separate the batteries (house) and check them. One bad battery is all it takes to drive you crazy and for the coach to exhibit unusual conditions.

For the sake of discussion let’s assume they check out. The next step then is to reset the inverters to the charge rate that will not pop the shore power breaker. Unless you do a lot of dry camping and use autostart and need the batteries recharged quickly you can probably set the charge rate at 10 amps or so. But even if the batteries are in float when you leave the bus, if one of the batteries has a short, the current draw on the inverters can ramp up quickly.

So after checking batteries and setting the inverter charge rate then look for a reset on the inverters. You don’t specifiy the model but someone on this forum likely has the same model and can help with bringing them back on line.

The gauge issue might be a bad gauge or it might be no power. That will require some checking with a meter.

[Archived]

Thanks for the reply Jon.

The inverters are Trace SW2512MC’s. As you have said, I have been trying to figure out what has changed. Also, I will try and figure out how to set the charge setting.

Thad

[Charles]

Thad, I have no experience with that type of inverter, but I have found with a little searching on the internet I can pull up the owner’s manuals on almost any inverter, so even if you do not have them you should be able to get the information needed to set them up based on how you use the coach.

Start with the batteries however. Fully charge them and then with them separated and the surface charge gone, test them individually. If any are bad you will not be able to do anything until you have a new set.

[Chris]

Thad,

I also have a 1999 Royale with the same inverters. My first question is did you have a power outage that caused the inverters to kick in and drain the batteries?

Regardless of what drained the batteries, a 20 amp circuit will not allow the inverters to charge the batteries unless the inverters have been set to a lower charge rate. If the inverters are trying to charge the batteries at too high of a rate it will trip the 20 Amp breaker. Will the inverters work with the generator running? The batteries may be so low that the inverters will not power up.

There is also 2 very large 300AMP DC fuzes between the batteries and the inverters. Make sure they are still good.

There is also breakers in the main power panel in the bedroom that feed the inverters AC power. Make sure they are not tripped.

If needed we can get on the phone and I can try to help you.

I just submitted an article with the Trace SW2512MC manual. It should be in the article section soon.

[Archived]

This link will take you to the discontinued documents page for your owners manuals. Scroll down the page to your model and down load the manual. Copy and paste the address in you browser address bar.

http://www.xantrex.com/power-products-support/document-downloads/discontinued-products/discontinued-products-inverter-chargers.aspx

I would also try to get on a 50 AMP connection that has the proper power on both legs.

Does the problem go away when on generator.

[Paul]

Thad,

20A is not a lot of power.

The first thing to do is determine if you have one or two battery banks. If you have one, turn off one of the chargers. One cautionary note. The AC circuits supported by this charger/inverter will not operate. I assume this is okay as you’re only trying to maintain the batteries while in storage. Set the maximum charge current to no more than 10A. With this set to 10A, no matter the state of the batteries, the breaker should not trip. Even with good batteries, some chargers start at a high charge rate and then cycle down. If this is the case, limiting the maximum charge rate will still keep the breaker from tripping.

If you have two battery banks, then set the maximum charge rate to no more than 5A on each.

You should also configure your inverters so that they will not engage with the loss of power. There’s no reason to drain your house bank(s) while in storage just because a breaker tripped.

When you leave storage make sure you set the maximum charge current to something more reasonable. Ideally, the charge rate is slightly greater than your average load. If it’s less then your batteries will not maintain a full charge.

I don’t have a Royale, so I can’t help your with the voltmeter or why the AC’s won’t run off the inverters. Are you sure they are powered through the inverters? Most house banks are setup for 24V if they are supporting air conditioners. The model number you provided suggests these are 2,500W 12V inverters. You need about 1,700W or more for an air conditioner and that would draw about 130A from a 12V bank.

[Jerry]

Andre just submitted an article that is the pertinent poop for the inverters. It is listed on the home page for now. Thanks Andre.

[Archived]

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

I made a call to Glenn Berden at Raoyale Phoenix, and it took him about 10 seconds to tell me what my problem was. The Aquahot electric water heater switch under the sink was on. That was tripping the breaker, since it was obviously pulling more than 20A. The house batteries had drained down below 9v, and thus shot down the inverters. I hooked a battery charger up to the house batteries to get them to wake up, then they began charging from shore power.

I need to make some of the changes to the inverters, and get more familiar with them overall. Thank you for all of the help.

Thad

[Al]

On our 2000 Royale the aqua heat element can not be powered with the inverters. A good plan is too discover all the items that can powered by the inverters. in our Royale there are two AC breaker panels. One is for inverter power and the other is all the things that only run on shore or generater power.

[Archived]

When we bought our first coach there not only was no internet or a way for me to talk to other Prevost owners, the coach lacked documentation we expect to have available today. Until I figured out the coach every trip was exciting because there was always something catching me by surprise.

It did not help that a previous owner made some modifications that in retrospect were illogical and until I figured out what he had done really screwed with my head. The best thing I ever did in the absence of help or advice from others was to pick a system and follow it from beginning to end learning the basics of it. The electrical system was especially challenging because I had no clue about things like inverters, converters, generators, etc. But I did learn to start at the source of power and follow it through until I got a handle on where all the various devices and systems got their power from.

Every new owner needs to do that. I’m not suggesting anyone needs to be able to draw the coach schematics, but each owner does need to know what is 12 or 24 volts, what is 120 volts and if that 120 volts is on an inverter circuit or only shore or generator powered. Until an owner has that basic understanding life in the coach is going to be a never ending frustration.

And every new owner needs to understand advice on this or any forum can be 100% correct, or 100% wrong or misleading. For example if anyone ever catches me giving advice on an Aquahot or a Vantare electrical system, ignore it. I have no knowledge or experience with either. The point is just because someone offering advice has been a long term owner, that person’s 20 years of experience may not be as accurate as a one year owner who owns a Vantare or has an Aquahot and has taken the time to understand them.

[Jim/Chris]

When a cosch is at a remote storage facility It’s a good practice to shut down all coach systems at the breaker panel except the battery chargers. If you have one house bank only one charger needs to be on. This practice does 2 things. First it’s the simplest way of ensuring non essential loads are off. It also reduces the possibility of appliance damage if your coach takes a power hit.

Some may elect to have an air conditioner or dehumidifier left on. Only the circuit breakers supporting should be left on.

When your coach is stored the inverters (not the chargers) need to be off. There is no reason to deplete house batteries due to an interuption in commercial power.

If your coach is stored in an open storage facility you might want to leave the generator autostart on. Never leave it on if the coach is stored indoors.

[Archived]

That’s a good plan Gil, but if he has a refrigerator running, he’ll half to leave that inverter in the “on” position.

[Rod]

No two owners or storage situations are alike so the best solution is for the owner to learn his coach and how it has been set up, and then to assess his particular situation.

I see the logic in a lot of suggestions, however all we can do is make suggestions and it is up to the owner to decide how to best handle his storage set up.

Speaking personally, there is not a chance I would leave anything on if I stored my coach in a remote location. The risk of expensive damage to the batteries is too great if I rely on an unmonitored source of power. So my preference would be to shut off all power including the battery master switches and then on a regular basis (like monthly) check the coach and recharge the batteries if needed.

I understand about wanting to leave an AC on or the refrigerator but once you want to do something like that risks increase significantly. There is no perfect solution to storage but the choices regarding what is left powered up, what is turned off, and what is being accomlished is a personal decision based on the owner’s tolerance for risk, how the coach is set up and the type of storage.

[Archived]

Of course every coach is a bit different.

Tom, your charger/inverters are the same as mine. You can turn on the charger and turn off the inverter to keep your refrigerator on commercial power only.

Net-net on remote storage with commercial power:

— Turn off all 120V systems not needed while in storage at the circuit breaker panel. It’s convenient and hard to make a mistake. Some even label the breakers to leave on with easy indicator, like colored dots.

— Never leave the inverters configured to take over in the case of a power outage. There should never be anything that MUST be powered while in remote storage enough to require the use of inverter power.

— Turn on the battery charger and ensure it’s set to a low maximum current draw, like 10A. If you only have one house bank and two chargers, only one needs to be on.

— If you don’t have a smart charger for the chassis battery bank shut off the 12V and 24V chassis battery switches.

[Jerry]

Like you said Gil, they’re different. My Liberty will not allow AC to the fridge circuit without the inverter on.

I guess we should define “storage.” My take is the bus would be in a storage facility parked while not in use, but not mothballed and ready to go with fridge on and all systems alive except the water heater and fresh water pump.

If I had one in long term remote storage, I would kill everything except the chargers.