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Help – Transfer Switch issue ?
Hello all,
On every coach I have had, when the shore cord is connected, you hear a clunk as the transfer switch engages and powers the bus.
I can not hear a thing on this Vantare. I need to check connections inside that switch when I find it to figure out why the shore power from a 20 amp source does not latch the inverters relays onto charging…..
Here is what it does….on Generator I get 115-119 V for each leg and everything seems fine.
When I was on 50 amp shore power it was reading 115-120V incoming on each leg and all was good.
Now on a 20 amp breaker with adapters, I check the voltage on the cord end before I plug the bus in and get 118V but when the bus is connected…first, I don’t hear the thump that power has been applied, second, the “AC2 Good” green LEDs blink and the inverters would not latch onto the source and when I check incoming volts readout on the Inverter panel I see 98-100V…..What the heck ?
I go back out, voltmeter on the cord before connecting the shore, I get 115V, connect it back, same blinking on the remote panel and 15 Volts lower….
Now…according to the manuals, shore power should be wired on “AC1” input and “AC2” is Generator. When I was on 50 amp shore the AC1 led was lit and latched. When the generator runs the AC2 is lit and latched. When i am connected to shore through 50 amp to 30 and 20 amp adapters, I would believe that I should still see the power coming in on AC1 but no….it blinks the AC2 input……something is not right ?
So…..any ideas ? Where is the transfer switch on a 98 Vantare ?
I found the 2 manual power switches that isolate/bypass the Trace 4024 inverters and when I flip them to Utility I don’t get power to the breakers on both legs and with inverters out of the loop….. That tells me that I could have a transfer switch problem and the shore power is not coming through…..is my thinking right ?
I tried different 50/30/20 amp adapters, also got two different 20 amp circuits and fed the bus with 2 cords and a “Y” adapter delivering independent 20 amps to each leg…same problem, same 15-18V drop on both legs on inverter remote panel once it enters the bus.
What do I do ? I need to figure this out asap to be able to plug it in and charge the batteries…..
Thank you for any advice.
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8 Replies
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Marius,
The transfer switch on my Vantare XL is on the rear bulkhead of the first bay. I can’t help with the readouts you are getting but maybe you will find the switch.
Doug
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I looked…nothing there or any other compartment below in this H3-45….starting to wonder if the transfer switch(s) is (are) an internal part of the inverters as everything runs through them in the Vantare conversions…..not like the other converters.
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I’ve never tried mine on a 20 amp service, but, I doubt it is enough amperage for the inverters to allow it to come in. Each inverter uses 15 amps alone for battery charging, unless they are turned way down.
If that is the case on yours, go into your “Battery CHarging” menu, and reduce the amperage on charging.
Even a 30 amp service will only give you partial power on a Vantare.
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Turn down the Power Share on the Inverters to 15 amp and turn 1 of inverters chargers off, no 110v water heater or any thing that draws power, 15 amps on a nice size extension cord will keep batteries charged butt that is about all, a small extension cord is a no no ! Also the clunk depends on the Brand of the ATS box. Some have a large relay that clunks and newer ones don’t.
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Art wrote: “15 amps on a nice size extension cord will keep batteries charged butt that is about all, a small extension cord is a no no !” I agree 100%. Pulling 15amps constantly through a “15 amp extension cord” it at or beyond the limit of most extension cords. I would try to have the shortest cord possible, not wound up on a reel, and check the temperature of the extension cord from time to time. Most of the “consumer” extension cords are barely adequate. Compare the wire size rating on the consumer vs contractor cables; the contractor should be one or two gauges heavier. Bigger (heavier cable) is better. Short, heavy wires are your friends.
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Most shore power 20 amp receptacles are GFCI protected and unless the coach has a “soft start” or makes sure the ground leg is connected first it might be the GFCI in the box has tripped.
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Update – had some help from the Greg at Featherlite and he pointed out that the Vantare does not have an external transfer switch and all is done inside the inverters.
What was a puzzler was the 15-18 V Voltage drop from the cord to what the inverter remote panel was reading and the fact that shore should come in on AC1 not AC2….so he had me change the settings on the incoming amps to 15. Still had the same problem….
It dawned on me after a lot of back and forth that the 50 amp cord plug looked a bit loose and the end was not clamped properly on the wire…so I opened it up….surprise…the neutral was pulled off the first terminal, the red was barely hanging on….how I got juice in the coach for a week without sparks and errors is a mystery … must have pulled apart when we disconnected and started giving me problems once home.
Anyway, went and bought a new good quality 50 amp plug and redid all the connections as they should be.
All back to normal – incoming 20 amp shore on AC1, feeding 20 amp through a heavy gauge extension cord. Not getting hot. The inverters latch on and start charging in about 30 seconds. I turned # 2 off until #1 went into Float then turned #2 on and it went to float within 15 minutes.
I shut down all other 110v breakers except the Aux compressor and fridge.
So far so good.
I do need to locate a Voltmeter display for the electrical panel. Mine is missing all together. I opened the panel and it was removed by some PO. There are 2 white wires, a red and a blue clipped where the connections to the voltmeter used to be.
Anybody know what the part number for such a display is ? If somebody has one I can buy, it would be even better.
Picture of how my panel looks like attached.
Also could use a few of the green LEDs that show the breaker turned on…does anybody know a source for those ?
Many thanks again.
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Kyle at Tradewinds keeps those bulbs in stock.
We all knew to check the plug on the end of the shore cord…..didn’t we??
We all usually do that first, most of us have had that happen. LOL
Just skipped the easy stuff.
That is correct on the Inverters having the transfer switches built in.
Glad you got it fixed.
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