Refridgerator will not come on on when Inverter turned on

Does anyone have any ideas on why my residential refridgerator will not stay on when the inverter is turned on. It was working fine for 2 years but now I can turn on the inverter to leave or when we have no power but the fridge does not come on?

Hi busted,

First guess is that the GFI outlet on the inverter has tripped. See the Residential Refrigerator Guide for pictures and other info. If that's not the problem, there's a diagnostic flow chart that may help you figure it out.

Danemayer,

Well, I knew I would ask in the right place. The GFCI was tripped and I discovered the swtich has to be turned on to reset it. I have reset the GFCI and verified I have 13.5 volts gong into the Inverter and power going out. I am waiting for nightfall before cutting shore power since it is 100 degrees at the moment and my wife would kill me should I cut the A/C!...I'll keep all informed. Thanx Frank

What I think caused the inverter to trip was an undervolt. When we left our last destination, the fridge was on, however after about 3 hours we stopped for fuel and discovred the refridgerator was off. That's when I noticed a light in the bathroom had been left on. I checked the voltage at the six point which showed 12.1 volts. I just beleive that maybe the compressor on the fridge started, causing that power pull which caused the GFCI too pop. Make sense?

danemayer said:

Hi busted,

First guess is that the GFI outlet on the inverter has tripped. See the Residential Refrigerator Guide for pictures and other info. If that's not the problem, there's a diagnostic flow chart that may help you figure it out.

Click to expand...

busted2341 said:

What I think caused the inverter to trip was an undervolt. When we left our last destination, the fridge was on, however after about 3 hours we stopped for fuel and discovred the refridgerator was off. That's when I noticed a light in the bathroom had been left on. I checked the voltage at the six point which showed 12.1 volts. I just beleive that maybe the compressor on the fridge started, causing that power pull which caused the GFCI too pop. Make sense?

Click to expand...

Frank,

Normally when the battery is too low to support the draw on the inverter at compressor start, the inverter throws an error code and shuts off.

A GFI normally trips when there's a current leak. I'd make sure the refrigerator's transfer switch and nearby junction boxes aren't getting wet, along with the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into if you have an access panel behind the fridge.

That said, someone else very recently had to replace the GFI outlet on the inverter because it was tripping for no apparent reason.

danemayer said:

Frank,

Normally when the battery is too low to support the draw on the inverter at compressor start, the inverter throws an error code and shuts off.

A GFI normally trips when there's a current leak. I'd make sure the refrigerator's transfer switch and nearby junction boxes aren't getting wet, along with the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into if you have an access panel behind the fridge.

That said, someone else very recently had to replace the GFI outlet on the inverter because it was tripping for no apparent reason.

Click to expand...

I replaced the GFI on my Magnum inverter. It kept tripping like yours. Run an extension cord from another GFI say in your house. Unplug the cord from the inverter and plug the fridge into the extension. If the house GFI trips you have a problem with the fridge or wiring. If it doesn't trip I suggest replacing the GFI in the inverter you won't be the first one to have a weak GFI


Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk

GFCI's do fail.

I don't have a residential running on an inverter like the factory is using. But if I did, I would either hardwire a dedicated outlet for the fridge if the inverter offers that option or replace the receptacle with a HD 20 amp part.
The GFCI is there because someone might plug a tool or the like into it.

If your trailer was plugged into your truck, the light shouldn't of drawn your batteries down that much. I just had a similar problem. I found that my lead running through the frame of my trailer to a junction box under a slide, with nothing to protect the wire mind you, was shorting out to the frame of the trailer. It was ok when sitting in the driveway, and when plugged into AC, but when traveling down the road it was shorting out on the frame tripping the GFI. Also, when on AC power, it would arc on the frame and not trip anything. It was a dedicated line to my residential refrigerator but after it wore through the insulation on the wire from traveling down the road it was shorting out bouncing down the highway.

I've only recently begun to travel with my new Landmark. I found out right away, on the first day of travel that the refer was NOT working. The GFCI outlet was tripped on the inverter. Reset it, refer came back on.

Next stop, refer was OFF again. Reset GFCI outlet, refer came back on.

Stopped for the night - refer OFF

Played this game for 4 days of travel to get home from Indiana to Colorado.

Note that before we brought the RV home, we had left it in Indiana for a month (hooked up at a CG). I had added a receptacle in my coat closet to power my network gear. I powered that receptacle off the unused outlet on the Inverter GFCI outlet. This meant that my Inverter was working 100% of the time (to power the network gear) - as planned.

To start troubleshooting, I unplugged the network gear circuit from the Inverter at the end of the first day of travel. No difference. on subsequent days - still tripping. This means that the network power receptacle, wiring, junction box and power cord I installed was NOT contributory to the tripping of the GFCI outlet.

So while it "appears" that the GFCI outlet in my inverter is at fault, what is troubling is that the GFCI outlet never tripped while connected to shore power for that month we were storing the RV at the CG. I knew this as I still had remote connectivity to the network gear.

HL has shipped me a replacement inverter. If that is the fix, then I will replace the GFCI outlet in the current inverter and use it as a spare.

busted2341 said:

Does anyone have any ideas on why my residential refridgerator will not stay on when the inverter is turned on. It was working fine for 2 years but now I can turn on the inverter to leave or when we have no power but the fridge does not come on?

Click to expand...

Has there been any resolution to your problem, interested to see what you have found.

We set up yesterday to boondock for a few nights. After getting established we ran the generator for a bit then ventured out for a while. When we returned we discovered that the inverter wasn't powering the fridge. A little nosing around found the GFCI had tripped on the inverter. Reset it and all is well. I'm not sure when it tripped....guessing it might have been related to the power up or shutdown of the generator.

It's only been a single occurrence but I'm a big believer in carrying spare parts and I'm thinking a spare GFCI outlet for the inverter needs to be added to my inventory. Is there anything special about this outlet when I get to Home Depot, Lowes etc? Any tricks to installing?

Thank you!

Neale - I doubt the GFCI outlet on your inverter is bad - but who knows?

I too "hoped" that was the culprit to my issue and had HL send me a new inverter. No difference. The GFCI outlet on the new inverter still trips on nearly every trip. I too am noticing a pattern. Seems to trip after I've used the generator. Not always - but mostly.

I plan to take a look at the electrical terminations in the junction box where the generator output connect to the lead going to the transfer switch.

I also plan to take a look at the electrical terminations in the small Kisae transfer switch where the refer branch circuit connects to the inverter output and refer outlet wire.

rdufek said:

If your trailer was plugged into your truck, the light shouldn't of drawn your batteries down that much. I just had a similar problem. I found that my lead running through the frame of my trailer to a junction box under a slide, with nothing to protect the wire mind you, was shorting out to the frame of the trailer. It was ok when sitting in the driveway, and when plugged into AC, but when traveling down the road it was shorting out on the frame tripping the GFI. Also, when on AC power, it would arc on the frame and not trip anything. It was a dedicated line to my residential refrigerator but after it wore through the insulation on the wire from traveling down the road it was shorting out bouncing down the highway.

Click to expand...

I would also check for the line from the inverter to the refrigerator, mine was run through the frame of the trailer and a hole wore through the insulation, the line was shorting out on the frame tripping the GFI as I bounced down the road.

Just happened to us, the second time. Ours was a simple push of the GFI reset button. I'm trying to track why now?

Last time a day ago I was at a park in Kanab, UT with a less than desirable 30 Amp plug, no disconnect switches, just an exposed outlet, Yikes.

My surge protector said OK. it goes through some kind of a 2 minute check before giving me the "green Light" and when I plugged in I had equal line voltage across L1,L2, so I thought that was good, I believe when I disconnected, (pulling the plug) it tripped, but i'll need to see it again to be sure.

I'll be keeping a watch out, Steaks cost too much to lose!

Paul and Nancy

- - - Updated - - -

That's a good one, we have a new rig and our cheapo stock batteries suck, I'll look into that. Also noticed today the Leveling system gave me an error, low batteries.

Now I need to see if the Batteries are charging on Shore Power or not.

Thanks, Paul

danemayer said:

Frank,

Normally when the battery is too low to support the draw on the inverter at compressor start, the inverter throws an error code and shuts off.

A GFI normally trips when there's a current leak. I'd make sure the refrigerator's transfer switch and nearby junction boxes aren't getting wet, along with the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into if you have an access panel behind the fridge.

That said, someone else very recently had to replace the GFI outlet on the inverter because it was tripping for no apparent reason.

Click to expand...

jbeletti said:

Neale - I doubt the GFCI outlet on your inverter is bad - but who knows?

I too "hoped" that was the culprit to my issue and had HL send me a new inverter. No difference. The GFCI outlet on the new inverter still trips on nearly every trip. I too am noticing a pattern. Seems to trip after I've used the generator. Not always - but mostly.

I plan to take a look at the electrical terminations in the junction box where the generator output connect to the lead going to the transfer switch.

I also plan to take a look at the electrical terminations in the small Kisae transfer switch where the refer branch circuit connects to the inverter output and refer outlet wire.

Click to expand...

Not sure, as I've not read the whole post but lock rotar amperage could be the problem.
I had the same problem in my 07. The inverter doesn't have enough ability to support the start up amperage for the compressor on the fridge. I ended up getting a larger inverter.

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OSIN said:

That's a good one, we have a new rig and our cheapo stock batteries suck, I'll look into that. Also noticed today the Leveling system gave me an error, low batteries.

Now I need to see if the Batteries are charging on Shore Power or not.

Thanks, Paul

Click to expand...

One of my first upgrades on the new Cyclone was changing to AGM batteries. I found that they weren't charging completely even after being on shore power for days at a time.
After contacting Deka about the batteries and Progressive Dynamics about the charger/converter I narrowed the problem down to dirty connectors on the battery cables. Moral of the story....Just because the cable ends are shiny doesn't mean they are clean and making good contact!!

NWILSON said:

One of my first upgrades on the new Cyclone was changing to AGM batteries. I found that they weren't charging completely even after being on shore power for days at a time.
After contacting Deka about the batteries and Progressive Dynamics about the charger/converter I narrowed the problem down to dirty connectors on the battery cables. Moral of the story....Just because the cable ends are shiny doesn't mean they are clean and making good contact!!

Click to expand...

I only use deka group 31 AGM s .I have four and they're great.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

NWILSON said:

We set up yesterday to boondock for a few nights. After getting established we ran the generator for a bit then ventured out for a while. When we returned we discovered that the inverter wasn't powering the fridge. A little nosing around found the GFCI had tripped on the inverter. Reset it and all is well. I'm not sure when it tripped....guessing it might have been related to the power up or shutdown of the generator.

It's only been a single occurrence but I'm a big believer in carrying spare parts and I'm thinking a spare GFCI outlet for the inverter needs to be added to my inventory. Is there anything special about this outlet when I get to Home Depot, Lowes etc? Any tricks to installing?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Are you using the inverter only for the refrigerator and nothing else?
Eliminate the GFCI

porthole said:

Are you using the inverter only for the refrigerator and nothing else?
Eliminate the GFCI

Click to expand...

No trick at all on my Magnum inverter. I had a bad GFCI . It was easy for me and I ain't no lektrishun

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porthole said:

Are you using the inverter only for the refrigerator and nothing else?
Eliminate the GFCI

Click to expand...

Good idea Duane! I do have the Beletti mod (green LED pilot light on lower front panel near landing gear switch) plugged into it but I'll be safe without that on GFCI I'm sure.
So far we haven't had a recurrence.

NWILSON said:

Good idea Duane! I do have the Beletti mod (green LED pilot light on lower front panel near landing gear switch) plugged into it but I'll be safe without that on GFCI I'm sure.
So far we haven't had a recurrence.

Click to expand...

This could just be what I should do as well - replace the GFCI outlet with a non-GFCI version and move forward.