SOLVED: Transfer Switch for Residential Refrigerator

NWILSON said:

I too leave the inverter ready to take over any time we are using the coach.
You can close the doors for storage (remember, they are shipped with the doors closed) but be sure to clean it thoroughly inside beforehand or you will be cleaning it thoroughly the next time you go to use it.

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DavRosCope said:

Thanks to all who replied with their great info, I will put that into practice.
We are Full-Time RV'ers, live 100% in it. Taking the rv to a dealer to have them work my issues is really not a possibility, so I try to handle all (most) of the issues that happen on my own (if possible, I am still learning). And speaking of learning;

When we picked up our rv from the dealer, the walk-thru regarding for the Remote Switch went something like this "As long as you're on site power, Leave This Switch OFF. When planning a trip, as you hook up to your tow vehicle, then hit the switch.."
It was explained that if power was ever lost in the parks, then the inverter, through the transfer switch, will automatically switch from site power circuit, to the batteries. There-fore, the inverter (in forward storage) is ON at the moment, the Remote Switch is NOT Activated, fridge is working. Loss of power to the park, inverter should now NOT have power, but the transfer switch should sense the loss of site power and automatically switch to battery circuit.

This is (and has been) my understanding of the power and switching process since purchase.

Here is my dilemma.......

Power hooked up to site pole, 110 supplied to all circuits in rv. Everything working fine. Remote Switch NOT activated (GREEN light out).
Sometime during the early morning hours the fridge went out for several hours.
When we discovered the problem, I immediately activated the Remote (GREEN on), fridge kicked in, temp began coming down.
While researching the issue, I hear this BEEP from the fridge, the display on fridge is still on. GOOD
I went and de-activated the Remote GREEN off) and the fridge stayed on. GREAT
Whatever the issue, something has reset itself and all is good again.
But I was still worried it could happen again, so I left the Remote Switch GREEN (activated), and continued my research, which included the neighbors suggestion of leaving the Remote ON.

Found some info, troubleshooting diagram, which led me to think there might be an issue with the transfer switch, My plan: Research Further.

Woke up this morning and discovered the fridge was dead again. Had been for some time since the freezer side indicated 35 degrees.

Checked Remote Switch (light was GREEN-Activated). Checked the inverter, flashing 12.4 volts. So why is the fridge dead?
Turned off inverter (powered down), unplugged transfer switch, depressed the TEST button on inverter, NOTHING (no click)
OK, the inverter was tripped, so I pushed the RESET button (heard the click), plugged the transfer switch back in, then checked the fridge, still off.
So I hit the Remote Switch, light GREEN, fridge kicked in, all is good.
10 minutes later, noticed the temp rising slightly. Checked inverter, again the inverter tripped, so I ran the reset process again.
Been holding steady now for a couple of hours, but will have to babysit the fridge till I figure out what is causing the inverter to trip.

All fuses are GOOD, no circuit breakers are TRIPPED on the main panel, voltage, amps and hertz are all well within the normal limits.

Thoughts anyone?

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Squirlee said:

Do you get a long beep when the inverter shuts down? Ours was doing something similar to yours and it was caused by one of the batteries being weak. Replaced the battery and it worked again. Even if your batteries are showing 12 volts that may decrease significantly when under load with a bad battery.

I would also check your connections to the inverter to make sure they aren't loose.

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danemayer said:

If you've been plugged into shore power all this time, it sounds like a problem with the refrigerator's small transfer switch. The inverter may or may not have a problem as well, but when on shore power, the refrigerator should get power from the shore power connection, whether the inverter is ON or OFF.

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DavRosCope said:

I too am leaning toward the Transfer Switch. In the past, I could toggle the Transfer Switch (on and Green, off and light out). and the fridge would stay on.
Outside power connected, all circuit breakers set properly, everything working Great.
Remote Switch, light OUT, fridge works (fridge getting power from site pole)
Remote Switch, light ON (GREEN), fridge works. Although I am still connected to pole, I anticipate the power is coming from the batteries (the display on front of fridge is dimmed slightly)
I do know on our most recent trip (Jul 4th), the fridge worked all the way to our destination and back home (Remote Switch GREEN, pigtail connected to truck, site pole 50 amp disconnected, fridge working fine).

This morning, while trying to reset everything, I do know that I am connected to 50amp power at the pole. Turning the Remote Switch OFF (light OUT), the fridge should now be transferred to the 110 side of the Transfer Switch. But it wasn't.
Is the Transfer Switch creating some sort of feedback (short) causing the inverter to trip? It wasn't till I disconnected the Transfer Switch, ands Reset the inverter, that the fridge began working again.

Hope I am not making this more confusing to everyone...

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danemayer said:

I believe the transfer switch is supposed to default to shore power if both shore power and inverter power are available. While on shore power, nothing should change at the transfer switch by operating the inverter.

If the transfer switch is changing to the inverter side while on shore power, there's either a problem with the wiring to the transfer switch, or a problem with the transfer switch itself.

You might open the junction boxes to see if perhaps wires are loose. Turn off the refrigerator circuit breaker and unplug the transfer switch from the inverter before opening the boxes.

If no loose wires, it's probably a transfer switch problem.

It's possible there could also be an inverter problem, but that would typically show up when shore power is not available.

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DavRosCope said:

Good Morning All,
Looks like my issue is resolved.
Hopes this helps anyone else with future fridge, inverter, transfer switch concerns.

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DavRosCope said:

Re: Inverter Consensus of Opinions




Taking your advice, here it what i discovered this afternoon. But first off, i learned that my thinking of how this all worked was all wrong, but I am chalking it all up to my being Electrically Challenged.
Anyway, my thinking of the Remote Switch is not that it was used to switch from 110 to battery, but nothing more than a remote On/Off power for the Inverter. This epiphany came when i going through some checks. Remote Switch light Green, inverter is powered on. Remote Switch light OFF, inverter is now Off. Pushing the power button on the inverter turned it on, and thus when I checked the Remote Switch, is was now Green. Lesson learned, confusion on my part lessened.

Seeing as I was not really considering the inverter was the culprit, I wanted to isolate the Transfer Switch and test.

So I proceeded to remove the cover plate to access the internal wiring. First I made sure each wire was secure to the bus bar, some were snug, others snugged up a bit more.
Next I disconnected the power plug for the Transfer Switch from the inverter.
Using the multimeter, I found 110 volts on the input side of the Transfer Switch, and found 110 volts on the output side of the Transfer Switch. All is good at this point.
Stepped inside the RV and found the fridge display nice and bright displaying the correct temps.

So Far, So Good

Tic-Toc-Tic-Toc 15 minutes pass

****. The fridge is DEAD, no display. But I guess this puts the approval stamp to my having a Transfer Switch (BAD) issue. Normally the fridge should have continued to run and run and run while going through the Transfer Switch. Went to the forward storage area with my trusty multimeter and checked for 110 volts coming into the switch (there was), but the output side of the Transfer Switch was DEAD. Hard to tell what is actually wrong with it, but cheaper to just order a new one, which I did last night for 65bucks.

Is my thinking on point for this issue and test result?

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