Inverter issues

[HappyCamper7679]

We have a 2015 Gateway 3900se, which we bought new and full time in. The rv is parked and always connected to shore power. Just recently the refrigerator shut off, along with two outlets in the same slide, however the microwave and fireplace in that slide still worked. The issue turned out to be a tripped gfci on the inverter. Since the first trip, it has happened about 6 times in the last 2 weeks.
I am not sure if the issue is with the inverter, the transfer switch, or somewhere else.
I have read that the inverter does not need to be in while connected to shore power, but our refrigerator and those other outlets will not work unless the inverter is on.

The inverter is the original that came with the rv, Magnum cw1012, and we have a residential fridge that also came in the unit.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Travis

 

[danemayer]

Hi Travis,

If the refrigerator runs only when the inverter is turned on, so the transfer switch for the refrigerator circuit is not getting power from the main circuit breaker panel. It could be a bad transfer switch, or a tripped circuit breaker in the main panel, or perhaps something else, like a loose wire.

However, that only explains one problem. The other problem, where the GFCI trips on the inverter is separate. You should start by checking each of the outlets involved on that circuit to make sure 1) they are dry and 2) wires are making good contact.

 

[HappyCamper7679]

I ordered a new transfer switch, just waiting on it to arrive...
I have checked all the outlets, breakers, fuses, etc and everything seems fine. The odd part is that only the refrigerator and those two outlets are having issues. Everything else in the RV that's 120v works without the inverter being on. Also the refrigerator and the two outlets are on separate breakers. The only thing they have in common is that they are in the same slide...

Hopefully the transfer switch solves the problem...

 

[david-steph2018]

I ordered a new transfer switch, just waiting on it to arrive...
I have checked all the outlets, breakers, fuses, etc and everything seems fine. The odd part is that only the refrigerator and those two outlets are having issues. Everything else in the RV that's 120v works without the inverter being on. Also the refrigerator and the two outlets are on separate breakers. The only thing they have in common is that they are in the same slide...

Hopefully the transfer switch solves the problem...

The first of August the transfer switch for our fridge went out. Luckily it only took 3 days to get it and it was around $75.00. When I received the transfer switch, it only took about 5 minutes to install.

 

[wdk450]

Any suspect electrical leakage plug-in appliances should be tested with an electrical leakage tester. This is a common medical electronics support device (ALL medical devices are required to be tested with this when first installed and on a scheduled ongoing basis by law). Some appliance maintainers might have one. There is a way to do this testing with an sensitive AC current DVM and a grounding removal adapter, but for safety sake I would rather not detail this here. There are also sensitive clamp-on meters that require you to isolate the ground wire only to clamp-on and measure.

Adding a redundant grounding wire to the chassis of the suspect appliance will make it safer for human use, but will NOT eliminate the GFCI tripping as the GFCI is not measuring the current on the grounding wires directly; but rather it measures an imbalance in the current flows between the hot and neutral power supply wires and makes the logical assumption that any missing current is present on the equipment's exposed metal and is possibly shocking someone, when actually it is most often going down the grounding wiring to earth ground.

Another approach when no other solution can be found is to use a 1:1 non-grounded output electrical power isolation transformer to power the electrically leaky device. With no ground reference in the power circuit to the device, the power current has no affinity to ground (does not know what "ground" is). You can theoretically grab either hot wire (there is no hot and neutral in such a setup) and not get shocked. It would be like grabbing 1 end of a disconnected high voltage battery. For many years all the devices in most operating rooms were wired this way due to the use of flammable anesthetics and electrical conductive flooring to eliminate static sparks. There was 1 large master power isolation transformer for each OR with an alarm system.

 

[mlpeloquin]

I ordered a new transfer switch, just waiting on it to arrive...
I have checked all the outlets, breakers, fuses, etc and everything seems fine. The odd part is that only the refrigerator and those two outlets are having issues. Everything else in the RV that's 120v works without the inverter being on. Also the refrigerator and the two outlets are on separate breakers. The only thing they have in common is that they are in the same slide...

Hopefully the transfer switch solves the problem...

Power to the slide is usually through a junction box under the slide. Check for it and the twist connectors. They have been known to loosen up. Found one loose one under mine when I had checked.

 

[CDN]

Hello,

Don't look too far. The Inverter is a known issue. I had the same problem and it tripped every trip. Heartland replaced its under warranty. Been fine ever since. Some people with technical ability have replaced the GFCI in the Inverter with no further issues.

There is a thread I posted last summer.


https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...-Found-Possible-Cause?highlight=GFCI+Tripping


Brian

- - - Updated - - -

Power to the slide is usually through a junction box under the slide. Check for it and the twist connectors. They have been known to loosen up. Found one loose one under mine when I had checked.

I pulled all my boxes apart, stripped wires to proper length, used proper size Marrettes and taped to prevent them from falling off when travelling.

 

[HappyCamper7679]

Update

So my replacement transfer switch came in yesterday and I got it put in this morning, and all seems well. I can once again turn the inverter off while connected to shore power without losing power to the refrigerator. I am guessing that the failing transfer switch was responsible for tripping the gfci on the inverter. Hopefully it will work for another 5 years before I have to replace it again.

 

[david-steph2018]

Re: Update

So my replacement transfer switch came in yesterday and I got it put in this morning, and all seems well. I can once again turn the inverter off while connected to shore power without losing power to the refrigerator. I am guessing that the failing transfer switch was responsible for tripping the gfci on the inverter. Hopefully it will work for another 5 years before I have to replace it again.

Great, glad it was the transfer switch.