SOLVED: Half my AC circuts work when on Generator

[TX_Clay]

Yesterday, Fired up my generator to give it a monthly run (2015 - CY3010) heard the transfer switch click over about 20 seconds after the gen fired up. Fridge, microwave all have power. But my TV, bathroom plugs and I believe the 12v charging do not, as my lights never "brightened up".
My warranty expired in October, but had taken the unit into the dealership at the end of September and one of the complaints I had was that when the front A/C unit kicked on while on Generator. The transfer switch would click and knock really loud and I would lose half my power. I would turned the A/C unit off and then back on and everything seemed to be ok. Of coarse, the tech was "unable to duplicate" the issue.
I don't want to take it back to the dealership because it will be 6 to 8 weeks again before I see it back and we spend 2 to 3 weekends a month in it.
Any suggestions where to start looking and what to check? Will probably contact Heartland directly as well, to see if the dealership made a record with them. I did get copies of the work orders when I picked the unit up in November.

 

[cookie]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

While I don't have a generator I know where I would start looking for the problem.
First be sure that you are unplugged from shore power and your generator is off.
Look at your transfer switch, be sure all of the wires are tight. The transfer switch is a contactor device so if you can see that be sure there are no obstructions that would impede the movement of the switch.
Look closely at the contactor points and check if they show any signs of arcing. That would make for a bad connection.
There are two breakers at the generator, be sure to check the wires there as well.
And lastly, you didn't mention if this is also a problem when plugged into shore power so I would also recommend that you take a look at all of the wires at your breaker service panel.

Peace
Dave

 

[rxbristol]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

Make sure to reset both circuit breakers on the generator.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

Hi Clay,

The transfer switch needs 105 V on L1 to fire the contactors. The noise you hear is the contactors dropping, or chattering, probably because the voltage to the transfer switch circuit board is dropping. There are several possible causes.

• Transfer switch is failing
• Wires are loose or damaged on the generator side of the transfer switch
• Wires are loose or damaged at the junction box between generator and transfer switch
• Generator L-1 output is deficient
• Too many other devices are using power on L1

Taking the last thing first, check the circuit breakers on the front of the generator. You may have two 30 amp breakers, or a 20 and a 30. The Power Converter can use 12 amps or more depending on battery condition, so when you kick on the air conditioner on that same power leg, you could be exceeding, or be very close to the limit of available power on that leg. If you run the microwave, or a coffee pot, the startup surge from the A/C unit could be drawing too many amps and dragging voltage down. Normally if you're pulling too much power, you'd expect the circuit breaker on the front of the generator to trip, but if the surge is momentary, the transfer switch circuit board might be reacting faster than the generator's circuit breaker. If this is what's happening, you might be able to rearrange circuit breakers in the main breaker panel to better balance the loads on generator.

If you don't think that's what's happening, I'd suggest you inspect the wiring inside the transfer switch and check that the connections are tight. This must be done with all power disconnected as the voltage and current inside the switch are enough to injure or kill if you make a mistake. Also a good idea to make sure that no one can "help" you by plugging the shore power in while you're working on the transfer switch.

If everything looks ok, locate the junction box near the generator and check the connections there.

If that's all ok, and you feel comfortable doing this, very carefully check the voltage on the generator input side of the transfer switch. The switch cover has a diagram on the inside. With generator running, you should see 120V AC between L1 and Neutral, and also between L2 and Neutral, and 240V between L1 and L2. Be very careful doing this. You might have someone operate the air conditioner while you're measuring the voltage, looking for a drop in voltage. Repeat the voltage checks at the output connections of the transfer switch.

If all the wiring looks good, and voltage checks out, call Progressive and describe the problem and what you've found in your examination. They may conclude that the transfer switch is intermittent, and they may agree to ship you a replacement. If they don't want to do so, call Heartland and see if they'll send you one. As you've already found, intermittent problems can be difficult. And vendors are often hesitant to throw parts and labor $ at intermittent problems because there's no certainty that the proposed fix will work.

 

[TX_Clay]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

On Shore Power - Everything works properly. Its only when it switches to Generator power that half my power is missing.
I will check the gen breakers. (Wished I had thought about that at the time) Will also take my multi-meter with me to run further test if necessary.
Thank you very much for the suggestions. Why I read this forum. I think you guys know more about them than the people who make a living working on them.

 

[carl.swoyer]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

Their should be a generator junction box near the genset and inside two wires. Your genset has two hot wires our. They go to that junction box

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[TX_Clay]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

I made it back to the RV today and sure enough. One of the breakers was thrown. Hopefully, this is a rare event. We will see as I plan on running it several times this weekend to make sure it is good to go. Thanks

 

[carl.swoyer]

I had to remove the 20amp breaker and replace it with a 30 .my genset is Onan 5500 lp. This does however max out my generators capabilities.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[CycloneDave]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

Make sure to reset both circuit breakers on the generator.

If only I had tried this 1st. Ugh! Thanks for posting this answer which resolved my issue.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TX_Clay]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

If only I had tried this 1st. Ugh! Thanks for posting this answer which resolved my issue.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That was kind of how I felt too when I went back to the rig. Felt rather dumb, BUT, it was nice to have a knowledge base to access. I can only imagine how I would have felt if I took it into the dealer and they did that.

 

[Swagems]

Re: Only have half my circuts when on Generator

I had the same thing happen to me what i found that heartland put both ac breakers on the same side ,so i moved some of the breaker around so each ac was on defferent side of the panel