enblethen
Moses Lake, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/05/2005
View Profile
|
No, the condition of the GFCI receptacle doesn't change, there is still a high resistance between ground and neutral.
You could test between neutral and gorund and should see this. You maybe able to find a better quality GFCI and install it as one in your rig could have low resistance and that is enough to be seen by the inverter.
You should test with a meter or by disconnecting one of the GFCI receptacles at a time to determin which one if not both are crating the problem.
Bud
USAF Retired
Suzuki XL7 pushing Pace Arrow
|
ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
Senior Member
Joined: 12/20/2011
View Profile
 Offline
|
I found something explaining the fault in the Samlex manual.
Quote:The inverter is engineered to be connected directly to standard electrical and electronic
equipment in the manner described above. Do not connect the power inverter to household or
RV AC distribution wiring. Do not connect the power inverter to any AC load circuit in which the
neutral conductor is connected to ground (earth) or to the negative of the DC (battery) source.
I also recall reading somewhere else that recently built inverters must have GFI protection and so they won't work when plugged directly into an RV AC panel. Lame.
|
mena661
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2009
View Profile
Offline
|
ewarnerusa wrote:
I also recall reading somewhere else that recently built inverters must have GFI protection and so they won't work when plugged directly into an RV AC panel. Lame. My inverter has GFCI and it works fine when plugged directly into the trailers shore power cord.
2009 Newmar Canyon Star 3205, Ford F53 V10
Trojan L16 6V's 740 Amp-hours
|
BFL13
Victoria, BC
Senior Member
Joined: 02/15/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
The manual for the Vector Maxx SST line of inverters says, "Grounding the Neutral will cause the inverter to shut down"
"Do not connect the Power Inverter to any AC load circuit in which the neutral conductor is connected to ground(earth) or to the Negative of the DC (battery) source."
The receptacles on the inverter have only a hot and neutral supply from the mofset banks, no ground. However the receptacles themselves have their grounds linked with a ground fault sense.
2003 Chev 2500HD Gas, 2003 Komfort 26FS 5er
See Profile for Equipment List
|
ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
Senior Member
Joined: 12/20/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
BFL13 wrote:The manual for the Vector Maxx SST line of inverters says, "Grounding the Neutral will cause the inverter to shut down"
"Do not connect the Power Inverter to any AC load circuit in which the neutral conductor is connected to ground(earth) or to the Negative of the DC (battery) source."
The receptacles on the inverter have only a hot and neutral supply from the mofset banks, no ground. However the receptacles themselves have their grounds linked with a ground fault sense.
The Samlex manual also has a statement saying it will shut down if the neutral is grounded.
|
|
|
BFL13
Victoria, BC
Senior Member
Joined: 02/15/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
If the RV has a ground-neutral connection (it should not) that makes it the problem.
It could be outside with the shore power cord itself or the adapters. Trouble shoot by a process of elimination.
As suggested by another poster, plug your rig into a GFCI receptacle in the stick house to check it. In our house that means running an extension cord into the bathroom as that is the only one we have. Doesn't matter how long the extension has to be.
|
ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
Senior Member
Joined: 12/20/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
BFL13 wrote:If the RV has a ground-neutral connection (it should not) that makes it the problem.
It could be outside with the shore power cord itself or the adapters. Trouble shoot by a process of elimination.
As suggested by another poster, plug your rig into a GFCI receptacle in the stick house to check it. In our house that means running an extension cord into the bathroom as that is the only one we have. Doesn't matter how long the extension has to be.
I'll have a chance to start on this trouble shooting next week.
|
YC 1
Yuba City Calif.
Senior Member
Joined: 01/11/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Page two of the manual, item 3, says grounding the neutral will shut it down. If it is 'seeing" or it "appears" to the inverter that this is the case it will shut down. Since you have used another inverter the logical issue is with the Samlex sensing something it does not like. I have read in previous issues that some "converters" due to their design can cause this issue. I dealt with one very similiar in that a particular generator would trip just as you describe your inverter tripping but a different generator would not. Without a schematic for the inverter I cannot offer any solutions there. You might want to disconnect your converter AC wiring completely just as a test.
H/R Endeavor 2008
2013 Ford Edge toad
Full Timers
|
shooted
Vancouver
Full Member
Joined: 06/17/2011
View Profile
|
I found this information on the Samlex website very interesting. The last two points mentioned here I had not heard of before. In fact even as I write this I feel the need to read it again. This is the apparent reason, as the OP had posted, that it cannot be permanently installed for distribution in an rv. Can the OP confirm a listing difference between the two inverters that were being used?
* This post was
edited 02/26/12 12:08pm by shooted *
|
mena661
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2009
View Profile
Offline
|
Per my Go Power PSW inverters manual:
Quote:As per the national electrical code, electrical panels in mobile applications must not have a bonded neutral. If the inverter is supplying power to equipment or a panel where the neutral and ground are connected (bonded), a ground loop will occur. If a ground loop occurs on inverters with GFCI outlets, the GFCI outlet will trip and output power from the inverter will be cut off. If your GFCI repeatedly needs to be reset, this indicates a ground loop somewhere in your system. In this case, please have a qualified service technician inspect your electrical system or equipment.
|
|
|
