dunedancers
Yucca Valley, CA
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I have a 2006 Winnebago Sightseer W26P and from the get go the charging and electrical have dismayed me. I have numerous inverter issues. Here's the first:
The manual is useless but a fellow RV'er told me that I should be able to turn the inverter on with the generator running and then turn off the gen. If I do, the TV and sat receiver "restart". That doesn't seem right.
I'm an inverter dummy so where should I start? Any help is much appreciated.
Steve
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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Steve, lets start with the make and model of the inverter. Probably a Dimensions inverter.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
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smkettner
Southern California
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What transfer switch do you have? I suspect the transfer switch is either a manual or automatic but just slow.
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dunedancers
Yucca Valley, CA
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Hi Sam, Sorry. Yes. It's a Dimensions DUI-12/300T.
Transfer switch????? I have a breaker and an On/Off switch on the front panel. Rear panel is DC in, AC out.
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Oswald38
3rd Rock
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Does that model have a 120v transfer relay built in? If so, it should act like an uninterrupted power supply. A quick search shows some models do and some don't. The useless manual should have it listed on the specs.
I think smkettner is referring to the transfer switch that transfers the load from shore power to the genset and I agree that too could be the issue if the relay is sticking or slow.
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teb1272
Memphis
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Joined: 12/14/2006
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I would say that the system should have a definite "break before make" transfer switch between generator/shore power and inverter to avoid feeding power from the other system back into the inverter and releasing smoke. Given the speed of electronics, I would think that in such a case the tv and other items should have to restart after the switch. So I think what it is doing is right. Certainly you don't want even a fraction of a second of having both power sources connected.
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dunedancers
Yucca Valley, CA
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There are extremely limited "specs" on the inverter provided to me by Winnebago. It shows the rating (12.6vdc in at 30 and 40 ADC and 120/300 or 400w out) and "battery to inverter distance. That's it. They also show a very simplistic Wiring Diagram but there are no relays on it nor does the word "transfer" appear on it. It pretty much just shows connections.
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dunedancers
Yucca Valley, CA
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What teb said is what I ASS U MEd from the beginning and, lacking any documentation otherwise, have always turned everything off, shut down the gen, turned on the inverter and then the tv. It's damned inconvenient and then my buddy said "you shouldn't have to do that" so here I am at the forums seeking enlightenment.
I just found an email for Dimensions customer service. I'll shoot them an inquiry and get back to the forums with their response.
On a similar note, the only outlets in the RV that appear connected to the inverter are the entertainment (tv, satellite, vcr) ones. I'd think there would be at least one AC outlet for plugging into but apparently not. Is that typical among built in inverters in other RVs?
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Oswald38
3rd Rock
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Does the inverter have an AC cord that plugs into the wall? That is how it senses on-board AC power to start or stop inverting if it has its own relay.
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dunedancers
Yucca Valley, CA
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Yes. The wiring diagram shows a standard looking "AC Input" cord going out the back.
WAIT!!! It mentions a "T Option" (AC from generator or electric utility) on the diagram and the write up says "When the ext 120 VAC is supplied, the INTERNAL TRANSFER RELAY is automatically activated and the inverter is turned off. The inverter will not turn on when the TRANSFER RELAY is activated."
It doesn't discuss timing or delay, doesn't tell you to shut anything down first. So you can flip the switch to the inverter to ON with the generator running or plugged in with no fear (???) but the inverter won't turn on until the AC is removed. I think I'd figured that out already. I wonder what happens the other direction. If the Low Battery light comes on the inverter and I fire up the generator, I'll bet the tv and sat restart either immediately or once the generator stabilizes. Hmm.
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