Electrical Issue: Really Perplexed

[IDwanderers]

Any thoughts, ideas appreciated.

Background: Installed a GoPower 3000 watt inverter, four six volt batteries and some additional solar this fall. I did all the work myself. I am not an electician but can usually figure most things out. Got it all installed and everything worked. Low temperatures somewhere in forties. Great! Can't wait to get to Arizona and have a much more pleasurable boondocking experience.

November, brought coach home to remove carpet in bedroom and install Pergo type floor. All power in coach worked. Low temps around low forties.

Mid December: Go to storage to run generator monthly as suggested and to charge batteries. Temps in upper twenties. Discover GFI in bathroom is tripped and won't reset. No power anywhere in front of coach but power in garage. After running generator for about an hour, hear GIF in bathroom make a noise. GFI will now reset and I have power to front of coach. Decide that GFI is bad and buy new one. Plan to replace when I bring coach home for packing to head to Arizona.

Four days ago: bring coach home to pack for Arizona. Temps in the thirties. Everything works, power throughout coach. Decide to not replace GIF.

Yesterday: Drive to Salt Lake City. Temps in upper twenties. Upon arrival bathroom GIF has no power and won't reset. No power to front of coach. After some testing discover that one leg into my panel is not hot. No power to half my panel. At this point I decide a connection is bad in the transfer switch or inverter. Too cold to fool with and I wanted to watch football.

Today: Wake up this morning after running heat at night. GFI will reset, have power to coach. Drive to Las Vegas, arrive at Oasis RV Resort, temps in low fifties. Full power to all of coach. Head scratcher!

In all instances my Progressive EMS was showing full power to both legs. Am I dealing with a loose wire connection or could temperature be affecting the transfer switch or inverter? I don't see how temp could be a factor but I did double check all connections at install. Can't remember staying in the coach with temps in the twenties since we bought in 2015. So this is the first time at these temps.

Any thoughts? Checking the connections is doable but a pain. I have some time here in Vegas but would like to exhaust all other ideas before I crawl around in the basement more and be stiff and sore again as a result.

Sorry for the long post but thought the complete background important. Can't wait for the Quartzite rally. See some of you there.

[Jerryr]

Sounds like a Neutral-ground bonding problem possibly? Very common that the progressive EMS doesn’t play well with a generator unless neutral and ground are bonded.

Read this site: http://noshockzone.org/generator-gro...utral-bonding/

[Aridon]

The progressive EMS, is it hard wired or at the pedestal?

[TucsonJim]

I think the failure at low temperature is a significant clue. I'm strictly guessing here, but my suspicion is that the low temps are causing one of the relays in the transfer switch to fail.

Jim

[gbkims]

arhayes had trouble with EMS and ATS, might be some help in troubleshooting - https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...to-shore-power

[el Rojo]

I think the failure at low temperature is a significant clue. I'm strictly guessing here, but my suspicion is that the low temps are causing one of the relays in the transfer switch to fail.

Jim

Or a loose connection. Things shrink when it's cold and expand when it's warmer. It seems there's enough of a connection for the EMS to read power, but not enough to carry a load. My guess is you will find a screw/connection that you will be able to get a 1/8" turn on.


I'm no electrician but this is my 2 cents.

Red

[IDwanderers]

Sorry, left out some important detail. The Progressive EMS is hardwired in the coach before the transfer switch.

Thanks Gene for the link to arhayes post. This provided some good info. I was not even thinking it could be an EMS issue.

Jerryr, thinks for the post. I am pretty sure I have the neutral-ground bonding addressed. Gopower takes care of this in the inverter. It is a factory default that must be disabled in order to remove neutral-ground bonding.

Jim, I really want to believe it is related to the cold temps. Hopefully it is a sticking solenoid. The cold temps are behind me and this will allow me to troubleshoot and fix it at home and not on the road.

Thanks for all the great input! My wife asked me if I had posted to Facebook. I said no, the Forum is the only place to go for good help on matters like this. I enjoyed arhayes' post that he didn't go to Facebook either.

[carnolddsm]

I may have missed this info, where is the inverter wired into the system and how? Is this a pass through inverter? If yes, one or both legs? If the inverter is a pass through it could be the inverter.

[Cate&Rob]

Hopefully it is a sticking solenoid.

If you want to put the auto transfer problems behind you, and don't mind turning the switch manually, there are excellent quality manual selector switches available. Such as https://www.bluesea.com/products/901...ns_240V_AC_65A

Rob

[Jerryr]

Sorry, left out some important detail. The Progressive EMS is hardwired in the coach before the transfer switch.

Thanks Gene for the link to arhayes post. This provided some good info. I was not even thinking it could be an EMS issue.

Jerryr, thinks for the post. I am pretty sure I have the neutral-ground bonding addressed. Gopower takes care of this in the inverter. It is a factory default that must be disabled in order to remove neutral-ground bonding.

Jim, I really want to believe it is related to the cold temps. Hopefully it is a sticking solenoid. The cold temps are behind me and this will allow me to troubleshoot and fix it at home and not on the road.

Thanks for all the great input! My wife asked me if I had posted to Facebook. I said no, the Forum is the only place to go for good help on matters like this. I enjoyed arhayes' post that he didn't go to Facebook either.

I believe you should be able to easily rule out the EMS as the cause the issue. Just flip the bypass switch on the display when you have the issue and see if it eliminates the problem.