Steven P

5 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

Yes, AGM's can be equalized. I use the PowerPulse Technology to accomplish that task.

I'm learning everyday. I guess I was going by the Magnum inverter/charger.  I believe the instructions there say not to equalize AGMs with it?  I'll need to look back. 

23 minutes ago, moxy1962 said:

Here’s my suggestion, disconnect your short jumper between one pair, then the next, measure voltage with good meter, that will help you determine if you have a bad pair of batteries, if they all measure the same then try each battery individually, disconnect on the short jumper wilL isolate batteries, let them sit for few hours, re measure voltage, a bad battery will discharge and voltage will drop. Now if your batteries all measure well and they measure well individually, and if you have a specific gravity tester, check each cell, they should all measure close to each other and be in the white close to green if not fully charged and in the green if charged. Once you determine you batteries are all in decent shape charge them with your inverter, make sure your inverter is set up properly for batter size, charging limits battery type etc. once you have done all all that and charged all you battteries, you can perform a equalization charge which require you to monitor batteries during the charge, you will need to ensure they have adequate acid levels, remove cell caps, have a thermometer safety glasses and gloves, run the equalization charge, cells should bubble and get warm, never over 100f,  it may take hours and that may clean up your batteries. If not, they are likely shot

Thank you.  I can do most of that, but I have all AGMs so I cannot measure the cell's sp. Gravity and cannot equalize.  I have checked all charger settings and they are correct for the house batteries.

One thought, would an Amp L Start connecting my chassis batteries  to the house batts change anything as far as when off shore power?  I know the green light flashes saying maintaining initially. 

I've never checked the chassis batteries as they've always done well.  They were on the coach 3.5 years ago when I bought.   I'll check those first.  Thanks. 

4 hours ago, W7BE_Bob said:

Dash voltage can be lower due to the wire/size/distance and load. What counts is the voltage at the battery terminals. If the chassis battery is charged and it's in float mode then 13.4 is OK. If the alternator, chassis battery, house battery and all connections are  good then a discharged battery  will cause the full charging cycle after starting, otherwise not so much. ie discharged voltage, bulk ramping up to 14.6, absorb at 14.6 then tapering down to float 13.6. The voltages can change somewhat depending upon the temperature.

 

All true, but that sounds more like the inverter charging cycle you are referring to.  The question at hand is I'm getting 13.4V at my chassis batteries with my engine alternator and is that ok. Since it's been working well enough, I'm gonna ride this out as long as able. 

@Dr4Film

Yessir.  Those are the right numbers.  I've never seen readings higher than those numbers before.  

20 hours ago, Tom Wallis said:

13.4v from the alternator sounds very low. Are you sure your chassis battery is charging properly?

That's what I've always had since buying the coach a little over 3 years ago.   I've replaced the regulator thinking I had an issue there and checked all the grounds, cleaned them, etc that I could find.  I tested from the alternator last year (this is when I found I had bad house batteries)  and I don't remember the numbers but I think 13.4 was what I was getting at the alternator. 

This weekend I noticed my house batteries stopped charging on alternator.   It was a bad trombetta.  Had 13.4V on engine side and 12.3 on house side.  Replaced trombetta and all is well again.  Also, I have an IRD in my RFB that failed previously so no signal to charge.  Replaced that last year, but had to get another 12V chassis source as the blue wire was only ever getting about 12.2V.  I believe it may be tied into the headlights so I jumped straight to the 12V chassis hookup in the box and bypassed the issue. 

Update:  I found an O ring at O'Reillys today that was a close fit.  Changed out and reinstalled and so far, so good, no leak as before.  I'll keep an eye on it though. Thanks all for your help. 

Thanks all.  This is all good info and I'll look into everything.  I'm hopingbto have some time over the weekend for testing if the rain goes away here.  I do have a Klein multimeter and the batteries and their connections all look good, but an unhooking and cleaning won't hurt.  

Last year, I replaced the PO's 2 12V (bad) deep cycle marine batteries w 4: new, 6V Trojan t105 AGMS.   They have been great compared the the bad 12Vs.  We don't boondock much at all and have been living in our coach during a house remodel.  My question is, what should the batteries read when I unhook feom shore power and no genny running,, no engine running, and they are fully charged.  I notice they read  from 12.3 to 12.6 once unhooked with only the res fridge and a few lights on.  From reading different posts, I feel this should be above 13V.  It float charges at 13.6V. And I feel I set up the Magnum remote properly when I did this last year.   All these readings are from the Magnum inverter remote.   Thank you. 

Is 4V from ground to neutral at the power pedestal on 50A acceptable?  The state park where I am has this on numerous pedestals.  We have been here since early October and everything is currently going well.  My surge protector gives zero errors and all my 120V is functioning well.  My EMS remote panel has been flashing periodically and Intellitec thinks it's failing and not related to the 4V. The rest of the 50A pedestal checks out fine and the park installed all new plugs in the pedestal after I asked them about this.  We checked 2 other nearby pedestals including one I was on for a few weeks and they show the same.  

Thanks,

Steven

12 hours ago, 96 EVO said:

I've never removed the door awning. I'm guessing the rubber grommet is where the power wires go thru?

Yes. And mine has 2 screws holding it down.  Slides forward off the track.  

@Ray Davis I used a Leviton gfci I picked up at Home Depot.  I've ordered the recommended brand, but it hasn't arrived yet.  Time will tell how this one works. 

I replaced the GFCI the other night w a different brand and ran the fridge and some stuff on inverter today and no tripping.  Next, I'll try w the engine running to see how it works. 

Contacted Intellitec about the panel and the changing lights.  He had me run some tests and they all passed.  He thinks either my remote display or my control board is failing.   I've ordered a new panel to start.  Everything still works except those lights.  He told me NOT to get replacements from Amazon or Ebay as they do not sell to them and they have likely passed hands 2 to 3 times already.   BTW, my Intellitec is not clicking and shedding loads, only lights changing. 

I also traced all my outlets down the line from the GFCi. 

This is what Magnum recommended over the phone. 

10 hours ago, Ivylog said:

Do you still have an absorption  refrigerator? The 120 V heaters in them are known to start to fail and trip the GFI‘s. By switching to gas you take the heaters off-line and if your problem goes away, you’ve  found your problem.

9 hours ago, daveyjo said:

If the fridge is plugged into two outlets as you described earlier, one is for the fridge and one for the icemaker.  I had an icemaker tripping the breaker after variable times.  Can't remember the details it was so long ago.  FYI.

I replaced the Norcold over a year ago w a residential fridge.  It is plugged into the inverter outlet. 

7 hours ago, waterskier_1 said:

Steven, I offer a couple of observations for your consideration. 

First, a GFCI trips because the current flow in the hot conductor is different from the "return" current flow in the neutral by over 5 milliamps (0.005 Amps).  Is does not trip because a certain current limit is exceeded (like a circuit breaker does).  Therefore, the GFCI tripping is NOT caused by an excessive load, but rather a "leakage" of current.  You should disconnect

everything connected to all the outlets in that string.  If the GFCI still trips, it is likely bad - or you have a wiring issue.

Second, as Ray suggested, some inverter manufacturers recommend only certain GFCIs be used with their inverters.  This is what Magnum say in their ME Series Inverter Manual:

    2.5.3 Recommended GFCIs (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters)
Some electrical safety codes require the use of GFCI’s. In compliance with UL standards, Sensata
has tested some GFCIs to ensure they function properly when connected to the inverter’s AC
output: See the WARNING below.
CAUTION: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) shall be installed in the recreational
vehicle wiring system to protect all branch circuits.
WARNING: Risk of electrical shock. Use only the following ground-fault circuit
interrupters [receptacles or circuit breaker(s)]; others may fail to operate properly
when connected to the ME inverter: Leviton 8899-A, N7899, and the GFNT1 and GNNT2.

I think chasing over current conditions is going down the wrong path, but these comments apply ONLY to the GFCI problem.  After fixing this, then, if there still is a problem with the Intellitec Load Sharing then that can be addressed.

  Rck N.

I spoke w Magnum Energy this am and we discussed this issue.  He wasn't thrilled my fridge was on the GFCi circuit bc that would melt his ice cream unnecessarily. Lol.  He did find the name of a GFCi that should work, but warned me the older GFCIs tripped w a higher leak than today's GFCIs and that is a problem w a modified sine wave inverter.  We talked a little about a replacement w a pure sine wave, possibly. 

7 hours ago, W7BE_Bob said:

First install a compatable GFCI for your inverter as it's MSW output is NOT the same as PSW shore power. If there is still a issue then on shore power trip the GFCI and find every dead plug on that circuit as this is the start of isolating the issue. On my rig that is 18 plugs (not a typo, just Monaco). Keep a list for future reference. Look everywhere - storage areas, ice maker, etc. 

For isolation disconnect both the hot and neutral wires and it can take a lot of time for an intermittent problem.

Your load shedding problem may be due to bad connections in the CB panel including the loose CB. 

I've already started looking for all the plugs on that circuit. The one I haven't been able to check much yet is the TV. I'm taking some time in the AM to troubleshoot. 

Next question is why are there 3 sets of Romex in that GFCi?  One is supply, one is load for the daisy chain and is the 3rd the supply from the inverter?  If so, I'll need to swap its location as it is in the load now. 

Thank you all,

Steven 

@FishAR mine doesn't have 4 snap covers like yours.  You should be able to pry them off and there is likely a Phillips head screw under each.  Safe travels, you'll be a good ways east of me w your route. Check w Tim at rvcams.com about the camera.  He knows his stuff. 

Time for another update.  The previous attempts didn't stop the leak so the last thing I did was remove the door awning.  The rubber grommet was in bad shape.  I put in a new one and sealed all the holes and so far, so good.  Washed the coach w no leaks and been in 2 rains w no leaks.  Fingers crossed!

10 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

Stephen,  I remember this issue being discussed quite a bit a few yrs ago.   I recall the main cause was installing a GFCI that is not compatible with your inverter. On our Windsor the GFCI is a breaker but I think yours is a receptacle and other receptacles are daisy chained off of that GFCI receptacle.  If that sounds like your set up,  why not begin remove wires feeding down stream receptacles and see if you can narrow down where a ground fault may be.

A GFCI exactly like the one you removed or one that is listed on the inverter web site might just solve your problem.   Tom Cherry is on the group and became quite knowledgeable on this subject, hopefully he will chime in with some better information.

I think you're on to something.  This is a GFCI receptacle. I replaced it back in Sept due to the previous one tripping a couple of times.  I went w one at Home Depot and maybe it's not gonna work w the inverter.  In checking it tonight, it's power comes from the inverter breaker.  It has a feed (bottom) and 2 leaving.  I will try to find a suitable replacement for it. 

Update: I had a spare GFCI plug (Leviton) and swapped them out last night before bed.   The lights on the EMS display still do the same thing.   I didn't try it on inverter yet to see if it would trip.  It was getting late and time for bed. 

The only other wiring I've done was the microwave receptacle which is not on that circuit and the microwave works fine.  

Thank you all. 

12 hours ago, bunlacken said:

At the breakers there is usually enough black wire to clamp around, as I read it appears to be tripping without any load, is that right?  Internal inverter problem may cause this condition.. if you disconnect all load wires from it & it still trips.. you need it checked.

The GFCI is tripping pretty much immediately after we disconnect shore power and go to inverter power.  At that point the fridge is on (different outlet, same circuit) and nothing else I can think of.  Maybe a phone charger somewhere?  There is nothing plugged into the GFCI when it trips. 

My dash has just a panel that lifts up for access. I don't have a pic, but it's right in front of the steering wheel.  If you post a pic of your dash, someone may be able to help.  Are you coming thru AL on I10? That passes close to me if I can help. 

11 hours ago, redstickbill said:

Steven,

The only time I had lots of assorted electrical gremlins in the coach it turned to be the house battery disconnect switch it the battery compartment, it had shorted and would make contact as the coach bounced around. Replaced the cut off switch and all gremlins left the coach.

Bill B 07 Dynasty

Thank you, I'll check that.  I swapped them out a few years ago to better ones. One of the old one fell apart in my hands when I removed it. 

44 minutes ago, bunlacken said:

I would use an amp probe & see which circuit is drawing overload & isolate it & see if you still trip.

An amp probe is the easiest way to find something like this.

Do you recommend checking at each outlet that is plugged in and on that circuit? Ex,  the fridge, TV?  Ok to pull the outlets out and check the amps there?  I have a clamp on multimeter, but I know you have to get down the clamping on the single wire. 

Hmm, where to start?  A few months ago our GFCI in the bathroom tripped while we were gone and hooked to 50A. I thought maybe my wife hit it while getting ready.  Reset it and it was good for a week, then tripped while we were in the coach.  I couldn't find a cause so I replaced the GFCI and it did well for a while.  It seems to now work fine on 50A, but trips on inverter pretty quickly.  Early on, we would just reset it and it would work again, but as of yesterday, if on inverter and you reset it, it trips again.  The fridge, main TV, and others are on this same circuit.  Last night we got back from tailgating and plugged in to 50a and all seemed well...for a minute.  I turned on the water heater and 30 min later we only had luke warm water.  Checking the Intellitec panel, I found the lights all off on the appliance list and one light at a time turning on, then off, going down the line.  This also happened this past week and that time was able to reset the washer/dryer breaker and it fixed the problem.  I tried resetting the breaker last night and it continued.  I killed the power and went through the breaker panel and tightened any loose connections and resecured the water heater breaker (it was loose).  I also unplugged all the Intellitec wires for a while.  I turned the power back on and it worked right...for a bit.  Then the cycling lights started again.  I did a reset on the inverter itself and it worked right and I went to bed.  Woke up this AM and it looked right. Turned on the water heater which worked again (without gas).  But then the Intellitec cycling was back.  It's probably important to mention the charger was charging over 14V last night in absorption mode and for mine, I see that w bulk, but under 14 w absorption.  Once I reset the inverter my charging dropped to 13.6V and has stayed there.  I feel I should go through all my outlets and check/replace them.  Some are still the old "stab" style and that may help the GFCI, but what about the Intellitec EMS?  Also, I'm not sure if its related, but a few weeks ago the Magnum remote screen was just jumbled and not responding.  I unplugged and reset it and it's been fine since.   I've attached pics and videos. I have a Magnum ME 2012 inverter. Thank you all. 

@Jdw12345 thank you very much for the document and the site.  Very helpful info!

Thanks to all the responses and here's an update.  I removed the 4 hex head bolts on the backside of the dryer holding this part on.  I found no cracks in any of the housing areas.  I cleaned up the mating surfaces and reinstalled and tightened the bolts pretty tight.  Still have the same leak.  However, there is a small rubber O ring at the place where it's leaking.  There appears to be no gasket between these 2 surfaces and my theory is the O ring needs replacing. The air leaks right at that spot. That I can do later. Today we have a long drive home.  But I feel good about the trip.