Surge Guard

I have a 2910 T with the surge guard from the factory. From day one I have had trouble with it kicking out after 128 sec. from  nor. power or generator power.
Some times it takes 3 or 4 times to set. The PC factory told me to remove the RJ45  cord from the unit to reset it. This works but you have to remove the door to get to it.
Has any had this problem ? I am about ready to remove it  JAS

Hi Jas,

Sorry about your trouble but I must say I was thrilled to see I'm not the only one with weird SurgeGuard behavior!

Mine started a little over a year ago and, like you indicate, it doesn't matter where I plug in and it also happens with the generator, that maybe one out of three times, the SG will count up to 128 secs then the screen will go blank.  And of course there is no connection without that built-in SG working.

When I was at Phoenix this Spring, they tried to replicate the problem several times and of course it did not happen then.  They really couldn't guess what was the problem.  They gave me a dummy electrical box that I can connect all the SG wires to if I ever decide to take the SG out.  I wanted this just in case the thing ever went totally bonkers and simply would not work.  I think that's one of the downsides to a built-in unit.  Unlike Progressive, SurgeGuard does not have a bypass switch.  If it breaks, you can't get shore or generator power without somehow bypassing it.

At one point I called SG and they said that the unit will do this if there is a faulty ground or reverse polarity somewhere in the rig.  In other words, it doesn't just react to the outside power source.  It won't give an error code, though, unless the fault is from the outside power source.  That's why the screen just goes blank.

After much trial and error, the only thing I have found that consistently works is to flip the breaker off for the converter/microwave whenever I hook up.  After the SG's 128 sec countdown and approval of the power source, I then flip that breaker on and all is good.

Maybe something like that will help you get by for now, until you can find a more permanent solution.  Please pass along to the rest of us what you discover, if anything!

Good luck!

Carol, just out of curiosity, did Phoenix know about your microwave switch work around when they had it in the shop or did you figure that out after?

Yes, I told them.  I think it has something to do with the converter, personally.  Maybe a wonky switch or solenoid or something?  Bob checked some stuff out--not sure exactly what, though--and couldn't find an answer.

Progressive Industries makes the most reliable protection. PC installed mine. I had them put the display next to the door switch so I can read voltage or error code without even going inside the RV. Also it can be setup to only wait about 10 sec to reset. The 128 sec delay was made to protect old A/C's that had no built in delay.

The Progressive unit is a must in Mexico. Where most parks have very sketchy electrical systems and can ruin your circuit board in refer. or microwave.

Luckily my surge guard has not had any issues (although it was humming strangely the other day).  However, I wish now I had not installed it and had chosen a portable SG unit instead so that I would have had a fast/easy option to get power into my coach if it does fail.  Now that I realize the SG will not allow power in from shore or generator if it fails, I am not comfortable with the possibility that I would be dead in the water and unable to rig a quick fix on my own. 

Note the Progressive Industries unit which was installed by PC as I requested and has an override switch that gives you power instantly, it is part of the display that shows the error signals.


Their unit also has lifetime warranty and if part goes bad they send you a new circuit board.

The PI unit looks like the very best choice.  I wish I had done that.  I wonder if it is possible to retrofit this into my PC to replace the SG.

It should be easy to change. They must have made space for surgeguard. Not sure where in the 2100 it is located. Should be right next to the Converter/breaker box. Just 3 wires on each end of unit, then a phone line type wire needs to run where you want the readout which is just surface mounted. I wanted mine next to the door so I could look in and see the reading.

my SG is under the refrigerator in the same compartment as the converter/charger and the inverter.  This is going on my project/wishlist and I'm definitely going to look into it further.  Thanks for the info.
Ann