Need advice

I visited my coach to stock it for weekend.  It has been plugged into 50 amp plug using a 50/30 adaptor.  Last time I left it, I turned off the inverter and left the surge protector on.  When I entered the coach the power step work, but I could not get the inverter, refrigerator or house lights to work.  I neglected to bring chassis keys, so I could not turn on engine to see if this had any impact on other systems.  I am sure the error lies with the operator, any advice is appreciated.  I will take keys tomorrow to see if I can get a different result.

Check the RV fuses?

Will do.  Thanks.

Fuses and circuit breakers are always good to check. The panel in our 2552 is under the passenger-side bunk.

The surge protector's display panel should give you useful information if you're plugged in to shore power. In our 2552 the panel is mounted on the wall behind the driver's seat. If you have the surge protector Phoenix currently uses, made by Progressive Industries, it should alternately flash a status code ("E0" means no errors - good), the AC input voltage, and the AC current being used. If it's dark, you've lost shore power.

But the coach batteries should power your lights and inverter without shore power, unless they are completely discharged.  The little black status panel that shows how full your holding tanks are, also on the wall behind the driver's seat, has a "BATT" button that shows battery status. Check that. If the coach batteries are dead, you'll need to figure out why.

Tell us what you find. The electrical system can be confusing at first.

Also check the position of the battery disconnect switch, located to your left as you enter the coach, near the step well.

The step works off the Ford battery.
If you turned off the battery disconnect the batteries will not charge even if you are plugged into AC power.

Batteries are likely dead. Fully charge them and hope it didn't take too much life out of your batteries.

To keep your batteries lasting for years try not to discharge below 50%.

Went back to my coach today to do more investigation.  Things I checked:
Breaker box..A OK.
Power was going to coach.
Fuses all good.

What fixed it?
When I shut off the surge protector everything came on!!!  We had the problem in Elkhart on delivery when the microwave would not work with surge protector on.  Bobby at the factory said he got it working fine.  Not sure whether he had the surge protector on or not.  Several weeks ago another person who took delivery had a problem with their surge protector and went through several before working properly.  My fix for right now is...keep the surge protector off, but I will be contacting Dave tomorrow to report the issue. 

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Hi Erin,

I'm the guy who went through 3 different surge protectors in the week and a half after delivery.  The 4th replacement has been working fine for the last two months. The others intermittently thought the input voltage was too high and so shut it off when the voltage was was actually fine. Intermittent problems are always more difficult.

I have a 30-amp system, with the 30-amp version of Progressive Industries' surge protector. Yours would be their very similar 50-amp version.

I wonder -- could your surge protector be unhappy with your 30/50 adapter cable? If there is no voltage on one of the two incoming hot leads, the surge protector would see this as an error and shut down. If this is the case, the status panel would likely show "E4" (line 1 low), or "E6" (line 2 low). In this scenario, the surge protector is not faulty -- it's doing what it's supposed to do.

Anyway, you've found the work-around: set the protector panel to "Bypass EMS" when you must use the adapter.

John

Thank you I will check that.  I am using the 30/50 adapter because the only options my garage has for amp.  I have an external surge protector we used on our trailer.  I will test the system using that one to see if I get the same results.

If the surge protector generates an error you might post that.  Might help determine what it thinks is going on.

John,
I continued to have problems of mircrowave shutting down with surge protector on when hooked up to 30amp connection in campground this weekend.  I did a test using the inline surge protector we used on our old trailer.  Plugged it in at the post and connected it to the coach and turned on everting (lights, frig, fans, TV and microwave), all worked perfectly, nothing shutdown.  Took the inline protector off and tested PC installed protector again.  With one ceiling light, frig and microwave on, I turned on the surge protector, only to have microwave shutdown again.  Will be leaving another message with Dave on Monday.

Read the amps and voltage on the Progressive meter.
It may be doing its job.

I find that some campgrounds are just underwired (Too small a wire or too many campers on the same circuit), especially when A/C's are on or at dinner time.
In your house the same problem exists. I can use one outlet in my garage but not another because of the distance and size of my house wiring.

I've often been forced to run my generator to be able to run my Microwave.

PC used a big unit that pulls lots of amps. Be sure you electric hot water heater is turned off, if you want to use your microwave.

Let me know the voltage and amps you read.

Also please remember if you turn on the Progressive bypass and your voltage drops below 85v you will probably damage your microwave or refrigerator.

Hello all!

I have a 2012 2910T.  I installed solar panels and batteries for boondocking. I have turned off my inverter, but even then the solar panels (400W) can not keep up.  When I disconnect the battery, then connect it again, the inverter fan turns on - even when the switch says it's off!
The drain overnight is almost impossible to recharge using the solar alone.  When the battery is turned off I still have a discharge from about 12.6 to 12.2.
Any ideas?