Inverter always on?

[Heath]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum and have a new-to-me 2008 Melbourne that I'm trying to figure out.

I have installed an inverter in a TT before because we do a lot of dry camping and prefer to not use the generator when we have a choice. So I was excited that this motorhome came with one installed, even if it was only 400W.

Took me a while to figure out that it only powers the front TV outlet, with the ingition kill switch, of course.

What I can't figure out is what the inverter on/off switch in the "command center" does. It doesn't have any effect on the TV outlet at all. Off or On, the TV outlet always has power. The switch LED turns on and off. That's about it.

What am I missing? And will the inverter being on with no load be a power drain?

Thanks in advance

[abarkl]

Chances are someone previous to you has moved the power plug for the front TV and used an outlet that is not powered by the inverter, to defeat the ignition kill switch. Or, while the motorhome is connected to shore or generator power the inverter will pass thru power to the switched TV outlet, hence the Command Center switch will have no affect.

Let us be the first to welcome you to JOF.

[rgolding]

Welcome Aboard!

You said - "Took me a while to figure out that it only powers the front TV outlet, with the ingition kill switch, of course."

Does that mean it works when thew truck is running and/or going down the road?

[oldmanAZ]

Welcome to the forum.

I have no real information related to your questions. But, most devices, like an inverter, will have some 'standby' drain on the battery whenever switched on.

[Grumpy]

The inverter "only" powers your TV with shore power disconnected. It has an internal transfer switch that automatically connects to shore power so you will see no difference when plugged into the pedestal with the inverter switch on or off.

[Heath]

It looks like the stock outlet for the TV gets "killed" by the ignition as usual, but there is a 2nd outlet next to it that is always on, whether the RV is moving/running or not. I'm going to assume this was installed with the satellite system that was also aftermarket. Perhaps the inverter was altered then, too?

I have yet to take a closer look at the inverter, which I assume is under the bed. When I do I can check if it always has power. When dry camping, I hate losing precious amp hours for no reason.

I have yet to plug in at a campsite. Hadn't really messed around with with any of this at home while prepping for the trip. So far I have not been able to find any outlet that is affected by the inverter switch in any configuration.

[abarkl]

Our inverter powers one hard-wired outlet in the front of the RV (as factory configured) and both the TV and audio system are plugged in to it.
We found the inverter in our RV positioned just below the bedroom TV in a space along with the 12 volt converter.
We were able to connect a standard household power extension cord to an open plug on the inverter and connect the bedroom TV to it as well.

[Heath]

I just took a quick look at the bedroom TV cabinet. Ours doesn't appear to have a space under the TV, but looks like there is one behind a panel behind the door that the TV is mounted to. I'll have a look there. I figured once I found it I could add additional stuff as you did with the extension cord. Previously we ran an LED TV, a laptop, external hard drive, and a couple phone/tablet chargers all at once, but that was with a 1000w inverter I rigged in our TT. We'll have to see what this 400w one will handle. Might change it out for a bigger one. Can't really try it out right now, though because the batteries that came with the motorhome are crap and we are in cold weather, and we could barely manage to run the furnace all night. Gotta get some new batteries, for sure.

[Heath]

OK, so a little more info. Found the inverter under the bed. Nothing obvious there with regards to it always being on. Then I read the manual... Go figure. Apparently this inverter does not switch on or off. It's on or standby. On is always on. Standby mode is supposed to allow the remote switch to control it. My inverter was switch to ON. Great, that must be my problem... I wish. I turned it to standby, and walked over to the command center and turned the remote switch ON. Nothing. No power to the TV outlets, no LED illuminated on the switch.

So, I thought I knew why it wasn't working, had a way to resolve it (change inverter to standby), but no dice.

Turns out when the inverter is ON, it's using 1.25 amps. Standby is just 1 mA (just enough to power the switch, I guess). I think that means I'm using about 30 amp hours in a 24 hour period by not being able to turn the inverter ”off" (unless I go under the bed and under a panel to turn it off and on when needed). That's quite a bit, considering the existing battery capacity is only 160 AH. Also explains why they were draining completely, and probably why they are crap now, since they were repeatedly drained below 50℅.

I've contacted Xantrex to see how to further troubleshoot the standby/remote switch issue.

[Grumpy]

Pull the remote switch and check the control wire plug on the rear.

[Heath]

I did. Looked OK. But just a visual once over. I figured the switch was working and the cable was fine since it would light up if the inverter was ON, even though it didn't control anything. ?

[Heath]

Success! I removed the remote switch from the command center and connected it directly to the inverter with a new telephone cable. Still didn't work. So I did what any respectable DIY-er would do and I banged on the inverter with my fist a few times. Turned the inverter off and on and the remote switch of and on a few times and voila! The remote now controls the inverter! Except it's the opposite of what I thought I understood from the manual. The remote controls it when the inverter is ON, but does nothing on standby.

I checked the original cable again to see if it would work now, but it doesn't. And I don't want to fight with fishing a new one down under the coach and up into the command center, so I'm just going to run the new cable to the remote switch mounted on the side of the bed for access.

So, it was the cable, and perhaps slapping it around loosened something up.

BTW, Xantrex was no help. They basically just told me what the remote switch was.

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by Heath

The remote controls it when the inverter is ON, but does nothing on standby.

That is exactly how our Xantrex 400 works.
Our understanding is that it must always be in Standby mode or there is no pass-thru for AC to the outlets when on shore or generator power.