Inverter mystery

[campaholix]

Apparently the first owner of my 2016 Melbourne had an inverter installed as Ive confirmed with Jayco it did not come with one.
It recently stopped working and nothing I can do helps me locate it.

If anyone had installed one in a similar model, please let me know where you might have placed it if it wasnt near the power center located under the “master” bed...because I definitely do not have one there...or anywhere else I can think to look.


Thanks for your help.

P.S. comments about watching videos, learning about RV electrical systems and other useless drivel are not required.

[RetiredOne]

What was running on the inverter that's not running now?

[campaholix]

R-One...I had outlet power available while driving that is no longer working.

Best I’ve figured out after talking with Jayco, is the previous owner (we bought it with 4K miles on the rig) must have installed an inverter because Jayco did not.

I’ve always had power at my dinette where I plug in the toad brake system monitoring devices while driving.

Suddenly, last Saturday after camping at a National Park without hookups, using my on board and/or portable generator to keep batteries topped off / run the microwave / etc, Ive lost power to the outlets while driving.

Ive looked in every conceivable location and cannot find an inverter...but I have to have one or the outlet(s) would have never worked.

I’m at my wits end. I asked the question on a couple of other forums and got all sorts of useless “advice” from “experts” who apparently have never had a problem with a system they didn’t entirely understand...hence my chippy comment in my original post.

[Rustynuts]

Inverters should and usually are located as close as possible to the coach batteries to keep the power cables short. Most are mounted to the compartment next to the batteries......whats where I would start looking.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Rustynuts

Inverters should and usually are located as close as possible to the coach batteries to keep the power cables short. Most are mounted to the compartment next to the batteries......whats where I would start looking.

Rnuts...FYI: Jayco says it should be nearer my converter and main fuse / wiring distribution panel...which it is not.

Also, I’ve looked in / around the single coach battery compartment and haven’t found it yet. Appreciate the tip...I intend to get completely underneath and start digging further once the rain stops.

Side note...I was guessing it would be in a “weather-tite“ location...maybe not?

[RetiredOne]

My rig didn't come with an inverter, and to keep it close to the batteries, I installed it in the inside of the sink cabinet, up top, behind the actual sink... maybe check in those cabinets.

Or, go check the positive cables coming from your battery, and follow/trace them to see where they go. You might find a inverter attached to one of them...

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

My rig didn't come with an inverter, and to keep it close to the batteries, I installed it in the inside of the sink cabinet, up top, behind the actual sink... maybe check in those cabinets.

Or, go check the positive cables coming from your battery, and follow/trace them to see where they go. You might find a inverter attached to one of them...

Thanks...that’s helpful.

[Jagiven]

It is a guessing game to figure out why a previous owner did what. Tracing both the battery wire and the outlet wire would be the best place to start. DC power could easily be running under the MH from the battery. My guess, they did not run it as neatly as the OEM did, so it might be easy to spot. Typically all the AC power runs inside the MH, through the cabinets, at the floor level and not inside the walls. Generally speaking the AC wiring is accessible, via a hidden panel or two.

With all that said, knowing people tend to be cheap and lazy, so this is a totally wild guess, I would look under the dinette, and see if they placed it there, or outside under the MH under the dinette, where they had more space, but exposed to the elements.

Good luck with your mission! Let us know what you find.

Added thought; some of these inverters can have a remote on/off switch. By change do you ever seen a switch in your MH that you have no clue what it is for? If not, might look around the base of the dinette, maybe placed on there, out of sight, and got bumped. Again just a wild thought

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

It is a guessing game to figure out why a previous owner did what. Tracing both the battery wire and the outlet wire would be the best place to start. DC power could easily be running under the MH from the battery. My guess, they did not run it as neatly as the OEM did, so it might be easy to spot. Typically all the AC power runs inside the MH, through the cabinets, at the floor level and not inside the walls. Generally speaking the AC wiring is accessible, via a hidden panel or two.

With all that said, knowing people tend to be cheap and lazy, so this is a totally wild guess, I would look under the dinette, and see if they placed it there, or outside under the MH under the dinette, where they had more space, but exposed to the elements.

Good luck with your mission! Let us know what you find.

Added thought; some of these inverters can have a remote on/off switch. By change do you ever seen a switch in your MH that you have no clue what it is for? If not, might look around the base of the dinette, maybe placed on there, out of sight, and got bumped. Again just a wild thought

Your wild thoughts are very helpful. I hadn’t considered the less obvious places outside the coach.
It’s definitely not under the bed (where the electrical control center is) nor under the dinette benches...but I hadn’t gone “down under” yet.

Thanks again...

[Cavie]

Look in the outside compartments Hanging on the ceiling.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Added thought; some of these inverters can have a remote on/off switch. By change do you ever seen a switch in your MH that you have no clue what it is for? If not, might look around the base of the dinette, maybe placed on there, out of sight, and got bumped. Again just a wild thought

That's a good point too. The inverter I installed has a remote, small toggle switch to turn it on. So, it's possible that there is one in his rig that got turned off by accident.

Also, like I mentioned above, slide under the rig and follow the positive cables to see where they go. One goes to your converter, a second one might go to your engine relay and alternator. There could be another positive cable running to one of the compartments, that one could feed the inverter.

[RetiredOne]

Another item to look for, but you have no idea how the inverter was installed, is to look for a inline fuse or circuit breaker on the positive line to it. If this blew, your inverter wouldn't work.

On a correct install, there should be a large (like 100 - 300 amp) inline fuse or circuit breaker in the 12 volt power feed line. It could be right at the battery, where it would be easy to reach, or right at the inverter location, if it exists.

[Cavie]

when you find the inverter it my have a GFI reset on it.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Cavie

when you find the inverter it my have a GFI reset on it.

[emoji1305]

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

Another item to look for, but you have no idea how the inverter was installed, is to look for a inline fuse or circuit breaker on the positive line to it. If this blew, your inverter wouldn't work.

On a correct install, there should be a large (like 100 - 300 amp) inline fuse or circuit breaker in the 12 volt power feed line. It could be right at the battery, where it would be easy to reach, or right at the inverter location, if it exists.

Thanks! Very helpful [emoji1303]

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Cavie

Look in the outside compartments Hanging on the ceiling.

Thanks...done...nope. Appreciate the suggestion

[Grumpy]

Where is your breaker/fuse panel? If at the bottom of a closet if there is a drawer close pull it and look there. I know on several of the Greyhawks you had to pull the floor out of the closet to get to the inverter and transfer switch. It was only held in with staples.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Where is your breaker/fuse panel? If at the bottom of a closet if there is a drawer close pull it and look there. I know on several of the Greyhawks you had to pull the floor out of the closet to get to the inverter and transfer switch. It was only held in with staples.

Grumpy...it’s under the foot of the bed. That’s where Jayco said they’d put it IF they installed one but they didn’t (sent me the production drwgs showing one wasn’t installed). Still searching for where it may have been hidden

[JimD]

Consider tracing the 120 volt side of things. There are tools available that you connect to a power line, say at the outlet, and then trace the line back to the circuit breaker panel with the other part of the tool. Maybe you could trace the wiring and see where it connects to the inverter.

I used one of these tools a long time ago to trace a line. I do not know how well it may work in this case so I will leave it to qualified electricians to comment on whether it would work or not. The idea just sort of popped in my head.

[RPR]

Was the previous owners name on the title when you purchased it?