“inverter” outlets stopped running on AC power

[rvt2017]

I have a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk class C motorhome that I bought new. As I’m sure many of you know, certain outlets in the motorhome are able to be powered by the inverter so that you can have power to them when you are not on shore power and not running the generator. When I bought the motorhome, I put a label on each of these outlets that reads “inverter“. That way I could quickly know which ones would be hot when I turn on my inverter. These outlets can also run on AC power from shore power or the genny, and they have always worked fine that way until recently. I just pulled into a camping spot tonight and plugged in AC power through my surge suppressor and the suppressor says that the power is clean. Everything is working fine including my roof heat pump and the microwave and some of the AC outlets. However the outlets labeled “inverter“ are not working! I’ve never seen this before. I normally would never turn on the inverter when I am plugged into shore power, but I decided to try turning it on to see if the “inverter” outlets would go hot, and they did! I don’t understand why all of a sudden these outlets are only hot when the inverter is on. Also, I don’t think it is safe to run the inverter when on AC power. Anyone have any ideas?

[Rustynuts]

Depending on the inverter you have, most have an internal bypass relay that pass AC current straight through the inverter when hooked up to shore power. Our Magnum 2000 watt inverter has to be turned on for the AC power to pass through it. It also depends on the settings that you have in your inverter setup.

[rvt2017]

Thanks for your input. Ours has always passed AC power through even when it is turned off, until now. Anyone have any other ideas of how to troubleshoot this?

[rvt2017]

Some more info about my setup...

The inverter is a Magnum Dimensions CSW-1012 Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It is connected to a Magnum Dimensions CSW-CS15-H Transfer Switch. I wonder if the transfer switch is the problem? I wonder if the transfer switch should be putting out 120 VAC even when the inverter is turned off and maybe it isn’t doing that any more? I have not tested that and I’m not sure if my little multimeter back at home would be able to test it.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by rvt2017

Some more info about my setup...

The inverter is a Magnum Dimensions CSW-1012 Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It is connected to a Magnum Dimensions CSW-CS15-H Transfer Switch. .

Did you rewire it? Personally I have never seen a JAYCO product with a separate transfer switch for the inverter, it is normally built in.

[rvt2017]

No, I did not re-wire it. I have never even opened up the compartment under the bed where all the equipment lives until this problem started. This is exactly the way it came from the factory when I bought it new from the Jayco dealer.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by rvt2017

No, I did not re-wire it. I have never even opened up the compartment under the bed where all the equipment lives until this problem started. This is exactly the way it came from the factory when I bought it new from the Jayco dealer.

That's definitely a new setup/design.

[JimD]

My 2017 Greyhawk's inverter feeds a transfer switch which is most likely where your problem is. I don't know if a separate circuit breaker protects the shore power input to this transfer switch or it protects the output before going to the outlets.

If you have a volt meter you can measure the 120 volt shore power inside the transfer switch (haven't opened it, just assuming). If you have it coming in but not going out, the switch is the problem. These transfer switches are just glorified relays.

My setup is a giant rat's nest of wiring but it appears the transfer switch wiring connects to Romex wiring. You may want to check that connection first before replacing the transfer switch.

[Jab55]

As JimD said you should check the circuit breaker panel first. The wiring came out of the relay and into my circuit breaker panel.... 15 amp breaker. If none of the breakers are tripped then you most likely have a bad relay switch or a bad connection at the relay switch. My 2019 Greyhawk had the Magnum Dimensions CSW-1012 invertor and a separate 30 amp transfer switch. I changed out the inverter for a 2000 watt Xantrex with an internal transfer switch. As a temporary solution you could either remove the transfer switch and connect the AC power wires feeding the transfer switch and the power wires coming out of the switch together....basically bypassing the inverter setup completely.... You probably could also turn on your inverter and then it would be running the outlets from the battery....but not a big deal because your batteries are being charged by the 12 volt converter since your plugged into shore power. This is assuming the relay switch is stuck in the inverter position....and not switching over to the shore power position. I would probably just turn on the inverter for now and troubleshoot/replace the relay switch when you get home....I think the relay switch sells for about $65 dollars on amazon for the identical one.

[rvt2017]

Thanks very much to JimD and Jab55 for your awesome input. It sounds like all three of us are on the same page so I am going to do some testing and I will definitely follow up here in a few days and let you know what I’ve learned. I had already checked the breakers and cycled them and didn’t find any problems there, but it’s certainly possible that a breaker is dead or malfunctioning. I have attached 2 pictures of my set up since JimD was nice enough to a attach a picture himself. Like his, mine has a giant rats nest of tons of wiring. I’m a computer guy and not an electrical guru like JimD, so it may take me a little longer to do my testing, but I’ll definitely let you know guys know what I find.

[rvt2017]

I ran some tests on the transfer switch and it definitely appears to be stuck in the position where it allows power from the inverter but not from the genny/shore sources. When the inverter is off it never lets power through from the genny or shore, but when I turn on the inverter power comes out from the transfer switch to my AC outlets. My problem now is that I have not been able to find the "magnum dimensions CSW-TS15-H 15A AC Transfer Switch" online. Amazon and others have the model CSW-TS15, but I can't find the "-H" and the difference appears to be that mine is wired with the genny/shore input and the load output with a cord that terminates in a Molex connector. The TS15 model I've found online don't have any wires coming out of these 2 ports.

I plan to call my dealer and the transfer switch manufacturer and others tomorrow, but if you have any ideas please let me know. Also, I'd love to know which model Xantrex inverter with the internal transfer switch that Jab55 purchased and if there was any rewiring Jab55 had to do.

Thanks again for your help. I've included a pic of my switch.

[Jab55]

I did have to do some rewiring on my new inverter. The model is Xantrex Freedom X 2000 True Sine Wave Power Inverter - 12vdc - 120vac - 2000w. The original 12 volt wiring in the motorhome was 6 guage or 8 guage. The recommended size for the new inverter was 0-2 or 0-4. That’s 4 or 5 sizes bigger wire needed for new inverterr. I made one of my outside compartments a battery storage and installed 2 really large batteries. I also installed 2 big solar panels. We do 80 percent of our camping without hookups so we need the battery capacity. The bigger inverter allows me to make coffee or use toaster or microwave without starting the generator. The new inverter also has a nice remote panel so the install is really clean.

[rvt2017]

Thank you Jab55!

[rvt2017]

I've finally got a solution. Turns out the CSW-TS15-HM18 is the correct part. Jayco was buying a CSW-TS15-H and adding 2 Molex connectors to it, but Jayco and the switch manufacturer, Sensata, got together and Sensata started making a new part # CSW-TS15-HM18, which has the 2 Molex connectors on it so Jayco didn't have to add them. I bought the part from my local RV dealership and since it had the correct connections it plugged right in and worked. I don't know why the transfer switch failed, but it definitely did fail and was stuck in the default position of connecting the inverter input to the output. I've attached 2 pics of the correct part. Note that the numbers on the pics are not CSW-TS15-HM18, but this part is being sold as a CSW-TS15-HM18.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[norty1]

Good info that hopefully will help someone down the road!