huffypuff

Yep, what jleamont said. Very painless.

I talked to Magnum Energy tech support today and they said no way covering the unit even if it's off. They said it would cost $850 to rebuild the old unit and I paid $830 from iMarine for a new one. They said the different between the the ME 2012 and the ME 2012-20b is that the circuits coming out of the unit don't need a subpanel as long 20 amps is not exceeded the two built in breakers. The remote I have is the RC 50 with old software and they recommend an updated remote . They recommended at least the updated RC 50 or the updated ARC 50 if I want auto generator start in the future. I know the coach is wired for auto start so I ordered the ARC 50 for $30 more. I think I just have to order the module for it to work. WOW a big upgrade. Anybody want the old inverter charger? It will make a great boat anchor.

The front inlet vent is mounted between compartment walls and not directed behind the rear wheels. The setup is like this, rear wheels, battery compartment that has opening inboard bottom to let air in then the compartment with the charger inverter. The dirt inside the inverter looks like what you get if you are forced to drive through chip and seal road projects. .

It has to be vented as the inverter charger has two fans in it. There is a vent on the front wall that I put an A/C filter on it and a rear exhaust fan on back wall in case the compartment gets too hot. I wonder if I can throw a towel over it while traveling? I'm going to call Magnum support and ask.

I tether my Sprint phone to my laptop and it worked great. Sprint says I don't need mifi since I have unlimited phone.

Holy dirt batman. Looks like the coach builders shouldn't of put the inverter charger in a compartment behind the rear wheels. I couldn't see what burnt up or smell anything but I think this dirt helped push it over the edge. The charger quick working but the inverter still work. Must be the fet board. Pictures below. Notice where I rub my finger across the circuit board.

Here is the picture of the constant duty solenoid I promise. It serves as both starting boost (by holding a button) and charge by connecting house and chassis batteries together while engine is running. Two set of 12 volt wiring goes into this setup, one from the boost switch and one from the alternator. Below picture shows the solenoid. The large cable connectors got cut off by the box above it. The rust and corrosion due being in a wet compartment area and is hard on that solenoid. I had to replace it once for that reason. One thing to note, if the chassis battery is very low it will take away voltage from the solenoid so it won't kick on. Below is a simplified wiring diagram showing charging without battery boost button.

I will take a picture of the solenoid and trace the purple wire tomorrow.

Do you have your owner manual? If so see if the instruction is in there and ignore other instruction.

I do have a couple of fans running that is in the bathroom is automatic and in the galley on low. I also have a couple of windows cracked open to let the air flow in. Otherwise in warm sunny weather it will get to be over a 100 F inside. The inverter charge has a couple of built in fans in it. The coach was built with a vent on the front wall of the compartment and a automatic fan on the back wall. The inverter charger monitors two internal and batteries temperature in a separate compartment. I didn't upgrade to a true sine wave unit because very rarely I use the inverter and only did so once or twice when the generator wasn't working. The microwave worked fine on the inverter then so not worried. I otherwise start the generator when using the microwave.

I got the replacement inverter charger yesterday and install it last night. It went to bulk charging and was like that when I went to bed. This morning it was on float charging and tonight batteries are fully charged and charger is on standby. I have a couple of fans running all the time for the hot weather. These are the 120 volt in and out connection. No big deal to pull these out and install in the new one. This is the old inverter, soon I will remove the cover a see where it let the smoke out. This is the new inverter installed. Still need a couple of minor touches and surrounding area cleanup. This is the reading from the remote tonight stating fully charged battery and charger is resting, charge light is blinking as if on standby.

My previous issue turned out that I already renew with the expired credit card and it went thru. 😲 Now the expired card is deleted and signed up for five years. When it becomes time to renew the new card will be expired. Good planning.

On the last page there is a continuous duty solenoid and I mention to him to check power and ground to it to engage that solenoid. It could be getting 12 volts from the alternator while engine is running. The inverter/charger job is to charge the house batteries while on shore power or running the generator. He needs to check why the solenoid is not switching on before searching for a part that might not be on his coach. It should be in the battery compartment and you only need a test light to check it.

I'm sorry but the relay I'm talking about is actually a solenoid properly near the batteries. Check why that is not working.

Find the relay and check 12 volt power and ground to i with engine running. If you have 12 volts and good ground, then bad relay. If not race the wire to its source.

The switch box on mine is in the overhead cabinet with the dvd player and surround sound system front of the driver seat. .

On my HR that is outside tv signal and must be selected correct at the switch box. On the other side is the telephone, cable input and remote satellite hook up.

That inverter has two 120 volt input and two output. It supplies inverted 120 power to certain receptacle like TV, microwave and some outlets. If the microwave didn't work from the inverter the entire leg would be out. Please look on page 23 of this manual. If wired single leg in and out then the microwave would be separate depending on fuse panel. https://www.magnum-dimensions.com/sites/default/files/MagArchive/64-0002-rev.-2-9-03-ME-Series.pdf

Sounds like it's about ready to let the smoke out. You need to find the loose connection before it does.

Hindsight is always 20 20 and quite a few people must of been under there and saw it but thought nothing about it in the last 45 years. I know many places had service my coach and never noticed the positive cable rubbing the back wall when the battery tray is shoved in. Yes I put a piece of heater hose around that cable. I prevented one problem but as luck is for me will have another problem will pop up without leaving my driveway.

Are you on shore power? Does it do the same running the generator?

The intellitec load management may shut a few items down if it sense less than 50 amp input power. I seen it in action when running a/c and running microwave plugged into 30 amps. It uses relays in the main 120 volt circuit box.

Your bus is a 1974 and 45 years old so I think it's out of warranty and the factory would consider it normal wear and tear for two items that happens to touch. Sorry to hear about your breakdown. I came close to same with a sudden fuel leak about 5 year ago. The high pressure line on engine was recalled and not performed.

I did and all cells came up and reinstalled them and had 13.2 volts all together at 98 percent. Plugged back into shore power and as soon as the charger kicks on, DC overload. The FET has got to be bad and just that cost more the haft the cost of the unit. No sense putting that much funds into a 13 year old unit only to have something else go wrong. I order a replacement unit from iMarine USA. Hopefully it won't take too long to get it.

I just got a call this morning and they claim that all batteries came up to full charge. I will pick them up later today and hook them up and see if the results are the same.