Surge Guard ATS Problem

[chrisc]

Fleetwood 2018 Diesel. 50 AMP Service. When setting up I check  power source/pedestal w good meter then plug in Progressive EMS Surge for “extra” protection (I know, some say not needed). EMS surge checks power, shows good & cycles on. Built in Surge Guard 40350 RVC model Automatic Transfer Switch won’t trip.  

Wait 10-15 mins go through plug-in cycle again & now have power.  Power stays “up” for an extended time & suddenly drops out.  Has nothing to do with load, happens at various times regardless of what is drawing power.  Coach is 18 months old and has done this since new but it seemed it only happened at State Parks, never in an “upscale”  RV neighborhood.  At least that was what the Surge Guard helpline folks suggested.

 I’m beginning to think it might be either the board in the ATS.  Anyone else experience this?   Had it back to the dealer before 1st yr warranty period expired but they couldn’t duplicate but they only have 30AMP service.

Perplexing but good news yesterday power stayed up for 24 hours while we sat out a cold/rainy Saturday!  And yes the generator works fine.

[kaypsmith]

Have you gone through the ATS and retightened all the terminals? This causes more phantom problems like you described than one can imagine. Be sure all power coming into the coach including the generator and inverter are off before doing this procedure. Many times I have actually removed the wires one at a time and added no-lox to the terminals for extra security.

Welcome to the forum!

[chrisc]

Yes, did a retorque following the sequence.  What is confusing is when the shore power drops out the ATS flashes (1of the two tiny LED’s on the cover), which indicates a problem, if I recycle everything the ATS clears & then I  start the generator for a while & the shut down the gen the ATS works as designed, switching on shore power in 30 seconds. How long it stays on shore w/o flaking out is unknown/random.

[wolfe10]

chrisc,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

If this issue occurs only on shore power, check all connections and cord ends between male shore power end and ATS or surge protector.

Look for signs of overheating in the plug ends or other signs of a poor connection.

[chrisc]

Did that inside the ATS box but I’ve been wondering if the cable right at the male connector has been strained at too much of an angle & there’s a problem under the cable sheathing...

[manholt]

Welcome.

I would start at the post & work my way back to the ATS...as Brett suggested.  Progressive is very good, use it myself, but I have had a bad one.  Look at the 50A box, any dirt, spider web or obstruction on female side.  Male of 50A cord, any discoloration or loose prongs on either end.  Then make the same inspection on female at coach end.  Another thought is that, where male fits into female on coach, it can be difficult to make a tight connection, if yours is where mine is, easy off but very hard to line up for re connection & to screw on the lock ring, without cross threading!

Would help to know, what model Fleetwood you have...mine is an American Coach Tradition by Fleetwood.

[bob4108]

As I have had the same problem with my 2018 Holiday Rambler I spent quite a lot of time, my back round includes electrical substation maint, my problem narrowed down to the FIREFLY system. On different occasions the firefly would sense low voltage coming from pedestal. I also had an aux surge protector at pedestal, my thought 2 is better than one and that one read proper voltage. Also used a good multi meter to confirm. Read voltage at protector both high side and low side, voltage good. Problem when voltage was a bit low at campground, around 110V the firefly was a bit out of calibration so it would sense lower than 107 and cause the contactor to open. After a few long conversations with firefly and surge guard we were able to determine that this was indeed the cause. So I recalibrated the firefly and haven't had a problem since.

 

[wildebill308]

Welcome to the forum.

Bill