Inverter

[rkillmon]

I have a 1 year old 10K Onan generator and have an issue that I have many look at.
On shore power the inverter charges the batteries perfectly.
But on Generator power the inverter starts and stops over and over again. Never charging the batteries. Onan said generator is fine and the inverter company (MasterVolt) says the same. One expert said he has dealt with RVs for over 30 years and said inverters don”t like generator power.

What say you?
 

[sstgermain]

Have you had the generator checked for voltage output and frequency. Check voltage input at inverter/converter. How old is the converter/inverter. Never heard of inverters not liking generator power as long as it is putting out properly.

[kaypsmith]

You may want to have someone (electronic shop) use an oscilloscope on the power output of the generator to determine if it is producing a good clean 120 volts on both legs and measure the sine wave for 60 cycles. Also look for grounding issues with the generator, the generator is supposed to be isolated from any chassis parts on the RV, if someone has strapped a ground wire from the generator to the chassis, that must be removed. Just a few things to look for. Sounds like the generator has been replaced in the RV and improper wiring can cause issues.

[f430040]

If you are running the generator, the inverter is not used. An inverter takes 12-volts DC and converts it to 120 volts AC. When the generator kicks in, the inverter is taken out of the circuit.

[richard5933]

27 minutes ago, f430040 said:

If you are running the generator, the inverter is not used. An inverter takes 12-volts DC and converts it to 120 volts AC. When the generator kicks in, the inverter is taken out of the circuit.

I'm guessing that the inverter here is an inverter/charger and not just an inverter.

Have you confirmed that the transfer switch is working properly and that both hot legs are making it out of the generator? With proper voltage? Not uncommon for a connection in a transfer switch to get loose over time, and when this happens there will be a voltage drop. My thinking is that the output leg from the generator which feeds the charging circuit in the inverter is got a bad connection, likely in the transfer switch, and it's causing the inverter/charger to throw an error. When there is a low-voltage error it will shut down the charging, and perhaps try again if the connection momentarily gets better.

If you're not comfortable working with 120v ac power, have someone who is open the transfer switch and confirm that ALL the connections are clean, tight, and show no signs of burning or overheating.