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Inverter issue?

rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
edited March 2021 in Battery/Electrical & Solar
All outlets work on shore power but on battery, we only have power to the 12 volt and USB combo outlet under the dinette. The inverter is on, panel in cubby is lit but there are no 120v outlets anywhere including the bedroom cubby that work on battery power via inverter. Is there a fuse after the inverter that I need to check? 
2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    There is probably only 1 outlet wired to the inverter.  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    I can't find one powered 120v outlet when the inverter is running. The combo 12v/usb under the dinette is working whether the inverter on or off. 
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    Sorry - my bad.  The inverter only runs a 120v outlet.  Hmmm.  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    @rhyno - another thread reported a 150 amp fuse for the inverter.  But, the inverter powered outlet should only work when the inverter switch is on.  It does not make sense that it is operable on shorepower.  I thought the outlet was only wired to the inverter.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    The inverter has in internal switch which appears to work fine. It just can't send power via battery only
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • berggerbergger Moderator Posts: 1,078
    On the 2021 400 the only outlet powered by the inverter is the one in bedroom cubby right by the inverter switch.  It should work when you have the inverter powered on.  The cubby outlet, usb outlets, will not work on battery alone either.  Inverter has to be on even for those to work.  The combo outlet under the dinette is always powered by the battery, no inverter needed.   Can you hear the inverter running when turned on and does it have lite on when you hit the button, green lite?
    2021 T@b 400 BD  "Vixen Gail" 
    2018 Nissan Titan Pro 4X "Big Bird"
    Leadville Colorado
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    @bergger the inverter light is green on battery power and amber on shore power. The inverter clicks once when turned on or off but there is no fan other noises coming from it. All outlets work on shore power with inverter on or off which makes me suspect the inverter is bad. I pulled the inverter and got the voltmeter out - shore power reads 120v so it is passing voltage through but when switched to battery, I read no volts from the inverter at all. There is a push-button 15 amp breaker on the inverter that is not popped. Dealer is going to call Creed on Monday but he thinks the inverter is bad too. 
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited March 2021
    @rhyno, Did you check the big cartridge fuses on the Inverter to battery connection cable?  If it is blown, than the inverter will not provide power from the battery.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    @Denny16 I found a large 150 Amp blade fuse between the inverter and the distribution block intact. There were two 30 Amp fused tied into the 40 amp resettable breaker and those look good as well. The converter isn't involved in the path from the inverter is it? All fuses and breakers there are good as well. Is there anywhere else inline to check? 
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Correct rhyno, the WACO is not wired into the DC side of the inverter, it is directly connected to the battery, via the distribution box.  Try metering the fuse on the inverter side just to be sure 12VDC is passing through fuse.  If thismis goos, then my guess is the inverter is bad, or there is a fuse inside of it where the battery cables connect?
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    edited March 2021
    One thing I noticed earlier is that even with the battery and shore power both fully disconnected, the inverter's power light remained lit. I had to disable charging on my MPPT via Bluetooth connection to get the inverter to power down. I also had the 40 amp breaker open, battery disconnect flipped and both 30 Amp fuses pulled but still had to manually disable MPPT charging to cut power to the inverter. Is that normal? 
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Doesn’t sound right rhyno.  When I switch off our inverter, the lights go out.  The orange light on the AC side, might indicate a fault.  You could contact AIMS directly and ask their tech support.
    cheers

    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    After talking with AIMS support, we determined we had a dud. I RMA'd it today and hope to have a replacement sometime next week.
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    @rhynomglad you got it sorted.  Good luck with the replacement.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    edited April 2021
    I received my RMA replacement inverter today from AIMS and it seemed a tad bit larger when I opened the box. It turns out they sent me a 2000 watt inverter model PWRIX200012SUL to replace my 1200 watt PWRIX120012SUL. I went ahead and installed it since we have a trip coming up but this thing is a beast that I never plan on using to full capacity with what we would normally plug into the cubby's AC outlet.
    Since I never had a working 1200 watt inverter, I do not have a frame of reference to compare with the new 2000 watt model, but it pulls ~1.9 amps and ~25 watts at idle according to the BMV-712. Is this comparable to the 1200 watt model's power consumption?  Should I contact AIMS after our trip to arrange an exchange for the original spec model or keep this more expensive, beefier replacement?
    I'm interested to hear others' thoughts who have more experience using inverters. If I do keep it, I will upgrade the power cables from 4AWG to 2AWG per the manual's recommendations before our trip. All other specs seem to be the same beyond the dimensions, output power capacity/amperage and weight.
    :


    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    Can’t you just turn it off in between uses to eliminate the phantom drain?  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,961
    The inverter drain issue came up last early 2020 when owners reported dead batteries.  Battery switches were off....but the inverter was left on.  Since the inverters were wired directly to the battery, the constant drain of the inverter dropped batteries pretty quickly. The inverters were variously reported to be using 1.2v and more if they were not turned off.  So...turning off the inverter should be part of your "shutdown" checklist.  There have been other threads about how the inverters are wired: directly to the battery, etc.
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • rhynorhyno Member Posts: 393
    edited April 2021
    If the 1200 pulls 1.2 amps at idle and the 2000 pulls 1.9, maybe the .7 amp diff at idle translates to a similar diff under load when powering the same devices with each model? I would assume so...
    I do not plan to have the inverter on at all of if we are not using it,  but if the 2000 model uses more power in general compared to the 1200 model when running under the same loads, I may just swap it back for another 1200. 
    2021 T@B 400 BD, 2021 Lexus GX 460, Kansas City MO
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Rhyno, I have a good, lightly used AIMS 1200 Inverter (used less than one hour) in my TaB400, I was looking at upgrading to a 2000.  I am willing to swap out with you, if you like.  PM me for details.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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