Dimensions 2000 Watt inverter, no battery charging, need help ASAP!

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

CWHTRAINS,
Roger that Sir, will do. It looks to be pretty straight forward. The hard part is, I've got "studs" sticking out of the side wall where the Dimensions was mounted. Well, the distance between the studs is quite different than the Magnum mounting points. So, I'm thinking of just flush cutting the studs and, putting in some "Nutserts". But, in doing it that way, one would have to heave up that several pound unit and then try and start threading bolts, all the while crammbed into that compartment. Not going to be fun.

But, once it's mounted, the wiring will be easy.
Scott

Scott, I like you. You have all of your ducks in a row. Keeping the batteries up as you are was good thinking ahead. And you have a great understanding of what is truly going on.

The nutserts should work fine, and with some goop on the outside the tire slinging should be stopped. The install is more a safety problem than anything else. That little sucker is heavy!(grunt)

You did get a good deal with the Magnum. True, it is not a sine wave unit but if you don't have any equipment that needs clean power you should be fine.

Just a heads up. If you have never installed a inverter just be aware of the big spark when you hook the leads back to the battery. If the fuse is easy to reach this is probably a good place to disconnect the battery string. When you are ready to put it back in jumper the terminals momentarily with some 12 AWG or so wire. This will help charge the inverter capacitors. Then quickly insert the fuse. It might still spark but not as bad.

If you can't get to the fuse readily disconnect the ground from the battery string first and connect it last. I hope you already know this.

When I do the reconnect I use my emergency jumper cables. I clip one lead to a negative terminal on the string and the other to the inverter lead away from the string. Just a safety precaution with the spark location. Then I can hook up the inverter and release the clip safely with little spark. This all sound complicated but only takes a very short time to do.

In all, it will be more physical work than mental.

We all look forward to the rest of the story.

Rick

[jerichorick]

PS Scott. Looks like my 5AM post missed some of yours. Sorry about that.

I installed a Xantrax inverter in my last rig. I built a frame for out of 1/4" 'L' stock, and braised it up. The stand worked better than the inverter. I guess what I am trying to say is that you don't have to wall mount the unit.

Just another thought. If I understand you correctly the hanger area is reinforced. Could you drill and tap?

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
Well, it wasn't too much of a battle, the Magnum has now replaced the Dimensions and, as it appears, it's working as it should. I'm now getting my house batteries charged, while it's parked at home, YAHOOOOOO!

The Magnum did not come with a remote so, in a conversation with the gent who sold it to us, he told me that the "Expensive one", about $180.00 plus or minus, was not needed. He convinced me to purchase the cheaper one, about $55.00. Man, that is definitely a cheap-o version. The Dimensions remote, and the Magnum higher end remote, are both like, light years above this cheap-o remote. But, you get what you pay for. One day I'll realize that.

Anyways, it seems to be working as it's supposed to. That's a good thing. As for the mounting, well you can see in the pics, that I "made" my own channel support brackets. I could not use the ones that were on the back side of the wall panel that were for the Dimensions unit because they were not spread apart correctly enough. So, I made my own. I used 1/8" wall square tubing and, basically slit one of the sides off it to make "channel" out of it. Then, I carefully laid out the bolt pattern on each one and drilled them. I then installed the bolts and welded them in place.

I also made a cardboard template of the footprint of the Magnum. I then put the template on the wall that the Magnum was to be mounted, the same wall the Dimensions was on. I transferred the holes and then, drilled the holes. Now, all I had to do was, push the bolts that were welded to the channel through those holes, from the back side. I did that for the top and bottom set of mounting bolts. I put some nuts on them, to hold them in place and, then I set the Magnum on them.

Amazing to me, it actually fit on all 8 bolts, without forcing anything. Usually I have to break out a big hammer for things like to fit. So, I removed the Magnum and, then simply drilled a small hole, through the wall and the channel I made. I counter sunk the holes for flat head screws. I did that same operation on both channels. Now, I just inserted a small, flat head, 10-24 x 1/2" screw through the holes. I put a nut on the back side and tightened things up. Now, those channels are permanently held in place.

So, I re-mounted the Magnum, used Nylox 1/4-20 Stainless steel nuts. Done. Now, for the wiring. That was pretty straight forward. A/C in, A/C out. Done. I had to purchase two, 1/0 gauge lugs for the ends of the battery cables. I crimped those on the ends of the large, 1/0 gauge cables and, installed them on to the inverter/charger. Now, for the two pain in the a$$ little cable/wires left over. One is the Battery Temp sensor and, the other one is the remote wire.

The battery temp sensor was not too bad but, the remote, that's a whole 'nother story. I tried using the wire that was there for the Dimensions unit but, something's not right. The wire the Dimensions used was an "8-pin" RJ45 connector. The Magnum unit, as you can see in the pictures, uses RG11, 4-pin connectors. Well, in reality, you can plug the two into adapters and, it should have worked. But, something's wrong, every time I plug into the 8-pin wire, I blow an internal circuit breaker in the Magnum.

It takes a minute or so and, it resets. So, for now, the remote is mounted at the foot of the bed. Good enough for now. At least it will work for the up coming camp trip at our local swap meet for antique cars and parts. Anyways, take a look at the "before" and "finished" pics. See what you think.
Scott

[CWHTRAINS]

Thanks for the follow on the install. Looks nice.

[dengraham]

Great job Scott. Thanks for the photos. Enjoy your much better inverter!!

[Mr Miyagi]

Congrats on the successful install Scott!

That is some clean fabrication and replacement, great photos too.

I just can't imagine how this project started out sounding simple enough, then make a sharp left turn and snowball into major remove and replace exorcise! Was it just coincidence?

We just wanna go glamping with you guys!
See you soon.

[jerichorick]

Scott! Looks like a good, clean instillation. I hope the inverter gives you many years of faithful service. Your MOP is well detailed. Thanks for taking the time to show us the steps in words and pictures.

Search the web for the upgraded controller. You may find one at a fair price. Also chech out one of these type places: Used RV Parts And Accessories | Visone RV Monaco Parts Dealer | rvparts.visonerv.com
ww.jakesrvsalvage.com

You might call Magnum and ask if they have any reconditioned.

Time for coffee with DW. Have a great day.

Rick

[SCVJeff]

I wish I had seen this earlier. Too bad you're so far south cuz:
I have a fully operational Dimensions in the garage
Done several 2012's in that space. It'd be like old home week

You mentioned 1/0? Where is that going?

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
I certainly want to thank all of you for your nice comments. They're all very much appreciated. You know guys, we've had four different motorhomes and, this one by far, is the most expensive one we've ever dreamed of owning. And guess what, I've done more EXTENSIVE work on this coach, then all of the others combined. As many of you have followed my posts on various repairs, replacements and more, you've seen what I've had to do and how DEEP I've had to dive into this bear.

Just about the time I think, "We'll, I've got that done, I should be able to relax and just USE IT now". But, then, here comes another problem. So, I dive into that one and, keep on movin'.

What's amazing about this last endeavor is, it started out with a replacement of the stator in our generator because when the magnet blew apart quite a while ago, it damaged the stator and, there were some broken wires on the outside of the windings. But, the really odd thing was, it still put out 115VAC. The only reason I tore the gen apart again was because our gen, was always operating at a higher RPM than any other 7.5QD we were camped with, with various loads.

So, I contacted an expert and he said, "yep, that's your problem, broken wires in that stator". So, I replaced the stator. Just when I started the gen up with the new stator in it, I noticed no house battery charging. Well, that lead to the story of this thread.

Well, now I've got battery charging and, inverting when I ask for it. But, I made the mistake of purchasing the "el cheapo" remote. And, that remote does NOT TELL ME WHAT STAGE OF BATTERY CHARGING, that my house batteries are receiving. Yes, it does have three LEDs that are designated
1. Bulk
2. Absorb
3. Float

But, none of those light up when we're on shore power or, on generator power. The three LEDS on the left side of the remote are
1. Invert
2. A/C in
3. Fault

The Invert LED does light up when I call for the inverter to invert. The "A/C In" LED also lights up when I've got A/C coming in, be it on shore power or generator power. But, as stated, none of the battery charging status LEDs light up during any phase of battery charging. I've disconnected the cables to the remote several times in an attempt to "re-flash" it but, no change. I've read the book that came with the new remote and, it states that there should be one of those LEDs lit up when the house batteries are being charged. Hmmmmm.

So, at this point, I know I'm getting a charge to the house batteries due to a check at the "One Place" panel. And, the "rapid transfer switch" inside the new Magnum does work quite well when I switch from Generator or shore power to inverter power. So, the inverter and battery charger are working, just not part of the "el-cheapo" remote.

I say cheapo remote because the one I bought was a $58.00 unit and, the one that is shown with many of the ads for the Magnum units is over three times as much in price. Those are right at $188.00. But, those remotes are for adjusting and changing a ton of parameters of operations. I don't need that. All I need is something telling me that I'm in the Bulk, Absorb or, Float mode of charging. So, that's why I purchased the el-cheapo model.

So, at this point, a phone call to Magnum is warranted tomorrow to find out what the issue is. Again, thanks for the nice comments. I appreciated.
Scott

P.S. On edit:
Well gang, the little "el-cheapo" remote just made a liar out of me. At present, the LED for "Float" charge, is lit up and, as it has been doing, the A/C in LED light is lit up too. So, I guess at this time, only the "Bulk, and Absorb" LEDs do not light up when in those phases of charging.
Scott

[SCVJeff]

Scott: Got your PM but the server won't let me respond. I'll call you tomorrow.