50 amp Shore Power shows 30 amp on EMS

UFO Pilot · 02-26-2011, 10:42 PM

This morning my 50 amp shore power suddenly went to 30 amp on the EMS panel. I have checked all of the breakers and measured the power thru the transfer switch at 240 volts. Any ideas on what to check or what the problem might be?

mfire1339 · 02-26-2011, 11:36 PM

Wayne, Are you saying you really have 50amp working at breakers but readout only says 30?

Mike

Bug512 · 02-27-2011, 05:44 AM

Did you unplug from shore power and then plug back in?

I know on ours when plugged into 50 amps the amp display goes blank, reading the manual this is because it is disabled when plugged onto 50 Amp service.

Let us know..

lpasekof · 02-27-2011, 06:10 AM

I've had this issue several times. In each case one of the breakers on the campground connection wasn't properly set. Not tripped, but maybe dirty. Resetting the breaker several times has always cleared the problem. If not, contact the campground. They should have someone come look at it.

Agree with the previous post. If you're getting 50amp shore power, your display should be blank. On mine, the little lights showing which circuts are active are all green, but no amperage readout.

NoMoreAZ · 02-27-2011, 07:00 AM

If, in fact, you have 120 VAC on each leg and all AC plugs are hot, water heater works on electric, etc., then you need a new pc (control) board for your Intellitec Powerline EMS. Other folks have had the same problem (me included).

jackrobinryan · 02-27-2011, 07:16 AM

Assuming your house batteries are well charged, one simple test can eliminate the converter as a possible culprit....

If your converter is located under the lowest drawer under the stove, remove the drawer and unplug the 110VAC converter plug from it's power recepticle.

Check the EMS display, if it has returned to "normal", (ie 12vdc is from the batteries only) the converter's DC output may be suspect. If the EMS still exibits the problem, look elsewhere.

More than several of us have had converter problems that looked like EMS circuit board problems, when in fact the board problem were caused by it.

good luck and keep us posted.

dengraham · 02-27-2011, 07:04 PM

You should "start over" by disconnecting from the post and disconnecting the 12 volt by turning off the 12 volt switch. Then turn on the 12 volt switch (which will reset the EMS panel); test the post and reconnect to the post. Let us know if this worked.

UFO Pilot · 02-27-2011, 07:10 PM

I checked all of the breakers, disconnected and reconnected, and I tried 2 other 50 amp outlets. I have a Magnum 2000 inverter that was installed about 1 year ago. I believe it may be the EMS itself but don't know how to test it myself.

UFO Pilot · 02-27-2011, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dengraham

You should "start over" by disconnecting from the post and disconnecting the 12 volt by turning off the 12 volt switch. Then turn on the 12 volt switch (which will reset the EMS panel); test the post and reconnect to the post. Let us know if this worked.

Do you mean the house battery disconnect switch?

UFO Pilot · 02-27-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfire1339

Wayne, Are you saying you really have 50amp working at breakers but readout only says 30?

Mike

I tested thru the transfer switch (240 in and out) but not thru the main breaker in the RV.

Keith K · 02-27-2011, 07:56 PM

This has happened to me and has been addressed on other posts; in my case, the circuit board for the EMS is at fault. The EMS always shows 30A no matter what I'm on. It's not a problem, everything still runs as normal because I'm really on 50A, the only irritant is that the EMS shows faulty Amp draw - with both A/C and the dryer on, it may only register 8 amps, on other occasions, the use of an electric heater, dryer, and anything else may register 35 amps, and it shuts down the water heater, refer, etc. I've found that if this happens, I can turn off an appliance and it will drop back to a few amps. A minor irritant, not worth the trouble to me to get fixed. It's only been two years now.....

dengraham · 02-27-2011, 09:02 PM

Wayne,
Yes, I mean the house disconnect switch. It is the only way to reset the EMS. Just disconnect from the post first to disconnect from the 120 volts, then turn off the house disconnect swith. Then turn it back on.
If you still have a problem; it still may be at the post. I have been at campgrounds were the 50 amp are just two 120 volts coming from one wire at the circuit box. Even though you have two 120 lines coming into the motor home it will not recognize it as 50 amp because you only have a single phase coming from the breaker box. (When I use my "cheater" cable if the two lines coming into the motor home are on the same phase (single) the EMS will still show only 30 amps.)
Another way to reset the EMS board is to take out the 7 amp fuse in the breaker panel but it is not easy to do.
If you can't get it to work; call Intellitec in Florida. Their support area helped me when I had no lights at all and that's when I realized the EMS needed to be "re-set."
Good luck.

dengraham · 02-27-2011, 09:07 PM

Wayne,
By the way, the campground called it a "modified" 50 amp because they really only had a single 30 amp wire which they "jumped" to both sides of the 50 amp plug. They argued that I was still getting two 120 lines coming into the motor home but I simply explained a 50 amp should have two separate lines with 120 volts on both lines. Each line needs their own 50 amp breaker. I hope I have not totally confused you.

UFO Pilot · 02-27-2011, 09:13 PM

I am back at home now and plugged in to my own 50 amp service and still have the same problem. I will try the reset procedure tomorrow morning. If that doesn't fix the problem I will call Intellitec.

movin-on · 02-28-2011, 06:46 AM

Sometimes unplugging the phone/lan cable from the inverter to the EMS panel for a minute or so resets the panel...Worth a try...

UFO Pilot · 02-28-2011, 11:10 PM

I tried all of the suggestions here with no success. I have a mobile repairman coming tomorrow, I will post what he finds.

I called Intellitec this morning, they no longer offer tech support to owners, only to repairmen. They said it was due to safety concerns.

Drifter · 03-01-2011, 12:25 AM

Wayne, Try taking the Breaker panel cover off and make sure all the common connections are tight (white wires) make sure to disconnect from power source first.

UFO Pilot · 03-01-2011, 09:01 PM

Looks like it is the circuit board in the inverter and not covered by warranty. New board is on the way and the RV Tech will come back and install in next week.

The inverter was wired to feed the entire RV by running the 50 amp feed thru the inverter but that is a problem because the inverter is only rated at 30 amps. The Tech is going to have to do some circuit rewiring to keep it from happening again.

movin-on · 03-02-2011, 06:11 AM

Hard to beleive that the high amp draw items (ac...elec water heater...etc) run thru the inverter but I guess you learn something every day...You should have a sub panel of inverter circuit breakers that will tell you what the inverter powers when it is on....You can get a Winnie wiring diagram online if you don't have it already to verify what is happening and before anyone rewires anything...

UFO Pilot · 03-02-2011, 10:50 AM

The inverter was installed last year in Quartzsite. The Tech is going to put a sub panel in and wire it the way it should have been done when it was installed.