Parallax rts?

[bukib]

i bought a primo 1993 ly moho last october.
as good as it was, i wanted it to be perfect since i am rv ocd.
i sent it a to world class restorer. when i picked it up he had replaced a component called a parallax rts thinghy.
1. what is it?
2. what does it do?
3. he said some of the diodes were melted.
4. how wud i have ever known anything was wrong with it?
5. will my life somehow be better now?

i have huge confidence in this man. so i do NOT that feel that have been taken advantage of in any way. he is in saudi arabia right now working on some of one the prince's stuff. so i felt it appropriate to ask for you guys help.

[bukib]

btw...this rts thing was a fraction of the cost of what was done. its not about the money. i just need to know what it is. i just hope to god it has nothing to do with flushing the toilet.

[TG Twinkie]

The Parallax unit is a Converter. It converts the 120 volt AC current to 12 volt DC current and charges the house battery(s). The converter also provides the power for the 12 volt DC lighting, the furnace blower and other devices in the motor home, when you are connected to shore power.

[bukib]

now i really feel stupid. i have been aware of the converter system since i first read the manual. but i never heard it called a rts. he said it had something to with avoiding a cross charge effect when running the gen and shore power at the same time. he alluded to something about it being able to prevent a fatal shock to utility lineman down the road. the moho is now perfect. is he perhaps far too sophisticated for a newbie like me?

[TG Twinkie]

Don't feel that way. While Parallax makes a Converter. The letters RTS and the further details you provided makes it sound more like a Transfer Switch Device. Isolating any interaction between the shore power and generator. Don't know why it has diodes in it unless it is a combination converter and transfer switch.
Someone that is familiar with this device should chime in here.

[bukib]

i think you're on to something twinker. i remember him saying something about the transfer device deal before he left. which brings me back to the original question...why wud i need it. if it had not been replaced wud i have ever known? excuse my naivete but i have never been down this road before. all i need to know is with 51,000 miles on a cummins 230 can i make it alberquerque with all new tires and every fluid in it, including my grandsons pee in the toilet, changed.

[68 Overlander]

I think he mean't ATS, not RTS. The Automatic Transfer Switch is a relay that connects or switches between shore power or generator power to avoid multiple AC input sources. You can hear it click when you start your generator after about 30 seconds. If you are connected to shore power and start the genset, it will switch your AC source to the generator as priority. If you disconnect or stop the genset, the relay will instantly transfer the load to prevent any interuption. Hope this helps.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Don't know why it has diodes in it unless it is a combination converter and transfer switch.

Diodes are used to rectify the AC current, i.e. turn it into DC.

There is also a capacitor in many 12V converters that is (I believe) used as a smoothing device. Capacitors are something that wear out with time, so hopefully the repair guy replaced that, too.

Of course, the usual disclaimers apply: I am not an electronic engineer or technician, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[TG Twinkie]

RTS could stand for Remote Transfer Switch. If you never used the generator you may have never known there was a problem.
Now if the Converter fails you will probably realize it because you would not have the normal 12 volt DC power or be able to keep the battery charged.

[68 Overlander]

I'm pretty sure you are still refering to the Parallax ATS. Parallax was not in business selling transfer relays in 1993 so i'm confident this was installed later than that. They used to be Magnetek. Most likely its the 5070 model that is obsolete but could be the ATS 501 if it was done recently.
Their website is www.parallaxpower.com if you want to research it.

[TG Twinkie]

Do you know what it looks like? Is it anything like this? Did he give you the old unit?

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

......................
Don't know why it has diodes in it unless it is a combination converter and transfer switch.

Attached is a schematic of one of Parallax's Automatic transfer switches.

Apparently the relay has a DC coil. There are 4 diodes that are in a bridge circuit to convert the AC to DC to energize the relay.


Ken

[TG Twinkie]

In looking at the drawing that w7ts provided. The ATS is an automatic transfer switch. When you start the generator the RY2 Thermo relay will energize when the output voltage reaches a certain point. When RY2 picks up and closes the circuit that the full wave bridge (Diodes) is in; RY1 picks up and transfers the power source from shore power to the generator. There is a surge supressor in the circuit that could have failed and a surge of power could have damaged one or more of the diodes in the bridge, rendering it inoperable.

[Wabbiteer]

If the OP is seeing "RTS" & has a part looking like a dangley phone-line thingy there is "Remote Temperature Sensor" to keep from undercharging the battery when they are cold. And - it does not have to be from the brand he owns now - may have an unknown history?

Parallax has a specialty line of quite a few of them beside what they use in their converters. Its difficult to get accurate readings at a remote location so they have a chip w/ resistor embedded in plastic, there are slim chances it could've melted..

[bukib]

jeez...the brilliance of this website never fails to amaze me. he gave me the one he removed. and gave me the box and manuals of the one he installed and they are exactly what you showed. i was simply concerned that i may have bought something i did not need. did he overkill my renovation by going this deep into the inner sanctum? what can i expect now to happen...or better yet not happen. im thinking this guy is good. am i right?

[TG Twinkie]

Sounds like you have an honest guy that knows what he's doing. The ATS will be invisible when you switch between the generator and shore power and visa versa.