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UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 10:57 AM

On our first major trip in our new 2028 TB 27FB Airstream, the inverter stopped functioning.

When on batteries none of the inverter outlets work and the remote switch to enable and disable the inverter no longer shows a green LED when you toggle it on.

Looking in the manual it states that if an overload condition occurs it will reset itself, I do not think this is what occurred. Also upon direct inspection of the inverter the LED panel display is nothing regardless of any buttons pressed.

We will be taking it back to airstream of Scottsdale soon for our punchlist but was wondering if:

1. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?

2. Assuming it will be replaced, what alternate units have others used or have good experience with?

Thanks in advance!

Adventure.AS · 07-15-2018, 11:41 AM

Do your batteries have a full charge?

uncle_bob · 07-15-2018, 01:01 PM

Hi

Depending a bit on which inverter you have ....

1) There is a giant fuse between the inverter and the battery. If this pops, the inverter stops.

2) There is either a breaker or a fuse on the inverter it's self. If the fuse goes, the inverter outlets die both on inverter and on shore power.

3) There is a breaker on the AC panel that feeds the inverter. If this pops, you will have nothing on the inverter outlets when on shore power. They will work ok on invert.

Best guess is it's either the inverter or the fuse. If it's the fuse, next question would be why it blew. They are a darn expensive fuse to replace and not super easy to find.

Lots of fun !!

Bob

Subzero-AK · 07-15-2018, 01:09 PM

Do you have solar on your Airstream? I discovered that my inverter will not function when I solar charger raises the voltage above 14.4V. I green LED lights up and I can hear the fan, but the inverter doesn't deliver power to the receptacles. When the charger drops down to float charge at 13.5, then it functions just fine.

Mark

UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

Do your batteries have a full charge?

Yes, batteries show 100.

UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subzero-AK

Do you have solar on your Airstream? I discovered that my inverter will not function when I solar charger raises the voltage above 14.4V. I green LED lights up and I can hear the fan, but the inverter doesn't deliver power to the receptacles. When the charger drops down to float charge at 13.5, then it functions just fine.

Mark

Yes, factory solar. No green LED regardless on remote inverter switch.

UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Depending a bit on which inverter you have ....

1) There is a giant fuse between the inverter and the battery. If this pops, the inverter stops.

2) There is either a breaker or a fuse on the inverter it's self. If the fuse goes, the inverter outlets die both on inverter and on shore power.

3) There is a breaker on the AC panel that feeds the inverter. If this pops, you will have nothing on the inverter outlets when on shore power. They will work ok on invert.

Best guess is it's either the inverter or the fuse. If it's the fuse, next question would be why it blew. They are a darn expensive fuse to replace and not super easy to find.

Lots of fun !!

Bob

Given that the display panel on the inverter no longer displays anything - my guess is bad inverter. Will let AS deal with it under warranty.

I have the stock 1000W inverter.

AC breakers all were fine, nothing there. Even cycled them all just in case.

**wulfraat** · 07-15-2018, 02:53 PM

Are you sure the mechanical switch on the inverter itself is turned on?

UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wulfraat

Are you sure the mechanical switch on the inverter itself is turned on?

Yes - confirmed it is in the on position.

uncle_bob · 07-15-2018, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

Given that the display panel on the inverter no longer displays anything - my guess is bad inverter. Will let AS deal with it under warranty.

I have the stock 1000W inverter.

AC breakers all were fine, nothing there. Even cycled them all just in case.

Hi

A fuse *could* easily be the issue....

Bob

UncleBad · 07-15-2018, 07:55 PM

I was thinking that if it were the large fuse it would do nothing at all? When shore power is active, the green light on the inverter itself does light up. So there is some power reaching it.

The remote LED is inop.

teeter5 · 07-15-2018, 08:08 PM

I’m curious as well from OP for anyone who has replaced or upgraded the stock inverter in newer AS? What have you used Have a 2017 FC 25rb with stock 1k unit.
Just curious if anyone has.

uncle_bob · 07-16-2018, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

I was thinking that if it were the large fuse it would do nothing at all? When shore power is active, the green light on the inverter itself does light up. So there is some power reaching it.

The remote LED is inop.

Hi

The shore power side sort of "does it's own thing". The transfer switch shore power input is very much separate from the 12V side of things.

Bob

uncle_bob · 07-16-2018, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teeter5

I’m curious as well from OP for anyone who has replaced or upgraded the stock inverter in newer AS? What have you used Have a 2017 FC 25rb with stock 1k unit.
Just curious if anyone has.

Hi

A number of us have swapped them out. The Victron Multi 2000 ( = what I used) or the Multi 3000 are common picks. They let you eliminate the converter / charger at the same time.

Bob

AirstreamInc · 07-16-2018, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

On our first major trip in our new 2028 TB 27FB Airstream, the inverter stopped functioning.

When on batteries none of the inverter outlets work and the remote switch to enable and disable the inverter no longer shows a green LED when you toggle it on.

Looking in the manual it states that if an overload condition occurs it will reset itself, I do not think this is what occurred. Also upon direct inspection of the inverter the LED panel display is nothing regardless of any buttons pressed.

We will be taking it back to airstream of Scottsdale soon for our punchlist but was wondering if:

1. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?

2. Assuming it will be replaced, what alternate units have others used or have good experience with?

Thanks in advance!

Hi UncleBad,

Please send us a direct message with your contact information and the last 6 digits of your VIN so we can share it with our Customer Service and Technical Support team.

You can also reach Airstream Customer Service and Technical Support at customer_support@airstream.com

Thank you.

UncleBad · 07-16-2018, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

A number of us have swapped them out. The Victron Multi 2000 ( = what I used) or the Multi 3000 are common picks. They let you eliminate the converter / charger at the same time.

Bob

uncle_bob, not following you on elimination of the converter / charger? Does it combine those functions?

uncle_bob · 07-17-2018, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

uncle_bob, not following you on elimination of the converter / charger? Does it combine those functions?

Hi

Yes, the Victron Multi's are inverter /chargers. They combine both functions in a box that is about the same size as the Victron charger ( think in terms of the AS inverter + charger for comparison). The advantages come when you wire things up. There is less 12V wiring ( inverter wires are charger wires). There also is less 120V wiring ( inverter circuit drives the charger ). Price wise ... not cheap. Much cheaper than a replacement converter that blows a bunch of LED lights when it malfunctions...... ( yes, I'm on my third converter. Stock unit failed due to a mechanical issue. First replacement from a well known source failed, the third one (Victron) seems to be running ok).

Bob

UncleBad · 07-17-2018, 07:32 AM

Airstream gave me a call but I was in the middle of a myriad of conference calls. I am hoping I can just skip a step and replace with a Victron. I know there would be a price difference but would not mind paying it.

I had planned to upgrade to a Victron charge controller as well when I add/upgrade to more solar capacity in the future.

Still learning the systems - if I went with the Victron Multi would I still need the Victron charge controller?

By the way, I have an actual physical Uncle Bob, it’s great to now have a virtual one!

uncle_bob · 07-17-2018, 08:11 AM

Hi

There are a lot of threads here showing what people have done to upgrade their RV's with various bits of Victron gear. Most are focused on solar, but they get into the rest of it. I would suggest spending some quality time running through a few of them.

Simple answer:

The Victron Multi 2000 ( or 3000)

https://shop.pkys.com/Victron-MultiP...hoCQxEQAvD_BwE

Replaces both the inverter and the converter / charger. (Yes, that is a plug for PKYS above, Peter is a good guy). You still will need something to handle the solar (if you have solar or add it). The MPPT solar controllers are Victron's way to get that done.

A "typical" install ( = over the top, ... we're all into gizmos ...) includes something like the BMV 712 to monitor battery charge state. It might also include a central controller like the Venus or the Color panel. I would suggest putting money into lithium batteries before you put in the bells and whistles. The Battle Born's are one option there. These days, there is no reason to go with a lithium setup that does not have a built in BMS.

You can do this as a "little bit at a time" sort of project. In my case, there would have been a lot of ripping out and replacing if I had done it that way. What I wound up with is not at all what I thought I would do back 6 months ago when I first started thinking about all this. I'm still not quite done. I'd like to add at least one more panel to the roof. I'll pay somebody to do that part.

Bob

jsfranchek · 07-17-2018, 12:29 PM

We were at the 4 corners rally in Santa Fe last June when our electrical power went out on our 2016 26U. Our battery level read over charge and we could get no power to anything. Hence PANIC set in. We had taken delivery in February 2018 from Colonial in New Jersey and this was a first "long" trip. In April we had replaced our batteries with new $750.00 sealed batteries. When the power went out I called the local New Mexico Airstream dealer and they were ZERO help. I telephoned a local on-site repair company and they replaced our converter/inverter. The general consensus of opinion was that the original inverter/converter equipment was insufficient for the trailer and should be replaced. The general consensus at the rally of the 25 or so other Airstreamers agreed. We replaced (for several hundreds of dollars) it with a TCRU Series Model 55TCRU. What TCRU means I do not know. In doing the repair, the local repair guy said that there is insuffucient cooling area in the designed space for the unit and so the fan runs all the time. Additional holes were needed to open the area for air circulation. I have not done this and sought help from the mothership. They were so busy they told me that they could not see me until October so that even though I was passing by on my way back to Massachusetts they could not accommodate us. They said that the inverter/converter that was installed the Parallax Power Supply Model 55TCRU was MAYBE not the right unit despite the fact that it was working. I am very disappointed in Airstream, and completely puzzled by the whole (in my view very complicated) electrical system. Any thoughts?