System overload?

[mtnclmb]

Yes, Sprinter 2016 144 4x4 high roof built in Austin picked up in May. Fitz - you helped me with the table. So it has the toggle for the main 12volt switch. And we did replace the 150amp fuse today. Previously there was an issue with the fuse on our drive back from TX so we bought an extra just in case. I could only get them at the dealer. The fuse that was replaced did not test as bad and did not fix the problem today. My husband read all the manuals and tried most what he could do.
It is interesting that the battery is not accessible. We think it is under the inverter hidden behind a wall. I looked under the vehicle and did not see it.
The soft reset was pushing a button on the inverter to turn it off and on.
One other thing we tried later on was plugging the van to 110 shore power. The inverter panel lit up and said fault and that it was dead battery charging. The solar charging panel indicated the battery was charged.
There is an RV service place in this town that we will go to tomorrow. I'll also be calling Austin to see if they can advise the RV guys. Thanks for all of your advice. This is indeed a learning process that has been very frustrating.

[Flux]

Blown Charging Relay?? Kind of sounds like it to me, or the relay is shut down because it is sensing zero volts from your house battery.

Without knowing what SMB is doing on their electrical system exactly, I would venture a guess that your relay is shot or there is a bigger fuse/breaker right at your house battery that is blown or needs resetting.

If you have continuity tester, do you have a voltage tester??

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by mtnclmb

Yes, Sprinter 2016 144 4x4 high roof built in Austin picked up in May.
It is interesting that the battery is not accessible. We think it is under the inverter hidden behind a wall. I looked under the vehicle and did not see it.

Standard 4D AGM battery or lithium? If 4D, it is most likely located in a box mounted under the van on the driver’s side, just back from the driver’s seat. The battery is not accessible without dropping the entire assembly, something that requires a shop with tools. If you look under here you should see the large diameter cable that runs from the battery to the back of the van, I would stick the probe of the multi-meter through the insulation to verify if there is power here before dropping the battery. Assuming there is, follow the wire back to see where it daylights, most likely next to the inverter.

Because it’s an Austin build I would pull the main power switch out to see if a wire had come loose where attached to the back of the switch, then I would do the same with the relay that is connected to this same switch. (I carry a spare relay because this is such a critical component.). These two items control the 12 volt power coming from the house battery and I am suspicious that the relay has failed.

[Fitz]

Nancy,

Additional thoughts and pictures sent to you via your e-mail. I showed you where the power supply wire from the battery surfaces in the back of the van, how it terminates at the inverter, and what I believe is most important, how it runs to the relay and from there how it runs from the relay to supply power to the 12 volt side of the panel.

My bet is still on the relay being bad, good luck and let us know!

[mtnclmb]

Standard battery, not lithium. I found it under the vehicle behind the driver's seat. Awesome support here!

[Scalf77]

I don't have a Sprinter, so I am not totally up on your layout. I assume that because this was the morning that you had sunlight and solar was active. I expect that could indicate that the ACR was closed ( I am not sure if Sportsmobile is wiring the switch, or still trying to save money). If you have a switch look to see it is blinking.

It is possible that the the "teapot" and starting the van(assuming the ACR was closed) caused the ACR to go into low voltage lockout.

It sound like your inverter-charger believes the battery is very low, or not connected to the house battery. (Like the fuse is blown) Since the inverter-charger should have a large Class-T fuse, I would not expect that it has blown. It appears that Fitz explanation of a faulty relay could be the issue.
Again if the house battery voltage is low, than the relay might not have enough power to keep it on.

Fitz, if you could send me a picture or documentation on this relay I would appreciate it.

While difficult, you relay need to check the voltage of the battery at the battery.

On I side note , I don't know how one could change out a circuit breaker with a relay. For safety sake they should have left the breaker (or fuse) in circuit, so I might still keep looking for that.

good luck

-greg

[tlg]

Our build was done in Indiana. Similar to what Fitz describes above, a 12V kill switch was placed under the bench seat and next to the fuse panel. Its been accidentally switched to the "off" position a few times. Result is zero power to 12V users. Worth checking this or reseting the switch if you haven't already.

[mtnclmb]

There were no RV service shops that would even look at our van in Durango or Aztec NM. We have an appointment at 1 today in Albuquerque. In talking to Paul at Sportsmobile Austin I found out what probably overloaded the system. I had switched on the 110amp water heater breaker. Oops! He reminded me that is only used when you are plugged in. Will update later.

[mtnclmb]

We found a great shop with knowledgeable technicians. The platform bed needed to be disassembled to access the 300 amp fuse, but that was the culprit. It is an expensive fuse at around $160.
In the future they suggested replacing the fuse with a 300 amp breaker and placing it closer to the battery. By code it is supposed to be within 18 inches of the battery. Ours is on the other side of the van near the back. We'll have it changed when we get back. I'm wondering why a breaker wasn't installed in the first place.

[Scalf77]

Sounds like the class t fuse for the inverter. I assume you have the Maganum Energy 2000 Inverter/Charger. That would be the recommended size for most installations.

Sportsmobile generally does not Fuse or Circuit Breaker the house battery ( or at least they haven't. I would not remove the Class T Fuse you have, but would recommend that you install another fuse or breaker close to the battery.

I have Class T Fuses in both locations, it is typically hard to find a circuit breaker that large with the proper protection requirements.

It is very difficult to blow that class t fuse. I am surprised that the inverter did not shut down before blowing that fuse. Also typically, I would say that the other 12 volt circuits should have been hooked to the other side of the fuse and thus had voltage. (The worse case inverter load would be 267 Amps)/

It can be common to use the Fuse Holder Terminal as busbar, so I would say that Sportsmobile wired your rig on the wrong side of the Class T Fuse.

[IMG][/IMG]

I would have expected that having the water heater and the tea pot would have at the most overloaded the inverter, causing a fault but not blowing the fuse. If wired on the wrong side any other 12 volt load would have been going through that fuse, also it possible that is why starting the van also had a effect.

Obviously just a theory, but when you go to have another fuse or circuit breaker installed you might want to have that checked out

-greg