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Topic: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure (Read 1875 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #25 –
Bill, I don’t know any repair shops in your neck of the woods but I believe fellow forum member Mike Coachman is just north of Tampa. He’s pretty knowledgeable in electrical stuff and may be able to advise you, or refer you to a good shop.  He can be contacted through the forum.  He’s helped me out a few times.

Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #26 –
Oh, great. He used red wire for the negative lead from the batteries to the inverter, with a tiny "neg" scribbled on it. And looking at your original photo, the opening in the cabinet that was made for this panel is so crude that the mounting screws on the right aren't even gripping the wood. (Not to mention that the pieces of what is apparently supposed to be trim around the opening don't even meet up.) Electrically and physically, this is the worst installation I can ever remember seeing.

My advice: Don't use that inverter. Try running the air conditioner while monitoring that transfer switch to see whether it starts to heat up. If it does, don't use the air conditioner either.

Cancel your appointment.

Send your photos to the installer's boss and point out the potentially lethal fire hazard, bad wiring, bad terminals, and bad carpentry.

Then find somebody local (hopefully our members can help) who can look at your rig and check everything that installer did, from top to bottom, and redo as necessary.

Finally, send the bill to "Our Van Quest" and demand that they reimburse you for the cost of repairing the appallingly unsafe job they did. Point out that if your rig had burned down, they'd be getting a MUCH bigger bill!
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #27 –
Since it appears the A/C power supply runs through the inverter, it needs to be rewired so this isn’t an option, or it needs to be upgraded so this issue doesn’t happen again. This needs to be done before you leave on your trip; you will need the A/C during the summer.

The inverter’s breaker needs to be mounted in a metal box for protection against fire. If this were in a house, it would be a code violation. Until this happens, and the wiring is repaired, I would not use the inverter under any condition..

A wiring diagram would be helpful, I have no idea why the breaker has so many wires going to it
A small inverter that plugs into a 12-volt outlet could be used for the Starlink.
As Greg said,  Mike Coachman is a good source of advice and may be able to suggest a reliable shop.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #28 –
FWIW - I had zero success running a Starlink Mini from a 150W PSW inverted powered from the TV/accessory 12V source or the 12V socket next to the table in my 2015 TK.  I then tested the inverter by powering it directly from the starting battery in another vehicle and the Starlink was fine.

It's possible that LD used larger conductors on these circuits in older models with incandescent lighting, but I'd be surprised if it works with your 2019.

Steve
2015 TK
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #29 –
Bill,
I haven't been online much lately and just got caught up in your serious issues. You need to see a competent RV repair business when you return home to Florida. Even though I haven't needed a repair service where I live north of Tampa I did check what is available around Sarasota that is well rated. Here is what I found:

RV Electrical Repairs | Rudy's RV Repair | Sarasota & Bradenton, FL

RV Repair Sarasota | Campbell RV

Try Rudy's first as Campbells is a vehicle dealership and may prioritize repairs to what they sell. Only a guess. They do have good ratings.
Let's hope your summer travels go without any more electrical issues.
Mike C

2010 RB "Monty"  &  2021 RB "Villa Verde"
2004 Born Free 26'
1998 Beaver Patriot 33'
1992 Barth Breakaway 28'
1982 Fleetwood Jamboree 23'
1982 Dolphin/Toyota 22'
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #30 –
It's discouraging that Our Van Quest's website has a bunch of glowing customer reviews, yet they did such a terrible job. How is one to tell whom to trust? Maybe this job was done by a newly hired tech, but that's no excuse.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #31 –
I cancelled the appointment with the original installer and made an appointment with a high end place in Bradenton, FL. I need to get this fixed before we leave on June 2nd and they had time available on May 20th. The labor rate is (gasp !) $299 per hour. I jokingly said to John, the service manager, that at this point, it sounds like a good deal to me. When I meet him in person, I'm going to ask him how quickly some people hang up the phone when he mentions that number.

I'll ask the repair technician for a very detailed list of the problems that he found and report it back here.

This is the place:  Luxury Motor Coaches and RV Dealership: The Motorcoach Store - The Motorcoach...

Bill

2019 MB and 2010 Honda Fit
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #32 –

I have a similar unit, though 1000 watt Renogy in my VW bus.  It does not have the AC line out like the 2000 does and I plug items directly into it which is not an option in your case or harder to do.  These are very affordable and work well but are designed more for systems that only have battery power.

 I am trying to figure out how they connected this by the pix provided.   I would think that the DC switch to turn it on and the blue Sea AC breaker which appears to be this, not sure amperage.....  second picture looks like the back of yours.....

Blue Sea Fuse

would both need to be off when plugged into shore power assuming you have a generator and that transfer switch is for gen.  If you have no gen and the Inverter takes the place of the generator and they installed the transfer switch for your system, then that make more sense.  But if you have shore power, generator and an inverter coexisting, and gen or shore supplying power and if AC and DC switches are on for the inverter system, then you get sparks.   Did they tell you specific scenarios of switch positions to use for the invertor?  There really should be no room for error.  Maybe others can determine but is that pix of the Go Power Transfer Switch that LD uses for Gen or was this installed by the inverter people and you potentially have 2 Transfer Switches?

Everyone has their certain need or preference.  I tend to go with the inverter (Pure sine) with AC passthrough and multistage charging (including now Lithium).  If you don't pull the RV AC plugs out into a sub panel then the A/C and refer (everything)  will run off the invertor if you have it on.   Requires you to pay close attention and a battery monitor would tell you pretty quickly.   Typically I run a subpanel for the plugs and make the outlet for the refer go direct to the AC fuse panel in converter box on its own breaker.  This all assumes 2 way AC/propane refer.

Here is what I have..  never installed in my truck camper, now ready for the LD.
Xantrex  Invertor

Please let us know how it goes and by the way, the transfer switch version of the 2000 Renogy is about $350.  Yours appears to be the non transfer switch version by looks plus only 1 set of AC lines going to it.

Ramon


As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
2000 Mid-Bath
2012 Lance 830 Truck Camper/2006 Cummins Dodge Ram Megacab
1985 Multi Plan - Donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #34 –
Thought i was replying to the issue about the burnt wires from an inverter install,  continuing the conversation.  I'm confused.  www responding about a 2019 LD problem. Not a 2004 converter power failure.
2000 Mid-Bath
2012 Lance 830 Truck Camper/2006 Cummins Dodge Ram Megacab
1985 Multi Plan - Donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #35 –
Quote from: mrfixit454  - 
Thought i was replying to the issue about the burnt wires from an inverter install,  continuing the conversation.  I'm confused.  www responding about a 2019 LD problem. Not a 2004 converter power failure.

Sorry - I missed that during the split.  Fixed it.
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #36 –
Thank you Michelle  :D
2000 Mid-Bath
2012 Lance 830 Truck Camper/2006 Cummins Dodge Ram Megacab
1985 Multi Plan - Donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #37 –
The problems were fixed and we were able to leave Florida on June 2nd as planned.

I misspoke when I said the breaker with the melted wires was for the inverter. The repair technician said it was for the 30 amp shore power. Here is a summary of the problems the Motorcoach Store in Bradenton, Florida found and corrected.

    All connections at the 2 pole 30 amp breaker were loose. Replaced the breaker.
    Installed 250 amp fuse near battery for feeding power to the inverter. Lack of fuse is a fire hazard.
    Rewired 12 volt converter to circuit breaker in panel.
    Numerous poor connections were redone.
    Found a broken negative battery clamp and replaced it.
    Cleaned up wiring under the sink.

The cost for these repairs was approximately $2200 and a lot of it was diagnostic time, which I understand. I haven't contacted the original installer yet with this number. I'll let you know what his reaction is.

I can't say enough about the level of professionalism at the Motorcoach Store. It was pricey, but in the long run, quality costs less and now we can sleep in our LD with the AC on and not worry about melting wires.

Thanks again to everyone who commented on my post.

Bill

2019 MB and 2010 Honda Fit
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #38 –
Thank you for reporting back on the final outcome!
2013 27’ Mid-Bath
2005 Honda CR-V
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #39 –
Bill, I'm very glad that you were able to get all those problems fixed. It's rather horrifying what the original installer did. I'm sorry that you had to spend money on that original bad installation! But how could you know, given the glowing customer reviews on their website? Grrr...
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #40 –
Bill,  Thanks for the update.  was thinking about this last week.    Glad you got it all sorted out.  That's quite a bill.  Hope you get some reimbursement.

Ramon
2000 Mid-Bath
2012 Lance 830 Truck Camper/2006 Cummins Dodge Ram Megacab
1985 Multi Plan - Donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #41 –
Good news. I emailed the invoice for $2,133.25 to the original installer two days ago. I didn't ask for or demand reimbursement because I wanted to find out if he had integrity, which he did. Today he did an electronic funds transfer for the entire amount to my account.

I still feel that I should write an honest and factual review so other people can avoid the same issues, but I don't want to be vindictive and try to destroy his business. I'll have to think about the wording for a while.

Bill

2019 MB and 2010 Honda Fit
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #42 –
Quote from: Bill M  - 
Good news. I emailed the invoice for $2,133.25 to the original installer two days ago. I didn't ask for or demand reimbursement because I wanted to find out if he had integrity, which he did. Today he did an electronic funds transfer for the entire amount to my account.

I still feel that I should write an honest and factual review so other people can avoid the same issues, but I don't want to be vindictive and try to destroy his business. I'll have to think about the wording for a while.

Bill


My thoughts after reading all this is that they probably do a good job on what they normally do and shouldn't have ventured into adding on to a complex system like the Lazy Daze has.
Steve and Jill, Steve posting
1999 26.5 Mid-Bath
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #43 –
Quote from: StevenJill  - 
My thoughts after reading all this is that they probably do a good job on what they normally do and shouldn't have ventured into adding on to a complex system like the Lazy Daze has.

I respectfully disagree.  As a van/skoolie builder, they most certainly should know how to properly install RV electrical systems - that's a fundamental part of an upfitter build-out.  The things they did wrong and unsafely on this install are appalling. 
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #44 –
I agree with Michelle. The things they did would not be acceptable practice on any electrical system – van, skoolie, or class C. And the Lazy Daze's electrical system is not that complex compared to a van or skoolie conversion.

I give them credit for the full refund. If I had to speculate, perhaps the job was done by a newly hired technician, who turned out to be a doofus, and the refund came from the owner, who was horrified to see what the tech had done. With luck, that technician has been fired. In any case, I'm very glad that you didn't lose money; just time and hassle.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
 
Re: 2019 Mid-Bath Power Center Failure
Reply #45 –
Quote from: Andy Baird  - 
And the Lazy Daze's electrical system is not that complex compared to a van or skoolie conversion.

Agree 100% - the LD system is fairly routine, especially compared to what some are trying to do with these conversions and off-the-grid setups that so many are including.  Lack of a fuse from the battery to the inverter is basic RV 101.

I would suspect it was the company trying to avoid a lawsuit.

As far as writing a review, I'd consider stating what the job was supposed to be, that the resulting work unfortunately showed it was outside their capability and then had to be completely redone by another RV service shop, but that the company issued 100% compensation for cost to correct their work upon being presented with the photos of the original work and receipt showing the cost of to have it redone properly.  Just stick to the facts as they pertain to this job. 

I will offer that I visited their website after seeing this resolution, and I'm sorry, but the "as see on" links just smack of influencer gorp.  The reviews displayed on their website are just over-the-top, especially this one: "so passionate, so open, so authentic".