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Originally Posted by nemo45
Did you check the 25amp breaker on the inverter itself.
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That seems to be o.k. Talked to a tech from Xantrex and he had me check a few things and his conclusion was that the charger/inverter seems to be operating correctly (I'm not convinced). With shore power disconnected, the panel reads that the batteries are at 14v and fully charged. With the inverter on, the microwave and TV operate. But steps barely move, and house lights are dim. He suggested I get an electrician to see what may be drawing power.
However, that still doesn't make sense to me (and my very limited knowledge of the subject). If plugged into shore power, and the house batteries are charging, how can it draw more power than is being brought in.
If I liken it to water, how can a dripping faucet consume more water than can come in from the supply hose?
Also, with the generator running, 110v is fine but 12v power seems low and I must start engine to get generator to turn over.
Another curiosity...when I start the engine, I have full 12 power. The house lights, steps, etc. all come on. If I let it run a while, I seem to have stored some power. When the motor is off, I seem to be using power but not storing any.
Am I wrong assuming the house lights work off the house batteries?
It seems to me that I am running on two separate systems. Shore power gets me TV, microwave and plugs. The house lights, fridge and A/C will run until the batteries give out. (Fridge and A/C need 12v to operate their thermostats. Fridge won't even run on gas without 12v to operate the thermostat.) Then I must run the engine to charge the batteries.
UPDATE!
I called the Xantex tech line back again and told him about the 12v systems coming alive when the engine was running.
His conclusion was that it was
"obvious that the 12v systems run off the chassis batteries and not the house batteries".
I don't think that's correct...if there isn't enough power to run the steps and some lights, there certainly wouldn't be enough power to start the engine! Am I right????