Transfer switch gone

[DennisT]

Well, three years of full timing yielded a bad ATS.

Happened the day after Thanksgiving at 4 in the morning. Luckily our friends, in the site next to us that also have a Superstar, had the keys while we were gone.

The shore breaker started chattering so loudly that it woke him up.

Got in touch with the park repair guy we trust and he bypassed it till we got back Saturday morning.

North Trail had one in stock so, after driving for 22 hours and a short nap, drove another 3 hours to pick it up. Had the RV guy install since I was a little tired.

Reached out to the manufacturer and they do not rebuild them so $1200 paperweight as a spare. Generator side breaker is still good though.

Bottom line - when away, if possible, have a friend or neighbor with keys to handle issues if they arise. Glad our friends were available and heard the noise.

 

[Neal]

Sorry to hear this but I suspect something caused this and it sounds like a bad pedestal. Can you explain what protection you use between your ATS and the pedestal?

I'm a bit over protected but nothing wrong with that I suppose. I use a Progressive SSP-50XL plugged into the pedestal which gives me a visual with lights if the pedestal is wired correctly and is first line of defense.

Then the cord reel feeds into my Hughes Autoformer.

My Hughes Autoformer flows into a Progressive EMS-50.

The Progressive EMS-50 then wires into the ATS.

Nothing is going to take out my ATS unless it's an ATS failure itself. I also want to prevent my cord reel from getting taken out as has happened to some in electrical storms hence the pedestal first level defense.

Campground grids are crap and we are taking very expensive fragile electrical rigs into high risk power sources. Protect your rig!

 

[Holdmybeer]

Mine overheated and melted the terminals while at a campground in S. Texas. I bypassed it and carried on with the trip, only the generator wasn't an option until the switch was replaced or I reconfigured the bypass. I assume there must have been a loose connection in the switch itself. The Progressive EMS at the pedestal never blinked.

 

[DennisT]

I have a Watchdog EMS Wi-Fi model on the pedestal before anything goes into the coach. Our ATS also has an EMS board.

No errors on the watchdog. Bad ATS shore power side breaker. Believe the solenoid that holds the breaker closed went out causing the chattering.

Interesting note that at least 2 other Newmars in the park, 22 model year, have also had theirs fail.

Would be nice if Newmar used one that we could rebuild if needed.

 

[Neal]

Bummer! Thanks for the follow up info. Love RVing when all works, not so sure when we get challenges

 

[redbaron]

You can rebuild those. I have the spare parts to replace it.

The bad news is it requires removing both of the contractors.

I purchased the parts from US Breaker in Greensboro GA.

Here is the parts list and pricing.