Mariner Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Ok, finally bright sunshine. Unplugged from shore power, turned on inverter, and immediately got a DC overload message on my Magnum Energy monitor. I should also mention I have 3 Lifeline AGM's(fully charged), and a Magnum 2800w PSW. Output charge current is 10.8, Solar Power current is 7.6. Now what? Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemsteadc Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 What does your Magnum manual say about 'DC overload'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Not much just that it will shut down when it recognizes an overload. I was just told by a guy that my batteries might be over charged. Could that do it? He also said I should shut down my Solar anytime I'm hooked to shore power. I thought it automatically sensed where power was coming from. Anyway the inverter is always shut off on the Magnum Energy monitor when hooked to a pedestal. I'm in way over my head. Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjstough Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I dont see any reason to shut down your solar when you are plugged into shore power, and I dont see how your batteries could be over charged. 2005 Winnebago Voyage 38J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemsteadc Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 This is going to be difficult unless I know what exactly a DC overload means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I'm toast. Since I can't even speak the language, how am I going to get this fixed. If indeed it is screwed up somewhere. Although I'm scared to death to do it, the Myrtle Beach Camping World said they could send out a guy to check it out. I've NEVER had a good result when dealing with CW. Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjstough Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I found this link on the net. Maybe it will help: http://forums.woodalls.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/24560295/print/true.cfm 2005 Winnebago Voyage 38J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Overcharged batteries... wrong. Shut off solar controller when on shore power... not necessary. DC overload... now that might be a problem. There could be a couple of things going on there and one you're 'really' not going to like. Let's hope it's not "that". First off... press and hold the power button on your Mag to reset it. If the DC overload doesn't clear then next you'll want to check your batteries charge level. If they are low you will get a DC overload error because there is insufficient DC current to inverter to AC. (Let's hope that's what it is..) If not, check each of your AGM's individually to ensure you don't have a bad cell. Kill the breakers in your sub panel and reset your Mag once more. You may have an offending circuit. So... if it's not a software glitch.. which you cleared... it's not a low SOC (state of charge) issue... all of your AGM's are in the green and you have no offending AC circuit... you're not gonna like it. LOL A persistent DC overload error will likely indicate a hardware issue with your Mag's control board... which will probably run you around $500+ to have it replaced. If you've ruled out all of the above then it's time to get on the horn with Magnums tech support to do a final diagnosis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Aaaarrrgghhh!!!! I'm gonna sleep on it and decide if I want to let CW look at it or not. Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjstough Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Aaaarrrgghhh!!!! I'm gonna sleep on it and decide if I want to let CW look at it or not. Take it there, and you will probably end up with a new inverter, new solar controller, and new batteries, regardless of what the problem is. 2005 Winnebago Voyage 38J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Take it there, and you will probably end up with a new inverter, new solar controller, and new batteries, regardless of what the problem is. X2. I can't think of anything on my rig I would let CW touch. Magnum tech support is outstanding. Hopefully it's just a software glitch and a reset will get ya going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 X2. I can't think of anything on my rig I would let CW touch. Magnum tech support is outstanding. Hopefully it's just a software glitch and a reset will get ya going. I'm going to call Magnum this morning. Hopefully they'll be patient with a solar dummy. Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 I talked with Magnum and they told me to hold in the on switch for 15sec. to reset it. It didn't work. They said it's probably one of the boards, as if I know what that means. Which of course sounds to me like....MONEY!!! Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 I talked with Magnum and they told me to hold in the on switch for 15sec. to reset it. It didn't work. They said it's probably one of the boards, as if I know what that means. Which of course sounds to me like....MONEY!!! Keep in mind that their scope of focus is limited to diagnosing and troubleshooting 'only' their own hardware. I wouldn't count out a bad cell in your battery bank or a VAC circuit or connection issue. Have your batteries load tested to rule out a bad cell. Kill all the breakers and check VAC line connections leading out of your inverter to your panel or simply disconnect your VAC output cables leading out of the inverter for testing purposes. Only after testing those possibilities would I send in my Mag for service since the cost of replacing a bad cell or tracking down a bad connection are a drop in the bucket compared to a new board... probably in the $500-$600 range... not to mention you won't have an inverter or charger on-board for awhile. Depending on how your rig was wired, it might be possible for you to get by on your old converter in the interim (if repair becomes necessary). Here's hopin' for a bad battery, eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemsteadc Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 They said it's probably one of the boards, as if I know what that means. Circuit boards. Circuit= a grouping of chips and wires and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 If you get right down to it, there are actually two boards that "could" create this problem. The FET board, where the overheat problem occurs, and the control board itself. Unfortunately.. the FET board is the spendy one (around $350ish) and the control board isn't quite as bad (around $175ish), but can be affected by a bad FET board and is very difficult (aka costly) to diagnose, so it's generally best to replace both boards at the same time. That also will prevent any compatibility issues in the event there have been any hardware/software changes on the boards since your Maggy was built. Just general info for others that might run across this issue and have any questions about the multiple boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarvan Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Can he send in the boards to have them bench checked? Previously a 2017 Forest River, Berkshire 38A, "The Dragonship". https://dragonship.blog/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Can he send in the boards to have them bench checked? Good question. I dunno if Sensata/Magnum is set up for that or not. Just a guess, but I would think a "used" board would just be recycled. I can't imagine it would be very cost effective to pay a real person to repair a used board when the machines can just spit out a fully tested new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gell Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 One novice to another... If it were me, I would also make sure all the connections are tight. I did not see that mentioned above. It won't hurt and may help. CW has a terrible reputation. We have found that it's really hard to find good service even when we used facilities with decent reputations. It would be a last resort for me to try CW. After throwing money away and being dis-satisfied with outcomes trying to let "experts" fix issues I didn't know how to fix, or my wife didn't think I knew how to fix, I am rethinking this. It may be best for me to learn how to fix more stuff myself, even when its out of my comfort zone. I don't know how handy you are. I feel I am handy, but I have some real issues with learning, especially by reading. I can read Jack's great writeups numerous times and forget what I learn in the begining of a section before I get to the end. But if I work at it, and keep re-reading, eventually I figure it out. As you can see above in this thread, there are knowledgeable people on this forum willing to help. Jim 2001 Volvo 770, Detroit 60 Series, Gen 2 Autoshift Passenger assist elevator to enter cab - for when we need it, or sell it? '05 Travel Supreme Select 40 RLQSO 5th wheel 2016 smart car We started full timing on December 1st 2014 Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness - Mark Twain Not all that wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 OK, here's the latest on my Magnum journey. Magnum told me to push in & hold the on/off switch for 20sec so it would reset. So I unhooked from shore power, held in the reset like they said, but to no avail. Now here's where it gets weird. Hooked back up to shore power.....no power. Waited awhile because my surge protector will sometimes take a little time to let juice to flow. Well after a few min. the surge protector was telling me power was OK. I started sweating bullets. So what I did was try everything I could to get power into the coach. I eventually went back to the inverter and held the reset button in for over a minute. It mas making clunking noises, and then finally one loud clunk. Voila power restored. Now what's the deal with that???? Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Voila power restored. Now what's the deal with that???? Your Mag's transfer switch attempting to "clunk" over and then finally "clunking" over from inverter power to shore allowing "pass-through" current to your coach. Errrr.. yeah.. No, it really shouldn't be doing that. LOL Let me ask.. when you connect/disconnect from shore power do you make sure all loads and the inverter are off during the transition? It doesn't HAVE to be off, but if you have heavy loads on it's pretty rough on ANY transfer switch to be "clunking" (or let's call it switching) over mid load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveh Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 What yarome said.....including having loads off when you switch.......I would let Magnum know this piece of info because it may help them with determining whther a board is actually the problem. Dave and Lana Hasper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Had no loads to speak of when I hooked back up to shore power. I immediately got back to Magnum, their suggestion was to take it to a Magnum repair facility. The closest one is 160 miles from where we are. Other than that they didn't have much to say. So now I'll be getting hold of my extended service contract provider to see what they'll do. I'm just going to try and get a new inverter. I just thought of something else. If I was to remove the inverter to send to be repaired, wouldn't that stop the batteries from being charged? And since my interior lights are 12V I could drain my batteries. Right? Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 While a new inverter via the service contract may be what you end up with, the debugging advice above is spot on for those also experiencing a similar issue. I'm sorry about your problem. But my advice is to not even CONSIDER taking it to Camping World. Because you will likely end up with a huge bill as one of the responders noted. You would be better off using an experienced mobile tech. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 I hear you Jack. CW has only seen our coach once 5 1/2yrs. ago when we were still wet behind the ears, but never since. I've heard of a good mobile tech here in Myrtle Beach and will be calling him after my call to our extended service provider. Thanks everyone for the advice. I had another thought, as mentioned above could I just request new boards and have a tech install them? What else could the problem be but the boards? All 3 AGM's are fully charged, and check out fine. Fulltiming since 2010 2000 Dutch Star 2009 Saturn Vue Myrtle Beach, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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