bags Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 I know this is off topic but you guys are some of the smartest most broad experienced guys I know. I turned on my inverter today, just running off the batteries and solar left the house and when I came back in I could smell a faint smoke smell. The smell seems to be originating from the wall where my AC breaker box is, my battery monitoring and slide switches are located. Nothing is turned on except for the frig and various parasitic draws. Everything works. We have not used the rig or the inverter for a year. I am wondering if lint or mouse nest/dander is on some wires. I opened the wall and had less smell in there than outside of it. My inverter is located outside the rig in my generator compartment so it is well vented.We had been on shore power for 3 days with no issues. All help is appreciated. JB Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Just a thought, Jack had helped me re-wire my transfer switch a number of years ago on the Teton when it had shorted out! The switch was behind the partition sliders and the smoke smell was pretty strong in the rig. Find your transfer switch, open it up and see if you have any thing blackened in there. Good Luck. Quote Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags Posted November 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Good idea. Thanks Rock Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Checking the transfer switch is a good idea. Another thought is checking to see what is warm or maybe even hot. Switches are another area that can overheat if the contacts get dirty or corroded as can any wire connections. Quote Randy 2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags Posted November 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Transfer switch looks good. Tightened all the lugs Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 1 minute ago, bags said: Transfer switch looks good. Tightened all the lugs I was told by the city electrician who came out to check out the blown breaker in the RV park, that we should check out and tighten the lugs every year! Keep searching! Quote Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertMiner Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Might be a good time to continue your lug checking... inverter , batteries, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkoenig24 Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 You mention critters building a nest. That does happen. Inspecting inside the inverter case / box, did you see anything resembling debris a critter would drag in? Is there a transfer switch / box in your set up? Eventually, connections loosen which can cause erratic behavior. It's VERY important for all connections to be PROPERLY tightened. Torque requirements are often quite modest (in the range of 25 INCH pounds or so). It's VERY easy to over torque the connections and, when over torqued, the connection is irreparably damaged (according to RV Electricity maven Mike Sokol) and, that box / panel will need to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags Posted November 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 23 minutes ago, Randyretired said: Checking the transfer switch is a good idea. Another thought is checking to see what is warm or maybe even hot. Switches are another area that can overheat if the contacts get dirty or corroded as can any wire connections. Thanks Randy. I appreciate your input. I am just wondering why I did not have a problem on shore power. As far as I know the inverter mimics shore power. I am still in a park with shore power and did not move the rig. I just put in new batteries and was testing out my boon docking abalities. I just unplugged and turned on the inverter. My xantrex says I am pulling between 10 to occasionally 25 amps. Am I wrong about the MSW inverter? I have no hot or warm spots. I have a real good nose and just catch riffs of smell. Smells more like wood than wire smell. Thanks JB Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Are you sure you only have 1 transfer switch? I had a front and rear power cord plugin, plus the generator. Both my transfer switches were side by side. Quote Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags Posted November 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 Thanks guys, I think I found it. My nose told me to pull a switch cover and when I did I saw a spark. We had the backsplash replaced a couple of years ago and the tile guy put the switch back in with the connections touching the foil insulation. I pushed the foil back pressed the little CS clip back into place and no more sparks and hopefully smell. As we all know smoke smell in an RV gets your attention in a hurry. Stay safe JB Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags Posted November 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 28 minutes ago, HERO Maker said: Are you sure you only have 1 transfer switch? I had a front and rear power cord plugin, plus the generator. Both my transfer switches were side by side. As far as I can tell only 1, but I only have one plug in. Thanks JB Quote John and Michal Bagley 1999 Volvo 610 the 'Millennium Falcon', 400 hp ISM, Autoshift Gen 2, single axel w/steel bed, Pressure Pro, VMSPC, Trailer Saver Air Hitch, 3 bags, 38 foot Royals International, and our 3 dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted November 14, 2020 Report Share Posted November 14, 2020 (edited) That is fantastic JB! I was getting worried for you and was about to encourage you to follow all your hots wires to junction boxes, switches, and outlets. As they say, always start working backwards from the last thing that was done! You must be living right!!! Edited November 14, 2020 by HERO Maker Quote Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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