Inverter problem?

[Hula Moon]

We have lost all our electrical power. Even when the shore power is plugged in we get no power to the DC panel and cannot turn on cabin lights or anything else.
Could this be due to a problem with the inverter?
If anyone has experienced this please let us know.
Thanks

 

[tiltrider1]

Inverters supply AC. Your DC power would come from your batteries. Start at your batteries and follow the positive wire. I bet it goest through either a switch or a fuse that has failed.

 

[fgarriso]

Does your house battery have voltage?
Is your inverter an inverter/charger?

 

[High Wire]

Welcome aboard. We need more data.
Is this boat new to you?
Did this just happen or did you visit the boat and find it dead?
Do you know how to use a DVM?
Does your house bank have fuses?
Have you tried switching off and on the battery switch?
No, an inverter would not normally do this to the DC side. The AC side, yes. Now it could cause you to lose battery charging and run the bank down. That’s why we need some data on the status of your batteries by measuring the voltage directly from the terminals.

 

[mvweebles]

Welcome to TF! Quite the first post!

There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, but your description is pretty vague. What size and style of boat, ownership duration, have you lost AC or just DC, maybe a picture of the panel showing possible transfer switch, size of inverter (especially if it's combined with charger), can you tell the voltage of your house bank, etc.

As others have stated, inverter might cause loss of AC, but only way it would affect DC is if it ran the battery down. Larger inverters often have a separate switch (or circuit breaker) to turn on/off charger. Battery may be dead.

Good luck

Peter

 

[Bmarler]

Depending on the type of inverter, dead battery is my first thought. Many won’t pass through ac voltage if there’s no connection to good dc power from the batteries.

 

[OldDan1943]

I'm late coming here so some of this may be repeated.
A. Start at the pedestal. Open the breakers, unplug shore power. Turn on the breakers and measure the voltage. No voltage? Call the dock master. Good voltage, open the breakers, plug in shower power cables.
B. Measure voltage at the boat end of the SP (shore power) cable. No voltage, bad cables or connections
C. With pedestal breakers open, plug SP cables into the boat after closing pedestal breakers, measure voltage at the first breakers inside the boat. Measure voltage into the breaker and the of the breaker (at the panel?). (As you are trouble shooting, cycle the breakers a few times)
No voltage at the panel, open all breakers and tighten all breaker connections. No change? With SP disconnected, brighten all connections at the panel. With SP connected breakers closed, no voltage, call an electrician.
Further question, how is inverter/charger wired into the system. IMO, there should be a breaker to turn inverter/charger on and off. Check the voltage into and out of inverter. No voltage, open the SP breaker, brighten the connections into and out of inverter/charger. Energize the inverter/charger. Measure again. No output, bad inverter/charger?
This is where I choose to stop and wait for answers. I think I got the procedure right.
Be methodical in your trouble shooting. Never be afraid to employ a qualified electrican.
Never work on an energize circuit. 120vt will hurt and you may die especially if you have a pacemaker (?)
I have a separate charger and inverter. It makes things easier to trouble shoot and less expensive, replacing only the defective part.

 

[OldDan1943]

One further point, you did check the position of the main battery switch?

 

[STB]

Inverters are normally directly connected to the batteries via a battery switch and fuse vs going through the DC breaker panel.

So, if both the inverter output and the rest ofnthe dc panel output are null, this points to a fault at the battery, itself, or very close to it, e.g. battery switch, fuse, or bus bar.

Many Inverters start out in invert mode and only switch over to AC power after bootstrapping and verifying the quality of the AC power. So, if the inverter isn't able to come online, AC power might be lost as well.

Not knowing details I always guess the simplest possibilities: Batteey switxh moved or failed, charger failed and batteries died, blown high amp fuse near battery, or lost connection from battery bank to ground or the battery switch.

As folks have said, someone will need to use a volt meter to test to see the voltage at the batteries and then work forward from there.

Happy hunting!

 

[BruceK]

We have lost all our electrical power. Even when the shore power is plugged in we get no power to the DC panel and cannot turn on cabin lights or anything else.
Could this be due to a problem with the inverter?
If anyone has experienced this please let us know.
Thanks

A series of non sequiturs. No OP response. New member with a sense of humor ?

 

[STB]

A series of non sequiturs. No OP response. New member with a sense of humor ?

I like to think the best of things. I'm going to go with a new boater that posted to a bunch of forums and is going to check them in a day or two before heading back to the boat, if the email feed worked or Google turns up the same forums. Or something like that.

 

[boomerang]

There are lots of the normal suggestions to check the battery switch, check the breaker, check the fuse, etc, which are all very valid points of failures and good places to look, but dont forget to check the negative side of the circuit, which is 100% as critical to no voltage. I can't count the number of times I've diagnosed a "no DC" complaint and found an open negative to be the culprit.

 

[tiltrider1]

OP probably found the Battery switch in the off position. Turned it on and has no reason to return to the forum.

 

[OldDan1943]

Inverters are one of many life’s mysteries. It says, “No user serviceable parts inside.” I have learned, through experience, if I take it apart it wont work when I put the cover back on.
All I know for sure is, “….push the little valve down, the music goes round and round and it comes out here.”
Works for me.

 

[boomerang]

OP probably found the Battery switch in the off position. Turned it on and has no reason to return to the forum.

It's the same thing with my local fishing fleet. Often times I'll get a text at all hours of the day or night -I got one early this morning- describing an electronics issue the captains are having (mostly sonars, autopilots or satellite tv). I'll reply with what I think might get them going. Afterwards...silence. I then assume that my suggestion fixed the problem but it sure would be nice to know if it did or not! End of rant.

 

[alormaria]

If he had no electricity how did he send the question?

 

[sunchaser]

OP probably found the Battery switch in the off position. Turned it on and has no reason to return to the forum.

With the potential for AI generating hits it is a new “try to help” era

 

[nicklee]

Maybe the battery is dead.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

OP probably found the Battery switch in the off position. Turned it on and has no reason to return to the forum.

That’s my bet as well.

 

[OldDan1943]

That’s my bet as well.

+1

 

[RickyD]

I'm late coming here so some of this may be repeated.
A. Start at the pedestal. Open the breakers, unplug shore power. Turn on the breakers and measure the voltage. No voltage? Call the dock master. Good voltage, open the breakers, plug in shower power cables.
B. Measure voltage at the boat end of the SP (shore power) cable. No voltage, bad cables or connections
C. With pedestal breakers open, plug SP cables into the boat after closing pedestal breakers, measure voltage at the first breakers inside the boat. Measure voltage into the breaker and the of the breaker (at the panel?). (As you are trouble shooting, cycle the breakers a few times)
No voltage at the panel, open all breakers and tighten all breaker connections. No change? With SP disconnected, brighten all connections at the panel. With SP connected breakers closed, no voltage, call an electrician.
Further question, how is inverter/charger wired into the system. IMO, there should be a breaker to turn inverter/charger on and off. Check the voltage into and out of inverter. No voltage, open the SP breaker, brighten the connections into and out of inverter/charger. Energize the inverter/charger. Measure again. No output, bad inverter/charger?
This is where I choose to stop and wait for answers. I think I got the procedure right.
Be methodical in your trouble shooting. Never be afraid to employ a qualified electrican.
Never work on an energize circuit. 120vt will hurt and you may die especially if you have a pacemaker (?)
I have a separate charger and inverter. It makes things easier to trouble shoot and less expensive, replacing only the defective part.

All good info but I’d also run the generator and see if there is a difference.

 

[Trawlerman]

Funny how these forums evolve. The original poster asked a question about missing DC power, but there has been a ton of "advice" that relates to AC and more specifically inverters. I suspect that we all are guilty of just reading the last few posts and not really thinking about what was asked. The likely mislead was that he had the word "inverter" in his question, and despite the fact that that would have little to do with the loss of DC power, it triggered an avalanche. The one post I did read in the series was that the poster was likely either embarrased when he found out the issue, or simply solved the issue and did not report back. I suspect that all the 120 volt "advice" did not have a lot to do with the solution.

 

[billdomb]

Inverters supply AC. Your DC power would come from your batteries. Start at your batteries and follow the positive wire. I bet it goest through either a switch or a fuse that has failed.

We've been pretty surprised how many times we've been messing with our battery bank that a CONNECTING CABLE has been the source of issues.

Corrosion and frank disconnection.