CSW1012 Pure Sine Wave Inverter Issue - Montana Owners Club

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-13-2019, 03:30 PM

Yesterday we hooked up and headed to the Texas hill country. When I tried to start the inverter by holding the green button I got nothing. It would not turn on. The leads going into the inverter show 13.6V. Any ideas? I cannot find a reset button so I am at a loss as to what to do at this point.

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-14-2019, 04:59 AM

Any ideas?

Mikendebbie · 10-14-2019, 07:25 AM

just curiuos - what type of fuse or breaker do you have on the inverter hotwire coming off the battery? In-line fuse like the pic below or resetable 50 amp or 80 amp breaker similar to the one to the right of the inline fuse (pic below)? By the way - this is not a pic of my unit - mine had a 50 amp reset breaker.

The only reason you would not be getting power to the inverter is that the breaker or fuse has tripped.

Arkware · 10-14-2019, 07:27 AM

There should be a fuse in the inverter.
I'm assuming the inline cutoff switch, between the batteries and inverter, is on....

ChuckS · 10-14-2019, 10:08 AM

Since you have 12 volts to the inverter the DC source is good. Did you check the chassis ground on the inverter to frame? This is separate from + and - battery connections.

There are no accessible fuses on the inverter itself unless there is one inside the case.

jcurtis934 · 10-14-2019, 10:13 AM

For clarification, are you saying the display on the inverter shows battery voltage of 13.6vdc? If so, then the inverter is powered on. If you have shore power off, then the inverter will supply 120vac to the external transfer switch and the fridge as long as the gfci is not tripped on the inverter. That could be your issue.

jimcol · 10-14-2019, 10:13 AM

I'd try and call the manufacturer. Tell them how far you have trouble shot the problem and they might have a suggestion where to go from there.

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-14-2019, 12:12 PM

Just for clarification. I have no display on the inverter because it will not turn on. With my volt meter I tested the leads going into the inverter and it is showing 13.6V

jcurtis934 · 10-14-2019, 05:47 PM

Then I think you are dealing with a blown fuse internal to the inverter or some condition in internal logic or cable that prevents the low voltage switch from powering up the unit. Sounds indeed like time to have a conversation with the manufacturer of your inverter.

Mikendebbie · 10-14-2019, 06:54 PM

I agree with jcurtis934. I read thru the owners manual and none of the diagrams mention an internal fuse (or the ability to check it) and the troubleshooting guide says nothing about your situation (power to the lugs is good but no output power). Call magnum tomorrow.

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-15-2019, 04:41 AM

Thanks all. I will call them when I get home at the end of the week. I'll post whatever the resolution is.

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-20-2019, 08:24 AM

Time for a update. Friday I sent a email to the manufacture's tech support folks but did not hear anything back. Yesterday I decided to pull the inverter and see if I could see anything. The first thing I noticed was that the installer did not install the washers properly. They put the washers between the battery wire and the inverter post plate. The second thing I noticed was that the inverter battery contact point was a little dirty. Not bad but just an observation. I did not see any inverter reset buttons or fuse. The inverter set on my desk until this morning when I went out to remount it. I cleaned the battery contact points and installed the washers correctly. Guess what? The darn thing works now. 13.6V in and 120V out. In theory, the washers should not have been the problem but....... Also the inverter metal plate where the post is located was not that dirty but...... I wish I had a more definitive reason for why the inverter to stop working but I don't. So for now I going to count this as a win and hope it does not stop working again.

jcurtis934 · 10-20-2019, 09:06 AM

Really appreciate the update. Sure you will keep an eye on it and hope that it never repeats the failure mode. John

Charlie W · 10-20-2019, 01:27 PM

Mine was bad the day I picked it up, and they had to replace it with a CSW2012 that's all they had. I heard that the CSW's are obsolete now.

DebNJim B · 10-26-2019, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadRunnerTR21

Time for a update. Friday I sent a email to the manufacture's tech support folks but did not hear anything back. Yesterday I decided to pull the inverter and see if I could see anything. The first thing I noticed was that the installer did not install the washers properly. They put the washers between the battery wire and the inverter post plate. The second thing I noticed was that the inverter battery contact point was a little dirty. Not bad but just an observation. I did not see any inverter reset buttons or fuse. The inverter set on my desk until this morning when I went out to remount it. I cleaned the battery contact points and installed the washers correctly. Guess what? The darn thing works now. 13.6V in and 120V out. In theory, the washers should not have been the problem but....... Also the inverter metal plate where the post is located was not that dirty but...... I wish I had a more definitive reason for why the inverter to stop working but I don't. So for now I going to count this as a win and hope it does not stop working again.

glad to hear you got it up and running again.
Just a thought. When I first got my unit and the first time with an inverter I tried to test the fridge on battery and couldn't get the inverter to turn on. I had a mobile service call from the dealer on another issue (a part they were waiting for that was broke when the unit came in) and I asked him to check it out and he turned it right on. Turns out I was not holding the button in long enough, it needs about 5 seconds or so to work. Could it be?

RoadRunnerTR21 · 10-26-2019, 01:52 PM

Thanks Jim but I knew about the time lag holding the button in. I figured that out shortly after we got the rig nearly 2 years ago.

Just for the record though, the manufacturer customer support has never responded to any of my requests for help in this matter. I never told them the problem appears to be resolved.

P&Nsmith · 08-30-2020, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcurtis934

For clarification, are you saying the display on the inverter shows battery voltage of 13.6vdc? If so, then the inverter is powered on. If you have shore power off, then the inverter will supply 120vac to the external transfer switch and the fridge as long as the gfci is not tripped on the inverter. That could be your issue.

Thank you jcurtis934 For mentioning the GFCI. Our lights were lit but we weren’t getting the refrigerator to come on. Hit the reset button and all is good now.

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