Problem with PI EMS

[BeagleMan]

Hi guys. I know this is a drawn out subject, but has anyone had any problems on the Progressive Industries 50A EMS? We are here at Mark Twain Lake for Work Kamping and we had a sudden loss of power, then it spent all day, clicking on and off. Come on for 5 seconds then off for 20 min. Had the Maint guy come out, in the pouring rain and told me that my EMS is bad or only putting out 120v when the park is a 240v post. Breaker off and on, nothing. Took EMS out and back in, nothing. Plugged directly in the post and all is well. Do I have a bad EMS?

Thanks

[Carl n Susan]

I see you have a 2021 Montana 3763BP (it would help if you listed the year and model in your signature). There have been a number of problems with the Progressive Automatic Transfer switch.

https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=79982
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=83044

[BeagleMan]

OK. Is there a setting change or something on the unit? Its in the basement right now and it's pouring rain. But, is it on certain models? If so, I will go look and see what mine is.

[Tom N OH]

If your EMS is kicking on & off, there is a problem with the park’s electrical system. If you had the remote display, or a multimeter, a few simple tests would tell the story. Your EMS turns on, detects a problem with the incoming power, then kicks back off to protect your trailer’s electrical system. It is working as designed. Get yourself a multimeter and check back, we can help you with diagnosis once you have it in hand.

[BeagleMan]

The EMS never kicked off and on. It was the power from the post. I was thinking that the EMS was doing its job, but it just kept on all day long. I finally pulled it off and plugged directly to the post. Been fine since.

Something the grouchy Maint guy told me, he said their posts are 240v and he thinks my EMS is only 120v. I thought it services either one. I'll have to check my model number again and see exactly what damn unit I have.

I'll get that multimeter. Had one but I cannot seem to locate it.

[Tom N OH]

#1, if you plugged in without the EMS & things were different, it was the EMS that was kicking in & out because of a defect in the incoming power. #2, all 50 amp RV connections have the potential for 240v, but nothing in your trailer uses 240v.#3, The grouchy maintenance guy has no clue what he is talking about. #4, Get a multimeter & check back.

[BeagleMan]

Ok, thank you sir. We will sweat it out tonight, its been raining buckets for 2 days and the site is muddy as hell. So, because we are a Workkamper, we are going to ask to be moved to another site tomorrow. I will hook the EMS back up at the new site.

I'm with you...I think the grouchy Maint guy is full of it. He complains alot, according to my wife who is working in the Office here, complains that he is overworked.

He is a holdover from the old owners, and they have let stuff go to crap here over the last 10 years. New owners came in, got a $4 million project to basically renovate this entire 200+ site and every cabin and gutting the small hotel, new Cafe', new general store, Splash Park the works. Even has a team of Arborists here trimming the crap off of trees.

Mark Twain Landing is the place, Monroe City, MO. They raised the rates here and pissed a lot of folks off and about 90% of them left. Mostly riff raff and the cops who live here are rejoicing. So, its going to be a better place. Grand Re-Opening is May 21st. Its going to be fabulous. We hope. LOL.

Come see us!

[Daryles]

Here is some great links to help explain how your RV and Pedestal work

RVELECTRICITY FB group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rvel...ity/?ref=share

RV electrical wiring.
RVs use 50 amp NEMA 14-50r outlet, BUT they use two 120v legs. NOT 240v.
Very good article explaining this.
https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electric...p-shore-power/
Also...
https://www.rvtravel.com/can-i-use-a...-amp-rv-power/
Other useful link.
http://www.myrv.us/electric/
Also...
https://www.keystonerv.com/upper-nav...rical-systems/

This explains it all http://www.myrv.us/electric/Pg/50amp_Service.htm

Pedestal wiring
https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electric...-power-basics/

Basic uses of a multimeter for RVers
"Https://

[trustymopars]

We had that happen to us at a park in Florida. Checked the remote readout and incoming power was 134 volts. Something had gone wrong with a transformer out on the road. We ran on batteries until it was repaired a few hours later. Be careful if that is your problem, it can damage your electronics. JT.

[RickyRobert]

Tom N OH is giving good advice ... your EMS (as are pretty much all reputable brands) is designed to detect and stop the flow of electricity under a number of different conditions:

Reverse Polarity Protection (E 1)
Open Ground Protection (E 2)
High Voltage Protection (Line 1-E 3, Line 2-E 5)
Low Voltage Protection (Line 1-E3, Line 2-E 6)
High Frequency Protection (E 7)
Low Frequency Protection (E 8)

Most of the above can/will cause irreputable harm to your RV, and the resulting "fried" components will probably not be covered by warranty.

I have posted before regarding my research re protecting against low voltage, but when it comes to high voltage conditions I am still baffled by why the EMS manufacturers have chosen 134V as the shut down threshold. Anything above 128V is unacceptable and out-of-operating-spec for most electrical components, and above 130V is downright dangerous to your RV's electrical system. Cannot understand why the cutoff is not 130V! If my EMS shows anything above 126V when I first plug in, I'm reporting it to park management and running off an alternative power source. Simply is not worth the risk to me - if it was not for my bad luck then I would not have any luck at all. Hence my built in bias to research and go with the experts.

Go and borrow an external EMS device with digital read out from a neighbor - only a surge protection kills the EMS so you are not in danger of damaging their unit - plug it in to the pedestal with no load and see which of the above, if any, conditions it is protecting against. If none, then yours is likely toast. If any show up, get off the pedestal or be prepared to suffer the consequences - and don't listen to the naysayers, you paid the money for the protection, why throw good money after bad.

[BeagleMan]

Thanks guys! I will peruse those links often until I know them myself. We got permission to move to another site. This one ONLY has a 50 amp hookup, and nothing else. Site we are moving to has it all....50, 30 and 110s on it and less clutter and mud and trees. We were becoming muddy and floody here, so together with the power problem, the GM here is allowing us to get a better site. We gonna move there now and Ill be back with the results. Thanks again!

AC

[BeagleMan]

Well, we moved to another site and got her all fixed up. Put the EMS in and all is good here. Power has been on for about 5 hours with no hiccups. I am thinking it was just that particular site with the 50 only. This one has a 50, 30 and 110s on it. Clean connections, GM told us that she is thinking dirty electric, and she will have that replaced soon, so no other campers have this problem.

Thank you guys for all of your help. So far so good.

AC

[Tom N OH]

Good deal. Glad to hear it. Probably a bad connection on the park’s end somewhere.

[miatadoc]

Advice given by others are is certainly on point. A story from the other side of the coin. I had an intermittent disconnection of power while hooked to shore power. Initially PI EMS indicated low voltage. Campground maintenance came out and replaced receptacle, which seemed to solve problem. I continued to have problems when hooked to my 50A shore power at home--the EMS was indicating a high frequency. When I called Progressive, they indicated that the EMS was bad and sent out a replacement under warranty.

Moral of the story: while the issue is likely with the campground's power, EMS units can go bad.

[Mahrep1]

We started getting this tapping/knocking sound very intermittently about 2 weeks before it finally died...at night...when it was 27 degrees outside. We ended up losing our fireplace, a surge protector and our clock radio in our 2018 3791RD. The day before it actually went out there was a very loud bang sound which was probably the cause of losing the above. Our transfer switch is the one that switches between shore power and a generator which we opted not to get. The next morning we shut down/unplugged all power (batteries included), removed the switch, and hardwired it back together. No humming, no popping, no heart attacks, and no sleeping in 27 degree weather inside the camper. If you have a generator and it’s the same switch (shore/gen transfer switch) as I have then you will need to replace it ASAP. If you don’t have a generator then remove it and hardwire it back together. It’ll save you a lot of headaches and money.

[DutchmenSport]

Is there any way you can plug into a different pedestal for a few minutes and see if the EMS works OK? Do you have enough cord to reach the neighboring post? Is anyone else in the campground having issues?

I'm assuming you have the hard wired version, not a portable. If you had the portable version, you could just simply take it to another power pedestal and plug it in and see if the EMS is still acting up, or if it just something unique to the post you are at.