Progressive industries ems-hw50c

[Blueblir]

Hopefully someone can help me with my progressive industries box. When I plug into shore power after a few minutes the camper will get 110 power and then trip the shore power breaker. I have tried the bypass mode and got the same results.

Has anyone else ever seen this issue?

[dhuhn]

Sound to me something at the pedestal. Are you plugged into 50 amp, 30amp or just 110.
If your on 30amp you cant run everything at once maybe one ac and microwave .
make sure you don't have too many appliances going at same time.
If that's not the case check pedestal make sure it right .
your ems should have error code to tell you whats wrong.

Im not an electrician but maybe someone else on here can help, also tell us your year and make of your rig this could help also

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by dhuhn

Sound to me something at the pedestal. Are you plugged into 50 amp, 30amp or just 110.
If your on 30amp you cant run everything at once maybe one ac and microwave .
make sure you don't have too many appliances going at same time.
If that's not the case check pedestal make sure it right .
your ems should have error code to tell you whats wrong.

Im not an electrician but maybe someone else on here can help, also tell us your year and make of your rig this could help also

This makes a lot of sense to me, too. The EMS is determining that the power coming into the coach is clean so it allows it. However, the 120v load in the trailer may be greater than the capacity of the pedestal breaker.

At least that's the place to start. I would unplug the RV from the pedestal, turn off everything that is 120v...AC's, Fireplace, Microwave, TV, etc...shut it all down. That would leave just the load on the converter powering the 12v systems. Then plug it back in and see what happens. If it still pops the breaker then more investigation is needed.

Has the EMS been installed for a while and working correctly or is this a new install? Actually, is yours the installed version or the plug in at the pedestal version?

FWIW, I have the Progressive 50a installed EMS version and it's worked great.

[Carl n Susan]

It sounds like you have an onboard Progressive (not a Plug in, not that it matter in this case). The Progressive says the power is good from the pedestal and lets it pass through to the couch. Then the demand by the couch exceeds the limit at the pole and the breaker trips.

I would disconnect the power cord and turn off all the circuit breakers in the couch power panel. Then connect to the shore power and wait for the Progressive to ensure the input power is good and it passes the power through to the couch. Now you can turn on one circuit breaker at a time to determine which one has the excessive load.

If you are on a 30 amp supply, it could be several energy sucking devices being on at the same time. On a 50 amp supply, it is more likely their is an electrical problem in the couch

[Blueblir]

Mine has been hardwired in for several years with no issues until now.
Im plugged in to same 30 amp outlet that I always use. Nothing on in the camper when I plug it in.

[Blueblir]

Mine has been hardwired in for several years with no issues

[Carl n Susan]

OK, we have established you are on a 30 amp circuit with a hardwired EMS. It is very easy to exceed a 30 amp draw on these rigs. Even it has worked for years, now it doesn't and you need to know why.

Start by doing what I outlined above. Disconnect shore power, turn off all circuit breakers, including the two 50 amp main breakers, in the RV, and then plug into shore power. Wit until the EMS does its thing and clicks on power into the RV.

Did the shore power breaker trip at this point? No, go to next step. Yes, there is an electrical issue between the EMS and the power panel. Do you have an ATS?

If the power pole breaker didn't trip, start turning on circuit breakers one at a time, starting with the two 50 amp mains. Wait a bit after each turn on to see the effect on the shore power breaker. Watch the EMS display to monitor the amp draw at each step. Eventually, one breaker will cause an overload and trip the shore power breaker. IT may be one breaker or the cumulative amp draw of several circuits which is why you want to watch the EMS for current draw.

[Blueblir]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

OK, we have established you are on a 30 amp circuit with a hardwired EMS. It is very easy to exceed a 30 amp draw on these rigs. Even it has worked for years, now it doesn't and you need to know why.

Start by doing what I outlined above. Disconnect shore power, turn off all circuit breakers, including the two 50 amp main breakers, in the RV, and then plug into shore power. Wit until the EMS does its thing and clicks on power into the RV.

Did the shore power breaker trip at this point? No, go to next step. Yes, there is an electrical issue between the EMS and the power panel. Do you have an ATS?

If the power pole breaker didn't trip, start turning on circuit breakers one at a time, starting with the two 50 amp mains. Wait a bit after each turn on to see the effect on the shore power breaker. Watch the EMS display to monitor the amp draw at each step. Eventually, one breaker will cause an overload and trip the shore power breaker. IT may be one breaker or the cumulative amp draw of several circuits which is why you want to watch the EMS for current draw.

I will proceed with those trouble shooting steps and let you know what I find. Thank you for your help.

[Blueblir]

Originally Posted by Blueblir

I will proceed with those trouble shooting steps and let you know what I find. Thank you for your help.

So I followed your advice and found the water heater circuit is the problem. Everything functions normally until I turn on the master switch on the heater itself. BTW this is an 05 2955rl. I also noticed more corrosion than normal on my drain plug/ electrolysis rod when I drained it after we used the camper the time.

Is it time for a new waterheater?

[Carl n Susan]

More than likely the water heater(WH) is repairable. There are a number of PDFs in the Files Section that will help you diagnose and repair the problem. The electric side of the WH is pretty simple. Using a VOM and the PDFs, you can follow the 120V to the rocker switch (most like where the problem is), up to the thermostat, and over to the heater element. All of those parts are readily available, inexpensive and much less costly than a new WH.

Here are links to the various PDFs on the Suburban WH.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=90
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=57
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=56
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=17

[Blueblir]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

More than likely the water heater(WH) is repairable. There are a number of PDFs in the Files Section that will help you diagnose and repair the problem. The electric side of the WH is pretty simple. Using a VOM and the PDFs, you can follow the 120V to the rocker switch (most like where the problem is), up to the thermostat, and over to the heater element. All of those parts are readily available, inexpensive and much less costly than a new WH.

Here are links to the various PDFs on the Suburban WH.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=90
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=57
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=56
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=17

Thank you for your time, and help with my issue. As it's starting to rain it will probably be next weekend before I can get back on this to finish the diagnosis. I will keep everyone posted on the findings in hopes that this thread will assist other members as well.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

[JABURKHOLDER]

Something to consider…is the pedestal breaker bad ?

[Bourbon County]

You say everything runs fine until you switch on the water heater element, let me ask you some questions.
1. What other 120 volt loads are running when switch the water heater on?
2. Does the breaker trip instantly, or does it take a few seconds?
3. Does the water heater have water in it?

If you have a lot of other loads running when you turn the water heater on, it could just be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. You will load up 30 amps pretty quickly. It's never a good idea to energize any electric water heater element dry, it needs the water to dissipate it's heat. If you haven't cleaned it out recently, you could possibly have enough sediment build-up that it's touching the element. If there's no water there, it would probably take a few seconds for the breaker to trip.

It is possible that the shore power breaker is bad, but probably the least likely culprit. Supposedly, a breaker loses a little of it's rating every time it trips.

Unless the tank is corroded through, almost everything is pretty easily replaceable. You'll just have to calculate if the price of the parts exceeds the price of a new unit.

[Applejack 1948]

I have that problem sometimes. The reason, forgot to turn the ac,s off. Too much start up. Too much draw for 50 watts.

[twindman]

That's 50 amps. The A/Cs should be on different legs of the fuse box. And a 50 amp rv is really 50 amps per leg, so really 100 amp. A/C should be 14-17 amp, so everything should run on a 50 amp power supply.