Coming out of a long winter's hibernation, and I found that Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C has failed. Symptoms were a dead remote display and no shore power input to my main distribution panel and anything downstream of the panel -- including the 120V input to my inverter/charger. Indeed, I was inverting and had run down my batteries big-time.
I emailed Progressive Industries and they suggested I initiate a warranty claim. Remembering the wrestling match I'd already had with the 6 AWG wires from the shore power receptacle to the EMS to the distribution panel inside the belly of the beast, I asked for help diagnosing and repairing problems with the existing unit.
The tech advised me to take the EMS cover off and check voltage between EMS inputs L1/L2 and L3/L2. Should be 120ish volts. Said if there was no power to between L1/L2, the EMS wouldn't power on.
But if I had voltage at L1/L2/L3, then I should check that the red LED on the internal circuit board was lit. If not, the circuit board should be field replaced. . .
With that trouble shooting advice in hand, I started the process. Unplugged shore power and disconnected the battery. I got the cover of the EMS unit off and peered inside. What I observed was a burnt looking L1 wire and terminal. Hmm. That didn't seem healthy.
Next, I plugged shore power in in preparation to check voltages. Surprisingly, the red LED light on the internal circuit board lit up and I had good voltage at L1 and L3. And the remote display was working and reporting good voltage and no errors. I was now getting power to my main distribution panel and everything seemed to be functioning well. Hmm.
Well everything was working well except my inverter charger. I had forgotten that I had disconnected distribution panel power from the inverter/charger and hooked up a remote line to bring my batteries back to life. That remote input was not powered, so I was inverting. I unplugged the remote input to the inverter/charger and plugged in the distribution panel power input -- just to test that the whole system was functioning. As soon as the inverter/charger detected a 120V power source from the distribution panel, it switched from invert to charge -- but only for about 10 seconds. After about 10 seconds, the EMS failed. Pretty sure L1 and its terminal connector were much blacker than before. See attached picture. I checked voltage, and L1/L2 had 0 volts, L3/L2 had 120ish volts. The red LED light was not on.
So I emailed the Progressive Industries tech the picture and asked his opinion about what just happened. He didn't answer. I filed a warranty with Progressive, and they have indicated they will be replacing the unit free of charge. That's great, but I want to know what might have caused the EMS to fail -- especially if it might have been caused by a problem with my inverter/charger.
Anybody have ideas?
Thanks.
-Steve
I emailed Progressive Industries and they suggested I initiate a warranty claim. Remembering the wrestling match I'd already had with the 6 AWG wires from the shore power receptacle to the EMS to the distribution panel inside the belly of the beast, I asked for help diagnosing and repairing problems with the existing unit.
The tech advised me to take the EMS cover off and check voltage between EMS inputs L1/L2 and L3/L2. Should be 120ish volts. Said if there was no power to between L1/L2, the EMS wouldn't power on.
But if I had voltage at L1/L2/L3, then I should check that the red LED on the internal circuit board was lit. If not, the circuit board should be field replaced. . .
With that trouble shooting advice in hand, I started the process. Unplugged shore power and disconnected the battery. I got the cover of the EMS unit off and peered inside. What I observed was a burnt looking L1 wire and terminal. Hmm. That didn't seem healthy.
Next, I plugged shore power in in preparation to check voltages. Surprisingly, the red LED light on the internal circuit board lit up and I had good voltage at L1 and L3. And the remote display was working and reporting good voltage and no errors. I was now getting power to my main distribution panel and everything seemed to be functioning well. Hmm.
Well everything was working well except my inverter charger. I had forgotten that I had disconnected distribution panel power from the inverter/charger and hooked up a remote line to bring my batteries back to life. That remote input was not powered, so I was inverting. I unplugged the remote input to the inverter/charger and plugged in the distribution panel power input -- just to test that the whole system was functioning. As soon as the inverter/charger detected a 120V power source from the distribution panel, it switched from invert to charge -- but only for about 10 seconds. After about 10 seconds, the EMS failed. Pretty sure L1 and its terminal connector were much blacker than before. See attached picture. I checked voltage, and L1/L2 had 0 volts, L3/L2 had 120ish volts. The red LED light was not on.
So I emailed the Progressive Industries tech the picture and asked his opinion about what just happened. He didn't answer. I filed a warranty with Progressive, and they have indicated they will be replacing the unit free of charge. That's great, but I want to know what might have caused the EMS to fail -- especially if it might have been caused by a problem with my inverter/charger.
Anybody have ideas?
Thanks.
-Steve
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