Troubleshooting; Table 4-1, Basic Troubleshooting - Magnum Energy ME Series Owner's Manual

Maintenance and Troubleshooting
4.3

Troubleshooting

The ME Series inverter/charger is a fairly simple device to troubleshoot. There are only two active
circuits (AC and DC) as well as a charging circuit. The following chart is designed to help you
quickly pinpoint the most common inverter failures.
Symptom Possible Cause
N o o u t p u t p o w e r / Inverter is switched OFF.
Inverter LED is OFF.
Battery voltage is too low. The battery
voltage level has dropped below the
Low Battery Cut Out (LBCO) set-point
for more than one minute.
The battery voltage is too high. The
inverter automatically resets and
resumes operation when the battery
voltage drops to the HBCI voltage or
lower.
Over-temperature condition: The
internal temperature of the inverter has
risen above acceptable limits; caused
by loads too great for the inverter to
operate continuously, or by lack of
ventilation to the inverter. When the
unit has cooled, it will automatically
reset and resume operation.
AC overload condition: The inverter
has turned off because the connected
loads are larger than the inverter's
output capacity, or the output wires
are shorted.
Internal fault: This fault occurs when
an internal fault is detected.
N o o u t p u t p o w e r / Unit is in Search Mode, which means
Green LED is fl ashing. the load is too small for Search Mode
circuit detection.
Low output or surge Loose or corroded battery cables.
power/Green LED is
Low batteries.
fl ashing.
Loose AC output connections.
Battery cables are the wrong length
or gauge.
L o w c h a r g i n g ra t e Charge rate set too low.
when connected to AC
Low AC voltage (< 90 VAC).
power.
Low charging rate when Generator output is too low to power
using a generator. both the load and the charger.
C h a r g e r d o e s n ' t Loose or corroded battery cables.
charge.
Defective batteries.
Wrong charger settings.
Wrong AC input voltage.
While charging, the If the Battery Temperature Sensor
DC charge voltage is (BTS) is installed, the DC voltage will
higher or lower than increase or decrease depending on the
expected. temperature around the BTS.
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Table 4-1, Basic Troubleshooting

Recommended Solution
Switch the inverter ON.
Check fuses/circuit breakers and cable connections.
Check battery voltage at the inverter's terminals. Your
batteries may need to be charged, and this fault condition
will automatically clear when the battery voltage exceeds
the LBCI voltage.
This condition usually only occurs when an additional
charging source (alternator, solar panels, or other
external charging sources) is used to charge the battery
bank. Reduce or turn off any other charger to the inverter
batteries to allow the voltage level to drop.
Reduce the number of electrical loads that you are
operating. This will avoid a repeat over-temp shutdown
if the cause was too many loads for the ambient
conditions.
Check ventilation around the inverter, ensure cool air
is available to pass through the inverter (refer to the
ventilation requirements in Section 2.1.3).
Reduce the AC loads connected to the inverter, or remove
all AC output wiring and restart the inverter.
To clear this fault, an inverter reset is required. Remove
DC power to the inverter, or press and hold down the
power switch on the inverter for 15 seconds (until the
green status LED comes on). If this fault does not clear,
the unit will need to be serviced.
Turn on a load greater than 5 watts to bring the inverter
to full output power, or turn off Search with remote.
Clean and tighten all cables.
Recharge or replace batteries.
Tighten AC output connections.
Verify recommended cable lengths and gauges from the
manual. Replace cables as necessary.
Adjust charge rate or SHORE settings on remote.
Check AC input wiring.
Reduce the load, increase the generator's RPMs.
Check the SHORE settings (if remote connected).
Clean and tighten battery cables.
Replace batteries.
Adjust the charger settings, ensure the unit is not in
Charger Standby.
Verify proper AC input voltage and frequency.
This is normal; see Section 3.5 (Battery Temperature
Sensor Operation) for more information.
© 2010 Magnum Energy, Inc