EMS not recognizing 50 amp supply

[Carnles]

The Energy Management System in my 2006 Tour does not recognize 50 amp service. I have plugged the unit into two separate 50 amp services, one I installed at home and one in a campground, and the EMS will only light the 30 amp light and limit power to the coach accordingly. I checked the power at each connection and both connections were good. I read in the EMS manual that there are some dip switches and/or jumpers that must be configured correctly to be able to use 50 amp service. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I have a post-delivery service appointment set up for a week from now but am curious by nature. Thanks for any help you "experts" can provide.

[Carnles]

The Energy Management System in my 2006 Tour does not recognize 50 amp service. I have plugged the unit into two separate 50 amp services, one I installed at home and one in a campground, and the EMS will only light the 30 amp light and limit power to the coach accordingly. I checked the power at each connection and both connections were good. I read in the EMS manual that there are some dip switches and/or jumpers that must be configured correctly to be able to use 50 amp service. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I have a post-delivery service appointment set up for a week from now but am curious by nature. Thanks for any help you "experts" can provide.

[Zimectrin]

On the back of the EMS modual there is a phone wire with a phone jack that is pluged into the EMS. It is how the units communitate. Many of us have had to unplug the wire, count to 15 and plug it back in. All is then OK.

Don't know why this works, but it has.

Good luck.

[Sammie]

Try This,

Member & iRV2 Contributor"


Posted December 02, 2004 04:28 PM Hide Post
The Powerline Energy Management System is one of the best features of our coach.

Here is what I hope is a simple explanation. Your campground electrical post is a delivery source. It can only deliver what it is rated for. A 30 Amp Post, can only deliver 30 amps. A 50 Amp post delivers 50 amps on each of two 120v legs or 100 Amps.

Items in the coach request power by being turned on -- either manually or with a thermostat.

With no management system -- when the coach asks for more power than the post can deliver, the overload breaker on the post will trip.

But....!!! with the EMS, you have an arbitration system that has a bottom line critera: Never let the coach ask for more than 30 Amps when plugged into a 30 Amp post.

Lets say you have two a/c compressors running and the microwave is started. The two comprssors pull around 23 Amps and the Microwave pulls about 11 amps. That would be 34 Amps and without EMS, the breaker will trip.

With EMS, in control, you temporarily do without one A/C compressor for a few minutes while the microwave heats the hot dog. So one compressor is turned off by EMS. The same is true if AC outlets are being used, or the electric hot water heater is on along with the fridge. All are shuffled and juggled as needed to keep the total draw below 30 amps.

Having the coach 50amp enabled is more than just getting a larger cord. The internal wiring and panel must be set up to accomodate it.

EMS is not functional when you have 50A. service. You have enough power to turn everything on.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kiwi, December 02, 2004 06:50 PM

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New Orleans, LA
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Posts: 291 | Location: New Orleans, LA | Registered: December 14, 2003

[Carnles]

Thanks for the tip Steve. When I pulled the monitor panel out there was not a phone plug attached to the EMS module readout panel. Is that where it is supposed to be located or is it on the actual module which is located somewhere else?

[AFChap]

The other end of that phone type (ethernet, actually) wire should be plugged into your inverter. Mine is much easier to unplug there. That allows the board at the EMS to "reset."

If that does not work, we had a similar problem a few months ago after some lightning damage. We thought it was the transfer switch failing to lock in both 50a power legs, and when I smacked it hard it would sometimes work fine. The transfer switch was damaged, but when we replaced the transfer switch, the power cord connector on the coach end started smoking. One power leg terminal was damaged there. In your case, it may be that somewhere between the outlet and the EMS, one power leg is not passing power.

[TheRudys]

Had the same problem on our 2005 Vectra about 6 months ago. I don't know if you have the same EMS but ours is manufactured by Intellitec. Our problem was diagnosed as a blown circuit board. It has since been replaced and is working fine.

Rudy

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Carnles:
The Energy Management System in my 2006 Tour does not recognize 50 amp service. I have plugged the unit into two separate 50 amp services, one I installed at home and one in a campground, and the EMS will only light the 30 amp light and limit power to the coach accordingly. I checked the power at each connection and both connections were good. I read in the EMS manual that there are some dip switches and/or jumpers that must be configured correctly to be able to use 50 amp service. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I have a post-delivery service appointment set up for a week from now but am curious by nature. Thanks for any help you "experts" can provide. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Carroll the outlets could be wired incorrectly. The EMS registers a 50 amp service by reading the voltage accross the two hot leads and if the reading is 220 then it shows 50 amps otherwise it will show 30 amps.

If you are comfortable checking the voltage at the 50 amp RV recepticle with a volt meter then take a reading across both hot leads and if the reading is not around 220 volts then you have the outlet wired incorrectly if not then you have a problem with the EMS in your coach.

The 30 amp RV recepticle is 110 while the 50 amp is 220, many people get them mixed up and wire them opposite of what they should be.

Verify what I have said (I am over 50) and then check things out.

Of course if your coach came with a 3 prong plug and you are using a 50 amp adapter then you EMS will still only read 30 amps even if there is a 50 amp light available on the panel.

[John_Canfield]

If your EMS used to report 30 amp or 50 amp when plugged into 30 or 50 amp but doesn't now, I would suspect a bad EMS unit.

If it has never ever reported 50 amp service and you know for a fact what you plugged into was indeed wired correctly for 50 amp service, then there is either an EMS problem or perhaps something is wired incorrectly in the coach. Let the dealer diagnose the problem.

[Carnles]

I have checked two different 50 amp supplies and yes, they both registered 220v and the EMS readout still showed 30 amps selected. I think I will stick with John's advice and let the dealer troubleshoot.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will post and update when it gets resolved (hopefully) at the dealership.

A question for you Paul...have you done anything to prevent future lightning damage? I am considering a surge supressor but I have not done anything yet. I don't think there's any kind of built-in protection from the manufacturer. Can anyone provide input on that question?

[Flyer]

Just a thought from a Monaco owner. I had the same problem--reading 30 A when plugged into a 50 A outlet. I had turned off the washer/dryer circuit breaker off since one wasn't installed. For some reason turning that breaker back on corrected the problem. I would be sure to check that all of your breakers are on.

[jtharley]

Same exact thing happened to me with our '05 journey. It was a bad EMS circuit board. It was located at the foot of the bed behind the breaker panel.

Very simple fix and intellitec sent a new board at no cost. After 10 minute installation all is fine.

First, do as others said by trying to reset. Check the breakers but I'll bet that is your issue. Intellitec said it wouldn't hurt anything by using the coach with a 50 amp hook up and 30 amp designation on the management system.

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">A question for you Paul...have you done anything to prevent future lightning damage? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, what I have done is lower the antennas and unplug the power cord when I know lightning is likely in the area! The only almost-sure protection from lightning

I don't believe there is anything than can totally protect you from lightning. We did have a hardwired Surgeguard in place. It was severely damaged also (and replaced free of charge by the mfg). The lightning hit the campground CATV box and crossed into the power system, literally exploding some power boxes. We did have much less damage than many others in the campground, about $2,700. How much the Surgeguard protected us, I don't know. But I won't be without one as it has protected me many times from low power, and at least once from very high power, by "disconnecting" from the pole before damage could be done. Prior to buying it, we had damage in our a/c system due to low voltage in a campground.

[Carnles]

Thanks Paul. I think I will go with the Surgeguard also. We have bought and traded up RVs three times since last August and since we have finally found a keeper a power protection system is a must.