No Power to EMS Monitor

[Stephen and Kelly]

Hi,

It looks like we have no power to the EMS indicator (the monitor located in the back cabinet). I checked all the fuses and breakers, etc. and had the camp grounds check the power coming in with no issues. The only thing I see regarding no illumination is a connection issue (#3 in the attached document) but we do not have power - just battery and inverter power. Assuming it’s the unit that will need to be replaced or is there something else to check/reset?

Thanks

Steve

[bhncb]

Your problem is most likely with the transfer switch. Disconnect from shore power and power down the inverter. The switch is on top of the wheel well under the rear dinette seat access panel. Unsnap and remove the cover on top of the switch and take a look inside for burnt wiring.

[Stephen and Kelly]

Not seeing anything than stands out

[bhncb]

Rear dinette seat

[bhncb]

Sorry. Should have occurred to me that you may have the standard layout. I should have said rear seat of front dinette.

[Stephen and Kelly]

No worries. I appreciate the help but I just may need to get this replaced if it is this switch itself. It was making a small intermittent buzzing sound and I was told that was normal by Progressive. I guess it finally went. I believe this is the unit you are talking about?
 

 

[bhncb]

Possibly, but I suspect the transfer switch is not providing power to the EMS. Both devices are possible sources of buzzing but this is not necessarily the sign of a pending failure. Transfer switches have been much more failure prone than the EMS.

[Stephen and Kelly]

I’m showing that the shore power goes into the EMS directly. So I looked at the schematic and saw a power indicator. So I decided to plug the Oliver back into show power and everything is back on. What the heck! I’m so very thankful it’s back on camping in Gulf Shores humidity but still confused why it failed. Reading E0, 124V, 18A. Possible surge that tripped something that automatically reset?

[Stephen and Kelly]

Glad is back on for now but wish I knew the reason it went down. Is there such a thing as “thankfully irritated?”

[bhncb]

If you don't have the front shore power inlet, curbside on the propane enclosure, there won't be a transfer switch. This sounds like your situation.

Many possibilities for a cause here. As long as it's working now, periodically check the shore power connections with your hand at inlet and pedestal ends for unusually warm temperature signally a loose/corroded or otherwise poor connection.

As long as power is getting to the EMS, the remote display should light up. Even if the (buzzing) relay in the EMS were to fail in a manner that prevented power from getting through to the main panel, this in and of itself would not cause the remote display to go dark.

[Stephen and Kelly]

Yes, I only have the one inlet. This is very odd that the back display didn’t light up even after disconnecting everything, etc. I have a call out to Oliver to see if they might have answers. Just for peace of mind I might get an external surge protector. Thank you for your help! Hope you’re having a great New Year’s Day!

[QuestionMark]

When I had this happen it was the EMS relay not pulling in once the power was confirmed good.   Called Progressive Industries and they sent me a replacement unit to install.   Upon additional inspection, it appeared the coil wiring shorted out thereby not allowing the magnetic force to develop pulling in the switch.  All was good once replaced.  I now carry some 10g Wago 221-612 wire clips with me so I can wire around the relay if it happens to me out on an extended trip.  Not idea, but I have a WatchDog power checker I use before connecting to the power anyway.   When bypassing the relay one would have to connect L3-->T3, L2-->T2, and L1-->T1 with the Wago connectors to bypass the relay directly under these connections.  Once your new unit comes in you would just replace the whole unit.   I looked everywhere for a replacement relay to carry with me but the part number on the relay came up empty on multiple google searches.     

 

This is the Wago Connector mentioned above.  You will need to carry 3 with you to bypass relay, if needed.

 

[Stephen and Kelly]

13 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

When I had this happen it was the EMS relay not pulling in once the power was confirmed good.   Called Progressive Industries and they sent me a replacement unit to install.   Upon additional inspection, it appeared the coil wiring shorted out thereby not allowing the magnetic force to develop pulling in the switch.  All was good once replaced.  I now carry some 10g Wago 221-612 wire clips with me so I can wire around the relay if it happens to me out on an extended trip.  Not idea, but I have a WatchDog power checker I use before connecting to the power anyway.   When bypassing the relay one would have to connect L3-->T3, L2-->T2, and L1-->T1 with the Wago connectors to bypass the relay directly under these connections.  Once your new unit comes in you would just replace the whole unit.   I looked everywhere for a replacement relay to carry with me but the part number on the relay came up empty on multiple google searches.     

 

This is the Wago Connector mentioned above.  You will need to carry 3 with you to bypass relay, if needed.

 

Thank you for this bit of troubleshooting information. Still learning every time I take the trailer on the road. I cannot confirm if this is what happened (assuming if it was then it wouldn’t have come back on after I reconnected power), but something to consider if it happens again. 

[Stephen and Kelly]

So the saga continues…lost power again and this time it did not come back on. I called Progressive and we opened the box to check the connectors and the relay contact box was completely loose from the case. The mounting screw was there but the nut obviously was bouncing around the case. Ugh. So maybe that was the issue or a contributing one. Need to find that nut and get those Wago connectors to bypass the EMS until I get the replacement. I have the external surge protector ready to go. I guess this is something else to check after bouncing down the highway. 

[Rivernerd]

17 minutes ago, Stephen and Kelly said:

The mounting screw was there but the nut obviously was bouncing around the case.

When you receive the replacement EMS, I would apply red Loctite to the attachment screws, precisely because we take our trailers "bouncing down the highway." 

In fact, I now plan to take the cover off the EMS in our Elite II and apply red Loctite to the mounting screws before our next adventure.

Thanks for posting.

[Stephen and Kelly]

32 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:

When you receive the replacement EMS, I would apply red Loctite to the attachment screws, precisely because we take our trailers "bouncing down the highway." 

In fact, I now plan to take the cover off the EMS in our Elite II and apply red Loctite to the mounting screws before our next adventure.

Thanks for posting.

I was wondering what to put on the bolt to keep the nut in place next time. Thanks for the suggestion. 

[Heather and Eric]

Hi Everyone

We purchased our trailer used a Month and a half ago and we noticed an E9 code on our Progressive EMS display in the attic cabinet.  This was a “Data Link Down” message.  Through troubleshooting we discovered it was a bad connection at the display end of the (phone cord looking-although it’s not really one) data cable.  We purchased a pack of connectors and a crimp tool replaced the cable end with a new one.  Also we unscrewed the cabinet wall that the display sits on and found probably 10-20 feet of cable coiled and stowed back there so we shortened the cable to clean things up.  Things are working fine now.  Understand this is a little random to the subject but we wanted to post it that maybe someone else might have a similar problem and could benefit from this easy fix.

[topgun2]

35 minutes ago, Heather and Eric said:

from this easy fix.

Probably due to the environment that our trailer live in which includes heat, humidity, dust, dirt and vibration it is not too surprising that the relatively small fragile contacts and/or wires in these data cords go bad.  

I don't know what the total cost of the tool and the bag of connectors was versus just purchasing a new cable, but, either way your solution now gives us at least two way to skin this cat.🐱

Thanks!

Bill

[Heather and Eric]

Stringing a new cable was the first thing we tried but we couldn’t find an easy path down inside the back wall of the camper.  Quite possibly a rookie installation issue on our part but the tool and connectors ended up being just 20 bucks 😄