Xantrex SW5548

CoachDutton · July 2019

I am off grid, 48V System.
I have a generator that I use to charge system when needed.
The system has been in place for quite sometime, No issues until now.
The Issue: When I turn on Generator my AC IN Good (Green Light) it does not blink it "shakes" and will not click over to begin Charging the system.
The tough part about the diagnosing is that it does not happen each time I turn on Generator, sometime it works and sometimes it does not??
Any advice will be useful, Thank You

Estragon · July 2019

Is the ACin light on an inverter or transfer switch? A couple of possibilities come to mind.

One is the generator is on the fringe of voltage/frequency considered acceptable on ACin. These ranges, as well as the actual values being seen at the input can be seen/adjusted on some devices (eg some inverters).

The other is the transfer switch mechanism may be starting to go.

Generators often do a lot of "shaking" themselves, so it may be worth checking the wiring carefully to rule out a loose connection somewhere causing the problem intermittently.

Dave Angelini · July 2019

Agree with estragon. You can try the grid input if you have a "inverter" type genset. That input needs a very accurate cal on the the genset freq and voltage.

If it works well on AC1 you know the transfer switch is bad on AC2. Very few people can repair these or have parts as they have been out of support for about 15+ years.

CoachDutton · July 2019

Correct, I did tighten all wires to system seemed to help but still an issue.

Often times I will get an error that reads "Generator Start Error" this usually goes away when the power from generator kicks the system to charge.

As far as (the fringe of voltage/frequency considered acceptable on ACin), how would I find that out? Again this system has been installed for more than 10 years and I am just now experiencing the issue. When I went into set up everything is still reading what it should or has been since my initial set up.

I have generator power running to a breaker from breaker to a transfer switch then to the mother board where the lights are. I believe that would be the inverter itself.

Continued thanks

Dave Angelini · July 2019

You can google the manual and look up the specs. AC1 is very precise and will not work with most gensets.

AC2 is the genset input and now it sounds like you are saying there is an external (to the sw5548) transfer switch?
If this is true, I would wire the genset directly to AC2 to determine if your external xfer is the problem.

If the sw xfer is bad, you could buy an external charger and wire it to your bank. You are lucky it is summer as these problems are saved for winter.

Estragon · July 2019

You should be able to check voltage with pretty much any multimeter at the ACin terminals, you may also be able to measure frequency. I'm not familiar with Xantrex inverters, but assume the manual will give acceptible ranges on the AC inputs.

If it turns out to be the internal transfer switch, and the inverter is otherwise ok, I'd agree with Dave that an external charger makes sense. The way we charge with genny power means we don't need anything fancy, just something to pump bulk amps into the bank.

Xantrex SW5548

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