Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Repairs & Maintenance
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 02-11-2018, 07:50 PM   #1
bgschust
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palmdale
Posts: 5
Loud circuit breaker humming

I can hear my circuit breaker humming with a constant sound when there is no obvious load on the breakers -- everything is unplugged and all of the lights are off.

Is there a strategy I can use to identify the specific wire that might have a loose connection or which breaker has an issue? Or maybe there's another issue. I've tried cycling all of the breakers off and that did not stop the sound.

Notes:
* The converter fan is usually off, so it's not making any noise.
bgschust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-11-2018, 07:54 PM   #2
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
If your plugged into shore power, your probably hearing the cooling fan of the converter. Unplug from shore power and see if it goes away.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-11-2018, 08:43 PM   #3
bgschust
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palmdale
Posts: 5
I am plugged into a 400W solar array connected to 12V batteries that power a 1000W 120V AC inverter.
bgschust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 03:04 AM   #4
xrated
Senior Member
 
xrated's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: "Murvil, TN
Posts: 2,198
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgschust View Post
I am plugged into a 400W solar array connected to 12V batteries that power a 1000W 120V AC inverter.
Most likely the cooling fan then. Turn it off and see if the sound goes away.
__________________
2016 F350 King Ranch Crew Cab Dually Diesel 4x4
2018 Grand Design Momentum 394M
2023 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+
Excessive payload capacity is a wonderful thing

"If it ain't Fast....It ain't Fun"
xrated is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 08:07 AM   #5
bgschust
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palmdale
Posts: 5
It's not the cooling fan. It's an electrical sound. Any other thoughts?
bgschust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 08:25 AM   #6
jsmith948
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Central San Joaguin Valley, CA
Posts: 2,117
If you are using solar, isn't there an inverter somewhere in the system? Could this be generating the hum?
Added: If you think it is a loose wire, make sure all of the hot and neutral lugs are tight in your distribution panel. Make sure you are unhooked from any power source.
__________________

Jack & Marty
2018 Laredo 298 SRL
2011 F-250 SB Crew Cab 4x4 6.7L
jsmith948 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 09:46 AM   #7
bobbecky
Senior Member
 
bobbecky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Box Elder
Posts: 2,898
Breakers will not make any sound, unless it is an arcing sound when they are about to fail. If the fans are not the sound, then the only other thing may be a magnetic contactor with a closing coil that could be making that hum. Do you have an EMS near the breaker panel? I installed a Progressive EMS behind our panel, and if it is very quiet, you can hear a hum from that contactor. Don't have an inverter, but they will make a hum also. I don't recall a hum coming from a converter.
__________________
Bob & Becky
2012 3402 Montana
2012 Chevy 2500HD D/A CC
bobbecky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 10:05 AM   #8
hankpage
Site Team
 
hankpage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Venice
Posts: 5,346
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgschust View Post
It's not the cooling fan. It's an electrical sound. Any other thoughts?
Find the breaker marked CON/REC and turn it off. As mentioned it is probably the converter trying to charge the batteries also. JM2¢, Hank

If your inverter is on, it will be causing a drain even if there is no load on it. With an '06 rig, it might be time to clean the cooling fan on the converter especially if you travel with fur-kids.
__________________
Hank & Lynn
2007 Cougar 290RKS, E-Z Flex, 16" XPS RIBs ( SOLD .. Gonna miss her ... looking for new 5r)
2004.5 Dodge 2500 QC, LB, 5.9HO, WestTach gauges, Ride-Rite
hankpage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 10:13 AM   #9
mfifield01
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 834
Are you using a Pure Sine Wave inverter? If not, many electrics will hum due to the low quality of modified sine wave power.
__________________
(SOLD) 2015 Keystone Passport 2810BH
2013 Ram 1500 Hemi 8-speed 3.92 Air Suspension
mfifield01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 08:55 PM   #10
bgschust
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palmdale
Posts: 5
Fair point, it could certainly have something to do with the inverter power coming in, so I could try hooking up to a generator to see if that changes anything. I've heard the DC converter could be making the noise. Is there a way to turn that off?
bgschust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2018, 08:56 PM   #11
bgschust
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palmdale
Posts: 5
It's definitely not the inverter making the noise since that's outside and far away from the breaker panel.
bgschust is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2018, 06:12 AM   #12
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Locate your power distribution center. One of the 15 amp circuit breakers will be listed as "CON/REC" or similar. That is the converter power breaker. Turn it off. If the "humming" goes away, it's either the fan in the converter (it is speed regulated and only comes on under load, as the load increases the fan speed increases, so the "humming" would get louder) or it's the transformers inside the converter. My guess is that on a 2006 model, there's significant dirt/dust/hair clogging the fan entrance grill and/or the fan blades. That debris is causing the fan blade to wobble, creating a "humming sound". The other possibility, the transformers inside the converter are possibly loose and/or the insulation has broken down enough that the magnetic field has increased sufficiently to cause vibration at 60 hz when power is applied.

Turning that CON/REC breaker off should stop the humming. If it does, locate your converter and investigate the cause. I don't know when Keystone switched from the old Magnatron brand converters to the more modern WFCO converters, but the Magnatron brand always "hummed" even when new. The humming got worse as they aged.
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2018, 06:36 AM   #13
Bostongone
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Ruckersville
Posts: 108
What JRTJH said! Most probably in the Converter electronics/magnetics. Then after your test leave the Converter off since you are running off of solar with no shore power to supply any additional demand power.
In normal use the Converter will supply power to charge the batteries and power all of the 12VDC items when connected to shore power but in this arrangement the Converter will try to charge the very same batteries that are powering the Inverter with. It will try but at maybe 80% efficiency you are losing significant battery power.
__________________
2008 Springdale 266RELL
2007 Silverado 2500HD crew cab short bed
Bostongone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2018, 07:11 AM   #14
mfifield01
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 834
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgschust View Post
Fair point, it could certainly have something to do with the inverter power coming in, so I could try hooking up to a generator to see if that changes anything. I've heard the DC converter could be making the noise. Is there a way to turn that off?
Hank mentioned it earlier. You can and should turn off the CON/REC breaker when using this type of setup.
__________________
(SOLD) 2015 Keystone Passport 2810BH
2013 Ram 1500 Hemi 8-speed 3.92 Air Suspension
mfifield01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2018, 08:13 PM   #15
Bostongone
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Ruckersville
Posts: 108
Need to verify the hookup. Are your solar panels providing DC power directly to your RV battery bank? Do you then run the Inverter from the RV batteries and feed the output to the 30 or 50 amp AC feed to your trailer realizing that you will need to be very economical in AC usage or are you hooking it up by some other method?
__________________
2008 Springdale 266RELL
2007 Silverado 2500HD crew cab short bed
Bostongone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2018, 07:13 AM   #16
mfifield01
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 834
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgschust View Post
It's definitely not the inverter making the noise since that's outside and far away from the breaker panel.
The inverter itself will not make the noise. Items such as the power bricks for TVs, laptops, and other electronics will hum from the unclean power. I bet the converter is humming as it doesn't like the power from the inverter. In this case, the converter should be off anyway.
__________________
(SOLD) 2015 Keystone Passport 2810BH
2013 Ram 1500 Hemi 8-speed 3.92 Air Suspension
mfifield01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:45 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.