2007 Dynasty - 110 outlet question.

[FlynPirate]

Hello all .. New member and first post. (I have a lot to learn and after reading through all the battery topics, it's quite intimidating to post this question, but here goes...)

I take delivery this week of a 2007 Dynasty and will be storing it indoors at a storage facility near my home. They provide 110 outlets. I bought a 50amp to 15amp adapter and am considering keeping it plugged in to keep all batteries charged. I've read on other forums of folks keeping their coaches plugged in at "home" year round with no problems. However, I just downloaded the Owners manual and read this caution - 

CAUTION: - If shore power service is limited to 15or 20 Amps, use of light duty extension, cords and electrical adapters will create voltage loss through the cord, and at each electrical connection. Line voltage loss and the resistance at each electrical connection can be a hazardous, combination. Damage to sensitive electronic equipment may result.

The previous owner replaced six batteries in January and I want to do all I can to maintain and protect the investment. Any advise, links to threads or help would be greatly appreciated!

Jeff

[Scotty Hutto]

Welcome Jeff.

I keep my coach plugged in to a 15A outlet when stored for the same reasons.  I’ve done this to keep my batteries charged and run my residential refrigerator for about 7 years with no issues.  

The keys are:

1. Make sure all large loads (AC, water heater, etc) are turned off. 
2. Set your inverter to only draw 10A from AC power. I’m not sure exactly what inverter your coach has, so I won’t attempt detailed instructions here.  If you need help with this, let us know.  The default setting is 30A which will trip the breaker (or GFCI). This does mean your batteries will charge slower when you are hooked to 30A or 50A. If that’s an issue, it’s an easy setting to change once you learn how. 

[Tom Cherry]

Welcome and thanks for reading the manual.  First place to go.

Scotty posted first.  He may be right….probably better, but, I’d try 20.

Next, about step 5 of the setup lets you set charging rate.  It if trips at 40%…drop to 30 or 20. BUT always store with a FULL Charge. Partially discharged batteries will require a FULL 15 A. The inverter also uses some to “run it”.  You should ALWAYS UNPLUG any electronics such as TV and Amplifiers.  I would not run a Residential refrigerator.  But, if necessary, use the energy setting.

This is an edit after I had typed the following.

You need to be aware that 120 v GFCI might NOT work well or NOT at all.

You MUST do the SHORE as well as adjust the SETUP in the Magnum.

Choose 20A for breaker.  It will always be 30A, even on 50 A.  That is the based on the INVERTER breakers…30. BUT, when on 20, set it lower.  Also go into Charge Rate.  On a 20 A, my expeience and Magnum says to set on 40%.  I never set mine above 80% as it has age and will get hot.  If a GFCI trips, try 15 A.  Past that, it AIN’T GONNA WORK.  My 4 hour call to Magnum taught me a lot in 2009.

I have also included the Battery 101.  Read and heed….folks that do, are getting 9+ YEARS on Trojan T-105 batteries 

 

 

 

[FlynPirate]

23 minutes ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Welcome Jeff.

I keep my coach plugged in to a 15A outlet when stored for the same reasons.  I’ve done this to keep my batteries charged and run my residential refrigerator for about 7 years with no issues.  

The keys are:

1. Make sure all large loads (AC, water heater, etc) are turned off. 
2. Set your inverter to only draw 10A from AC power. I’m not sure exactly what inverter your coach has, so I won’t attempt detailed instructions here.  If you need help with this, let us know.  The default setting is 30A which will trip the breaker (or GFCI). This does mean your batteries will charge slower when you are hooked to 30A or 50A. If that’s an issue, it’s an easy setting to change once you learn how. 

Thanks Scotty! 

[Steve P]

I have had mine on a 20A outlet for 4 years in storage at least 8 months of the year each year (we mostly travel in colder months).  It has 4 elements:  1) a 110V 3-prong to 30A female plug, 2) a short cord with 30A male to 50A female, 3) a 50A surge protector, and 4) the 50A male of RV power cord.

My inverter remote (inside, on a wall panel) will only go to as low as a 20A setting, so that's what I set it for.  I don't run any appliances inside.  One 110V outlet powers my Simplisafe security system to alert me to power failures or break-ins.

I have found that I can run 1 air conditioner on this setup to cool things off while doing repairs inside the coach.

I also have an extension cord that runs from the second 110V outlet to a 1-amp battery charger that may or may not have been original equipment in the battery bay to top-up the AGM chassis batteries. 

[FlynPirate]

14 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Welcome and thanks for reading the manual.  First place to go.

You need to be aware that 120 v GFCI might NOT work well or NOT at all.

You MUST do the SHORE as well as adjust the SETUP in the Magnum.

Choose 20A for breaker.  It will always be 30A, even on 50 A.  That is the based on the INVERTER breakers…30. BUT, when on 20, set it lower.  Also go into Charge Rate.  On a 20 A, my expeience and Magnum says to set on 40%.  I never set mine above 80% as it has age and will get hot.  If a GFCI trips, try 15 A.  Past that, it AIN’T GONNA WORK.  My 4 hour call to Magnum taught me a lot in 2009.

I have also included the Battery 101.  Read and heed….folks that do, are getting 9+ YEARS on Trojan T-105 batteries 

 

 

 

Thanks so much Tom ... Good info and I'll dive in deep. I look forward to being an active participant on this site. 

 

[Tom Wallis]

One last thing. I you should need to need to use an extension cord in your hookup, make sure it's a 12 gauge cord.

[Tom Cherry]

With all due respect to several posters.  Your charging system is a bit advanced and it is a Dual In Dual Out.  Their comments in general are correct…must be a HD extension as short as possible. I’d buy a NEW 50-30 adapter.  Way too many folks overload these and the contacts inside the molded conneextors were mechanically crimped…but overloading heats them up and the loose their temper and are loose….HIGH RESISTANCE.  Start with a HIGH Quality Camco BEST ONE…

One word of caution if you try an air conditioner. YOU MUST turn off the Charger.  The starting current for a 15 AC, as they get older will spike into the low 20’s.  Normal running, for a newer one is 13 - 17. That leaves scant amperage and there is a fixed amount of current or parasitic drain from the Magnum.

Do this sparingly and do NOT turn on any interior lights. The suggested rule of thumb here is to immediately convert the halogen Puck Lights to LED. 
 

NOTE…again, your Dynasty has a special Intellitec MPX control system.  That is on standby.  You can also DIM your lights. You MUST select an LED replacement that is DIMMABLE….

Brain on OVERLOAD….it just gets better. Reading your manual puts you way ahead of most,,,

[Scotty Hutto]

1 hour ago, Tom Cherry said:

Scotty posted first.  He may be right….probably better, but, I’d try 20.

Choose 20A for breaker.  It will always be 30A, even on 50 A.  That is the based on the INVERTER breakers…30. BUT, when on 20, set it lower.  Also go into Charge Rate.  On a 20 A, my experience and Magnum says to set on 40%.  I never set mine above 80% as it has age and will get hot.  If a GFCI trips, try 15 A.  Past that, it AIN’T GONNA WORK.  My 4 hour call to Magnum taught me a lot in 2009.

 

Tom, if Jeff's storage facility has a 15A GFI outlet 20A won't work. It will pop the GFI every time, eventually damaging the GFI outlet. The storage facility I use was built circa 2015 and only has 120v 15A GFI outlets available.

...and you need to check your info about using lower than 15A.  For 6+ years my batteries have charged just fine on a 10A charge rate - while running a residential refrigerator. This is based on my conversation with Magnum Tech Support last summer.

[FlynPirate]

22 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

With all due respect to several posters.  Your charging system is a bit advanced and it is a Dual In Dual Out.  Their comments in general are correct…must be a HD extension as short as possible. I’d buy a NEW 50-30 adapter.  Way too many folks overload these and the contacts inside the molded conneextors were mechanically crimped…but overloading heats them up and the loose their temper and are loose….HIGH RESISTANCE.  Start with a HIGH Quality Camco BEST ONE…

One word of caution if you try an air conditioner. YOU MUST turn off the Charger.  The starting current for a 15 AC, as they get older will spike into the low 20’s.  Normal running, for a newer one is 13 - 17. That leaves scant amperage and there is a fixed amount of current or parasitic drain from the Magnum.

Do this sparingly and do NOT turn on any interior lights. The suggested rule of thumb here is to immediately convert the halogen Puck Lights to LED. 
 

NOTE…again, your Dynasty has a special Intellitec MPX control system.  That is on standby.  You can also DIM your lights. You MUST select an LED replacement that is DIMMABLE….

Brain on OVERLOAD….it just gets better. Reading your manual puts you way ahead of most,,,

....all good stuff and not overloaded ...YET ... my puck lights have been converted to dimmable LED. I do know to power off pretty much everything in order to charge the batts. Got brand new adapters (50>30, even a 50>15). I'll use my 25ft 12 gauge ext cord. 

3 minutes ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Tom, if Jeff's storage facility has a 15A GFI outlet 20A won't work. It will pop the GFI every time, eventually damaging the GFI outlet. The storage facility I use was built circa 2015 and only has 120v 15A GFI outlets available.

...and you need to check your info about using lower than 15A.  For 6+ years my batteries have charged just fine on a 10A charge rate - while running a residential refrigerator. This is based on my conversation with Magnum Tech Support last summer.

It's a brand new storage facility, but I'll check how they are set-up for circuit protection. As much as I'm paying, maybe I can get them to upgrade my unit. 

[Rocketman3]

1 hour ago, Tom Wallis said:

One last thing. I you should need to need to use an extension cord in your hookup, make sure it's a 12 gauge cord.

Yes make sure your extension cord is at least 12 gauge- you can also find 10 gauge 50’ cords too (that’s what I keep in my rig). Less voltage drop is a good thing!

 

Also keep a close eye on the power (at least at first) when connecting to GFI outlets.

Each outlet only lets a small amount of current “leaking” from neutral to ground. (I think it is 5mv).The problem is you have a rig that has many different 120v items in it- so if you have three items that have 2mv of leakage - each item is in spec- but combined they will pop the GFI breaker. Also as breakers get older they trip more easily.

My point is just watch close and make sure it doesn’t trip on you.

[Benjamin]

You have an adapter, you might have enough 50A cord to reach the outlet without an extension cord.  6g is better than 10 or 12g, at 5,10 or 15A there will be no voltage drop in the 6g cord, but more importantly it will act as a heat sink to conduct heat away from the contacts. A long or thin dogbone will reduce that heat conduction compared to just a plug in adapter.  Meaningless for charging, but if you ever try to run an air conditioner it matters. 

[Tom Cherry]

1 hour ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Tom, if Jeff's storage facility has a 15A GFI outlet 20A won't work. It will pop the GFI every time, eventually damaging the GFI outlet. The storage facility I use was built circa 2015 and only has 120v 15A GFI outlets available.

...and you need to check your info about using lower than 15A.  For 6+ years my batteries have charged just fine on a 10A charge rate - while running a residential refrigerator. This is based on my conversation with Magnum Tech Support last summer.

Scotty...  GOOD STUFF.  And to make this MORE complicated...  ALL MONACO'S are NOT WIRED THE SAME.

Long Story...SHORT version. My 2009 Camelot will TRIP the breakers on a NON Standard Wiring of a 50 Amp Service.  Instead of a Single 50 Amp 220 breaker, they used TWO 50 Amp Breakers...  I BELIEVE they were OUT of PHASE...but it was HOT and I was BEAT. A buddy has a franchise for a popular piece of construction equipment. His local maintenance guy wired up a 50 Amp service for the steam pressure washer they used to clean them up after each rental. He has a 2008 Navigator. He let me park it there while we were at a Time Share.  When I plugged mine in and turned on the breaker....one of them POPPED or Tripped. He has used this setup and still does since 2008 as he drives there and avoids a hotel room.  SO...WHY.. I haven't a CLUE.

NOW...  I do NOT disagree with what Magnum told me nor that it is working.  My experience is different. In 2009, a mere 2 months after I learned what DP stood for, I tried, in vain to use a 20 Amp GFCI at my BIL's house. YES, I had a good CORD. YES, the GFCI breaker was OK. YES, I tested it with the plug in "Home Inspector" model with a GFCI "Test to Trip" button.

BUT, it would NEVER WORK. Magnum did, over the next few days go over every conceivable fix. They told me to use 20 A...it was a 20 Amp GFCI. They told me to throttle down... and use 15 and then 10...but then...  IT AIN'T GONNA WORK.

So, bottom line....  I THINK that you have a Magnum...in fact I KNOW so.  So, what I THINK...you are using a SHORE setting of 10 A.  Mine, a few years newer will NOT support anywhere near that. Magnum told me, also....and the TECH's there are NEW.. to ALWAYS TURN DOWN the Charging Percentage on anything LESS than 30 Amps.

Maybe that is also what is happening with yours when you have derated the Shore.

YES...  Find OUT the Amps of the GFCI...as well as the AMPS of a NON GFCI. Set the SHORE to match that. BUT, be aware...you may need to throttle back. 

I still recommend cutting back to keep the Magnum from being overworked....and that is also a Magnum recommendation.  Many of us here are WAY past the usual life span. Magnum said to throttle back to a lower charge rate to keep the FET's from getting hotter and that WOULD extend the life of the inverter.

YES, the 10 Amp Shore setting is how yours is working.  The starting current on our Samsungs is LOW.  I have measured it and it barely a BLIP and the FLA is maybe 7 AMPS (MEMORY...NOT an exact) and the Running is way lower in the 2 - 3 Amps.  As long as your set up works....GREAT.

But since his inverter is a few years newer, it will NOT HURT to throttle back on the charge rate.

Thanks for the explanation...

[FlynPirate]

Gentlemen ...  My takeaway from this post is to, obviously know the specs of the 110 circuit I'll be plugging into, turn off high draw appliances and set the Magnum accordingly with a reduced draw rate and reduce the charge rate. (I'll start with 15a and 30%), a 12 gauge 25ft cord (if the coach cord doesn't reach) make sure the dealer properly serviced the batteries and plug it in. 

Thanks for all the wonderful and insightful replies. I can see now the amount of support I have moving forward on this classic coach!

Jeff

[Tom Cherry]

25 minutes ago, FlynPirate said:

Gentlemen ...  My takeaway from this post is to, obviously know the specs of the 110 circuit I'll be plugging into, turn off high draw appliances and set the Magnum accordingly with a reduced draw rate and reduce the charge rate. (I'll start with 15a and 30%), a 12 gauge 25ft cord (if the coach cord doesn't reach) make sure the dealer properly serviced the batteries and plug it in. 

Thanks for all the wonderful and insightful replies. I can see now the amount of support I have moving forward on this classic coach!

Jeff

If you've every watched or rewatched the movie, or the Broadway production or a local theater's production of "MY FAIR LADY".  There is a scene when Liza repeats the "RAIN IN SPAIN....." so precisely that Higgins and Colonel Pickering are overcome....SILENCE...then, Pickering delivers this line,

By JOVE, I think She's GOT IT.  With all apologies...  By JOVE, I think HE's GOT IT...!   Great...!

 

Just keep, as you are, reading the manual, downloading the prints, reading the information in the Files...and there are many files that deal with your charging system and the Proprietary Intellitec boards and the Intellitec MPX lighting system.

That is how you learn.  BUT after reading and researching and such, you hit a brick wall or don't understand....then search and find a topic or if none...then start a new one.

You're getting an extra step in rank...

[FlynPirate]

15 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

If you've every watched or rewatched the movie, or the Broadway production or a local theater's production of "MY FAIR LADY".  There is a scene when Liza repeats the "RAIN IN SPAIN....." so precisely that Higgins and Colonel Pickering are overcome....SILENCE...then, Pickering delivers this line,

By JOVE, I think She's GOT IT.  With all apologies...  By JOVE, I think HE's GOT IT...!   Great...!

 

Just keep, as you are, reading the manual, downloading the prints, reading the information in the Files...and there are many files that deal with your charging system and the Proprietary Intellitec boards and the Intellitec MPX lighting system.

That is how you learn.  BUT after reading and researching and such, you hit a brick wall or don't understand....then search and find a topic or if none...then start a new one.

You're getting an extra step in rank...

Ha! In my profession as a pilot, we LIVE by systems knowledge. (Just not 12V systems!) This is right up my alley.  Thanks and Cheers!

[Paul J A]

Use your power cord from the coach to the shore power supply, with an adapter. The coach cord can tolerate spikes better than any extension cord. AND they can't steal it!! 

Get a plumbers plunger and modify , similar to this in the attached photo. Keeps rodents out!!!

[FlynPirate]

One more question concerning plugging into a 110V, should I turn off the battery "Cut-off" switch? (The one by the front door, not the disconnect) Does it matter?

Edited August 2 by FlynPirate

[Ivan K]

No good reason to do that, as a matter of fact, many if not most of us have eliminated the disconnect function of the switch.

[FlynPirate]

4 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

No good reason to do that, as a matter of fact, many if not most of us have eliminated the disconnect function of the switch.

So when you store your rig you just disconnect the batteries?

[Ivan K]

1 minute ago, FlynPirate said:

So when you store your rig you just disconnect the batteries?

Yes, if you have no charging source for days to come. If for a long time, physically disconnecting the batteries is a safe thing to do because some systems are even bypassing the switches.

[Tom Cherry]

2 hours ago, FlynPirate said:

So when you store your rig you just disconnect the batteries?

Belay that advice.  You have the intellitec MPX system.  When you use the disconnect switch, you also take down the MPX.  Then, you HOPE when it reboots that all will be well.  There is a CPU and at least 5 or modules. Memory is fuzzy, but you might also have two salesman solenoid. Frank leaves his ON. I bypassed mine sind my MPX is much simpler.  BUT I leave power on and never take it down,  The salesman switch is also handy for the times that the system gets a little funky…like the modules have lost their handshake. You can safely reboot the system, from the inside, by using the Battery Cutoff.

Any Dynasty and above from circa 2005 with the Intellitec MPX…is NOT, we believe, a good candidate for jumpering the Batt Cut off solenoid.  Frank and I have power at storage and we actually bypass the Big Boy BIRD/Boost solenoid and that way the contacts don’t get pitted.  When in use, we remove the Jumper.  An automotive Jumper cable works as well between the Positives.  Pull one of the control wires to the Big Boy.  It disengages and the contacts stay cleaner and the coil is not under load.

Monaco upgraded the MH exponentially and the simpler ones did not have the BIRD systems.  Read the manual and understand and continue to ask questions.

 

[Frank McElroy]

On 8/2/2024 at 7:41 PM, FlynPirate said:

So when you store your rig you just disconnect the batteries?

Yes, when I store my coach not connected to shore power it is best to disconnect the batteries.  I remove the ground cables on the chassis 12 volt batteries and for the house 6 volt batteries, I remove the small jumper cables going between each set of two 6 volt batteries.

[FlynPirate]

OK ... I'm gonna open this topic again because I've got an issue. I plugged into a 110V 20Amp outlet and set my Magnum to 15am, with a charge rate of 30%. All was good ... for a while. Now I'm getting this warning "AC Overload" displayed. It is now popping the GFCI. I have the inverter OFF, all AC appliances off so don't understand. A couple of notes ... (1) I do have a brand new Residential refridge installed by the selling dealer. (The original went bad on their lot.) (2) the day I noticed this fault warning, I had started the Engine and ran it for a few mins to level the coach. It was still plugged in. Could this have caused the fault? 

Now what? I can't seem to remove the fault warning. Do I reset the Inverter under the coach? 

 

Edited August 14 by FlynPirate

[Steve P]

Jeff - I haven't had this exact problem, but a quick Google search shows that others have and you might want to reference those. Also, there are often instructions in the manual that help to resolve such issues.  And a search of the Monacoers posts may also be golden.

A soft reset and perhaps even a hard reset might be required. But I wouldn't start there without reading further.

Magnum is also very helpful when you call their customer service team. I would download the manual first if you don't already have it. Just to make sure whether your problem is addressed in it. 

 Maybe the previous owner or the dealer altered the standard settings for your inverter?  If so, that might be related to your problem.  After you get back to a stable state, you can have Magnum walk you through those settings.

Another tip:  The moderators may chide you if you don't start opening threads specific to the system or problem that you are having. Ask me how I know!

Other folks may chime in as to what outlet your new refrigerator should be plugged into.  The outlets for the refrigerator are probably accessible through the outside cooling vent. 

Last but not least, a good many of us have had GFCI outlet failures, so you may want to replace those.  As far as I know, mine were original, and they started popping about 2-3 years ago.  

Good hunting. Keep us updated on your progress.

Steve P