Inverter problem (1 Viewer)

[Top Hat]

I have another electrical problem, yesterday I replaced my old 12v tv which work's fine on 12v with a new 230v tv that I am going to run of a 150w inverter as I've done previously on other motorhomes, the problem is for some reason there's not enough power to run the tv, the 12v tv requires 55w (4.ps) the new 240v tv requires 35w (ps) so requires less power, even tried a 40w bulb in a lamp with a different 500w inverter but had the same problem the bulb was flashing with lack of current.
The voltage at the socket is reading 12.9v
I cannot understand this at all, can you think of anything why this should happen.

Charlie

 

[Lenny HB]

If the inverter is a plug in one could just be a poor connection with the socket, that could explain the bulb playing up.
Also the TV will have a switched mode power supply a lot of them will only run off an inverter if it is a pure sine wave Inverter.

 

[pappajohn]

I assume the new TV is 230v only.... No 230v to 12v converter 'brick' in the lead.

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[Top Hat]

Thanks for your suggestions, I have been it touch with the guy who converted the van and this 12v socket over the bed is only fed by low voltage cable and only intended 12v use.

 

[autorouter]

Running a 35 watt TV from a 150watt inverter should be well within the capacity of the 12 volt socket. The socket should be capable of at least 7 amps (7 x 12 = 84 watts). The fact that you get a similar problem with another inverter and device points to a fault in the socket or its wiring.

You can confirm this by measuring the voltage of the socket while you are trying to draw power from it. Not so easy, probably, but maybe you can rig something up.

Somewhere in the wiring there will be an extra resistance. Usually it's a bad contact somewhere. A loose terminal, or some oxide coating on a fuse contact.

 

[pappajohn]

Still should be capable of supplying a miserly 3 amps.
A regular cig lighter socket is rated at 10 amps and can take more if the wiring is short.

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[Top Hat]

Yeah the 12v tv works fine pulling 4.5 amps, how the inverter start up affects the 240v tv is above my pay grade.
Don't really need 240v in this area anyway still got the old 12v tv for there.
I will fix a big inverter straight from the leisure battery in the seating area for the 240v tv this is what the converter had in mind when he located the leisure battery there.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Yeah the 12v tv works fine pulling 4.5 amps, how the inverter start up affects the 240v tv is above my pay grade.
Don't really need 240v in this area anyway still got the old 12v tv for there.
I will fix a big inverter straight from the leisure battery in the seating area for the 240v tv this is what the converter had in mind when he located the leisure battery there.

Bear in mind big inverters waste more power. Fit a small sinewave one if you can get away with it.

 

[Reallyretired]

Don't know what inverter you're using but most 'plug in' ones are not pure sine wave. When I needed a pure sine wave inverter to charge toothbrushes (1watt) the smallest I could find was 300w. My large inverter is modified square wave and is fine for the hairdryer and occasional microwave use.

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[Top Hat]

To be honest I really don't need a inverter, I have had the 150w and 500w inverters for years and ran the 240v tv in my last can van from 150w one, will probably try this tv straight from the battery and if no good will get a new 12v one and the 240v tv can go into the house,
Now where can it go

 

[Doctor Dave]

I have another electrical problem, yesterday I replaced my old 12v tv which work's fine on 12v with a new 230v tv that I am going to run of a 150w inverter as I've done previously on other motorhomes, the problem is for some reason there's not enough power to run the tv, the 12v tv requires 55w (4.ps) the new 240v tv requires 35w (ps) so requires less power, even tried a 40w bulb in a lamp with a different 500w inverter but had the same problem the bulb was flashing with lack of current.
The voltage at the socket is reading 12.9v
I cannot understand this at all, can you think of anything why this should happen.

Charlie

When I had my boat I had a pure sine wave inverter that I could set to go to very low power when there was no call for mains. (I had a mains freezer that was plugged in continuously but when the freezer didn't want power the inverter would shut down to about .25 amp until there was a call for power. If I plugged a table lamp in with a low wattage bulb it would flash on and off if nothing else was using mains. The threshold for the low energy mode was adjustable by DIP switches. I hope you understood all that and I wonder if your inverter is similarly equipped.

Dave

 

[Top Hat]

I ended up just running the 230v DVD tv reqireing 34 watts of a inverter, the smallest inverter I have is 300w way over kill I know, not knowing a lot about what a 300w inverter actually uses to power it's self against say a 150w inverter I'm not sure whether to replace it with a smaller unit or not. Advice would be welcome.

Charlie

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[Guigsy]

I've got a basic 150w inverter that's occasionally useful for charging a few toys that I can't (cheaply) adapt to 12v. One of them is my work laptop, and I'm not going to shell out for an adaptor just for work's equipment.

The laptop charges fine and appears to run OK. However, the touchpad keeps going nuts. I'd have thought that just about everything that uses a switchmode power supply would be fine with any input, no matter how messy, but apparently some things can be touchy. Maybe your TV doesn't like it?

Alternatively, could it be the average power is 35w, but it asks for far more during switch-on when it's filling it's capacitors???

 

[Top Hat]

The 300w inverter runs the tv fine, and I'm sure a 150w would also be ok, my aim is to pull as little power from the battery as possible to run the tv, would I be wasting my money purchasing a 150w inverter to replace the 300w were the power drain on the battery may be negligible between the two inverters.

 

[funflair]

The 300w inverter runs the tv fine, and I'm sure a 150w would also be ok, my aim is to pull as little power from the battery as possible to run the tv, would I be wasting my money purchasing a 150w inverter to replace the 300w were the power drain on the battery may be negligible between the two inverters.

Yes.

Martin

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