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Question: I have a 400 watt inverter that i plugged a mini fridge into. the fault light flashed, now it won't turn on?

(Posted by: Stephen on 2009-12-17 15:51:00)

I have a solar panel on my van that charges 2 12v golf cart batteries. I have a 400 watt coleman power inverter. I turned on my inverter, plugged in my mini fridge, and the red fault light came on for about a second, beeped, and then shut off. Now I can't get the inverter to turn back on. Would it have blown a fuse? I checked the 40A fuse in the inverter but it looks good. The inverter is a Coleman Power Mate 400 Watt Inverter (800 Peak Surge), 3.5 Amps, with 110- 120V/ AC Output. The Mini Fridge had a sticker on the back with some specifications including "Source 115V ", 1.2 Amps, and "Frequency 60Hz ". It didn't have Watts anywhere. The inverter should be able to power the fridge, right? Why won't the inverter turn back on? Everything else powered by the solar panel and batteries works, except the inverter. The solar panel is hooked up to the batteries, and the batteries are hooked up to the inverter. The batteries are still fully charged and functioning, the inverter just won't turn on. I haven't tried the fridge yet, but I know it was working properly before I plugged it into the inverter. I unplugged it within a few seconds after the fault light flashed and the inverter shut off. Are you saying that my inverter might be fried and I need to get a new one? Plugging in a fridge wouldn't cause a surge, right? And plus, isn't the inverter designed to withstand surges by shutting off before it gets damaged?

Posted by: oldcrankyman on 2009-12-17, 16:03:46

According to the info you stated, that converter should have had no problem running the fridge. The formula for wattage is volts times amps equals watts, so at 115v and 1.2a, your fridge uses 138 watts. You don't say if you've tried the fridge since this incident, I'd suspect something wrong with it that fried the inverter.

Posted by: ZebY on 2009-12-17, 16:08:40

What did u powered ur inverter with? ur Batteries ..or connected them directly to the solar panel inverter needs Juice..and battries(charged) can provide..not the solar panel Fridge hav a Fuse fuse amps x 115VAC = Watts that little fridge would consume max before blowing the fuse if it was 1.2Ampsthen it would be okay .. cuz 115 x 1.2 = 138Watts..which is < 400W and would be okay to connect (138Watts will be the MAX..so it would be around 120Watts or 100Watts) Fault LED turned on..next time it happens..try to unplug whatever u connected Immediately if this happens..may save ur Equipments and test r Fridge on a "regular wall outlet " to check if its okay *Edit check ur Battires also..maybe the inverter Sucked all the Juice from them..recharge them .. (by Juice i mean Current Of course :P)