Xantrex Prosine 3.0 Inverter - Worth repairing?

Seangie · October 31, 2012, 06:31:10 PM

For the knowledgeable -

While making a trip to the dump recently we found a guy throwing away a Prosine 3.0 inverter. We grabbed it from him and took it home, tested and tore it apart. We found a fault code of 195 which from the manual states "There may be a hot to ground wiring error. A mistake made in AC wiring caused internal traces to
open. Shoring the AC line to the chassis ground occasionally causes damage especially if supplied from a 50 A service with a short cord."

When we opened it we found that the AC rectifier had overheated and shorted causing a burnout on the mainboard.

The question I have is - Is it worth removing and replacing the resistors/ICs that are burnt out on the main board and looking for a new rectifier? We are hoping to get it working for less than 100$ or so...

-Sean
www.herdofturtles.org

plyonsMC9 · November 10, 2012, 09:23:49 AM

Sean, what did you decide to do with this?

Just curious!

Best Regards, Phil

Seayfam · November 10, 2012, 10:53:11 AM

I had the same problem with my Prosine 3.0 inverter. It was only one year old and used very little and the main board fried. I called a few different dealers and none of them would warranty it because I couldn't find the original receipt. They also told me that they couldn't get the parts very easy, so it wouldn't be worth repairing. I ended up buying a new OutBack VFX3524 and really love it!

BTW, I sent mine down to a fellow bus nut down in Florida, maybe it was him throwing it in the trash. LOL

belfert · November 10, 2012, 02:35:55 PM

The transfer relay started sticking on my Prosine 3.0. I talked to a number of Xantrex authorized shops and nobody would touch a Prosine because Xantrex won't supply parts or even wiring diagrams. I called Xantrex themselves and they no longer repair the Prosine 3.0. One of the dealers said Xantrex was actually sending container loads of broken Prosines to China to get them fixed. Xantrex was simply exchanging your broken unit for a refurbished unit.

I had a heck of a time finding a new relay so a friend of mine took the relay apart and cleaned it up. It is still working some years later. I am way more careful on transferring load now. The Prosine is not all all service friendly. You have to take out a few dozen screws to get it apart.

pvcces · November 12, 2012, 10:17:20 PM

Changing the relay is not too bad; this is a weak area of this inverter. We found a heavier replacement and had no trouble.

Tom Caffrey

Gerry H · November 13, 2012, 04:29:40 AM

I had some of the same issues on a unit belonging to a friend. He was told it was all sealed for moisture and couldn't be repaired, so he was sold a $1500.00 replacement. He gave me the unit (I'm a tech) I found it was not sealed, and the only thing wrong was an internal fuse on one of the circuit boards was blown (let his batteries get too low before charging) I changed the fuse (29 cents) and gave it back to him. He had to go round with the seller for a return/refund which he did receive. Yes, parts are hard to come by at times and some things can't or aren't worth fixing, but seems we're geared for sales instead of repairs. JMO By the way, I own a Prosine 3.0 also. Gerry H

belfert · November 13, 2012, 05:42:22 AM

Quote from: pvcces on November 12, 2012, 10:17:20 PM
Changing the relay is not too bad; this is a weak area of this inverter. We found a heavier replacement and had no trouble.

Where did you find a replacement relay? I looked all over for a replacement relay with the same part number and only found a place or two that could try to order it. I thought about using a different relay, but there isn't a lot of room. My repaired relay has been working fine since 2009 so I haven't put much more effort into finding another relay.

junkman42 · November 13, 2012, 07:21:35 AM

Belfert, could put a picture and part number of the relay You need on the board! I was able to find all of the relays used in the freedom series very cheap. I will attempt to find a supplier for You if You can provide the info for Me. Regardes John L

belfert · November 13, 2012, 07:32:02 AM

Right now I don't have the part number for the relay. I probably won't pull the inverter apart again until it fails the next time. The Prosine is a pain to take apart. I'll try to remember to post the part number and picture if it fails again.

sivrtnge2 · November 13, 2012, 03:48:08 PM

I am also interested in the part number. I own 2 of these units. One which had the same issue as Gerry's friend. My batteries got to low and it went into some type of fault. When I asked about fixing it, I was told they discontinued the model and parts were no longer available.
--
Bill

Seangie · November 14, 2012, 05:52:06 AM

Hey Guys -

We have decided it is going to be too much effort for little gain and for all I have read about these prosine inverters, a chance that we could run into the same problems when we swap out the parts.

So it is for sale - Someone PM'd me already, So I will reply to them as they have first dibs...but if they decide not to take it, I will post it up on the Spare Tire and you can all fight over it

Thanks Again for your help.

-Sean

Nusa · November 14, 2012, 10:22:16 AM

Assuming you can identify and source that burned chip (the one to the left of it in the last picture is probably the same), some sort of repair may be possible. Not for the inexperienced, however.