thorntonforce
New Member
I have been doing installation work on a vehicle and have encountered a problem. I have 2 AC electrical inputs to the system, a 1kw inverter and a socket for external mains electricity or generator. When the inverter switches on it powers the coil of an ac relay which switches the contacts from normally closed (external socket) to normally open (also the inverter). the common contacts of the relay connect to the input of my consumer unit. Downstream I have multiple sockets and lights etc.
the system works fine and switches seamlessly between the 2 inputs with no loss of power to my PCs and monitors etc. Unfortunately I cant run the fluorescent arc lighting I have installed from the inverter. There is plenty of capacity to run them but the initial inrush current causes a voltage drop on the inverter which switches off the relay. the result is high frequency relay chatter and the lights never come on.
If this was a DC voltage drop problem I would consider using a large capacitor but this wont work for AC - will it??
Is there any other solution??
Thanks in advance
Nick
the system works fine and switches seamlessly between the 2 inputs with no loss of power to my PCs and monitors etc. Unfortunately I cant run the fluorescent arc lighting I have installed from the inverter. There is plenty of capacity to run them but the initial inrush current causes a voltage drop on the inverter which switches off the relay. the result is high frequency relay chatter and the lights never come on.
If this was a DC voltage drop problem I would consider using a large capacitor but this wont work for AC - will it??
Is there any other solution??
Thanks in advance
Nick