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NAVIGATOR OPERATING MANUAL
NW Explorations
Inverter Operation
The Inverter is controlled by its control panel located above
the lower helm station. The panel has an LCD display that
shows the present function. LED Display lights tell you the
inverter’s status (detailed in the following page).
The inverter should be “ON” all the time. You will see one
of the “AC IN” lights lit (depending if shore power or the
generator is running) or the “Inverting” light, indicating that the
inverter is making AC from the ship’s batteries.
STATUS LIGHTS LIT
MEANING OF INVERTER STATUS LIGHTS
“AC IN” ONLY
Shore Power “ON”, Inverter Turned “OFF”
“AC IN” & “CHARGE”
TOGETHER
Shore Power “ON”, Inverter Charging the House Batteries
“INVERT” ONLY
Inverter is “ON”, making AC. No shore power available. Inverter is depleting house
batteries.
“DC VOLTS”
House Battery Voltage. 14.2 Volts is Bulk Charging; 13.2 Volts is Float Charging; 12.8 Volts
is Level of Fresh Battery; 11.0 Volts is Usually Considered a Discharged Battery.
“DC AMPS”
Shows Rate of Battery Charge if Charging, Rate of Battery Discharge if Inverting
PUSH BUTTON USE
SETUP
Do not use!
CHARGE
Turns charge function on/off
INVERT
Turns inverter function on/off
POWER SHARE
Press repeatedly to cycle through the settings; LED’s indicate the maximum shore power the
inverter will draw: Used to keep the inverter from blowing dock shore power breakers!
Remember the important note “Connecting/Disconnecting Shore Power”: The inverter, if on, will draw a lot
of current when bulk charging, so be careful not to overload a shore power circuit. If “AC Present” and “INV/
CHRG” are both lit, inverter is loading your AC supply. Check the AC ammeter (see 4.11).
In summary, the inverter should be on whenever shore power is present or the generator is running, and it may
also be left on when underway. It is a good idea to turn the inverter off at anchor (when the generator isn’t
running), turning it on only when you want to use something briefly, as above; in this way, you will avoid running
down the house batteries just because someone left some AC appliance plugged in and forgotten.
Note again: Only the breakers in the panel illustration on page with an asterisk (*) are powered by
the inverter.