[August Rush]

Anyone with a factory installed inverter explain to me how it works?
I have a 2008 39 Sovran. It’s has a small Xantrax display in the aft cabin that powers on and a large throw switch at the main distribution panel.  
I have had other inverters before (love them) and I wired them myself.  Mostly to allow for use of the AC outlets around the boat without have to use the genset.  
Also I can not find the unit so any idea on the location?

[hiccup]

Not familiar with the 39 Sovran electrical layout specifically, but familiar with how Tiara typically installs inverters.

It probably is powering a small subset of your AC system, like the outlets, microwave, ice maker. It is probably an inverter/charger combo and charges the house bank. You likely have a separate charger for your engine batteries. You probably need the inverter switch closed in order to charge the house batteries on shore power. It probably has AC power pass-through such that when there is AC power available from the generator or shore power, it passes that power through to the loads it's connected to. To use the inverter function, you would make sure the main DC switch is closed and operate the inverter from the small control panel you mentioned.

This is what I would expect with a factory install. Of course it is now 15+ years old, so it may have been modified along the way.

[August Rush]

Thanks for the reply. So to get a bit more specific.

I have read through the Tiara provided manual and it states to turn the main breaker switch to own and then turn on the inverter using the controller mounted inside the boat. When I do this I can not seem to figure what it’s powering if at all. At least none of the outlets allow for power which would be in my option the primary reason for having an inverter. I’ll have to start tracing the wiring I guess and see what circuits the inverter is connected to. Good news is I finally stumbled across the inverter.

[hiccup]

I would bet 100:1 that at least the outlets are connected. This will be detailed in the schematics in your owner's manual. If you don't have the schematics, Tiara customer service can typically email you a PDF copy.

So, if the inverter is getting power (check fuse, probably in engine room near house batteries), is turned on, and not putting out AC, then I would check the breaker at the inverter first, then break out the multimeter. Hate to say it but 16 years is old for an inverter, they tend to age in dog years lol. Good news is the newer ones are much better, and you should be able to reuse most if not all wiring.