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Progressive EMS Bypass

I have a 50 AMP Progressive Industries EMS.  On the current trip it totally failed and would not pass any electricity, and did not have any indication at all on the LCD read out on the unit.


Knowing Progressive's great fix/warranty/rebuild policy, I prepared to remove the unit to return to Progressive.  I gave them a call and asked for tech support to confirm that I hadn't missed anything I might do before I removed the unit.

Tech support had me disconnect the shore power, and open up the EMS from the top of the unit (without removing the unit from the coach).  After I removed the cover of the unit, support had me plug back in and turn on the shore power at the pedestal. Using my VOM Tech support walked me through checks of the incoming power and wiring from the pedestal which checked out OK (Using the volt meter).  Tech support then had me check the contactor condition using the OHM side of the meter, which also checked out OK.  At that point support said we had determined that the problem was the processor board which would need to be replaced.  He went on to say that  we could bypass the intelligence of the unit and leave the unit installed (passing shore power to the coach while in "bypass" mode.  Hmmmm.  Good deal.  Disconnecting the shore power again, tech support walked me through the procedure to connect an already in place bypass wire inside the unit.  Basically pulling off one spade connection and jumping two others with a small jumper wire that is already in the unit but not used. Put the cover back on, turned on shore power again, and power was restored to the coach (albeit without any surge or other protections).

Progressive sent me a processor board at no charge.  Shutting off the power at the pedestal I removed the cover and easily swapped out the processor board.  Disconnecting the bypass wire, I took the opportunity to add an external bypass switch that I had bought from Progressive.  This will allow me to put the EMS in bypass without opening up the unit in the future.

Progressive Industries RV Surge and Electrical Protection industry lea

Here is the link to that switch (truthfully, any simple single pole switch will do the same thing.)

Put the box together, turned on the shore power, and with the unit out of bypass and it worked as new.  Packaged up the offending processor board and shipped it off to Progressive. Done.

The company not only makes a nice product with exemplary return and warranty support, the tech support is first rate, and the troubleshooting with tech support along with the bypass capability latent in the box made my event much less of a hassle.

I am not suggesting anyone uncomfortable or not experienced try this on their owns, but I felt very comfortable working through the process with Progressive guiding the way.

+1 For Progressive EMS - I like the lazy convenience of the built in unit, others like the portable.


Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #1 –
Great info.! Thanks for sharing Tim
Ed Pan
Ed Pan, M.D.
2002 U320 40'

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #2 –
Tim's manual bypass is only for model LCHW50, which does not have the remote panel.  We have two EMS model HW50C installed under the bed that have the remote panels which we have mounted in the kitchen.
Remote panels have a built-in bypass switch.  We think the remote's voltage, amperage & frequency readout is extremely useful. Like when on 30-amp shore outlet, we can see current amps being drawn and manage things by turning something off before we turn something else on.  On occasion we have used the bypass switch, but not very often as there is no protection when in bypass mode.
And if there is a problem, the remote instantly tells us the error code.  Last year when our generator voltage regulator started to fail, voltage momentarily jumped to 160 volts, EMS shut down to protect us and displayed a high-voltage error code.  A moment later the generator worked correctly and EMS closed, and still showed the previous error code of low voltage.  Very handy.

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #3 –
Barry where did you locate yours?  Looking at an upstream placement.  Can this be hard wired between relay number one and the main breaker box?  Or is it better for two to be mounted on each input before the relay?
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #4 –
Barry. When the remote bypass switch is on you are protected from a voltage surge but only a voltage surge. That is what I was told by the Progressive rep.

Roland
1993 U280 4341
2010 Jeep Liberty
The Pied Pipers

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #5 –
Roland, "surge" protection is quite minimal and is comprised of simple inexpensive MOVs, and cannot be turned off, and offers little protection.

Truth About MOVs | Zero Surge
Surge protector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
9 things you should know about surge protectors - CNET

You are correct that bypass turns off the important over/under voltage protection and leaves surge protection in place.

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #6 –
George,  Our two Progressive Industries EMS are both under the bed.  We always have had and EMS on the cable from the transfer switch box to the Main breaker pane, where is has protected us from over and under voltages from generator and campgrounds.  But in this configuration, the transfer switch itself is not protected.

More recently I read of an electrical shore cable problem that damaged a transfer switch, and then damaged the generator, which is always wired to the transfer switch, even when generator is turned off.  I decided we needed to also protect our transfer switch, so we installed another identical EMS on the shore cable before it enters the transfer switch.

Both remote EMS displays are in the kitchen area where we can easily and quickly look at them when we want.

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #7 –
Thanks Barry, I have been using Progressives SSP 50 XL at the box.  I am going to add the second as you described. 
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #8 –
Further thinking about the way to wire EMS protectors... 

If we had a Progressive Industries EMS on each of the two main inputs into the transfer switch, shore & generator anomalies would be well covered.  But if the transfer switch itself had a failure, like a bad neutral wire failure, our coach would not be protected.  And transfer switch points could easily be a source of trouble.

So by having one EMS after the transfer switch the main breaker box is protected from shore, generator or transfer switch anomalies.  But the transfer switch itself would not be protected from shore cable problems, that could back-feed and also damage generator.

And a single EMS installed on the shore power cable, either hardwired or pedestal-plug-in does protect transfer switch and main panel, but offers no protection from the more-rare generator voltage failures.  But we were well pleased that we did not have this shore-cable configuration when our generator output shot up to 160 volts two years ago and again when our generator output went down to 70 volts earlier this year.  Not only was our coach protected from our own generator, we could easily and quickly know the voltage numbers.

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #9 –
The different Progressive Industries product offerings is getting confusing and buyers need to be more aware about what protection they are purchasing...

Progressive Industries .net has one of the best OVER / UNDER voltage coach protectors.  These devices have a voltage-sensing circuit board that opens a contactor-relay to turn off electricity if the voltages are too high or too low.  They have this protector packaged for pedestal-plug-in, hardwired without remote display and hardwired with remote display, both for 50-amp & 30-amp RVs.  All three 50-amp over/under voltage protection products have "EMS" in their name with current retail prices of $349 to $431. 

It seems that Progressive Industries wanted to compete with lower priced, less functional devices and has add to their lineup products WITHOUT ANY EMS OVER/UNDER VOLTAGE PROTECTION.  "Surge protection" devices are often over-marketed and my previous posting listed some reasons. 

I prefer model EMS-HW50C as it has a remote display with manual bypass switch, is not theft-able, is out of the way and always on the job.  Both of our EMS devices are HW-50C.

All RVers need protection from campground pedestal power.  With all the plugging and unplugging that goes on, sockets wear, wires get loose, not to mention under sized or old installations.  Voltages can drop too low when other coaches start their air conditioners.  These are not 'surges'.  Only contactor-relay based devices can offer over & under voltage protection which could happen any time of day or night.

Progressive Industries SSP models do not offer this protection.  Their marketing & specification seems to offer protection, but what is missing is a statement of what the SSP products do not protect from.  It is important to not confuse the buyer, but more transparency would be helpful, maybe a comparison chart.

Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Barry & Cindy –
The different Progressive Industries product offerings is getting confusing and buyers need to be more aware about what protection they are purchasing... Progressive Industries .net has one of the best OVER / UNDER voltage coach protectors.
X2.......Well said, Barry. After almost burning the coach down last year, I researched Progressive, and, being the cheapskate I am, looked at the lower end versions and found them lacking in full protection. Got the EMS-PT-50C (which will work on 30 amps with an adapter) and sleep much better. Yes, it would be cool to have a read-out inside the coach, AND have the gen-set protected with another unit, but I can live with ours right now. Our power went out the other day in a thunderstorm, and the EMS, after the power came on again, started it's diagnostic search. The power did not come back on in the coach: I'd forgotten the "delay", which is 2 minutes 16 seconds!  Great product!  ^.^d
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Re: Progressive EMS Bypass

Reply #11 –
Glad I put my solution out there and can make changes.  Your guidance is much appreciated. 
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P