"Chuck" wrote in message newsOUPi.148422$Fc.93550@attbi_s21...
Dimmer won't work when connected to power inverter

I successfully tested an 18ft long section of rope lights (Hunter brand) and a 3-stage touch dimmer in my house before taking out to install it in my RV. After plugging it into my 12VDC to 110VAC power inverter it just has one brightness level which is maximum brightness. Once its on, I can't turn it off again without unplugging it. I tried using a standard incandescent rotary dimmer with the exact same results. Why is this happening?

Why does it work properly on 110V 60Hz household current but not with the power inverter? Thanks.
----
The waveform from the inverter may not be appropriate to a device which expects a sinusoidal or near sinusoidal wave. Your inverter which is probably intended for resistive loads (or loads such as a TV in which conversion to a different level or levels of DC takes place) may not provide a true sine wave and possibly even gives a square wave which makes the dimmer simply turn on fully no matter how you set it.

--

Don Kelly
remove the X to answer
----------------------------