11 replies to this topic

[Joe/GA]

Hey y'all, I believe my stinkin' converter is broke. It keeps the battery charged, but when I have lights on, it seems to cycle from dim to bright. I believe the charger portion is working, but the converter portion is not. I say that because supposedly, you can disconnect the battery and still power 12 vdc items. I tried that and no lights would work. What do y'all think?

[BOAT MAN]

I had the same thing happen to my 30rls.
when it first started the lights would dim and than go bright. I thought it was a power surge. I even had the park maintenance come check the power box for a loose wire. on our very next trip out it was very hot outside and the air ran most of the day. the night before we had used the lights a lot and that pulled heavy on the battery. the next morning the air was not cooling. come to find out you have to have a full 12 + volts to operate the control circuit of the air conditioner with a hand held remote thermostat. I even had to hook up the power cable to truck before I could move slide in. end result, I had to replace the converter and the battery.. .

[Joe/GA]

Thanks for the reply, Boatman. Did you just replace the converter section in the bottom of the distribution panel? Where did you buy the converter? I tried to call the WFCO people, but no answer and no return call, yet.

[BOAT MAN]

Joe, my repair bill was kind of costly. I went in with a 30' outback. and came out with a 33.' 5ih. wheel Coachmen.

[Crawfish]

I thought that was what you were supposed to do. If something goes bad in your camper you just trade it in on a new one.


Leon

[Joe/GA]

LOL!!! Silly me...I thought you just repaired broken stuff! I guess I need to go looking for a 50 foot 5th wheel, huh?!

[Reverie]

BOAT MAN, on 26 September 2011 - 02:50 PM, said:

I had the same thing happen to my 30rls.
when it first started the lights would dim and than go bright. I thought it was a power surge. I even had the park maintenance come check the power box for a loose wire. on our very next trip out it was very hot outside and the air ran most of the day. the night before we had used the lights a lot and that pulled heavy on the battery. the next morning the air was not cooling. come to find out you have to have a full 12 + volts to operate the control circuit of the air conditioner with a hand held remote thermostat. I even had to hook up the power cable to truck before I could move slide in. end result, I had to replace the converter and the battery.. .

So would this mean that an Airconditioner could fail due to lack of a steady 12VDC? My Outback AC keeps tripping and I find myself having to reset the AC by disconnecting both the battery and the AC and reconnecting them. My battery is over seven years old and still holds a charge so I haven't swapped it. I wonder if it may be the root of my AC issue. Or is this just wishful thinking?

Reverie

[BOAT MAN]

Nick, I was kind of puzzled about the whole air conditioner thing to. we had spent the whole month of March at the beach when we had the power fluctuation problem. and to tell you the truth I thought it was a park electrical problem. the a/c was not a issue because it was cool outside and we did not run the air. it was not until a month later I let my son and his family use the camper at a near by campground. he called me the day after I set the camper up for them and said the a/c was not working. when I got to the park to help them I turned the a/c on and every thing worked fine. after it ran for about 30 Min. the compressor cycled off, but the fan stayed running. normally when ever the compressor cycled off the fan would also shut off. I guess with them not running the air, and not using the interior lights it gave the battery time to build up a little. than after the a/c ran for awhile it drained the battery down.
( not sure what a/c unit you have, but mine was a Carrier with a hand held remote.)

When I went to the park to help them I knew I had a problem so I took a volt meter with me. when I checked the battery voltage I only had 8 volts when I plugged the trailer into my truck, everything worked. I never thought about the a/c needing 12 volt DC to operate. but the control circuit for the thermostat on the carrier unit operates on 12 volts. you also have to have a full 12 volts for the slides to work.

[Reverie]

I also have the Carrier. I wonder if it is a battery problem and the Inverter cannot keep pace or both the battery and the Inverter. Both answers seem plausible.

Reverie

[BOAT MAN]

​Nick, are you tripping one of the 110 volt AC BREAKERS in your converter, or are you having to reset the 12 volt circuit?

The first thing I would do is check the water in the battery, and all the battery cable connections, especially the ground cable where it connects to the frame of the trailer.
than I would check the voltage at the battery with the trailer NOT plugged in to 110 volt. should have 12+ volts If you show low voltage than plug the trailer power cable into 110 volts. if your charger is working right you should have a higher than 12 volt reading. If none of that works plug the trailer into your truck and leave the truck running and. check the voltage at the battery and see what you have..

Hope I have been some help to you.
see you soon at the fall rally.

Clayton.

[Joe/GA]

Nick,
If your battery is over 7 years old, you are on borrowed time! I had a Motorcraft battery in a 1993 F-150 last 8 years, but that is not the norm. 3 to 4 years is the average. I would take that battery to one of the auto parts places that does a proper, free load test. A good battery may be all that you need. Electronics do not like to run on low voltage. I did some on-llne troubleshooting with Tech Support at the WFCO Electronics. He confirmed my diagnosis...bad converter. I should have one in hand come Monday and I'll let you all know if that fixes my problem.

[Reverie]

Keeping that particular battery going was sort of an experiment in maintenance. I have done all the things you are supposed to do to insure long life in a battery. I kept the cells topped off with demineralized water, kept the terminals very clean and tight, and disconnected the battery regularly while it was in storage. For the past four years I have tested it at the beginning of the season (using a Specific Gravity Hydrometer) and it has always passed the tests. At the beginning of this season it BARELY passed. Guess it's time to send it off to the happy hunting grounds and swap in a new one.

Reverie