Converter and voltage

[Emh142]

Ave a 94/34 Limited. Batteries went dead with shore power hooked up. Ran the truck for 35 min. And the batteries showed full charge. Still plugged in, disconnected truck and batteries went down and dead in about 10 min. New batteries. Any ideas on problem? On the road and need some ideas. DH

[Nuvite-F]

Sounds like your converter is not putting out any voltage. I would suggest checking AC input and DC output voltages to converter. When converter is charging the batteries you should see 13 -14 Volts DC at the battery.

Could be as simple as a blown fuse or loose wire. Or it could be the original converter is shot. I would suggest replacing with a modern electronic converter like an Intellipower. They are relatively inexpensive and do a much better job of maintaining the batteries than the old iron ones, as well as weighing about 50 pounds less.

Good luck!

[drboyd]

^^ What he said!

[richinny]

in the front of the trailer on the curb side between the side and front wall, there is a 'light switch' that powers the converter on/off. up should be "on". check that.

if you were plugged into the truck when checking the battery charge, you were reading the truck voltage.

do the batteries have water in them? have they been tested?

[Emh142]

Thanks for your inputs. I did a first test which caused me to tear everything apart. I checked connected and disconnected operation and the converter wasn't putting out any voltage by itself (with batteries disconnected and the converter plugged in to the 122V). After disconnecting the converter and testing it by itself it tested 18V. I charged the batteries with a stand alone charger, checked the converter input voltage (122V), batteries with converter disconnected (14V) and battery with inverter plugged in and output connected to DC block (14-15V) so it looks like the converter is putting out voltage. I bolted the converter back to the floor and came home. Not sure why it works now but it does. Didn't replace anything and didn't fix anything except I charged the batteries with a charger not with the converter. DH

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Emh142

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

. Didn't replace anything and didn't fix anything except I charged the batteries with a charger not with the converter. DH

While you were doing all the connecting and disconnecting, you may have fixed the problem. For several reasons, primarily corrosion and lose screws or nuts, a connection can look fine and even test OK with a Volt-Ohm meter. However when subjected to the higher currents involved in charging and discharging a battery, those seemingly good connections could have enough voltage drop to keep the system from working properly. I am not saying it is fixed for good, but it may be.

One other possibility is that the converter is able to keep up with charging the batteries when they are sufficiently charged to begin with. However it may not be able to maintain the necessary voltage at the current level involved when charging a nearly fully discharged battery.

I also would recommend updating the converter. If nothing else, it could significantly extend the life of your batteries.

Ken

[Emh142]

Batteries went dead overnight. Tested the converter/charger - putting out no volts, batteries no volts. Hooked up the truck and ran it and checked voltage, thinking it should be charging the batteries - not. Now charging the batteries in the garage, hooked up my spare battery to put my electric jack down, and ran the trailer overnight with the spare battery. Not sure why the truck wasn't throwing a charge t0 the battery but it wasn't. Pulled the converter/charger out and am replacing it with an intell-a-something model PD9260C. Should get it tomorrow. Hope it solves the problem. For the record, yesterday afternoon I ordered a new Cuisinart 1.5 cuft Convection Microwave from Amazon. Gave them $3.99 for overnight shipping (yes- three dollars and ninety nine cents total shipping cost) and it arrived here about 17 hours later. Less than a day since the order and I already have it installed. Thanks for your inputs. They've helped. DH.

[Skater]

Well, if your batteries are shot, the truck won't be able to charge them either. I've used the same PD9260 in two campers now and have been very happy with them.

[Emh142]

Figured this out with the help of a WBCCI member. Voltage at the common block was 12.5v from batteries and 14.5v from converter. Evidence of a break in the common block (not visible). Jumpered the two and it worked. No problems since. DH