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Old 06-24-2016, 06:33 PM   #61
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Zybane, Malinois?? and love the trailer.
Thanks! He's a short haired German Shepherd.
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Old 06-25-2016, 07:52 AM   #62
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Can you post a picture of the controller location under the couch? I have something pinging under the couch when I am charging the batteries on solar (boondocking). Hay Babs. How is your power awning working after the redo. I am going into mine for the 4th time. Per law I think I have a lemon. After me going into this problem so many times I have found what I feel and by Ohms law a problem. Can only speak to Nate at Zipdee since Jimmy says he knows nothing about the power awnings. Go figure. Zipdee is using 20 gauge pins to push critical power to the motors. They state that low voltage kills the roller motor. Per Ohms law this is to light of a guage wire to perform this function. Since Airstream is using this awning as standard I feel that after the warranty goes out a lot of people are going to be stuck with bad awnings. In my close to 40 years of doing electrical work on autos I have seen this problem a lot. Will see what Zipdee says on my next day off since I work when they are open and can't call earlier. I love my trailer BUT wish I NEVER got the power awning
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Old 06-25-2016, 02:26 PM   #63
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Can you post a picture of the controller location under the couch? I have something pinging under the couch when I am charging the batteries on solar (boondocking). Hay Babs. How is your power awning working after the redo. I am going into mine for the 4th time. Per law I think I have a lemon. After me going into this problem so many times I have found what I feel and by Ohms law a problem. Can only speak to Nate at Zipdee since Jimmy says he knows nothing about the power awnings. Go figure. Zipdee is using 20 gauge pins to push critical power to the motors. They state that low voltage kills the roller motor. Per Ohms law this is to light of a guage wire to perform this function. Since Airstream is using this awning as standard I feel that after the warranty goes out a lot of people are going to be stuck with bad awnings. In my close to 40 years of doing electrical work on autos I have seen this problem a lot. Will see what Zipdee says on my next day off since I work when they are open and can't call earlier. I love my trailer BUT wish I NEVER got the power awning
Beetle, is the too thin gauge wire something that can proactively be retrofitted?

Here's the pic of the solar controller (green light):

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Old 06-25-2016, 03:56 PM   #64
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Please tell me you don't let that cat roam around the campground to climb on other people's cars and trailers...
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:34 PM   #65
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Please tell me you don't let that cat roam around the campground to climb on other people's cars and trailers...
No, only the dog is allowed to do that.
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Old 06-26-2016, 07:09 AM   #66
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Zybane no on the retro. From what I've seen in the automotive industry it will usually work until the warranty is out. Most of the high end cars that care use bigger pins or tabs on the 10 volt and up part and the small pins on the rest. That works great. From having my awning mostly inoperative from 3 months into owning my trailer (full time in it for little over a year now) I have looked at the system a lot. I will be contacting Zipdee again to see about my fixing it again and let you know. Did you have to remove the whole couch to access the solar controller? I think that is what is making the pinging noise from under my 2015 classic. Might just buy a new one and replace it if so.
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Old 06-26-2016, 04:20 PM   #67
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Youtube
The point of you posting in this thread is what exactly? To talk about cats or post ad's?

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Zybane no on the retro. From what I've seen in the automotive industry it will usually work until the warranty is out. Most of the high end cars that care use bigger pins or tabs on the 10 volt and up part and the small pins on the rest. That works great. From having my awning mostly inoperative from 3 months into owning my trailer (full time in it for little over a year now) I have looked at the system a lot. I will be contacting Zipdee again to see about my fixing it again and let you know. Did you have to remove the whole couch to access the solar controller? I think that is what is making the pinging noise from under my 2015 classic. Might just buy a new one and replace it if so.
Bettle, that is sad that the power awning has turned out so poorly for you. The first time I used my power awning it rained heavily. I saw all of the water running down the extension arms and hoped the seals on the arms kept the water out. On yours, is it the roller motors that are the problem, extension arms, both?

All of under sofa the electronics can be be accessed by removing the center drawer.
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Old 06-26-2016, 04:22 PM   #68
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Also looking into upgrading charge controllers, seems that easy retrofits for the Parallax 5355 may be hard to find to fit the packaging.
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Old 06-26-2016, 05:13 PM   #69
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Randy at Bestconverter.com got back to me with this:

http://www.bestconverter.com/Paralla...e_ep_25-1.html

Look's a pretty good solution that I will order up. I'll have to check the length and gauge wire from mid-cabin charger to the battery terminal under the sofa to make sure I don't push too many amps through that cable while charging. I assume it's a 6 gauge wire, meaning it's too thin and long for 70 amp charging.
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Old 06-26-2016, 06:18 PM   #70
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Also checking my solar controller and the previous pictures I took, it seems AS did not clip the blue jumper as instructed for sealed batteries as stated in the instructions:

http://atkinsonelectronics.com/manuf...dfs/PVCM25.pdf

I wonder if the factory personnel get any training on these items.

Bettle: is the sound you are hearing under the sofa "clicking"? According to the manual above, the clicking sound is normal from the solar controller.
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Old 06-26-2016, 07:31 PM   #71
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Originally Posted by Zybane View Post
Also checking my solar controller and the previous pictures I took, it seems AS did not clip the blue jumper as instructed for sealed batteries as stated in the instructions:

http://atkinsonelectronics.com/manuf...dfs/PVCM25.pdf

I wonder if the factory personnel get any training on these items.

Bettle: is the sound you are hearing under the sofa "clicking"? According to the manual above, the clicking sound is normal from the solar controller.
I'll have to check the state of the blue jumper the next time I am at my trailer.
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Old 06-26-2016, 07:37 PM   #72
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Originally Posted by Zybane View Post
Randy at Bestconverter.com got back to me with this:

http://www.bestconverter.com/Paralla...e_ep_25-1.html

Look's a pretty good solution that I will order up. I'll have to check the length and gauge wire from mid-cabin charger to the battery terminal under the sofa to make sure I don't push too many amps through that cable while charging. I assume it's a 6 gauge wire, meaning it's too thin and long for 70 amp charging.
Here is a link to an even better install of a PowerMax Boodocker inside the gutted case of a Parallax 5355 converter:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f449...ll-152255.html
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Old 06-26-2016, 08:26 PM   #73
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Here is a link to an even better install of a PowerMax Boodocker inside the gutted case of a Parallax 5355 converter:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f449...ll-152255.html


One thing I find most odd, is these other converters really don't seem them much more expensive than the Parallax. I wonder why AS decided to get with that piece of junk, unless they get massive discounts on it or something.
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Old 06-26-2016, 09:07 PM   #74
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One thing I find most odd, is these other converters really don't seem them much more expensive than the Parallax. I wonder why AS decided to get with that piece of junk, unless they get massive discounts on it or something.
The ONLY benefit I see to their decision to use the Parallax is that as a single stage controller, it provides a consistent voltage to the LED interior lights meaning more consistent brightness. LEDs can be more voltage sensitive than the older incandescent or fluorescent lights. Chances are that when a multi-stage charger switches charging voltages it might be discernible to occupants as a dimming or brightening of the LED interior lights. This might be more disconcerting than the dimming that occurs when you turn on the furnace or water pump when boondocking because you are not the one initiating the change that causes the brightness variation. The charger is making the change on its own at a time it decides.

I certainly hope that they did not do it because the LED lights were not validated to the higher voltages put out by the multi-stage chargers. In the automotive industry, all electric and electronic components are validated to at least 16.0V because generators/alternators can go as high as 15.5 or so volts under some conditions. This is a similar voltage that some multi-stage converter/charges can put out. Hopefully the lights in Airstreams are validated to at least 16.0V. If not, they may burn out quicker with a multi-stage converter that puts out more voltage than the stock 13.6V.
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Old 06-26-2016, 09:46 PM   #75
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Interesting Joe, I guess we'll find out over time if the LED's start wearing out prematurely.
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Old 06-26-2016, 10:05 PM   #76
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The led brightness does not change whatsoever in either of my trailers with 9280 converters when the voltage swings. Even when I manually switch from storage mode to boost mode, the led brightness does NOT change or flicker.

There is only one incandescent bulb in one of the trailers over the stove that noticeably gets brighter and dimmer when the 9280 changes modes. This is the ONLY light that changes as it is the only incandescent bulb in the trailer; the change in voltage is NOT discernable with any of the leds.
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Old 06-26-2016, 10:14 PM   #77
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Oh great, I just changed out our perfectly functional stock single stage converter for a 3-stage converter because everyone says it's a piece of crap. Never has a single equipment failure in five years, 1000 nights camping. We charge the batteries with our factory solar. (The factory solar controller does make a clicking sound, btw.)

Maybe the consistent factory converter 13.6v output wasn't so bad after all? We still have the original converter stored in the garage.
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Old 06-26-2016, 10:41 PM   #78
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Oh great, I just changed out our perfectly functional stock single stage converter for a 3-stage converter because everyone says it's a piece of crap. Never has a single equipment failure in five years, 1000 nights camping.
If you keep posting that your Airstream is 100% perfect (without any corrosion anywhere and with a Parallax that magically doesn't boil batteties) over and over in multiple threads it just might come true!

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Old 06-27-2016, 05:31 AM   #79
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Rarestream, we have never charged our batteries with with the Parallax, we use the Battery Disconnect to isolate the batteries from it and let our factory solar charge them. The Parallax is an excellent converter otherwise.

I can't help it that we like our Airstream, it has no corrosion because we maintain it, and that it has had no original equipment failures, sorry about that.
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Old 06-27-2016, 06:06 AM   #80
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The Parallax is an excellent converter
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