Converter charger replacement crew

[davejay]

Hey
I just took out my converter charger unit. I got no idea if it works correctly. I'm going to replace it anyway.
So it is a triad trad. Unit 12 volt 50 amp total max.
Is this thing original. It buzzes. When the coach unplugged I have no interior power.
So. What should I buy that is current state of the art technology.
I'm an electrical dunce.
Thanks in advance DJ

[Waipio Rim]

I bought a Powermax Boondocker from bestconverter.com nine years ago and it works great. I just told them what I had and asked for a recommendation, they had good feedback from others here and I am no better at electronics than you.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by davejay

Hey
I just took out my converter charger unit. I got no idea if it works correctly. I'm going to replace it anyway.
So it is a triad trad. Unit 12 volt 50 amp total max.
Is this thing original. It buzzes. When the coach unplugged I have no interior power.
So. What should I buy that is current state of the art technology.
I'm an electrical dunce.
Thanks in advance DJ

Good move to get rid of the old univolt. Most of them will fry your batteries. I have always used the 60amp progressive dynamic with an external charge wizard that lets you over ride the three stage auto setting if needed. https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-D...53278941&psc=1


you still should have 12v power from the 2 coach batteries when unplugged.

[davejay]

Hey
I wa as considering both of your suggestions. I think I'm going to go with the progressive. What is and what does the charge wizard do. Is it part of the unit. Also. You know that fuse block that is right in front of the charger. It's got resetable fuses. Should I be looking at updating that thing. If so. With what.
I feel like an idiot asking for help. I can take this coach apart. Do a complete computer alignment I got a hunter truck bus car aligner. But I get stuck when it comes to the electronics of this coach. So any help is most appreciated. Dj

[BayouBiker]

The charge Wizard is a digital charge controller installed standard in some of the converters and optional in others. There is an optional external interface that indicates mode and also lets you override the mode as Peter indicated. I have one, it is a fairly decent converter for wet cell and AGM batteries. They also make a unit compatible with LiPO4 batteries as well.

You may want to at least consider a converter with a battery temperature sensor and ability to adjust the charge profile based on temperature.

the power distribution center is fine unless you are having issues with the breakers tripping. The resetting thermal breakers are a nice feature.

[PeterH-350LE]

One draw back with the new converter will be that you loose your AC indicator light in your monitor panel. The signal for that light comes from the old univolt. It usually is a brown wire. you can "fake" the signal by feeding that wire from a 9v power supply plugged into an 110V outlet.

[martin300662]

Just to 'toss a hand-grenade' into the discussion, on modern motorhomes, there has been a movement away from alternator based charging systems for the leisure batteries to DC-DC chargers (so the leisure batteries receive a charge when the voltage on the coach battery high enough to charge them.

Accepting the biggest driver is modern smart alternators that back-down the output voltage to prevent over charging the coach battery (but inadvertently cause the leisure battery to not get charged). But having just installed a CTEK DC-DC charger in my "micro-camper" I am considering the same for Peanut - anyone else tried one? seems this an an inverter for 110v supply/charging could be an option?

[PeterH-350LE]

Progressive Dynamics=Excellent customer service
I currently have 2 units (PD9260C), one in the trailer the other in the MH. I also have digital voltmeters to monitor the system. When I went to the trailer and turned on the light, the voltage jumped from 13.2 to 16.9 !!
I called Customer service and they are shipping out a new unit immediately. I told them that I purchased it in the beginning of 2019 and they had no problem replacing it for free!

[bobmiller1]

Might want to check your batteries in the trailer.....Regards, Bob

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bobmiller1

Might want to check your batteries in the trailer.....Regards, Bob

If you mean to check if they got boiled, no. I am a voltage monitoring freak (AC as well as DC), first thing I always do is look at the voltage upon entering. I caught this one right away.

[LM782]

What are the warning signs to look for with the Univolt, and coach battery charging system in particular? Other than over-charge and cause them to fail, what does "fry your batteries" mean?

The Onion has the original converter and a small parasitic draw (on the coach batteries, not the engine battery) I have yet to pinpoint. My battery maintenance is to regularly turn off the coach battery switch when they are not in use, closely monitor voltage and charge using either shore power, the on-board generator when boondocking (then touch up with the alternator driving), or a ctek charger.

I had the ctek connected yesterday, measured the voltage at 14.08 at the battery cable (13.9 with a USB cigarette lighter voltmeter) with the coach battery switch "On" and it wouldn't go beyond the second charging phase after about 20 hours. The small parasitic draw might be confusing its charging monitor. Disconnected the ctek and the coach battery voltage came down to 12.2 after a while.

This morning I found the coach battery voltage at 12.1, connected to shore power and the voltage climbed slow and steady to 12.5 after about 5 minutes, and 12.8 after an hour.

What should I look for to avoid frying the coach batteries?

Luis

[LM782]

After a little digging, sounds like the original converter likely never shuts off charging the coach battery when it is fully charged. Since it never shuts off, they are prone to overcharge the battery and should not be left on (plugged in) for extended periods. Now to figure out how to better define an "extended period"...

[92landyacht]

I replaced my original converter when the old unit stopped providing power. I now have an IOTA DLS-55 converter/charger with an IQ4 4 stage charging module. No issues since and I can keep the charger on all the time. The IQ4 module on my charger can be replaced and IOTA makes several for different charging requirements. Currently using flooded batteries but plan to eventually go to LiFePo. They make a replacement module for them as well.