Scamp Converter Woes

[Adrian W]

American Enterprises' Converter

Our 2005 Scamp's converter failed in 2008, I ordered a replacement converter
from American. After a couple of months, the heat sink in it came loose and
broke. American replaced the circuit board. When I began to get the Scamp in
shape for camping earlier this week, I found it was not charging the battery. After
checking the converter, one of the heat sinks was loose and broke. Again!

I called American Enterprise in Canoga Park, CA. I ordered another circuit board. Carlos
at American said it was very rare for the heat sinks to break. He wanted to see the broken circuit board and if he feels it was faulty, he would reimburse the cost. It is in the mail, hope it will result in getting a reimbursement. Hope this new board will last a while.

Wow! Have any of you have had any problems with the Scamp's converters?

desi vu all over again:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...ic=30557&hl

[Darwin Maring]

Look at the following EBay sites for converters, American and others. It may be less expensive to just replace it with a more robust unit.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksi...-All-Categories
http://shop.ebay.com/willisdlr/m.html?_nkw...om=&_ipg=25

[Robert Johans]

I have bought a few American converters from an EBay vendor. Much, much cheaper buying via EBay than directly from Scamp. The simplicity of the unit works great for my needs, but a couple units failed immediately for a couple different reasons. Still, the price was low enough that it was easier to simply buy another.

[ERIC B.]

It seems to me, if a certain brand keeps failing and must be replaced multiple times, even at a relatively low cost, the unit was not much of a "value" in the first place. Some things are worth paying slightly more for if you get a better product.

[Adrian W]

Yep! Eric, I am sure you are correct. This is what someone told me his 2010 Scamp came with: http://www.progressivedyn.com/power_converters.html

Seems like a neat one too.

Still hoping this next one will be a keeper which I have ordered from American. They are made in China however.

[ERIC B.]

I have a 45 amp Progressive Dynamics and I couldn't be happier. Functions flawlessly and you never hear the cooling fan, even though the converter is directly below the bed. On second thought, I probably don't put enough load on it for the unit to even get warm.

[Adrian W]

I received the circuit board yesterday, and got it on this morning and it seems to be up and running like it should. I epoxied the screws which attach it to the board. Hope this one will hold up. Ha!

Not sure if he will reimburse the cost.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by Adrian W

I received the circuit board yesterday, and got it on this morning and it seems to be up and running like it should. I epoxied the screws which attach it to the board. Hope this one will hold up. Ha!

Not sure if he will reimburse the cost.

How much do they charge for the circuit board? My upper heat sink broke too. Not sure when it broke because this week was the first time we put much of a load on the 12 volts, using the roof fan instead of the A/C over 24 hours, then some lights started dimming until I turned the fan off.
I was able to solder the upper heat sink back in but it didn't seem to work after I was done (at least the cooling fan didn't come on), I'll check the voltage tomorrow to see if there's any difference when I turn the converter on.


John

[Adrian W]

$100 with the shipping; $75 for the circuit board, $25 for shipping.

American Enterprise in Canoga Park, CA ---- 818-598-8580

[floyd]

I am going to jump to a conclusion and also offer a solution...
This is a 16 Scamp with a side dinette, Right?
The converter is under the aft seat in the side dinette ?
The compartment is not vented and the converter fan can not adequately cool the converter.
The board overheated and caused the heat sink to detach rather than the other way around.
The answer is likely in adding a vent in the seat base on the forward side to allow airflow.
Maybe I'm wrong on these points but I am seeing evidence accumulate which bears witness to this being a common problem.

My 2004 13 has had its American converter for 6 years without incident, which means very little, eventhough it has spent several offseasons running fulltime.

[RSchleder]

My American inverter stopped charging the battery within 2 years of taking delivery of my 2007 13'. I replaced it with the progressive unit described here and have been very pleased with it's operation. According to Kent Eveland, Scamp now uses the Progressive unit in all the Scamp models.

[george oviatt]

Yes, just replaced mine in my 2006 sd scamp 16'. Would not charge batt and lights would not work on 110v. Seems from my research they have had a lot of trouble with the American converter. However, I have owned another 16' 1985, a 19' (89) and a 2006 13' with no converter problems.

Originally Posted by Adrian W

American Enterprises' Converter

Our 2005 Scamp's converter failed in 2008, I ordered a replacement converter
from American. After a couple of months, the heat sink in it came loose and
broke. American replaced the circuit board. When I began to get the Scamp in
shape for camping earlier this week, I found it was not charging the battery. After
checking the converter, one of the heat sinks was loose and broke. Again!

I called American Enterprise in Canoga Park, CA. I ordered another circuit board. Carlos
at American said it was very rare for the heat sinks to break. He wanted to see the broken circuit board and if he feels it was faulty, he would reimburse the cost. It is in the mail, hope it will result in getting a reimbursement. Hope this new board will last a while.

Wow! Have any of you have had any problems with the Scamp's converters?

desi vu all over again:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...ic=30557&hl

[Cyndi B.]

We appear to be having problems with our 2010's converter. Our 13' never had a problem out in the boonies unless someone forgot to plug it in before we left and then left the battery cables at home.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by floyd

I am going to jump to a conclusion and also offer a solution...
This is a 16 Scamp with a side dinette, Right?
The converter is under the aft seat in the side dinette ?
The compartment is not vented and the converter fan can not adequately cool the converter.
The board overheated and caused the heat sink to detach rather than the other way around.
The answer is likely in adding a vent in the seat base on the forward side to allow airflow.
Maybe I'm wrong on these points but I am seeing evidence accumulate which bears witness to this being a common problem.

My 2004 13 has had its American converter for 6 years without incident, which means very little, eventhough it has spent several offseasons running fulltime.

Yes, 16 with side dinette. I believe shock or vibration caused the heat sink to fail rather than overheating though, since it sheared off and broke the 6 transistor tabs where they enter the circuit board. I wouldn't expect too much heat buildup from the small load I normally place on the 12V system, since most of my lights are LED and I rarely use the fan.

[Bill K]

Check and see if your converter has a plug on the AC power cord.

Mine keeps coming Unplugged from the back side of the electrical panel.

Bill K


[QUOTE=Cyndi B.;222479]We appear to be having problems with our 2010's converter.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by george oviatt

Yes, just replaced mine in my 2006 sd scamp 16'. Would not charge batt and lights would not work on 110v. Seems from my research they have had a lot of trouble with the American converter. However, I have owned another 16' 1985, a 19' (89) and a 2006 13' with no converter problems.

George;
You have written a balanced and valuable comment.
While not denying, that there are problems with this product, you added a little perspective. Thanks...

It is the nature of forums to magnify any problem. Scamp used American converters for years, as have other manufacturers. The failure rate seems high when all you hear from are the failures.
Goodyear Marathon tires for instance, or torsion axles.
Anecdotal reports are a great headsup and are very helpfull, but they don't result in actual failure rates. So a few reports can cause a devastating impact on the manufacturer's reputation, while others with Higher failure rates go unscathed.
Toyota for years had an undeserved reputation for being of superior quality and guarded it by any means necessary. A few problems with throttles hit the papers and look at the results. The truth has always been somewhere in the mediocre middle.
The message here is straight off the cover of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"....... "DON"T PANIC" .
While it can't hurt to check an item and benefit from other's experience, a general judgement of poor quality is a bit of a leap, so if you have an American converter which has worked well for years, check it for loose connections and dust bunnies if you choose, then don't give it another thought.... Paul Simon once wrote...
"Everything Put Together, Sooner or Later Falls Apart"

If there is one thing I know from 40+ years of fixing everything from kid's toys and clocks to heavy equipment and refineries, it is that Paul Simon's song was right....