Battery not charging-converter issue - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-04-2013, 09:09 AM   #1
Junior Member
 
Name: Tom
Trailer: Scamp
Alaska
Posts: 20
Battery not charging-converter issue

We are on the road now and battery is not charging when plugged into shore power. We have a 16' 2007 Scamp.While on shore power all night I have 9.5v at the battery. Fuses in converter are good. Fan in converter runs constantly and only way to turn it off is to pull the reverse polarity fuse in the converter. The 110v system works fine. Just put in a new deep cycle battery. Fridge is on gas. What is going on? Should I just buy a battery charger?
Tom Smayda is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 09:27 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Name: Greg
Trailer: 2008 Casita 17' SD
Washington
Posts: 1,993
Registry
Have you taken an electrical tester (digital preferred) and tested your converter's battery charging output to see if there is any charging current actually being produced? I would suspect that it may not be putting out a charging current, but testing it will tell. It would be a good place to start. What model of converter do you have. A little more product info would help.
Casita Greg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 09:44 AM   #3
Junior Member
 
Name: Tom
Trailer: Scamp
Alaska
Posts: 20
Converter model

My converter is a WFCO model WF8735P. I disconnected the positive lead on the battery to check incoming voltage. Nothing on my digital meter. Fan on power converter coming on and off intermittently now.
Tom Smayda is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 09:52 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Name: Greg
Trailer: 2008 Casita 17' SD
Washington
Posts: 1,993
Registry
I once had a WFCO converter, and sorry to say, I can't find anything good to say about them. It sounds like your charger section of your converter may be shot. This does happen. If you decide to upgrade your converter, you may want to upgrade to something like a Progressive Dynamics unit. They are really good converters, and their built-in chargers are "smart chargers." The WFCO, and many other older units as well, are not friendly to batteries hooked up to them since they don't change their charging currents according to the needs of the battery. Here's a link if you want to investigate a possible upgrade. Best Converter is a good reputable company, very knowledgeable of their products, and has very competitive pricing. And no, I don't work for them, but I do recommend them if you want to upgrade. Lots of good info on their website as well.

BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics
Casita Greg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 10:01 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Bob Miller's Avatar
 
Trailer: Class A Motorhome
Posts: 7,912
If your Scamp has the "American" brand converter, welcome to the club of fried converter owners. (As are we). As such, I suspect that you are not getting any DC voltage for lights, fans, pumps etc. when connected to shore power either due to a fried converter board.

If this is the case, first choice is to buy about a 10 amp battery charger to keep your battery going until you get home, but be sure to disconnect the converter section of the power supply from the battery and DC loads to prevent any feedback from the smoked converter from getting to the charger. You can do this just by disconnecting the converter circuit board from the chassis, it's s a plug in board.

When you get back home you have at least two choices:

a) You can buy an updated board from the American distributor, about $90 at last check, but you will still have the old, somewhat marginal ac & dc distribution system left over.
or
b) You can install a new converter/power chassis such as the Progressive Dynamics PD-4045 that will allow a 2013 update to your entire electrical system.

But, good luck on the rest of your trip



Bob Miller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 10:07 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Bob Miller's Avatar
 
Trailer: Class A Motorhome
Posts: 7,912
Slight update,

I just saw your post that you have a WFCO converter and, IMHO, they have no advantage over the American brand and, as far as I know, spare parts are not available.

You might also want to contact Frank Bear at Teardroptrailerparts.com for best price on PD-4045's. He is my source of choice.

Sorry, but Don't Shoot the Messenger



Bob Miller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2013, 10:19 AM   #7
Junior Member
 
Name: Tom
Trailer: Scamp
Alaska
Posts: 20
Thanks. Guess its time to shop for a new converter. I know it worked before we left on the road trip but the fan in the converter was always erratic and ran like it had a bad connection. I had called WFCO tech support and they said the fan comes on when it detects a load or short. It was not temperature related.
Tom Smayda is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
battery


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Centurion 3000 Converter issue: flickering lights on DC power Shannon Thompson Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 1 01-27-2013 07:45 AM
Converter Problem - Battery not charging wklose99 Electrical | Charging, Systems, Solar and Generators 3 07-22-2012 01:03 PM
How to tell if converter is charging battery? Lawrence W Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 1 03-05-2011 08:08 PM
Charging Battery and running battery lights when plugged in Nor_Cal_Todd Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 2 08-25-2010 01:44 PM
Battery Issue (?) Tirah Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 11 07-21-2006 12:08 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:14 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.