bigfoot 12v problems

[bigfoot12]

hi, could anybody advice on the following problem. I have a bigfoot 17ft trailer 1989 with a D20-BRA-A converter. When on 120v everything (all appliances) works fine. when no 120v available and on 12v battery supply (charged) , only the lights are working but not the pump and the led control panel and worst the converter is heating up badly. I unplugged all the circuits (fuses) and the converter is still heating up. where shall I start searching for the problem ? thanks

[Gerry Kiernan]

Originally Posted by bigfoot12

hi, could anybody advice on the following problem. I have a bigfoot 17ft trailer 1989 with a D20-BRA-A converter. When on 120v everything (all appliances) works fine. when no 120v available and on 12v battery supply (charged) , only the lights are working but not the pump and the led control panel and worst the converter is heating up badly. I unplugged all the circuits (fuses) and the converter is still heating up. where shall I start searching for the problem ? thanks

Have your converter tested. It sounds like it might be the problem. The other possibility is that there may be a short in the system.

[Jack L]

Welcome to the forum Martin. I've never heard of the converter you mentioned. Can you post photos ? Maybe that will help. If it is original to the trailer, it's probably time for a new converter. I googled D20 BRA converter and got some very interesting results, but none that relate to electricity.

[bigfoot12]

it is an Allanson converter D20-BRA-A without charger. I cleaned today the battery connection cables and also the pump started working on the 12v. the converter is still heating up even if all appliances are disconnected. I do not understand why the converter heats up when on 12v only because it is not needed for converting (the 120v cable is disconnected). is the problem inside the converter or is it a short somewhere ?

I tried to attach a picture below. thanks for your answers.

[Franswa]

welcome to the world of buying 20+ year old trailers....the reality is that some of the systems will need replacing...and some will keep working for what seems like forever....

your power center....too bad your picture didn't come through....but in the early nineties BF switched to Magnatek power centers (the converter part is in the bottom half of cabinet)......people are often ditching these Maganteks for something better.....so what does that tell you about your even older version???......elec. stuff generating heat is a way bigger problem waiting to happen IMO

Unless you can find an old (and I mean real OLD) electrician or RV technician that can troubleshoot your problem I would just go the replacement route....you could buy/install a new/better/smaller power center...if it was a Magnatek you could buy just the converter/charger that fits/replaces the original exactly(bottom half of PC)....or you could delete the converter completely, buy a very good charger and wire it in permanently (faced with a problem similar to yours that's what I did a couple of years ago and so far it has performed very well that way)

below is pictures of my old Magnatek and what happened to it....good luck