Flickering lights on 110 Not battery

[arashaw]

Hi there. When the lights in my Scamp are on battery power they are fine. When I plug in to an electrical outlet they flicker/pulse. I am going to try cleaning the battery terminals? Any ideas to stop the flickering? Thanks again.

[Thomas G.]

Can you put a multimeter on the output of the converter? It sounds like it may be on the fritz.

[arashaw]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Can you put a multimeter on the output of the converter? It sounds like it may be on the fritz.

I don't have a multimeter, maybe I'll go pick one up. The roof fan works fine, no pulsating, as well as the AC unit. Why would the lights pulse, and not anything else? Also, I noticed a fuse box on the front of the converter with breakers, anything I can do there? The lights work fine off the battery.

Aaron

[Jim Bennett]

If the battery is fully charged, the lights should stay on constant regardless of your connecting the trailer to 120V, as they would draw from the battery. It could be something to do with the converter though, if for some reason it was causing spiking in voltage, which would not be good.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by arashaw

Hi there. When the lights in my Scamp are on battery power they are fine. When I plug in to an electrical outlet they flicker/pulse. I am going to try cleaning the battery terminals? Any ideas to stop the flickering? Thanks again.

Check the fan on the converter to be sure it is running. Sometimes , when the fan fails it will cause the 12V lights to pulse. Also a militant dust bunny may have lodged itself in the fan.

[arashaw]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

If the battery is fully charged, the lights should stay on constant regardless of your connecting the trailer to 120V, as they would draw from the battery. It could be something to do with the converter though, if for some reason it was causing spiking in voltage, which would not be good.

I think the battery is fully charged as the camper was plugged in over night. That would charge it, correct?

[arashaw]

Originally Posted by floyd

Check the fan on the converter to be sure it is running. Sometimes , when the fan fails it will cause the 12V lights to pulse. Also a militant dust bunny may have lodged itself in the fan.

I will check the fan. Curious, during operation, should it always be running constant? I will try to visually inspect for "militant dust bunnies."

[arashaw]

Upon visual inspection, the fan is "pulsing but not spinning." It wants to go every time there is a tick/pulse of electricity. The noise is coming out right from the fan.

[arashaw]

Here is a video of the fan.

[Jim Bennett]

I would say there is something definitely amiss with your converter. Maybe someone else has had similar problems and might help further.

[SilverGhost]

With camper unplugged you are probably seeing around 12V to 12.6V at the lights. When plugged into shore power the convertor may charge as much as 14.2V.

If the convertor is having issues the voltage may be varying from 12.6V to 14.2V as it shuts itself on and off. As pointed out the cooling fan not turning will cause the convertor to shut down as it's internal temperature get too high. It then turns back on after it cools. It then repeats the cycle. There are other possibilities such burnt contacts, load transistor starting to fail, or voltage smoothing circuit failure. But lets start with easy first.

From the video you posted I would say the fan driver on the convertor circuit board may be crap. You could try replacing the fan and seeing what happens, but it may just be time to replace/upgrade the convertor.

Jason

[Romad]

Are you using LED lights? if so try replacing one bulb with a regular bulb and that might cure the problem. Had that problem when I went to all LED lights in my house. Replacing one bulb in each circuit with a non LED stopped the flicker.

[arashaw]

Originally Posted by SilverGhost

With camper unplugged you are probably seeing around 12V to 12.6V at the lights. When plugged into shore power the convertor may charge as much as 14.2V.

If the convertor is having issues the voltage may be varying from 12.6V to 14.2V as it shuts itself on and off. As pointed out the cooling fan not turning will cause the convertor to shut down as it's internal temperature get too high. It then turns back on after it cools. It then repeats the cycle. There are other possibilities such burnt contacts, load transistor starting to fail, or voltage smoothing circuit failure. But lets start with easy first.

From the video you posted I would say the fan driver on the convertor circuit board may be crap. You could try replacing the fan and seeing what happens, but it may just be time to replace/upgrade the convertor.

Jason

Any recommendation for a replacement converter that would fit/size the cut out in the fiberglass bench where it sits at present? I called American and he said this model was discontinued and it was probably a bad motherboard.

[SilverGhost]

My egg has a fancy battery charger (progressive dynamics, I think). I plan on replacing it down the road with a proper RV converter or even an inverter/charger. But the one I want is $900 to $1100.

Hopefully someone else can chime in with some good suggestions.

Jason

PS, I fix stuff for a living. That's how I know electrical, among other things.

[KevinScamps]

How old is the converter? I assume the converter is still charging the battery since otherwise your battery would be dead as door nail in not very much time. My best guess is that the electrolytic capacitors in the converter have dried up. The capacitors are the large cylinders. Carefully unsolder them and simply order components with same capacitance and voltage rating and approximate package size from Digikey. The specifications are written on the packaging. Remember to mark which contact was marked with a stripe since that is ground. If you put them in backward they have a habit of lighting on fire. Shouldn't cost you more than $5 bucks+shipping.

If that is not the problem or you are scared by electronics simply buy a new converter. A new converter will be safer and will save you money by treating your battery better nicely. Size your converter based what you are using in terms of 12 V power. If it just the lights, switch to LED and buy a small cheap battery charger.

Consider switching to LED lights and a solar panel unless you are using a lot of other electrical appliances.

[cpaharley2008]

I'd remove the fan and try to see if it runs independent of the converter, it appears to be stuck or the converter is pulsing. If the fan is ok out side the unit, order a new converter.

[arashaw]

Originally Posted by KevinScamps

How old is the converter? I assume the converter is still charging the battery since otherwise your battery would be dead as door nail in not very much
.

I put a charger on the battery and it read 100 percent charged after leaving it plugged in all night.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by arashaw

Upon visual inspection, the fan is "pulsing but not spinning." It wants to go every time there is a tick/pulse of electricity. The noise is coming out right from the fan.

Replace the fan or the whole converter. I had the same problem recently, I replaced the fan and the board because the new fan wouldn't plug-in directly to the old board. I have converters in stock for project trailers.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I agree with those that indicated the converter is probably at fault without going into the technical discussion.
Now the real question. Do you really need a converter. I turned the breaker off on mine two years ago and after 250 to 300 nights out without hookups I haven't missed the converter one bit.

[David B.]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I agree with those that indicated the converter is probably at fault without going into the technical discussion.
Now the real question. Do you really need a converter. I turned the breaker off on mine two years ago and after 250 to 300 nights out without hookups I haven't missed the converter one bit.