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Converter not converting

Yellowknife

Yellowknife

Member
Just came back from a 8800km/5400mi trip. I found on a few days here and there my (new) battery losing voltage. If we were in the Sun there was no issues as the solar was working fine and charging but in treed locations for a couple days it would drop. Take in mind we were in powered sites which confused me as I thought the converter would take over for the 12v needs. Now that I'm back home I did a test and pulled the positive cable off the battery and all 12v in the camper is dead(AC items working fine) which leaves me to believe the converter is not converting. I checked the 3 fuses in the panel and they are good. I also checked the converter Pos/Neg terminals and I'm getting 13.7v.
Any ideas?
 

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BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Yellowknife said:
Just came back from a 8800km/5400mi trip. I found on a few days here and there my (new) battery losing voltage. If we were in the Sun there was no issues as the solar was working fine and charging but in treed locations for a couple days it would drop. Take in mind we were in powered sites which confused me as I thought the converter would take over for the 12v needs. Now that I'm back home I did a test and pulled the positive cable off the battery and all 12v in the camper is dead(AC items working fine) which leaves me to believe the converter is not converting. I checked the 3 fuses in the panel and they are good. I also checked the converter Pos/Neg terminals and I'm getting 13.7v.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
If you have 13.7 at the converter output terminals, what do you have when you check the voltage across the battery cables that you removed with solar turned off?
 
BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
So, your converter should be able to handle some lighter loads. Some lights for example.
Remember that voltage and amperage are necessary to operate electrical devices. So, you can measure voltage but if you don’t have any amperage, things don’t work.
I would check your converter output terminals with some 12 volt device that would validate it has amperage output.
You indicated that you had 13.7 at the terminals and only 13.1 at the battery cable terminals. That is over a half of volt drop, which in MHO is too much voltage drop from the converter to the battery terminals.
I would suggest that you start at the converter terminals and ensure that they are clean and tight. I would then trace both the power and ground outputs and inspect the circuit all the way to where they make their connections to the coach. Check all of your buss bar connections and any battery box pass through connections as well.

You also indicated a new battery was installed, is your converter set to the proper battery type? I will assume you checked your converter breaker given you reported voltage output.
 
Yellowknife

Yellowknife

Member
Voltage readings weren't at the same time, like an hour apart. Converter is set for the proper type, the reason the battery was new because I thought the one one was no good. The battery box isn't used any more and I have 3 positive cables on the battery going to the coach one larger gauge and 2 smaller gauge, and one black larger gauge. All breakers are on.
There is a blue light slowly blinking on the breaker panel but there is nothing in the manual about it.
 
BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Yellowknife said:
Voltage readings weren't at the same time, like an hour apart. Converter is set for the proper type, the reason the battery was new because I thought the one one was no good. The battery box isn't used any more and I have 3 positive cables on the battery going to the coach one larger gauge and 2 smaller gauge, and one black larger gauge. All breakers are on.
There is a blue light slowly blinking on the breaker panel but there is nothing in the manual about it.
Click to expand...
If your battery was disconnect during your voltage check, the time difference would have nothing to do with your voltage difference. Your converter should be outputting the same regardless of time.
You didn’t comment on any further testing or inspections I had previously suggested, so I am unsure how to try to help further.
It also might help if you shared the specific converter models and maybe even a picture of the light you indicated is blinking.
There are a lot of knowledgeable folks on here that might be able to help with a few more specific details.
Anything is possible when it come to troubleshooting electrical issues.
 
Yellowknife

Yellowknife

Member
Ok, So it's a PD 4500 series converter(60 AMP) I can't find the exact model other than that. I made sure every thing is connected properly and tight. I disconnected the kitchen lights from the panel and ran a small jumper from the lights wiring to the POS+ of the converter. They lit up fine.
If you look at attached pic,
Bottom terminals (WH/BK) Converter voltage 13.7v
Middle terminals (BK/RD0 13.7v. These go back to the battery to charge and there's 13.7v to the battery.
Top terminal (Red) labeled Battery disconnect with the middle Battery ground I get what ever the battery charge level is at(tested at the battery and terminals by turning the converter off. I also turned everything 12v in the camper on to see when the voltage drops to see if the converter will kick in and start charging but even running it down to 11v it wouldn't start to charge.
The blinking Green not Blue light like I thought is about the charging wizard.
Checked all fuses good.
So Battery will not charge and nothing 12v works when the battery is disconnected but the manual suggests 12items will still work.
My cheap multimeter won't read the amps for some reason to I can't measure that.converter (2).jpg
 
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BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Thanks for the summary, I am really struggling with the fact that you are reporting converter output at 13.7 and also reporting 13.7 at the battery terminals and your battery won’t charge.
I still have to wonder if you have a loose connection somewhere on a buss or one of those 25 amp fuses is blown.
I guess it is possible that the converter isn’t reaching its amp output rating, but that seem like a long shot to me.
I would bet on a blown fuse or loose connection somewhere that is not able to carry the load, but make enough of a connection to allow a voltage reading to be displayed by your meter. This is a strange one for sure.
 
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