Re: Converter not charging house batteries

TODD wrote:
On Jan 26, 9:13 am, TODD <tabr...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Jan 26, 8:44 am, Matt Colie <Ma...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



TODD wrote:
Hi there:

I have a 1975 Vogue Class A 32ft RV that I just bought a few weeks
ago.

It has 3 deep cycle 12V batts for house, and a single battery for
engine.

When I plug into 120V, the transformer in the converter hums and
all, and I have 120 power in the rv, but the house batteries
appear not to be charging.

I have checked the batteries with a Digital MultiMeter, and they
are a bit on the weakside putting out about 12.3 V before I but a
car charger on them. I have also charged them with the coach motor.

How do I go about diagnosing whether or not the converter is
charging the batts?

Thanks,

Todd

Todd,

12.3 pretty much says that nothing that you need to do is actually
happening.

Unless it has been replaced, the converter/charger is probably an
antique ferro-resonant unit and it has probably died (about the
right time).

The light test suggested by altar is a very good start, and when
powering down the converter doesn't change anything, get on the web
and look up Progressive Dynamics and buy a unit with the built in
Charge Wizard. Unless you have a real ammeter to put between the
battery and the distribution panel, it is probably the best thing
that you can do.

Try E-bay for a 9245 or such.

Matt Colie

Thanks guys. I will have to dig up the make/model. I'm not sure if
it is the original and it is in a tight spot....

I'm fairly certain it's failing the light test. To add a bit more
creedence to my claim, I have checked the voltage on the batts before
and after plugging in and there was no change. With lights on inside
they just kept discharging and the voltage fell.... So not charging
for sure.

Is it possible that there is a fuse somewhere between the converter
and the battery? How is the converter typically attached to the
battery? It there a way to load test it?

The wiring in this old motorhome is a mess, but I have enough skills
to figure it out - well at least to sniff what wire is going where. I
rewired my dads old boat this summer from scratch without a wiring
diagram Not that it's a big deal, just to give an idea I'm not
clueless.....

I will check out the unit you suggested. One thing though - does a
converter only create 12VDC from 120VAC? Or can it also to the work
of an inverter - 12VDC to 120VAC? I would like to be able to power
some small things like clock radio/laptop/stereo/etc without having
to run a gennie or use shore power.

Thanks for the help so far...

I'll correct myself a bit - as I thought, the converter has only only
one purpose, to create 12VDC from 120VAC to run appliances and charge
the battery.

Looks like the Inverter function was and is a separate function. Good
project for later, I think I will end up having a portion of my AC
outlets running off an inverter at some time in the future...

Now. The corrosion issue struck a chord - I don't like the looks of
the battery clamps or connections much - should be cleaned and
protected with dielelectric grease. But, the battery did charge via
the motor, at least a bit on idle. So the connections can't be that
bad, at least not the battery clamps and interconnects. But, that
doesn't rule out a bad connection between converter and battery....

Batteries are at the front of the RV and the converter is all the way
back in the trunk - is this bad? Obviously, you would need cables of
a pretty fair gauge to charge the batts higher than 10A at a distance
of 25 feet - so if the wires aren't a sufficient gauge I suppose the
charging would be quite slow....

A few other questions:

My converter says that it is "40 amps" - what do you imagine the
charge amperage to be?

Where do you suppose the charge cable from converter would hook into
the battery? (just looking for a clue where to pick it up....)

Thanks again all

just a guess, but that old of a coverter probably only charges at 2 amps (my
81 only did 2 amps (rest of the power relates to AC power distributing),
can't see it going much lower (even back in 76), realy scrawny wires/less
than a 12VDC lighter used)....

you may want to consider a plan b (that's what I did), rather than spend a
lot on repairing old stuff, got myself a smart/charger inverter, put it
right by the batts, charged real good off ac (shore power or gen) and did
the inversion to ac for a few critical things (like my computer and tv!)
when i was boondocking.....

always amazed me, why do people want to fix old stuf, like it was, for a lot
of bucks? why not use new/cheaper/better stuff to not only do the old way,
but add a bunch of new options?
Think of it like this..... if your dash radio goes out do you replace it
with an old am only radio from the junkyard, or put in a newer am-fm-etc
unit, that fits in the hole but is cheaper and does a bunch more stuff?


.

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