Converter Concerns

jbsiii

Member
I've noticed the electrical converter on our 21FBS is behaving in a way that seems strange to me. The fan doesn't always come on, but seems to depend on the load applied. This makes sense to me except for the fact that in certain conditions, the fan seems to pulse on and off repeatedly, almost sounding like the fan motor is flaky or something. I would expect the fan to run or not run at all, depending on load, rather than the pulsing behavior.

I didn't think too much about it until our latest outing, when I noticed an acrid smell, something like an electrical overload, seeming to come mostly from the converter. When we turned off the lights on the trailer and reduced the load, the smell went away, and I didn't notice it any more after that.

Is this normal, or am I just being overly concerned?
 

RVCamper

Well-known member
JB

I have the same issue, and it is at the dealer now being worked on. Mine sounds like this: Click on link & open in a windows player.

Converter Noise .wmv file

It is actuall worse than the recording .. but it is inconsistant at making noises.

When I turn on some of the 12v lights the fan on the converter does not come on, however if a turn on a certain amount , or turn off my Frig at the breaker, the converter fan stutters and fluctuates low to off, low to off. It is pretty annoying. I tried changing the TT to a different 20A line, disconnected the batteries, still the same. The converter has an electric smell too.
 

FennerJ

Heartland Dealer Service
You both should contact your dealers and have the converters inspected. If they are found faulty the dealer will order replacements. They should be quiet and not smell.
 

jbsiii

Member
Thanks for the info. Mine sounds exactly like RVCamper's .wmv file. I'll contact the dealer and begin the process of getting it taken care of. The dealer I bought from is in Indiana, so hopefully the local Denver dealer won't hassle me about servicing it.
 
I was wondering if anyone has heard back from their dealer yet on what was causing this problem. We noticed our converter was doing basically the same thing this weekend. It was our first time out with our new North Trail. Hopefully it will be a quick fix.
 

jbsiii

Member
I just got my NT in the shop this morning, and should hear in the next few days. I'll do a follow up post.
 

jbsiii

Member
I just got off the phone with my dealer. They said they checked the converter out, and said there is no problem. I know for a fact the fan was "surging" as described above in RVCamper's post, and it definitely emitted a strong electrical smell during one trip. I'm concerned about accepting the unit knowing that the converter hasn't been changed out. Is there any scenario where the converter behaves like this and it's not defective? I'd rather leave the trailer at the dealer another couple of weeks and know that the unit is safe than to have electrical problems while we're camping and then have to take it back in again.

Thoughts?

John
 

Johnp322

Member
Another noisy and erratic converter fan

I also have noticed the fan doing some weird stuff on my 28 BHS TT. Sitting at the table I noticed the fan surging and slowing down and then speeding up. I did some troubleshooting and did notice that when the trailer is plugged in on shore power and very view lights on the fan will not turn on. As the load is increased above a certain point the fan will run at full RPM'S but if you reduce the load to a certain point the fan begins to do its funky stuff and if it in no mans land. I have not smelled anything burning yet but am concerned that the fan as loud as it is should be either on or off as the load dictates and not able to fluctuate as it does, it this a problem that needs to be addressed or not.
John
 

chrispitude

Active Member
John, if it helps ease your mind, my Rockwood 2605 does this too. I don't know if it's "normal" or not but at the very least our converters are behaving the same way. :)

- Chris
 

jbsiii

Member
It seems that the converter behaves just fine on stable shore power, but one of the side effects of being connected to "dirty" power may be the fluctuations in the fan speed.
 

RVCamper

Well-known member
My inverter does this when connected to a 30 amp dedicated circuit from my house, with or without a power conditioner & surge protector. I regard my home to have clean power. It also does this when on any campground power too. I believe the issue is within the converter, not the power supply to it.
 

chrispitude

Active Member
I suspect it's a very simple thermistor-controlled fan. Fan kicks on, cools things off enough to spin the fan down. Things heat back up, lather, rinse, repeat...

- Chris
 

conveyman

Member
Your voltage at the site that you were at may have been surging and causing this. Most of the voltage in the sites is not stable. If it does this all of the time everywhere then it is the converter
 
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