I think my power converter is going bad

Afternoon Heartlanders.

I am having an issue with my batteries not being charged. While I am connected to shore power, if I cycle through the display on the Lippert Level Up system, I read 13.8 Volts. After we disconnected from shore power this morning, I cycled through the display on the Lippert Level Up system, the display read 12.4 volts.

We will be traveling tomorrow and do have the Onan generator to help power things if needed. I do have access to a meter. What are the best ways of determining if my power converter is good or not?

Thanks in advance.

Charles

Hi Charles,

It sounds like the converter is ok, but the battery may not be holding a full charge.

While on shore power, the output of the power converter is usually 13.2-13.6V DC, depending on the state of the battery. It can go as high as 14.0V at certain times. The fact that you're seeing this at the levelup control panel means that converter output is getting to the buss bar.

When you disconnect shore power, you're seeing the charge that the battery holds. And since you're seeing this on the levelup control panel, that means the battery disconnect switch is ON.

You'll never see more than 12.6V DC. 12.5V is not unusual. 12.4 is a bit low. I'd suggest taking the battery to an auto parts store or service location to have it load tested.

We have two guides that may help you understand how everything goes together and what to expect. The first is a 12V Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide in this folder. The second is a more comprehensive Electrical User Guide that explains your entire electrical system, in this folder.

Btw, if your battery is getting weak, at some point you may not have enough juice to start your on-board generator. If that happens, and you have jumper cables, you can connect the truck battery to the trailer battery to help. If you don't have cables, connect the trailer umbilical cord to the truck, give it 20-30 minutes with truck idling (fast idle if possible) to charge your battery, and then give the generator start a try.

If your nominal voltage isnt at the before mentioned 12.6V un-loaded... the battery is done. Also when you go and buy a new one, off the shelf it should measure 12.6 as well.

My original battery lasted about 5 years with me taking very good care of it. I added water regularly, and when not in the RV, kept it on a battery tender.

Both batteries were replaced in December last year. Will check out the guides you mentioned

When you read the DC voltage with the trailer unplugged from shore power, how many DC loads were on? Lights? Refrigerator?
Had you allready ran the landing gear motors or the slideout motors on DC power?

This could skew the voltage reading down.

Battery voltage state of charge table

State of Charge	Sealed or Flooded Lead Acid battery voltage	Gel battery voltage
100%	12.70+	12.85+
75%	12.40	12.65
50%	12.20	12.35
25%	12.00	12.00

I am not sure if you have checked this or not, or if its even the problem, but there is a resettable breaker that has a manual reset button on the side that will prevent your coach batteries from charging. Its in the line with all the other breakers. Only one has a small little black reset button on it. If its tripped you can push the button in and your batteries will begin charging.

Rod

Will check this. Thanks.

Check the volts at the battery! No matter how often I clean and tighten the wires the voltage shown on the Lippert panel is always lower than what's shown on the batteries.