Big Country - Converter location

[Bob Vaughn]

on my 2011 Big Country 3250TS can some one tell me where the converter is located and how to get to it to check the battery charging out put as I have 13volts on my 12 volt circuits but the batteries do not charge....

 

[BigJim45]

on my 2011 Big Country 3250TS can some one tell me where the converter is located and how to get to it to check the battery charging out put as I have 13volts on my 12 volt circuits but the batteries do not charge....

Should be behind the basement wall on the door side

 

[danemayer]

Bob,

If you check the voltage at the 12V DC mini-circuit breaker, when the converter and breaker are working properly, both sides of the breaker should read 13.2-13.6V DC to ground. The side with the copper strip connecting the breakers is the battery side. The other side goes to the converter. If the converter side is reading 13.2-13.6, but the battery side is reading 12V or less, the breaker has tripped. If you want to check for converter output, turn the battery cutoff switch to OFF and take a reading at the mini-breaker. If you don't get any voltage on either side, there's no converter output.

If you recently worked on the batteries, you might have blown the on-board fuses on the converter. As mentioned, it's usually behind the rear wall of pass through basement storage. Also check to make sure it's plugged in. And before you take the wall down, check the main circuit breaker panel inside the coach to make sure the breaker for the power converter hasn't tripped.

One other thing. If other 120V AC devices aren't all working, you may have lost one leg of your 50 amp power.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

Bob,

If you check the voltage at the 12V DC mini-circuit breaker, when the converter and breaker are working properly, both sides of the breaker should read 13.2-13.6V DC to ground. The side with the copper strip connecting the breakers is the battery side. The other side goes to the converter. If the converter side is reading 13.2-13.6, but the battery side is reading 12V or less, the breaker has tripped. If you want to check for converter output, turn the battery cutoff switch to OFF and take a reading at the mini-breaker. If you don't get any voltage on either side, there's no converter output.

If you recently worked on the batteries, you might have blown the on-board fuses on the converter. As mentioned, it's usually behind the rear wall of pass through basement storage. Also check to make sure it's plugged in. And before you take the wall down, check the main circuit breaker panel inside the coach to make sure the breaker for the power converter hasn't tripped.

One other thing. If other 120V AC devices aren't all working, you may have lost one leg of your 50 amp power.

Is this the strip of breakers you are talking about ?

- - - Updated - - -

Is this the strip of breakers you are talking about ?

I have a digital 12 volt panel that tells me I am getting 13.5 volts to the 12 volt system of the camper. I just had a 50 amp plug installed on the side of my house and this is the first time I have used it. I wonder if I could have lost one leg. I just moved my cord back the 30 amp plug I will see if that charges the battery's now....

 

[Nabo]

Bob - our converter on our 3250 was behind the basement wall. Not sure about all the electric stuff Dan is talking about but our converter was made by Progressive. We just called them up and they exchanged the converter with a rebuilt one for less than $100 (remember that was a couple of campers/years ago so not sure if the exchange is the same price).

 

[danemayer]

Bob,

Here's your picture marked up.

If you have a monitor somewhere inside the coach showing 13.5V DC, that's probably the output of the Power Converter. It sounds like the breaker between the Power Converter and battery has tripped.

Check for a reset button on one of the breakers as shown in the picture. It's a manual reset and has a teeny tiny button on the end.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

Bob,

Here's your picture marked up.

If you have a monitor somewhere inside the coach showing 13.5V DC, that's probably the output of the Power Converter. It sounds like the breaker between the Power Converter and battery has tripped.

Check for a reset button on one of the breakers as shown in the picture. It's a manual reset and has a teeny tiny button on the end.
View attachment 50382

Thanks a million that is what it was....I wonder what made it trip?

 

[danemayer]

Thanks a million that is what it was....I wonder what made it trip?

Bob,

I don't think anyone knows for sure. There's one theory that it could be from a minor surge when plugging into shore power with circuit breakers ON. Another theory that the demand from the hydraulic pump combined with a weak battery or dirty/loose connections might pull more current from the Power Converter than the breaker is rated for (some rigs have an 80 amp Power Converter, but the breaker is 50 amps).