How do you know when Power Converter needs to be replaced?

[dwpkdavis]

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out an issue with my 12 volt system on my 2014 BH. I have replaced batteries with 2 6Volt AGM batteries last year. They last much longer than the 12 Volt Deep cycle the dealer put in. The wife and I embarked on a long road trip to our new home in the DFW area. Before we headed out, I had issues with my landing gear not coming up. Thanks to Dan Mayer, I found the breaker reset. Upon arriving at our destination stop the first day, I ran into the issue where the landing gear would not go down and the Lippert Levelup showing "low voltage". So I plugged into shore power and still have got the same error on the Levelup display. I plugged back into the truck plug and a was able to get my landing gear down, but, the autolevel function would not complete and still showed low voltage. The voltage on the display was showing 14.4 volts.

I also have the residential refrigerator and the Magnum Inverter cycles on/off and shows "103" and "503" on the LED panel on the unit when trying to run off the batteries.

I can hear the Power converter fan running, so I suspect it is still plugged in.

Is it time to replace the Power converter? Any other ideas to check?

Thanks,

Darren

 

[danemayer]

Darren,

14.4V is likely the output of the truck's alternator. If you're on shore power and disconnect from the truck, you should see 13.2-13.6V at the battery. If not, and the breaker isn't tripped, you have a problem with the Power Converter. As you can hear the fans on the converter, that would suggest its fuses are ok and it's plugged in. So maybe a bad converter.

If you've got a volt meter, you can also use the diagnostic flowchart in the !2V Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide to help figure it out.

 

[dwpkdavis]

Dan

I get 14.4volts on the Levelup Panel whether on shore power or plugged into the truck. I try not to do both at the same time. I'm suspecting the Power converter. Should I go with the same size or get a higher wattage converter?

 

[danemayer]

Dan

I get 14.4volts on the Levelup Panel whether on shore power or plugged into the truck. I try not to do both at the same time. I'm suspecting the Power converter. Should I go with the same size or get a higher wattage converter?

If you have the Progressive Dynamics PD9280 I'd think you could stay with the same model. I think Progressive Dynamics has a lower cost option where you trade yours in for a working unit, or maybe they repair yours and send it back - not sure.

 

[NWILSON]

Before spending the money on a new converter be sure to check the wire connections at the converter. It's also a good idea to confirm that all of the 12v connections are tight in the battery compartment as well as on the hydraulic pump. Be sure to disconnect both shore power and the batteries to prevent an unscheduled fireworks show!

 

[wdk450]

Be sure the charging mini breaker on the battery circuit breaker buss is not tripped. A quick test is trying to run your indoor lights with the trailer unplugged from shore power. If the lights won't come on, the breaker is tripped.

 

[Big-B]

I had a problem with our converter last winter while we were wintering in Arizona. I was running on a inverter generator quite a bit and sometimes the generator would surge up and down for no apparent reason. It took quite a while to find but I eventually found that the lug on the converter had been over tightened on the 12 volt side and wasn't making a good connection. That took care of the problem for a while and then it started doing it again. I checked voltages and found that the strip of 30 amp breakers had a few loose wires on it. Going down the road with all the vibrations in conjunction with the heavy wires on them worked them loose. I tightened them all up and bought some more #10-24 nuts and double nuttted them all. We have pulled the trailer approx. 6,500 miles since then and haven't had a single problem since.

I doubt that your problem is with the converter, at least internally. If it is a bad lug on the back you can just move it to the other lug as there are two positive lugs and two negative ones.

Best of luck with it.

Brian