Forum Discussion

gsf35099's avatar
gsf35099
Explorer
Nov 21, 2016

Converter up & died

Ran 1426 miles Friday arriving Sunday at my kids place in Virginia and this morning noticed our water pump & furnace were struggling. Batteries were low at 9 volts while we are plugged into shore power. Darn converter had no output.
Engine charges batts and they hold good, plus I'm a battery maintenance geek, so I was confident it wasn't the batteries.
Pulled the converter out so I could reach the back to test things. Sure enough, zero volts coming out. It just died. Fuses good, input voltage good and nothing out.
Fortunately I carry a high end 12v charger with me, so I hooked it up to the batteries while the new converter is on its way. Short term solution that works great. :B

Converter has been no problem for the 8 years I've owned the RV, so I can't complain.
Class A
  • jplante4's avatar
    jplante4
    Explorer II
    Nov 21, 2016
    Before you junk the converter, check that it's not a bad ground. My Magnum died and I suspected a bad ground because I had just moved the battery tray. The shop said it was bad. They put a new Xantrex in and that didn't work. then they tried another Xantrex and that didn't work. Then they chased down the bad ground.

    Sent the Magnum back to the factory (under warranty) and it now sits in the garage waiting.
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Nov 21, 2016
    I've had loose wires input/output twice on mine. Re-tightened the connections and all OK
  • Canadian_Rainbi's avatar
    Canadian_Rainbi
    Explorer
    Nov 21, 2016
    And give those batteries a nice slooow charge. If you are really really lucky they just might have a little life left in them. Though they are probably done.
  • usersmanual's avatar
    usersmanual
    Explorer
    Nov 21, 2016
    jplante4 wrote:
    Before you junk the converter, check that it's not a bad ground. My Magnum died and I suspected a bad ground because I had just moved the battery tray. The shop said it was bad. They put a new Xantrex in and that didn't work. then they tried another Xantrex and that didn't work. Then they chased down the bad ground.

    Sent the Magnum back to the factory (under warranty) and it now sits in the garage waiting.


    seems odd? The 2 gauge battery ground on mine goes directly from the batterys to the inverter/converter;; looking at them I do not see how
    anyone could miss that deal>?what would a battery tray have to do with the ground system?
  • jplante4's avatar
    jplante4
    Explorer II
    Nov 21, 2016
    usersmanual wrote:
    seems odd? The 2 gauge battery ground on mine goes directly from the batterys to the inverter/converter;; looking at them I do not see how
    anyone could miss that deal>?what would a battery tray have to do with the ground system?


    I think my setup has the battery going to ground on the chassis and the inverter/converter picking up the negative side from the chassis.
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    Nov 22, 2016
    It CAN also be a bad fuse and/or a kill switch. Different MFG's do different things. But it very well could be bad.
  • usersmanual's avatar
    usersmanual
    Explorer
    Nov 22, 2016
    crasster wrote:
    It CAN also be a bad fuse and/or a kill switch. Different MFG's do different things. But it very well could be bad.


    read OP post he clearly says
    Sure enough, zero volts coming out. It just died. Fuses good, input voltage good and nothing out.
  • usersmanual's avatar
    usersmanual
    Explorer
    Nov 22, 2016
    jplante4 wrote:
    usersmanual wrote:
    seems odd? The 2 gauge battery ground on mine goes directly from the batterys to the inverter/converter;; looking at them I do not see how
    anyone could miss that deal>?what would a battery tray have to do with the ground system?


    I think my setup has the battery going to ground on the chassis and the inverter/converter picking up the negative side from the chassis.


    mine has battery to chassis ground and also battery to Inverter ground
  • gsf35099's avatar
    gsf35099
    Explorer
    Nov 23, 2016
    Hey gang. Thanks for all the feedback and ideas. I'm pretty good at electronic stuff and no matter what I tried I couldn't get any output from the Inteli converter.
    Replaced it with a Powermax 75 amp, although mine was an 80 amp and all is back to normal.
    I did throw the old one in the compartment to play with it when we get home.
  • gsf35099's avatar
    gsf35099
    Explorer
    Nov 23, 2016
    Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
    And give those batteries a nice slooow charge. If you are really really lucky they just might have a little life left in them. Though they are probably done.


    Oh ya, batteries were not a concern as I have Trojans and just put the charger on then in trickle mode. We limped along for a couple days until I installed the new converter. :)

About Motorhome Group

38,705 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 14, 2025