How do I know if my Charger, Converter is bad? Pics inside

With 120V AC power source IN a converter (any converter) should have at a MINIMUM 13.2V DC OUT when battery is disconnected from converter.

Any voltage less than 13.2V converter is/has failed.

lacofdfireman wrote:
Also I wanted to ask another question. My Converter/Charger was a major PITA to get out of my Motorhome. They had it packed into an area so tight you couldn't hardly get to the screws to remove it. There's plenty of room in the compartment to relocate it but the 4awg wire coming from the batteries to the converter/charger are way to short. To be honest I'm not sure I can even get it back in because there's no room to work in there. Can I just wire nut on some 4awg wire extensions and make it so its serviceable? I'd need to extend the wires probably a foot.

Adding on to the wires is fine.
I'd probably use some type of butt splice, crimp connector as opposed to wire nuts on that size of wire. #4 is pretty big for a wire nut.

How much trouble would it be to just replace the entire length of wire? Remove the original, go to an auto parts store & get one long enough with the ends already crimped on.

Just this past fall, having the motorhome in for service, I asked the tech to check the charging system thruout. He came back with "the converter still works, but is borderline failure". Not bad for 14 years, eh?
He recommended a PARALLAX 4455. $209 on the net. ($279 at the dealer! oops....) Easy install. I was surprised at the difference in the size and weight of the converter(s)....the old one was large, heavy, cumbersome. The new one was almost 1/3 the size of the old one, so lightweight that I secured it to the floor with Velcro...Same wires, same hookups. So far, so good.

Upgrade to a Progressive Dynamics that will go to 14.4 volts or more. If it's easy enough to replace the number 4 vs crimping on butt connectors then do it. Check all the connections to the battery and install fresh connectors if needed. The chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

Check for 120 volts coming to converter.
Then check for 12+ volts coming out of converter. If both have correct voltage, its not the converter.


doug

Well just an update. Our Converter charger did end up being bad. When I would hook it up to the single 12v battery it would show 14.4v. When I would add another battery isn't the situation like my 2 Trojans it would drop to 12.3. Bought a new Intelepower converter charger and now it's working as is. Glad we figured that out. Also batteries are staying topped off.

Now my next thing I'm considering doing is adding another 2 Trojans. Would this be a good thing?

I'm not sure I understand your post correctly. If your converter charges at 14.4 v on a "single 12 v battery" it should charge 14.4v on 2 6 v batteries wired in series to make 12 v. 14.4 v sounds like a good converter to me.

Gjac wrote:
I'm not sure I understand your post correctly. If your converter charges at 14.4 v on a "single 12 v battery" it should charge 14.4v on 2 6 v batteries wired in series to make 12 v. 14.4 v sounds like a good converter to me.

This is a normal failure. Seems to work as designed until a real load is placed on the converter, then some component is weak and goes open, preventing proper operation. A lot of times it is a solder joint, but finding it and actually fixing the problem is another thing. Normal open circuit voltage for an converter is 13 volts +/- 3 volts. I recommend the Powermax Boondocker converters for a replacement as they hold up better than the others and are fully adjustable. You can go to just about any size converter you want, but you need to be aware of the AC current draw if you do not have an management system or you boondock and use a 2,000 Watt generator as it could overload your system. The reason I mention boondocking, is a management system does not know you are using a smaller power input than it is calibrated for.