I have a 2004 Tiffin Phaeton and recently noticed my four 6 volt house batteries were always reading low even after hooked to shore power or generator but after a long drive they were back in the green. I finally had a tech look at it and he tells me the charger is only putting out 12.8 volts where it should be putting out between 13.6 and 14.2 and that I need to replace the Xantrex 458 charger converter. I am assuming he is right abotu this but just wanted to discuss it with this board to see what your suggestions are and also should I go back with Xantrex or is there a better option ? The good thing about if I go back with the same Xantrex unit is I will be able to use the same control box up front from the old unit I assume.

I would believe the charger is repairable, but that might be non-economical. This might be good time to upgrade. I have inverter/charger that gives me 2600W of charging power for my big battery bank. That come handy from time to time while fully automatic operation is very convenient.

Commerce wrote:I have a 2004 Tiffin Phaeton and recently noticed my four 6 volt house batteries were always reading low even after hooked to shore power or generator but after a long drive they were back in the green. I finally had a tech look at it and he tells me the charger is only putting out 12.8 volts where it should be putting out between 13.6 and 14.2 and that I need to replace the Xantrex 458 charger converter. I am assuming he is right abotu this but just wanted to discuss it with this board to see what your suggestions are and also should I go back with Xantrex or is there a better option ? The good thing about if I go back with the same Xantrex unit is I will be able to use the same control box up front from the old unit I assume.The voltage put out by any modern 3 stage charger will very depending on the state of charge of the batteries. With discharged batteries the voltage will start high maybe as high as 18 volts on some newer chargers and go down in current and voltage as the charged state of the batteries increases. So I don't know if he is right or not. I have heard a lot of good things about Magnum inverters/ chargers.

If the inverter side still works you could just add a converter to charge the battery.

Hi,I'd add a good converter and keep the 458 as an inverter.

Our Zantrax did the same thing, replacing the mother board did not help.we upgraded to the Magnum new error pure sign wave

Xantrex Inverter/Charger | Good Sam Community

Kayteg1
Explorer II
Nov 12, 2015
I would believe the charger is repairable, but that might be non-economical.
This might be good time to upgrade.
I have inverter/charger that gives me 2600W of charging power for my big battery bank.
That come handy from time to time while fully automatic operation is very convenient.
gemert
Explorer
Nov 12, 2015
Commerce wrote:
I have a 2004 Tiffin Phaeton and recently noticed my four 6 volt house batteries were always reading low even after hooked to shore power or generator but after a long drive they were back in the green. I finally had a tech look at it and he tells me the charger is only putting out 12.8 volts where it should be putting out between 13.6 and 14.2 and that I need to replace the Xantrex 458 charger converter.

I am assuming he is right abotu this but just wanted to discuss it with this board to see what your suggestions are and also should I go back with Xantrex or is there a better option ? The good thing about if I go back with the same Xantrex unit is I will be able to use the same control box up front from the old unit I assume.

The voltage put out by any modern 3 stage charger will very depending on the state of charge of the batteries. With discharged batteries the voltage will start high maybe as high as 18 volts on some newer chargers and go down in current and voltage as the charged state of the batteries increases. So I don't know if he is right or not. I have heard a lot of good things about Magnum inverters/ chargers.
time2roll
Nomad
Nov 12, 2015
If the inverter side still works you could just add a converter to charge the battery.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 12, 2015
Hi,

I'd add a good converter and keep the 458 as an inverter.
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Nov 12, 2015
Our Zantrax did the same thing, replacing the mother board did not help.

we upgraded to the Magnum new error pure sign wave
JR45
Explorer
Nov 12, 2015
Ditch the Xantrex 458 Freedom and install a Magnum 2812 PSW and new controller. The Xantrex 458 uses 6 wires in there phone patch line and the Magnum uses 4 wires. Just drop the 2 outside wires (1 on each side)install new phone ends saves a lot of time and money running new line. Kustom Coach Works in Junction City,Oregon did mine when they installed my Samsung 197 RR frig. My inverter has been on close to 3 years now.
JR
MrWizard
Moderator
Nov 12, 2015
Kayteg1 wrote:
I would believe the charger is repairable, but that might be non-economical.
This might be good time to upgrade.
I have inverter/charger that gives me 2600W of charging power for my big battery bank.
That come handy from time to time while fully automatic operation is very convenient.

thats almost 200amps of charging, thats quite a unit

Brand and Model#
Skylark
Explorer
Nov 12, 2015
Commerce, I would call manufacturer first. I have a xantrex and was having a problem. Took it to rv center, wanted $4500 to replace it.
I called xantrex, support told me what to do. Turn unit off for a period of time, and punch certain codes in. The the inverter was working great.
I think the charge output on mine is adjustable.
Good luck
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
Nov 12, 2015
HI,

I would also suggest checking the charger settings. You can adjust it to limit the pass through amperage to the inverter to limit it's power consumption to only say 5 or 10 amps. This will limit the charger's output amperage. Still it should be charging overnight when nothing else is in use.

I have a 1997 Trace inverter, and no plans on buying another Trace or Xantrex product. My plan is to look at Outback inverters or chargers next time.

Good luck,

Fred.

You might want to call the owners of this website, they repaired my Trace inverter many years ago. SOlarOnSale.com
MrWizard
Moderator
Nov 12, 2015
Call the factory, and get the reset procedure
If that doesn't work, replace it with something else
IIRC the 458 models have a history of problems
There was a thread about this a few years ago, all the different members having problems with the 458