Forum Discussion

ljedik's avatar
ljedik
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013

Should I switch out Converters?

Hi everyone, I have a question, the DW and I just purchased our first Hybrid TT, it's a new to us 99 Starcraft TravelStar17CK. We are Coming from an older Class C and had a question for the group. One thing that I thought was strange was that it did not have a battery, what camper doesn't come with a battery? Lol anyways, we got a heck of a deal on it so its a minor issue since I have my second battery and inverter from our motor home.
My question is, the converter in the travelstar is a Todd Engineering PC40b 40 amp charger/power supply. I have read on here that these are problematic and was wondering if I should put in my 30amp inteli Power 9100 charger/converter? It's older, less amps but maybe better? I don't know.
Also any help as to where in the chain I put my battery would be of great help.
  • Wow, just pulled the caps off the battery, no water, it had solidified. Guess maybe it was just a bad battery! This good news. Now to install my other battery and see if it takes a charge with this converter.
  • Your right guys, I shouldn't jump to a conclusion from just reading the forums, your right, I'll keep it and if down the road it craps out, I'll deal with it then.
    Low and behold, this morning I'm discovering my camper and I found a strange looking box buried in a small floor cabinet, it had a cover with a vent, so I screw it off and tada! A battery!
    Previous oxwe who had owned it for 10 years said it had no battery and that they just always plugged in!
    So now my question is, why was it not charging with this converter? I'm gonna pull the battery out and check the fluid level and stick it on a charger. But strange they didn't know about it. Could be toast if they didn't know about it and kept it there through several winters. I have a newer marine battery ill replace it with for now. But I need to make sure it charges.
  • You need to decide just WHY you are swapping out the converter. I wouldn't do it just because "I have read on here that these are problematic." There is nothing in your RV that hasn't be reported as problematic at one time or another.

    I swapped my perfectly good Parallax 7345 converter out for a Progressive Dynamics PD4655V because I wanted the smart 3 stage charging since we boondock quite a bit. (I also upgraded the 8g wire from it to the battery for 4g wire.)

    Others swap out a converter when the old one dies.
  • You might have read here on the Forum that this converter, "is problematic." But, have you had any problems with it?

    Before I started wrenching, I'd use it and see how it does.

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