12v batteries not receiving charge from shore power.

Hi All,

First-time poster to this forum. Thanks in advance for any help with this....
We have an Outdoors RV Mfg. Black Rock 17’ travel trailer purchased new in 2014. I’m having issues charging batteries from both shore power and portable generator.

Some details are as follows:
• WFCO 45AMP Power Converter (attached pic);
• Fuses at rear of Power Converter are all in working order;;
• Loose ground on exterior of Power Converter was initially loose and tightening it up seemed to rectify issue for short term (battery received charge, Power Converter was warm to touch) but solution was short lived and had not worked since;
• Fuses in fuse panel are all in working order (attached pic);
• Control console for trailer located inside door (attached pic) should show full-power (4 lights) when plugged into shore power / generator but it does not;
• Generator works when charging separate RV;
• Shore power cable is not the issue because microwave and stereo have power when connected to external power source;
• Batteries do charge (via truck alternator) when towing;
• 12v batteries are new (2019);
• Have small (admittedly underpowered) 30watt solar panel that connects directly to batteries while at destinations (we typically do not camp w/ any shore power or septic);
• All light fixtures work while running on battery power;

The only other thing I can of would be to check connections at the rear of the fuse panel which would involve pulling panel from housing below fridge. I do have basic tools for most tasks on hand (were currently out at lake with trailer in campground w/ no services). I also have a volt meter to troubleshoot related issues.

That’s about all I can think of at this point.

Regards,

Brian

**EDIT**
-Here are some reference documents from the Mfg. of the Power Converter that is installed in the trailer:

--> Brochure Pg. 1/2;

--> Brochure Pg. 2/2;

--> Description;

--> Specifications;

--> Mfg. image 1/2;

--> Mfg. image 2/2;

--> Pic of our unit; and

-->Rules out backwards battery/reversed-polarity.

I will post some additional bullets to assist with some troubleshooting.

wa8yxm
Explorer III
May 31, 2021
WFCO converters are known to have a high failure rate.. From others it is one fairly easily replaced part but I have no idea which (others might but are they reading this thread)

I suggest a Progressive Dynamics 9245 as the replacement for that one.

I have yet to find a better converter. Found a couple as good but none better than the Progressive Dynamics Wizard controlled units.
Optional Dongle
Alternative is the PD 9145 with charge wizard dongle (Sometime the 91-- pair will be cheaper but with the wizard dongle it is the same as the 92-- with dongle)
MrWizard
Moderator
May 31, 2021
Truck alternator charging trailer battery, that's good
But has nothing to do with the Wfco converter, which needs 120vac to it's battery charging
opnspaces
Navigator II
May 30, 2021
As Mexicowanderer says take it one step at a time.

First step, remove all sources of charging. Unplug shore power. Unplug the alligator clips from the solar panels. Do not run the generator. Disconnect the negative cable from the battery.

Now let the trailer sit overnight.

In the morning take a voltage check at the battery and write it down. This is your battery voltage and it's important to know it. If you don't know the battery voltage the results of the rest of your tests are suspect.

Now that you know the battery voltage hook up the negative cable to the battery and plug in the shore power. Take another voltage check at the battery and see of it is higher than battery voltage.

If the voltage is now higher then you charger is charging. It may still be doing a poor ineffective job of charging, but it is charging.

If you still have battery voltage at the battery then do as Mexico wander says and go to the power panel and see what voltages you have there.

Tell us what you find.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
May 30, 2021
Diagnostics by Ouija Board are useless...

How many VOLTS do you see at the 12 volt red and white output wires at the converter?

Battery Voltage?

Take it one-step at a time
Yellerledbetty
Explorer
May 30, 2021
cavie wrote:
Have battery load tested. check "reverse Polarity" fuses on converter. Disconnect 12 volt output wires from converter. Test voltage out of converter. Look for resetable 12 volt fuse under toung ofn trailer within 6' of the battery.

Hi there - We've almost lost track of how many times we've replace batteries (just kidding! but it's been 2-3 times over 7-ish years of ownership since new).
Re: "Look for re-settable 12 volt fuse under tongue of trailer within 6' of the battery" should there be a fuse somewhere along the 'load' wire running off the converter --> battery? I will have a look.

Thanks!

Bri@n
Yellerledbetty
Explorer
May 30, 2021
time2roll wrote:
OK so check the WFCO is getting in 120vac and putting out 13.6vdc

But it is mostly pointless if you are using a generator. WFCO is notorious for not entering boost mode (14.4v) when expected and instead will just trickle charge your battery in normal mode of 13.6 volts. (12+ hours to charge) Replace the WFCO with Progressive Dynamics, IOTA or Boondocker. (4 hour charge)

Of course if the voltage is not getting to your battery you have an open circuit. In this case keep poking at all connections and components in the loop until you find the spot where voltage cuts off. Repair, replace, adjust, clean or tighten this issue until voltage is same from battery to the load/fuse center.

Hi! we are not running a genny - solar panel on occasion but it's 6+ years old and connects directly to batteries at front of trailer w/ alligator clips so not likely the cause of this.

I will look into your comment: "notorious for not entering boost mode" and see if that is the case. How would I best determine if this was the case? Assumedly with a volt-meter when connected to shore power or when the trailer is connected to the truck and charging via truck alternator.

Thanks for any input you might have!

Bri@n
Yellerledbetty
Explorer
May 30, 2021
Flute Man wrote:
Did you check the 120 V circuit breaker that feeds the converter?
On that connection you previously tightened remove it and clean it up and then reinstall.

You may call me if you wish and I might be able to help you over the phone. I am a retired professional electrical troubleshooter.

Sorry for the delay with this. the '120V circuit breaker that feeds the converter' would be in the electrical panel of my RV,yes?

I will look back at all the connections and ensure clean/secure. i think that I am leaning towards ruling out any issues pertaining to reversed polarity b/c the Mfg. of the converter notes that it is wired to 'accommodate' such errors. As such I think perhaps it is, like you'd noted, a loose/dirty connection or perhaps some worn cables that might have rubbed on the chassis of the trailer (or similar) and is creating a short somewhere. Is there a way to 'test the frame' with a volt meter to see if there's a short resulting due to this? Nobody has received a *zap* because of this. I have checked the fuses in the Truck and they are fine.

TIA!

Bri@n.
Yellerledbetty
Explorer
May 30, 2021
MrWizard wrote:
Use this link
Upload your photo there
RV net photo hosting
Once your photo has been uploaded
Copy the url for the uploaded photo
And paste in your posting

Member 1492
Created this for us

I ran into a SNAFU with the uploading of the imagery (argh). Do you have any suggestions for me to find a work-around? link to Dropbox, etc.? I'm open to suggestions!

TIA!

Bri@n
travisc
Explorer
Sep 06, 2020
Give the folks T betstconverter.com in Boise they will talk you through things and provide options we did this when ours failed and did a plug and play replacement
cavie
Explorer
Sep 06, 2020
Have battery load tested. check "reverse Polarity" fuses on converter. Disconnect 12 volt output wires from converter. Test voltage out of converter. Look for resetable 12 volt fuse under toung ofn trailer within 6' of the battery.