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Riverrattralph's avatar
Riverrattralph
Explorer
Mar 16, 2014

Charging problem

I purchased a used 1989 Winnebago Chieftain last fall that was not used in a long time. I only used it 2 times before I put it away for the winter and I am having problems with the 12v side. The last trip in November I replaced the battery in the coach with 2 batteries in parallel from my boat. It was working great until the middle of the night when I ran out of propane and the furnace fan continued to run and killed my batteries in the middle of the night and i was plugged in to a friends generator at the same time. I put a volt meter om the batteries and I was down to 9 volts so my lights were very dim and the steps would not even go out. Why didn't the generator produce 12v for me? I hooked up a battery charger to my batteries and that brought up the batteries enough to finish out the weekend. I dont remember the details of the convertor or inverter which ever it is but it just seams to plug into a receptacle and has 2 hot wires hooked up to a lug and a ground and it is a Magnatek. Where do I start troubleshooting?

9 Replies

  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Mar 16, 2014
    Riverrattralph wrote:
    what is the purpose of using the resistor across the leads to test?


    Don't know, I would not be able to do that test. Don't have one of those resistors. Usually, all you do is put the voltmeter to the converter output right at the converter to see if you get anything at all for DC voltage. Should be about 13.7v

    That would be after you already know you are not getting anything at the battery while it is connected.

    check 120v input--circuit breaker, or receptacle live ? (watch for any GFCI receptacle problem.

    there are fuses between converter and battery--battery fuse on positive wire close to the battery--if there is DC at the converter but not at the battery, check that fuse.

    The converter may have a pair of 30a DC fuses for 'reverse polarity' blown. if you wired up your new batteries backwards (it happens) then it would have blown those.
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Mar 16, 2014
    Riverrattralph wrote:
    I guess what bothers me is why didn't the generator allow me to maintain 12v. I started out with 13.6


    The generator does not charge a battery. It powers a battery charger. You may have problems with your charger (converter) at the 120v AC input end (generator or shore power) or at the 12v DC output end. You need a multimeter to chase down where you are losing, following the troubleshooting flow chart for your converter.
  • Riverrattralph's avatar
    Riverrattralph
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2014
    I guess what bothers me is why didn't the generator allow me to maintain 12v. I started out with 13.6
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2014
    9V is indicative of a dead cell. I would test the batteries before going any further.
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Mar 16, 2014
    Here is a trouble shooting chart for the 6300. If you don't have that model, the guide should still apply somewhat.

    http://www.parallaxpower.com/6300/LinearSeriesBatOvrChg.PDF

    If you have another converter model, click it here then find its tech docs.

    http://www.parallaxpower.com/Legacy.htm

    If you upgrade, do not go to the 7300 or 7400 which are now also by-passed. Parallax has a new series, but they are expensive. Instead you could choose from a PowerMax or PD replacement. Stay away from the Ultra kit too.

    http://www.bestconverter.com/

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