Thermoguy
May 11, 2021Explorer II
Converter / Charger Question
After using our 5th wheel this weekend I have a question – do I have a bad Converter / Charger?
A couple times over the weekend, especially in the morning, having space heaters running, the lights would get very dim then the CO alarm would sound. If I turned off the heaters, the alarm would stop and the lights would come back up. Kind of a low power issue. After unplugging from shore power and hooking up the truck, I tried to run the water pump and realized I had no 12v power. However, my slide and jack power still works. Just no lights, pump, or fridge. After getting home I am checking things out. I have 12.75v at the 6v batteries in series not plugged in to shore power. After plugging in and waiting a little, I had over 13v at the inverter leads and over 13v at the batteries. No DC power when not plugged in to shore – everything works when plugged in, however, if I try to use too many items, my power gets low. I checked and have only 6-7v at the DC leads when plugged in and AC running like a space heater.
I do not know what inverter I have or how to replace – or if I can replace with something of higher quality. My 5th wheel is a 2006 Forest River Sierra.
Here is a couple pictures – thanks for any help you can give me.
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A couple times over the weekend, especially in the morning, having space heaters running, the lights would get very dim then the CO alarm would sound. If I turned off the heaters, the alarm would stop and the lights would come back up. Kind of a low power issue. After unplugging from shore power and hooking up the truck, I tried to run the water pump and realized I had no 12v power. However, my slide and jack power still works. Just no lights, pump, or fridge. After getting home I am checking things out. I have 12.75v at the 6v batteries in series not plugged in to shore power. After plugging in and waiting a little, I had over 13v at the inverter leads and over 13v at the batteries. No DC power when not plugged in to shore – everything works when plugged in, however, if I try to use too many items, my power gets low. I checked and have only 6-7v at the DC leads when plugged in and AC running like a space heater.
I do not know what inverter I have or how to replace – or if I can replace with something of higher quality. My 5th wheel is a 2006 Forest River Sierra.
Here is a couple pictures – thanks for any help you can give me.

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