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Reflex439's avatar
Reflex439
Explorer
May 10, 2016

Converter putting out 16.5V, some appliances don't work.

My RV has a Magnetek 6345 converter installed. I've noticed that when connected to shore power, with the battery disconnect relay in the off or disconnected state, the converter starts supplying 15V to 16.5V on the 12V side, making some appliances in-operable. If I turn the battery disconnect to on, the voltage drops to a normal level and everything works normally. This only happens when connected to shore power.


One side note that might be an issue....

When I installed a new dash stereo, I wired it to the house battery and intend to put in a switch between house and vehicle battery. Currently it is just wired to the house battery. However, there is a wire that connects to the vehicle batteries positive side to retain the channel and setting memory. I don't know if there is any issue with having the memory lead connected to the vehicle battery, while the main power is connected to the house battery, and they are sharing a common ground. I hadn't thought of this when changing the main power from the vehicle to house battery. I thought I would add this just in case it is an issue or creating some sort of weird loop.

Any ideas? Any tests I can run to isolate the high voltage? Is this just a faulty converter?

38 Replies

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  • Reflex439's avatar
    Reflex439
    Explorer
    May 10, 2016
    wa8yxm wrote:
    The solution.. Gut the thing (rake the electrronics out from behind the fuse/breaker panel) and replace with a 4645 or (well as close to the last 2 digits as possible) from Best Convewrters or another store.


    Thanks for all the helpful replies. I know very little about the converters, other than their normal function and basics of 12V.

    I've already been looking at a 4645 swap. I am looking to add dual batteries, solar controller, 100Wx2 panels, etc. Still trying to figure out what I need in order to do that so that everything works together well. I don't want to buy a 4645 only to later find I should have gone a different route to better integrate with the solar setup. So still in the planning stages at this point, and probably not till late summer or early fall when I have all the design elements in order. I still have a water heater to replace and some other maintenance that is more pressing.

    In the mean time.... I still have the issue with the Magnetek 6345, and trying to find a workable solution until I get the solar setup designed and ready to install. I guess I could just be very careful about not connecting to shore power unless the battery disconnect is on. I would just hate to ruin good working appliances because I inadvertently left he disconnect off while leaving it plugged in for several days/weeks.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    May 10, 2016
    mkirsch wrote:
    Check your owner's manual. It may not be good for the converter to be disconnected from the battery,...
    x2

    Why are you disconnecting the batteries when on shore power?
  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    May 10, 2016
    16.5V sounds like a high-current charging voltage. The Magnetek thinks it's trying to charge a dead battery.

    Check your owner's manual. It may not be good for the converter to be disconnected from the battery, or it may have a mode setting for "no battery."
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    May 10, 2016
    First there is something you need to know, then there is something you need to do.

    I often talk about the good, the bad and the Ugly when it comes to Converters.. The Best I have found is a family of them, all technically equal, cosmetically different,, That is the Progressive Dynaimcs Wizard controlled units like the 9200 or 4600 line.. Pay attention to tghe 4600 line

    2: The worst: Magnetek 6300 line.. Yup, yours

    The solution.. Gut the thing (rake the electrronics out from behind the fuse/breaker panel) and replace with a 4645 or (well as close to the last 2 digits as possible) from Best Convewrters or another store.

    Easy drop in replacement, you have to add one jumper wire, and it works, you go from teh bottom of the converter pile to the top in one easy move.
  • Reflex439's avatar
    Reflex439
    Explorer
    May 10, 2016
    midnightsadie wrote:
    I,d be checking my house batteries ,if there holding 16.5 they will boil the water out of them.


    The high voltage is when the battery is disconnected. The 16.5V is from the converter when running off shore power. When supplied from the battery, the voltage is in the normal 12V-13V range.
  • Reflex439's avatar
    Reflex439
    Explorer
    May 10, 2016
    Yes, the source I measured was a 15AMP circuit supplying power to the RV and dash Stereo.

    If I adjust the pot, will it lower the voltage when the battery is connected, as well as when it is not? And if no battery is connected, will it harm the converter?

    Just trying to figure out my options, especially since I know there will be many times the shore power will be connected and someone will forget to turn the battery disconnect switch on :)
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    May 10, 2016
    I,d be checking my house batteries ,if there holding 16.5 they will boil the water out of them.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    May 10, 2016
    I assume the high voltage is on the filtered outputs- the ones on the right hand side of the fuse panel. Two things- that really needs the battery connected, it isn't designed to work without it, that said, there is an adjustment pot for charging voltage, though that high sounds like a part may have failed.

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