Most likely what has happened is the WFCO has been charging your Interstate 12VDC batter at 13.6VDC for a long period of time and may have boiled out the battery fluids... This has been a long on-going problem with the WFCO products of never producing anything except 13.6VDC.
If the batteries fluids got boiled out then the next thing that happens is usually a shorted internal battery cell. The shorted battery cell will then demand a whole bunch of DC CURRENT from the WFCO Inverter and will over heat it much like you have described...
The fix is definitely check the battery and I suspect you will find it bone dry of fluids. The symptoms of this happening is the battery would become really hot during the process and some may have exploded which is rare. There is also an identifying smell associated with the battery boiling out the fluids.. Smells like rotten eggs...
Once you remove your battery terminals you should test the leads coming from the WFCO unit with a inexpensive MULTIMETER to see if the unit is still producing 13.6VDC... This should get you home with just purchasing a new battery until you get home... The smelling of burned plastic may have fried your WFCO Converter for you...
A NCIS GIBBS rule is to never allow your battery to get discharged below the 50% charge state which is around 12.0VDC. This will drive a nail into your battery life line real quick. Sounds like you have done this a couple of times now. Your battery performance will never be the same after this happens and eventually will short out an internal cell.
Also Keep in mind you are not allowed to travel in your Trailer here in the States without a working battery. This is Safety requirement by our US DOT to operate the trailer electric brakes in the event the trailer becomes disconnected while being towed over US Public roads. Canada should have the same Safety rules in effect...
Like others have said when you get back you may want to replace your WFCO Converter/charger unit for a Progressive Dynamics equivalent or perhaps a IOTA model. These units will operate with the multiple charge modes andprevent your battery from ever boiling out of fluids... The WFCO products have a long recorded history of not doing this. You can continue to use your WFCO products but you should start a bi-weekly maintenance program of testing your batteries for ample fluids.
Even after losing one of my Interstate batteries back in 2009 due to the same process of using a WFCO product and replacing with a PD9260C Converter/charger I still look at my batteries every couple of weeks. They are always right at the required fluid level but out of habit I still look at them.
As you can see the battery is the center of everything when you are camping... I also on a regular basis read my battery voltage at their terminals with an Multimeter (I have three in parallel) and if they are fully charged they will read 12.6-7VDC. Then I will connect up to shore power or generator and this DC VOLTAGE should should jump up to the 13.6VDC telling me all of the connections are good between the batteries and the DC Power Distribution Panel and also tell me my PD9260C COnverter/charger is charging just fine without no blown fuses or tripped breakers etc...
This is how I keep out of trouble haha... But of course you can't plan for all things that seem to happen on trips. Its like you are being tested sometimes... This falls under another NCIS GIBBS rule known as S**T happens hehe...
Roy Ken
