Rerouting Converter Connection
Been thinking about rerouting the 12V output connection of my PDI 80 amp converter to reduce voltage drop when in boost mode. Current configuration: Converter (rear of coach) -> 12V Power Panel...
Forum Discussion
STBRetired wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion on the Bussmann Hi-Amp. Think I will wire an indicator light across it so that I will notice that it is tripped before the batteries don't get charged.
I don't think this trick will work all that well in this situation because there won't be much of a voltage difference across the tripped breaker to light the lamp. It works for fuses on (most) circuits because the other side is effectively grounded, at least with the high impedance a little LED has in the circuit. In your case, you have a difference of maybe 1.5 or 2V, if the battery isn't already well on its way to being very much discharged, which may not even be above the forward voltage of the LED depending on what color/type you choose (and, even if it is, will not put enough current through a sensible dropping resistor to light it very brightly).
Better in my opinion would be to install a little panel voltmeter monitoring the battery voltage. Besides giving a good indication of whether or not it's charging from the converter, it can also give somewhat of a clue as to its state of charge, etc.
