The breakers in our 2000 Fleetwood Terry blew the other night after we heard a buzzing sound and saw the lights flickering. Turns out the converter shorted out (we saw smoke). Once we unplugged it the breakers stayed on. Have power to everything but the overhead lights and A/C. Do you need the converter for these to work? We are always plugged in. This is a new adventure for us. Please help!

vickish1 wrote:Once we unplugged it the breakers stayed on.What did you unplug?Bruce

Several things are 12VDC and gets its DC power from the converter/charger unit when plugged into shore power power. Also the Battery is connected to the same 12VDC Power Distribution panel so your ceiling lights should have stayed on but apparently your battery must not be connected or dead or switched off...The other very important thing will be your on-board batteries will not be charged when plugged into shore power without the working converter/charger unit.This is s simplified RV 30AMP Wiring Configuration diagram showing the 120VAC and 12VDC controlled items.As you notice all the essential appliances are wired to 12VDC so that the camping off the power grid concept can be achieved. Only a few non essential appliances are powered only by 120VAC.Roy Ken

Your situation concerns me a bit. The Converter has the job of taking 110 volts (either from your generator or from a campground electrical pedestal) and using it to keep your batteries charged. If the converter went smoking, it could signal something seriously wrong with your batteries (converter tried to supply too much current to a failing battery and ended up smoking itself). So the first thing I would do is disconnect my batteries and then measure their individual voltages. If you have 12v batteries, you should be measuring something in excess of 11.8 volts. If you measure less than 10v, you may have a bad battery. If you see any cracking of the battery case, any acid leaking onto the battery compartment, or a strong sulphur spell, then you do have a battery issue. But, if your batteries look good visually, then I'd put a battery charger on to the disconnected battery and let it sit for 4 hours. See if the battery takes a charge. If it does, reconnect it. If not, replace it.The fact that you do not have 12v for your lights also points a shaky finger in the direction of your batteries. So that is somewhat consistent. Your A/C "might" have a thermostat that requires 12v to operate so that could be why it is not working. If your thermostat does not require 12v (and if the A/C doesn't need 12v for anything else), then the fact it does not turn on would also point to an A/C issue. I assume your microwave and TV work fine when plugged into shore power. If so, your A/C would be getting power unless you flipped the A/C circuit breaker when your converter fried.There are lots of opinions here about converters. A good 3 stage converter is usually recommended by folks on this forum. Your challenge, unless you are handy doing your own maintenance, will be to select the appropriate converter and get it installed. Perhaps others will offer opinions on doing that as I've never replaced a converter.Happy trails once you get this issue fixed!

It is going to get dark on your guys pretty quick. You need to have the working battery and a way to keep it charged.Like stated above it could be you now have both the Battery and the Converter fried.Determine if the battery is OK and then I would go to local autoparts places or big box stores and pick up a Black N Decker VEC1093DBD 40AMP portable battery charger. You need one of these anyway if you are serious about camping in your RV unit. You may have to purchase a new 12VDC deep cycle battery as well. I would also pick up a couple of regular house 120VAC lamps too and a 120VAC fan. We have the O2COOL 10-inch portable fan that runs on AC-12VDC-D CELLS. Another great item to have around for PLAN Bs...These items should keep you going until you can get a converter/charger on order from AMAZON or local RV PLACE if you are close to one and they have one in stock.Take a good luck at the block diagram I just sent - Note most of your essential items are mostly 12VDC powered and you may not have 12VDC to use now with both the converter and the battery failed.Like I said it may get dark on you pretty soon and all you will have is flashlights and candles if you brought along any hehe...Roy Ken

smoking converter | Good Sam Community

AllegroD
Nomad
Jul 08, 2014
Good to see you are up and running again.

Remember that the appliances like furnace, fridge and AC require 12v. The fridge and furnace have a 12v controller board and the AC thermostat, on the wall, is 12v. No 12v - No control.

You might want to take some time to get familiar with how 120 & 12v work in your trailer.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 08, 2014
Thanks for the follow up.
vickish1
Explorer
Jul 08, 2014
It was the converter AND the lack of a battery just like so many posts suggested. We took the old one in, got a replacement and a new battery and the lights and the air conditioner are both working great! The lights are actually brighter than ever :)
Fleetwood99
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014
Off topic alittle maybe but, I saw 2 recalls for your 2000 Fleetwood Terry while searching. The Refrig recall you should check ASAP your Model number you have.

Recall 1

Recall 2

Your Converter problem currently should be replaced sounds like. Call a Pro is my quess you should do.

Happy Trails and welcome to RVnet
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014
It would be helpful if you tell us what RV you have, brand and model.

What converter you have, brand and model.

If we don't know what you have, you will get a lot of wild guesses that may not be relevant to your setup.
Hurricaner
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014
All converters built in the last 10 years do not require a battery... some pre 2004s do.

Sam
vickish1
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014
Thank you! This helps so much
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 06, 2014
vickish1 wrote:
Sorry, I did read your entire post. Just confusing as to why everything has worked up to now without a battery. Am I understanding correctly that the converter is necessary with or without a battery? Forgive me ... I'm one of those blondes that needs help!
Your converter was supplying all of the 12V lights, etc.

Depending upon the replacement converter you may also need a battery. Some work fine without a battery and some require a battery. So check out the requirements of the new converter before purchasing as your posts indicated that you don't need a battery.

There are lots of different options for a new converter/charger and battery setup. Perhaps you should seek out someone to help.
1492
Moderator
Jul 06, 2014
Moved from Forum Technical Support
vickish1
Explorer
Jul 06, 2014
Sorry, I did read your entire post. Just confusing as to why everything has worked up to now without a battery. Am I understanding correctly that the converter is necessary with or without a battery? Forgive me ... I'm one of those blondes that needs help!

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