Suspected Converter Problem
Hey guys, back again. Hoping to gain some insight into an ongoing problem we've had this summer.
RV is a 2004 Fleetwood Terry Quantum AX6 365FLTS.
The rv came with a factory installed WFCO 8855 converter. First things first. If you go to their website, you will see 8855's are 220v input. This may be the case now but certainly wasn't in 2004. Mine is 120v input and I have photographic proof. Let's please not waste time disputing this.
WFCO says the 9855 would be pretty much an equivalent now.
Anyways, onto the issue. I am wondering if there may be a problem with my converter. The reason I suspect it is because of generally poor performance. In the off season, I replaced the single group 24 battery the PO was kind of enough to leave me with a pair of Group 31 AGM batteries, 105Ah apiece.
It seems that this charger takes forever to charge these things. We're talking like if the wall panel shows 2/3 full, I need to run the generator for like 8 hours to charge them.
On a recent trip, the Batts showed 1/3 full and even after running the generator for seriously like 12 hours, they only showed 2/3. This seems slow. I know the indicator system probably isn't scientific level accuracy, but reading at the Batts with a multimeter seems to corroborate.
Other weird issues:
Sometimes at night with our 12v lights on in the camper (LED retrofits), I can see the lights flickering.
I get substantially different readings on the multimeter if I probe the output terminals of the converter versus the batt terminals. This despite the cables connecting the two being less than 4 feet long. For example, I forced the converter into boost mode. When probing the outputs, I got like 14.46v. At the batt terminals, I get like 12.43v. This seems especially odd to me considering any other time I probe battery terminals with a charger connected and charging, it seems like I'm reading the charger output voltage.
Lastly, I pulled the troubleshooting chart from WFCO and followed all steps. According to the chart (link below), my converter is fine. But it certainly doesn't behave like it's fine. I know PD advertises that when in boost mode, it takes 2-3 hours to bring the battery bank to 90%. Admittedly, this WFCO isn't as good as a PD, but 12 hours? Really?
http://wfcoelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/New-Flow-Chart-for-WF-9800-Series.pdf
I have my eye on a PD9260, but I don't want to spend the money if there's something else wrong.
This past weekend the batteries were completely dead and we brought them home to charge on a more "conventional" charger. It took a long time, but it worked.
Any ideas? Are my batteries just THAT big? Or is there something else going on?
Tell me what you guys think.
RV is a 2004 Fleetwood Terry Quantum AX6 365FLTS.
The rv came with a factory installed WFCO 8855 converter. First things first. If you go to their website, you will see 8855's are 220v input. This may be the case now but certainly wasn't in 2004. Mine is 120v input and I have photographic proof. Let's please not waste time disputing this.
WFCO says the 9855 would be pretty much an equivalent now.
Anyways, onto the issue. I am wondering if there may be a problem with my converter. The reason I suspect it is because of generally poor performance. In the off season, I replaced the single group 24 battery the PO was kind of enough to leave me with a pair of Group 31 AGM batteries, 105Ah apiece.
It seems that this charger takes forever to charge these things. We're talking like if the wall panel shows 2/3 full, I need to run the generator for like 8 hours to charge them.
On a recent trip, the Batts showed 1/3 full and even after running the generator for seriously like 12 hours, they only showed 2/3. This seems slow. I know the indicator system probably isn't scientific level accuracy, but reading at the Batts with a multimeter seems to corroborate.
Other weird issues:
Sometimes at night with our 12v lights on in the camper (LED retrofits), I can see the lights flickering.
I get substantially different readings on the multimeter if I probe the output terminals of the converter versus the batt terminals. This despite the cables connecting the two being less than 4 feet long. For example, I forced the converter into boost mode. When probing the outputs, I got like 14.46v. At the batt terminals, I get like 12.43v. This seems especially odd to me considering any other time I probe battery terminals with a charger connected and charging, it seems like I'm reading the charger output voltage.
Lastly, I pulled the troubleshooting chart from WFCO and followed all steps. According to the chart (link below), my converter is fine. But it certainly doesn't behave like it's fine. I know PD advertises that when in boost mode, it takes 2-3 hours to bring the battery bank to 90%. Admittedly, this WFCO isn't as good as a PD, but 12 hours? Really?
http://wfcoelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/New-Flow-Chart-for-WF-9800-Series.pdf
I have my eye on a PD9260, but I don't want to spend the money if there's something else wrong.
This past weekend the batteries were completely dead and we brought them home to charge on a more "conventional" charger. It took a long time, but it worked.
Any ideas? Are my batteries just THAT big? Or is there something else going on?
Tell me what you guys think.
