How to test camper is charging batteries on shore power

epbigfoot wrote:
thankyou all for your advice. looking for replacement. no power going to batteries. Only lasted 2 1/2 years. Its a WF-87/8740.

I think it is the red wire out the back of the converter that goes to the battery. Check there before ruling out the converter.

Before replacing the converter, be sure to check for any internal fuses or broken/not securely attached wire or wires. Also check for any corrosion at all wire connections. Checking is free and a new converter isn't and why replace a perfectly good converter if it hasn't actually failed?

Converters themselves usually last many years or as long as the RV does. Yes, exceptions do happen. We've personally had 33 RV's over the last 51 years as we always have 2-4 at a time and never had a converter go bad yet. One was 23 years old and still just working fine.

thankyou all for your advice. looking for replacement. no power going to batteries. Only lasted 2 1/2 years. Its a WF-87/8740.

Your batteries probably have low water level now. Add only distilled water to them.

You pretty much confirmed that the converter is not putting out power by the battery being dead. Check with a lamp or plug in something where the converter plugs in. Likely that a tripped GFI has stopped power to the converter.

IF the converter has power in, but no power out, then start looking at the fuses on the side of the converter. If they are good, then look for a brand new converter.

BestConverter.com

Call and tell them what you have, they can recommend a better replacement. Also let them know if you have a 40 or 50 amp fuse on the line between the converter and batteries, or distribution panel. It would make no sense to buy a 60 amp converter and have it keep tripping the fuse.

You also want to avoid a common problem. If you have a 30 amp converter, then it takes 'forever' to recharge on the generator. In that case, upgrading to a 45 - 55 amp converter and changing out the wire to install #6 wire would shorten your generator run times. If you could relocate the converter to near the battery, without being in the same compartment (Battery gas is really bad for electronics) then a short run of #6 or #4 wire will allow upgrading fairly in-expensively.

You might also consider upgrading to solar power. A 140 watt 12 volt solar panel is only $229 at this place. 140 watts is only about 40 AH daily, about what your refrigerator, propane and CO detectors use in one day. I have a total of 400 watts on my RV, and can watch hours of TV through the satellite system.

SunElec.com

Even one of the 140 watt panels will allow you to camp for a really long weekend without needing to recharge. It will put back just a little less than you use daily, but will stay ahead of the loads in most cases.

I have a 'e-meter' that carefully measures the amps going in and out of the battery pack. If I was more than 120 AH discharged, I would run the generator early in the morning to get it back to about -100 AH, then it will make up that much power before sunset. When the battery is most discharged, it will accept the most power. Once over 3/4 full, the amperage even from my 70 amp inverter/charger would be less than 20 amps. Not really worth running a 4,000 watt noisy generator to get back 20 amps at 12 volts (about 240 watts). But in the mornings, before solar takes over, it could put out 55 amps into the 4 golf cart batteries.

Good luck!

Fred.

It's been answered but I'm going to answer again anyway. :p

measure the battery voltage with your VOM. Then plug it in and measure it again.

On our TC, turning off the main battery disconnect switch still allows shore power 120 AC to work. Has your battery switch disabled the batteries?

Lead acid batteries do not appreciate total discharge. Watch them for signs of fatigue.

thank you to all of you. first time had any kind of problem with my 185RB Jayco. Appreciate all of your comments.

Converter gets 120V AC power when RV is plugged in to shore/generator power.

It converts 120V AC to 12V DC to charge battery and provide 12V DC system (battery supplies when not plugged into AC power)

Converter can be fed via a circuit breaker or being plugged into an outlet.

So does converter have AC power?
If it has AC power then check if DC power off converter bus bars is 13.2V minimum. If less than that converter is NOT functioning correctly.

Also.....with battery fully charged does it supply DC system when NOT connected to AC shore power?
IF fully charged but no DC power (lights etc.) then fuse/circuit breaker near battery bad OR converter 'Reverse Polarity' Fuses blown (also will not allow charging of battery if blown)

Assuming they are lead acid, also check the water levels.

Measure for voltage across the battery posts. You should see 13+ VDC if the converter is functioning.