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JohnG4706's avatar
JohnG4706
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015

WFCO WF-8900 Not Charging

I have a 2015 Puma 23FB TT; returning to Myrtle Beach after a 12k, 146 night trip to Alaska...

Everything has been going fine. Drove 250 miles this afternoon and arrived at the campsite for the night. Only have 30 amp electric tonight; lowered electric jack while still plugged into SUV - ok; plugged in power cord (I have the Progessive Industry's 30 Amp Surge Protector w/ digital remote.) 124 Volts, no error messages.

Tried to lower the Lippert Electric stabilizer jacks - nothing... Went inside TT...tried turning on interior lights - nothing... ALL 120 v outlets working; MW working; TV with cable working... ALL 12 v appliances not working; Unplugged power cord and reconnected hoping to "reset" - nothing... no change...

Checked all circuit breakers and fuses - all good and intact.

Battery dead...WFCO battery charger NOT charging...

What are my options? What can I do?
  • Replace the WFCO with a Progressive Dynamics converter would be my suggestion.
    Have you checked the inline fuse or circuit breaker, the one close to the battery? If it failed, you won't get any battery output or input. Also, the converter is powered through a 120V circuit breaker. Make sure that is cycled and not tripping. Your WFCO may have two fuses on the exterior that protect it from over current and reverse polarity, another thing to check.

    Do you have a handheld meter?
  • It sounds to me that the electric jack got it's power from the Tow Vehicle, and that the time driving did not charge the batteries at all... or... the battery is actually charged, but the battery power is not running to the 12 volt panel (more likely).

    If you know your battery is good, but still nothing works.. then...

    The way to really check this is to use your jumper cables and a short piece of wire. Put the short piece of wire into the negative of the 12 volt panel, and connect the jumper cable from the other end of the short piece to the negative terminal of the battery. Did it work?

    If it did not work, put the short piece of wire into the positive side of the 12 volt panel and connect the jumper from the other end of the short wire to the positive side of the battery.

    Most likely, one or the other will fix it and you will know where to look from that. If neither seems to, hook up both sides of the panel to both sides of the battery.
  • First get a multi-meter, take some readings and find out if you have 12 volt power. If not then the easy route is pull the battery and take it to Autozone or the equivalent and have it tested. If the battery is good but dead, then you can start looking at why it is not charging.
  • I don't know about others but on my TT the jack is powered by it's own wire and fuse connected directly to the battery. Everything else is powered by a different wire and fuse connected to the DC distribution panel. Also, there are some high amp fuses located right on the converter that might be the problem.

    I would think total loss of all DC would be fairly easy to track down with a good meter.

    I also doubt the battery is dead. More likely a fuse or connection.
  • Probably a fuse or wiring issue. It is unlikely the converter would die and the battery would go flat while towing at the same exact time.
  • Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I took the trailer to CW in Roanoke and they assigned Glenn, their top tech. I was concerned about losing food in the frig/freezer if I didn't get it back working ASAP.

    Glenn found that when I put a 1/2" shim for my ProPride jacks, I had pinched and shorted out the umbilical cord. (The ProPride is designed to go on a 2 1/2" frame; I have a 2" frame and the jacks were rotating to about a 45 degree angle. I didn't see the cord when I reinstalled the "U" bolt around the frame.)

    Glenn found that I had blown a 40 amp fuse block in a 4x4 electric box under the trailer. (all of the fuses and circuit breakers inside the TT were intact.) He taped, rerouted and repaired the cord and I was back in business. Total time about 1 hr 15 min.

    For as many negatives I've heard about CW, the Roanoke facility, and in particular Glenn, were First Class.
  • I'm glad it was an easy fix.

    You got really lucky to find the one good Camping World. :D