Converter had a shower... how do I test it?

[cswinford]

The converter in our fifth wheel just happens to be placed directly under our toilet in the basement, which also happens to have an open air register (no ducting) directly next to the toilet. So when our toilet valve stuck open today, filling and overflowing the black tank, the water came out of the toilet, into the vent and directly on top of our converter.

Odds are this converter is shot but I'd like to know for sure before buying a $200 replacement. Without having a electric meter, is there another way to test the converter? We are hooked up to shore power now but what symptoms should I be looking for that would indicate the converter is shot?

[tvman44]

1st let it dry out real good using a fan blowing on it, then plug it in. If no smoke get a volt meter and check to see if it is working. 🙂

[RoyB]

Keep in mind both the converter and the battery feed the same point in the 12VDC Power Distribution Panel where all of your 12V FUSES are located...

I would pull the negative battery terminal and turn on the shore power and if your ceiling are working normal then the converter is working...

It would be a better test using a mulitmeter because you really want to see around 13.6VDC coming from the converter/charger unit when shore power or generator is ON...

After it has been all dried out and no more visible water anywhere it may work just fine if it survived being initially working with water pouring on it... It should not start any fires if bad - it will just trip the 15A Circuit breaker it is plugged into...

I test my DC system all the time at the battery terminals using a mulitmeter. With no shore power turned on I will read 12.6-7VDC across the battery terminals if the battery is fully charged up. Then I will turn on shore power or start up the generator and I will read 13.6VDC or higher depending what charge mode the converter/charger is doing at the same battery terminals. With my PD9260C charger it may go as high as 14.4VDC... This tells me the converter/charger is working normal and all of the fuses and battery connections are good between the converter/charger and the battery Terminals... Multimeters are cheap from the Auto parts stores-Walmarts-Lowes etc... $6 to $15... A must have item in your RV tool box IMO...

Roy Ken

[Old-Biscuit]

Better test is to actually measure converter DC output.

12V light can operate with low dc voltage....low enough that converter is still bad.


Digital meter test

[cswinford]

attuco wrote:
Remove lead from battery. Try a 12 volt light to see if the converter is working.

So if I remove the output to the battery and test a 12v light inside, that will tell me if the converter is working?

[attuco]

Remove lead from battery. Try a 12 volt light to see if the converter is working.

[cswinford]

Jim-Linda wrote:
If it was flooded, first, I would remove converter and dry all water, check all fuses or breakers on the converter itself. If ok, I would disconnect the output and apply power to converter. If still ok, turn breaker off, connect multi meter to output and check reading. If no reading, converter is defective.

Thanks, Jim-Linda
It was necessarily flooded because the top of the converter is not open. It's a Progressive Dynamics unit and the only openings are on the ends. I did not unplug the unit but I did dry up around it and put a hair dryer on medium heat on it for about 15 minutes. I'll take the next steps you mentioned, but I don't have a multi meter with me.

[Jim-Linda]

If it was flooded, first, I would remove converter and dry all water, check all fuses or breakers on the converter itself. If ok, I would disconnect the output and apply power to converter. If still ok, turn breaker off, connect multi meter to output and check reading. If no reading, converter is defective.