1999 Coachman Leprechaun Converter ??

[IrnBear]

Hello All,

I have a new to me
1999 30ft Coachman Leprechaun Series M-305

It has a Magnetek Control panel i.e. the fuse box..
and a
Magnetek Model 940 Converter

Question:

The Converter has an independent On/Off toggle switch.
Does anyone know if this was stock on this MH or did a previous owner install?
What would the reason be for the on/off switch.

This converter should be able to charge my coach batteries without burning them up? Right?

Just curious about this on/off switch..

Any knowledge and assist would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Bradley

[5Mainecampers]

The converter switch located in the stair well is factory--- I have a '98 Leprechaun 305MB with E450 chassis; I am the second owner but the original owner had provided all the original manuals & brochures. Hope you are as happy with your rig as we have been with ours

[IrnBear]

House on/off power is near the door.

This is a switch that is specific to the converter.

Thank you again:-)

[Mich_F]

Are you sure that on/off switch doesn't just turn the house battery on/off ? You would turn it off, when not plugged into shore power or generator, to reduce, but probably not eliminate, parasitic drains on the battery. More than likely your propane/LPG alarms in the coach would still draw power.

[tenbear]

IrnBear wrote:
Thank you very much for the info:-)
IrnBear

P.S. prepping to post anoher question about break controllers. You might have input for that as well.

You're welcome.
Sorry, I don't know much about break (brake) controllers. I'm an electrical guy.

[IrnBear]

Good Morning TenBear,

I forgot to mention. Once Im done taking care of stuff that is on the must replace/must prep list, I will move on to replacing the Converter.
I'll keep a close eye on the batteries.

Thank you very much for the info:-)

IrnBear

P.S. prepping to post another question about break controllers. You might have input for that as well.

[tenbear]

Here is my opinion.

My first choice would be to replace the Magnetek converter with a modern 3/4 stage converter. Lacking that, I would get a battery maintainer such as a Battery Tender or a trickle charger for keeping the battery charged.

In any case, keep a close watch on the battery water level until you find out how long the method you use takes to boil the water away.

If you do use the Magnetek, invest in a multimeter to measure the battery voltage so you know when it is charged. 12.6v after the surface charge has leaked off will indicate the battery is fully charged. Don't trust the idiot lights. 12.1v indicates the battery needs charging.

[IrnBear]

I have come to the conclusion that:
If plug into land power it is not good to leave the house batteries connected primarily to the converter for long periods of time.
Literature actually suggests disconnecting the house batteries.
The switch I have discovered is so to turn of the converter all together, thus not over charging the batteries and boiling them.
Go out from time to time, turn on switch, give house batteries a bit of pick me up charge and then turn off converter... This is while being stored and connected to land power.

Thank you for the replies.

If my thoughts are tooooo way out there, Please chime in and let me know..

IrnBear

[tenbear]

As one bear to another, I originally (2005) had a Magnetek converter and it had its own circuit breaker in the Magnetek power panel. Maybe in '99 they chose to have a switch on the converter instead of having it's own dedicated circuit breaker.

Just a guess.

BTW, I now have a Progressive Dynamics converter.

[IrnBear]

Hey TenBear,

I have made a correction in my initial post.. I didn't mean inverter. It's just the control panel.
Yet, the converter has its own on/off switch for some reason..
Thank you for responding.

Hey Mat,

I have read a little about replacing the Magnetek..
That would take away the guess work as to why this converter has an on/off switch..
Thank you.


Anyone else with thoughts on this on/off switch… I'm curious if this was a stock/manufacturer thing or Owner thing..

Thank you,

Bradley

[Matt_Colie]

Irn,

Replace the Magnetek before you do much else.
It was state of the art 30 years ago, but it's time has passed.
Keep it if you need a good 12V bench power supply, but it has no other value. It will take for ever to charge and then boil the batteries dry when it is done.

Get a new three or four stage smart charger, I might recommend Progressive Dynamics or Iota and there may be others by now.

I did a lot of boat work before the depression and made a lot of happy owners when I dropped the old Magneteks overboard.

Matt

[tenbear]

I'm not sure I can help but since no one else has answered, I'll try.

First, do you have the converter and inverter correctly identified? An inverter takes 12 vdc and outputs 120 vac to run 120 v items when not connected to the grid. The converter takes 120 vac and outputs 12-15 vdc to charge the batteries and run the 12v things in the RV. Inverters usually have a switch, converters usually don't. That vintage Magnetek converter probably outputs 13.8v.

If you have the converter correctly identified, and there is nothing wrong with it, it will charge the battery. You might want to measure the output voltage.

The Magnetek converter is not a good converter by todays standards. You may want to update to a modern converter. You will get faster charging and longer battery life.