bad converter

[challenger1]

I have a 2008 rockwood 8313 ss pull behind camper,i have a weird situation ,the lights in my camper start flashing on and off,then kick off,but if I put more load on electricity it will stay on.what could this be?

[westend]

challenger1 wrote:
went up today replaced bad battery ,every thing worked perfect but when ya disconnect does same thing, repair guy was across street he checked out converter for nothing said its bad was putting out like 4 vlts .he said when ya don't have a working battery it prematurely wears out your converter.so wheres a good place to buy converter its aparallax ,7100model7100 series.

Bestconverter.com and ask for Randy.

I would hope that you're not looking to replace it with the same converter, there are better choices. Randy will be able to discuss this with you.

[challenger1]

went up today replaced bad battery ,every thing worked perfect but when ya disconnect does same thing, repair guy was across street he checked out converter for nothing said its bad was putting out like 4 vlts .he said when ya don't have a working battery it prematurely wears out your converter.so wheres a good place to buy converter its aparallax ,7100model7100 series.

[westend]

challenger1 wrote:
I always assumed when a converter went bad it would dim lights ,not pulsating lights through out entire camper ,when I go up this weekend im gonna install new battery anyway,rule out bad grounds,etc...thanks everyone ill follow up on this post this weekend thanks...

Stop by a store and grab a handheld meter on your way.

[AH64ID]

Unplug the battery and see if it gets fixed.

I agree on checking the ground, they are almost always the failure point.

[challenger1]

I always assumed when a converter went bad it would dim lights ,not pulsating lights through out entire camper ,when I go up this weekend im gonna install new battery anyway,rule out bad grounds,etc...thanks everyone ill follow up on this post this weekend thanks...

[Bob_Landry]

challenger1 wrote:
tested battery it is dead ,but I thought the battery would be out of equation when plugged into park power I have buddies that dont have there batteries in camper and they don't have issues.is there a fuse possibly up near battery or a reset button near frame up front?

It is out of the equation, but if you want to prove it, disconnect it and you should have all of the 12V stuff working. The battery supplies nothing on the modern converters when plugged into shore power. If you don't have 12V with the battery disconnected, the converter is bad. This is not rocket science.

[challenger1]

ill put a new battery in this week when I head back up and see what that will do. and I will try what others have suggested ,I gotta say this forum is excellent.

[mena661]

handye9 wrote:

If the battery has a shorted cell, it will act like a very large resistor, and draw more power (trying to charge) than what your converter can produce. It changes from a power storage device, to a large power draw. The battery is not out of the equation, as long as it is connected.

X2

[handye9]

challenger1 wrote:
tested battery it is dead ,but I thought the battery would be out of equation when plugged into park power I have buddies that dont have there batteries in camper and they don't have issues.is there a fuse possibly up near battery or a reset button near frame up front?

If the battery has a shorted cell, it will act like a very large resistor, and draw more power (trying to charge) than what your converter can produce. It changes from a power storage device, to a large power draw. The battery is not out of the equation, as long as it is connected.

[challenger1]

tested battery it is dead ,but I thought the battery would be out of equation when plugged into park power I have buddies that dont have there batteries in camper and they don't have issues.is there a fuse possibly up near battery or a reset button near frame up front?

[PaulJ2]

Your converter may or may not be bad, but it is freaking out because there is no working battery in the system to stabelize things.

[westend]

Faulty converter.
As you increase current draw the converter is probably going into a different charging regimen. i.e. float->bulk. The converter is having problems at low amperage draw. I would suspect that your battery is now bad, also. A charged battery will buffer the converter output in most cases.

[challenger1]

basically the more 12 volt devices ya run in camper the power stays on ,but if ya start turning off some lights the power will go on and off in entire camper ,I don't get it?

[Bob_Landry]

The fan unless it plugs into a wall outlet runs on 12VDC, as do ceiling lights. It's hard to help diagnose an issue if you aren't certain what is working and what is not and what it's power source is.