Bad Power Supply Converter/Charger?

[Route66Cruisers]

I have a Parallax Power Supply brand name converter/charger in my 2008 Cruiser RV Fun Finder travel trailer. I recently installed a brand new fully charged RV battery per my repairman's recommendation. After a day connected to electric power supply at an RV park, I noticed that my interior lights were getting dim. I checked my battery level with a voltmeter and it read 9 volts. I connected my battery charger to the battery and the interior lights are bright and the battery reads 12.69 volts as long as the battery charger is connected.
Is my converter/charger power supply failing to charge my rv battery? My AC appliances, radio, TV, etc are working fine. I was under the impression that as long as I was connected to ac power that the converter would convert ac power to dc power and run my dc devices even without a battery in the trailer. I had this problem last fall and took it to my RV dealer. The repairman informed me that all I needed was a new battery because the old one was not holding a charge. Sounds like I might need to replace my converter charging unit as well as my repair shop.

Guidance requested and appreciated.

Mike

[Route66Cruisers]

Thank you all for your guidance.

Regards,

Mike

[mena661]

KJINTF wrote:

If you are not interested in repairing it, I would be happy to pay shipping charges to make sure it does not go to the scrap pile.

I shipped my broken Parallax to KJ. He's legit.

[KJINTF]

If after using the troubleshooting link Old-Biscuit posted you find the converter is not working as it should

I would be willing to bet your Converter has defective capacitor(s)
It is a very common problem with the Parallax units and can be fixed by most DIY guys. Drill out the rivets holding the case on and look very closely under and around the large heat sink - my guess a 25Vdc 4,700ufd cap is defective.

If you are not interested in repairing it, I would be happy to pay shipping charges to make sure it does not go to the scrap pile.

[Shadow_Catcher]

Progressive Dynamics makes a replacement head unit http://www.progressivedyn.com/pd4600_converter_replacement.html which is arguably one of the best and made in and supported in the US.

[Old-Biscuit]

Doesn't sound like the 'reverse polarity' fuses are blown........you have good voltage and all DC works when using your battery charger.

Sounds like your converter is bad.

Here is a troubleshooting guide for a Parallax converter (model doesn't matter--same procedure/tests for converters)

LINK

And your old battery probably died because converter was failing


Your new battery being dragged down to 9V has shortened it's life

[westend]

9V measured from a wet cell battery usually indicates the battery is deceased. If you brought it back to a full charge, that is really a good deal.

To diagnose whether the converter is outputting a charge, you can measure the output, either/both across the battery terminals or at the distribution panel. It should be 13.5V->14.5V. If the output measures the 13.5V but across the terminals you don't measure very close to that, there is a problem with the charging circuit. This can be as simple as corroded wire connectors or more complex like a tripped circuit breaker. If you do find that the converter isn't outputting any charge voltage, there may also be blown fuses. Sometimes these are internal to the converter and blow because of a reverse polarity condition, i.e. someone attached the cables to the battery backwards.

Hope it's an easy fix for you, good luck.

[1492]

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