Odd 12VDC issue - is it the charger or battery or both?
We're on a long road trip at the moment. Got woken up in the middle of the night last night from the sound of the LP/CO sensor beeping. Still half asleep, I managed to find that it was beeping due to low voltage. That seemed odd until I found that the breaker supplying the converter had tripped. This breaker feeds NO other loads so should not have tripped. AC line voltage is very good at 118-120 volts so that can't be related.
The battery was clearly discharged as when I reset the breaker, the lights brightened up a lot. Thinking this was just an anomaly, I just reset the breaker and went back to bed.
I was out all day while DW stayed at the CG. Got home around 6pm and she said it was all okay. But shortly afterwards, we both smelled the distinct odor of burning plastic insulation. Definitely coming from the converter. Nothing is blocking it and it's not clogged with dust. Voltage at the battery is 12.9 volts with all lights/loads turned off and voltage at the converter reads 12.8. With the converter turned back on, the voltage at the converter is 13.6. Converter/charger is the standard WFCO and a little over 2 years old.
About 1/2 hour later, the voltage at the converter with it still turned off is down to 12.4 volts with just some lights on, which would indicate it's discharged to about 80 percent. It's looking like the battery isn't holding a charge. Electrolyte level is fine and I check it periodically. We never dry camp so the battery never gets discharged much. We only have one group 24 Lifeline battery.
So is just the battery no good and is it forcing the charger to work overtime to maintain a charge? But why would the converter breaker trip? Why is the converter smelling like it is overheating? I know that the WFCO converters are not known for quality but can I chance just replacing the battery and hope it's okay? Don't want to buy a new converter while on a trip as I won't get a good price and likely not the one I should get (PD for ex.). Could it be related to the hot weather we've been getting where we're currently at? The last battery we had was a Lifeline and it died after just over a year. Don't want another Lifeline but it may not be easy to find a good one on the road - next stop is Bakersfield then Vegas.
Lastly, why can't this stuff happen on a weekend outing close to home?
The battery was clearly discharged as when I reset the breaker, the lights brightened up a lot. Thinking this was just an anomaly, I just reset the breaker and went back to bed.
I was out all day while DW stayed at the CG. Got home around 6pm and she said it was all okay. But shortly afterwards, we both smelled the distinct odor of burning plastic insulation. Definitely coming from the converter. Nothing is blocking it and it's not clogged with dust. Voltage at the battery is 12.9 volts with all lights/loads turned off and voltage at the converter reads 12.8. With the converter turned back on, the voltage at the converter is 13.6. Converter/charger is the standard WFCO and a little over 2 years old.
About 1/2 hour later, the voltage at the converter with it still turned off is down to 12.4 volts with just some lights on, which would indicate it's discharged to about 80 percent. It's looking like the battery isn't holding a charge. Electrolyte level is fine and I check it periodically. We never dry camp so the battery never gets discharged much. We only have one group 24 Lifeline battery.
So is just the battery no good and is it forcing the charger to work overtime to maintain a charge? But why would the converter breaker trip? Why is the converter smelling like it is overheating? I know that the WFCO converters are not known for quality but can I chance just replacing the battery and hope it's okay? Don't want to buy a new converter while on a trip as I won't get a good price and likely not the one I should get (PD for ex.). Could it be related to the hot weather we've been getting where we're currently at? The last battery we had was a Lifeline and it died after just over a year. Don't want another Lifeline but it may not be easy to find a good one on the road - next stop is Bakersfield then Vegas.
Lastly, why can't this stuff happen on a weekend outing close to home?
