Would this be a power converter issue??

[jbesper]

Hi everyone, first post so thanks in advance. I've actually been living full time in my 5th wheel for a year (2007 Summit Ridge) and thankfully had minimal issues. I can work through most things by trial and error, except electrical gremlins - I don't have a knack for that.

Anyway, here's whats going on;
-RV doesn't move, hasn't moved for 2 years.
-Been plugged into reliable shore power the whole time.
Suddenly my interior overhead lights have become extremely dim, and they are on a slider/dimmer.
-If my a/c is on and I try to turn my interior lights on and slide them from dim to bright, the a/c shuts off as though it's not getting enough juice.

-As mentioned the lights have suddenly become noticeable dim as though there is a lack of power - but the interior lights are DC while the air conditioner is AC....how are they connected and interfering with each other?

-Not sure where to start and I don't want to lose a/c in Florida right now, nor do I want to fork out tons of money to have someone find a simple fix.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[wa8yxm]

jkwilson wrote:

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

Would be a total waste of time and effort. The convertor should have more than enough current to run the air conditioner even with no battery installed at all.

Yes but if the battery failure mode is "Shorted cells" the battery may be overloading the converter.

Batteries can fail several ways
high resistance
No capacity
SHORTED CELL
Are the 3 most common.

[time2roll]

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

The new battery?
The old battery is gone.

[jkwilson]

CA Traveler wrote:

jkwilson wrote:

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

Would be a total waste of time and effort. The convertor should have more than enough current to run the air conditioner even with no battery installed at all.

I don't consider gaining knowledge a waste and the battery could be shorted which can cause other problems.

But yes he can disconnect the battery.

A shorted cell would be instantly obvious with a simple voltage measurement. A load test tells you nothing you don’t already know and gives you no useful information. Cranking amps is irrelevant in a deep-cycle application.

[dougrainer]

jkwilson wrote:

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

Would be a total waste of time and effort. The convertor should have more than enough current to run the air conditioner even with no battery installed at all.

Not a waste of time. When fulltime, odds are he has boiled his battery dry and is now DOA. You NEED a good battery for a Power Converter. It helps regulate the DC voltage and also is GOOD for a back up if you have the converter go bad. Puts less stress on a Power Converter when you have a good Battery(Load). Doug

[CA_Traveler]

jkwilson wrote:

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

Would be a total waste of time and effort. The convertor should have more than enough current to run the air conditioner even with no battery installed at all.

I don't consider gaining knowledge a waste and the battery could be shorted which can cause other problems.

But yes he can disconnect the battery.

[jkwilson]

bguy wrote:
Load test the battery.

Would be a total waste of time and effort. The convertor should have more than enough current to run the air conditioner even with no battery installed at all.

[bguy]

Load test the battery.

[enblethen]

Did you check the fuses near the 12-volt output terminations?

[wa8yxm]

They do fail.. Mine lasted 12.5 years (9180+Wizard) when it Died I was about 1.5 Hours from Progressive Dynamics and headed that way so I did a factory visit 🙂

[jbesper]

Thank you for the responses and ideas.

Update;
I found the troubleshooting guide for my power converter (Inteli-power 9260C) and ran through the various steps - certainly seems to be a bad converter (I've got good AC into the converter, no DC coming out). Also found the remains of a lizard half crawling out of the vent grates at the back of the unit - not saying it's his fault but I'm sure he didn't help.

I've got one on the way, in the meantime I also replaced the battery, because I have no idea how old it is and it was only showing 10'ish volts. I'm sure it was due in part because it wasn't getting properly charged...but for peace of mind I got a new battery. That will hold me for a couple days until the new converter gets here. I'll use my AC system for lamps, etc. til then.

FWIW - I my thermostats are DC, and I think that was spot on. The draw from the lights was sucking so much power that the thermostats weren't getting adequate juice and were shutting off the air conditioners.

Once again, thanks everyone for the info.
Cheers

[wa8yxm]

Two possible issues
One Converter has died
Two: Bad battery... If you have a battery disconnect set it to disconnected so the unit draws all power from converter

If lights get bright.. battery.. go out.. Converter
That's got to be the easiest test there is.

If no disconnect switch lift the NEGATIVE lead(s) off the battery

NOTE: If converter.. Might just be a fuse or 3

[CA_Traveler]

OP Checking the voltage is a start as suggested. Have the battery load tested. Charger, fuses and wiring could be involved. Consider a mobile tech.

[CA_Traveler]

jbesper wrote:
-If my a/c is on and I try to turn my interior lights on and slide them from dim to bright, the a/c shuts off as though it's not getting enough juice.

His A/C is OK and he has low DC voltage, from his post.

[jkwilson]

time2roll wrote:

jkwilson wrote:

bikendan wrote:

jkwilson wrote:
Your air conditioner uses 12V too. I suspect your converter has failed or the battery has a shorted cell.

How does an air conditioner use 12v? They are powered by 120v AC power and most thermostats are powered by little AA/AAA batteries.

Most thermostats are not powered by AA or AAA batteries, and even when they are the HVAC is still controlled by 12VDC because the furnace doesn’t use AC power and the thermostat controls both.

My RV thermostat is powered by the RV 12 volt system.
OP is having issue with the A/C and low battery voltage.

No need to cover all RVs until the OP has the issue resolved.

Maybe you should address this to the previous poster who believes RV thermostats run on small batteries rather than the person who pointed out that it was likely a 12V battery problem.