New owner, battery charging question

Another question revolving around the converter. Trying to figure out what the previous owner did with the wiring and I have found a toggle switch next to the aftermarket CD player he installed.

When testing the voltage, with the switch closed (off) I am getting 12v on one wire and 0 volts on the other. When I switch it on (open) I am now reading 15v and the CD player gets power and all the lights in the camper get a lot brighter.

My plan is still to install the new converter when the funds are available. For now I’m stuck with the old converter. Before I dive into figuring out his wiring, why on earth am I getting 15v? It seems odd that instead of just hard wiring the CD player in he installed this switch so I have to think that there is more to it.

I have also found an aftermarket fuse box with three 10 amp fuses and a power block running 3 power wires into it. I do get 15 volts at the block and the aftermarket fuse panel when the switch is on. 12v when off.

I can deal with isolating the wires and that, but I am wondering why 15v is even being provided.

Thanks.

this is some great information and gets me pointed in the right direction. I appreciate the help!

replace the oem converter. Choices are a good converter, or a good inverter/charger.

If you follow kerrlakeRoo's good suggest and go 100 watts, buy a controller and wire for 200 watts then it will be easy to up the solar power.

With no charger built in you may want to look at a small solar setup for charging. Even a single 100 watt panel would go a long way if you convert the interior lights to LED's and ensure you dont have too many drains on it.
For using your generator look at the "Smart" chargers. When boondocking you would likely prefer a higher charge rate than 10 amps to cut down on run time, and you would be able to set it for maintenance when at home.

Buffblazer wrote:
Hi all, just picked up a 98-99 Lite Craft pop up truck camper. Had zero paperwork so I’m shooting in the dark here.

It has a magnetek 6600 series converter but I don’t know if it’s a 6606 or a 6612 since they are both listed on the panel and it’s a Option H.

Does this model have the ability to charge the battery? If not should I look into a converter/charger or just buy a battery tender and wire it in and just plug it into the outlet in the camper for when either I’m connected at home with shore power or using my generator out boondocking.

It’s a single 27 series deep cell it’s a beginner camper so not wanting to sink a lot of money into it, that is why I was leaning towards a tender but am open to a simple converter/charger also if it won’t break the bank.

Thank you. Also does this forum have a mobile friendly setup? Would love to post pics and such but primarily use my phone.

No charger on that one. There is a manual switch in there to run from converter or batterys. Code h means 15/15 duplex. I assume breakers..

http://d163axztg8am2h.cloudfront.net/static/doc/9f/dd/b0f57b6b26edd683f2694aabd639.pdf

I wouldn't use a tender, but a regular 10/2 amp charger at a minimum.

Here is a replacement 3 stage power center for 142 bucks..

http://www.bestconverter.com/Parallax-6730D-30-Amp-Power-Center-WDoor_p_325.html#.WxYzMEgvyUk

http://d163axztg8am2h.cloudfront.net/static/doc/e1/95/f09ff2026d89f5e61ea182fb9aad.pdf

http://d163axztg8am2h.cloudfront.net/static/doc/e5/03/193aed4b900dd5cb84a954b5ba4a/6700_series_owner_op_guide__rev_c.pdf