HEEELLLLLLPPPP!!! ...calling all experts....

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I have a run away battery charger it would seem. Today when I tried to connect up my new Wave XL Radio Labs Router it would not power up the inverter I bought. However the inverter would work in my truck and also in the power outlet for the television. I suspected that something was wrong and that the power outlet that I installed (female cigarette lighter receptacle) was miss wired or was not getting enough power. So I got my multi meter and measured to see if I had power. I did and a funny thing, my little rv vacuum cleaner would work on this power outlet but not the inverter. My meter showed 17 volts at this receptacle, which is mounted in the front cabinet using the power from the lights there but only 13.5 volts dc at the one for the television. So I went and unplugged the shore power and sure enough...the new little inverter came on. It seems that 17 volts is too much for this inverter and it would shut itself off before being damaged. Then I unhooked the inverter and plugged the shore power back in and measured voltages and got 19 volts at the fixtures in the rear shell and slightly less the further forward I went. My "Voltminder" showed a constant 13.8 volts for the batteries no matter what.
I think that some how the charger has gone wackey and I was wondering if there was some way to turn it down, but maybe It should just be replaced with a new one instead......your thoughts gentlemen? If I do a replacement, what should I get to replace the PRC Parallax 6300 Q series model 6332 with battery charger?...any suggestions TM folks? I think this is a curse that has turned out to be a blessing!
Tom

[Padgett]

Sound like the battery is not properly connected. 17v is waay high, I'd not want to see over 15vdc out of a charger.

Any chance the polarity is wrong ? Motor won't care but electronics would.

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by Padgett

Sound like the battery is not properly connected. 17v is waay high, I'd not want to see over 15vdc out of a charger.

Any chance the polarity is wrong ? Motor won't care but electronics would.

batteries are sound and connected correctly and beside they have not been taken out or messed with since I put them in 4 years ago....they are 4 x 6v AGM golf cart batteries that are protected in a sealed custom battery box and have worked flawlessly since I put them in... plus they are fully charged...no it's something else. seems it only happens when shore power is applied!
Tom

[gonzo628]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

batteries are sound and connected correctly and beside they have not been taken out or messed with since I put them in 4 years ago....they are 4 x 6v AGM golf cart batteries that are protected in a sealed custom battery box and have worked flawlessly since I put them in... plus they are fully charged...no it's something else. seems it only happens when shore power is applied!
Tom

I know you said that it wasn't the batteries, but.. Answer a couple questions:

1) If you measure dc power from the inverter, what do you get? Like you were thinking, perhaps the inverter is wonky. Before replacing it, I would want to get some solid tests in...

2) 19v sounds like your 4 GCs are not in a combination of series / parallel, but all in series and one bad "cell" or perhaps all low. This should not be a 24v system. I would suspect that the desired configuration is 2 x 6v series x2 (parallel).

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Originally Posted by gonzo628

I know you said that it wasn't the batteries, but.. Answer a couple questions:

1) If you measure dc power from the inverter, what do you get? Like you were thinking, perhaps the inverter is wonky. Before replacing it, I would want to get some solid tests in...

2) 19v sounds like your 4 GCs are not in a combination of series / parallel, but all in series and one bad "cell" or perhaps all low. This should not be a 24v system. I would suspect that the desired configuration is 2 x 6v series x2 (parallel).

with the small inverter that I bought yesterday to run a converter that will supply 12 volts to my wifi router. My batteries are 4 x 6 volt AGM golf cart batteries that I wired 2 each in series to get 12 volts dc and then wired each bank of two (that are wired in series) in parallel to give me 12 volts dc but with a great amp hour rating. I did this 4 years ago and they work perfectly now as they did when I first wired them all together. So this is not about the batteries either.
I think I have figured it out though. When plugged into shore power (I have a 30 amp box on my house distribution panel) is when I get the "over 12 volt dc"...and when I unplug from the shore power the voltage drops back to normal 12 volts dc meaning that they are running on just the batteries now. This can only mean that the 12 volt dc converter, which supplies the 12 volts for the operation of all the 12 volt dc applications inside my TM (when it is plugged into the shore power) has gone wonkey! and that it is not putting out just 12 volts like it should limit itself too, but is putting out 17-19 volts dc instead. YIIIKES!!
I went to measure the voltage of a light fixture with an led bulb in it and when I tried to remove the bulb, it was very hot and so I got a cloth to grip it with to turn it loose and when I did the whole bulb disintegrated in my hand and fell all apart on the floor. I mean every piece of it came apart....it was fried!
So when the shore power is unplugged everything is normal. Now since your TM can get 12 volts dc without having any batteries tells me that the 12 volts comes from the converter located under the distribution panel...so that has to be the culprit! ...... I need a new converter/charger. The question is, which one to buy? Any ideas all you expert TMers???
Wud-duh-ya-thank Bill?? Bruce???Anyone??? this is keeping me up!
Tom

[Bill]

My guess is this. You have a 2003 TM, which means you have one of the old Magnetek-Parallax converters. As I recall, these converters have two DC outputs. One goes to the battery, which clamps the output voltage to around 13.5 volts. In other words, it relies on the battery for filtering. The other is unfiltered, and is a full-wave rectified AC voltage with a very high peak. You should have wired your new socket to the first of these outputs. I'm betting that somehow you wired it to the second. Another possibility is that your battery is disconnected somehow, so there is no filtering.

Let me go back and review some schematics, and I will flesh out this answer.

Bill

[Padgett]

Sounds like you have quite a system, are you planning on extended dry camping ? I have 2x6v GC2s and that is plenty for my needs.

That said, If I were going to replace the converter, I would keep my distribution panel, remove the converter board, and get one of these..

[mjlaupp]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I have a run away battery charger it would seem. Today when I tried to connect up my new Wave XL Radio Labs Router it would not power up the inverter I bought. However the inverter would work in my truck and also in the power outlet for the television. I suspected that something was wrong and that the power outlet that I installed (female cigarette lighter receptacle) was miss wired or was not getting enough power. So I got my multi meter and measured to see if I had power. I did and a funny thing, my little rv vacuum cleaner would work on this power outlet but not the inverter. My meter showed 17 volts at this receptacle, which is mounted in the front cabinet using the power from the lights there but only 13.5 volts dc at the one for the television. So I went and unplugged the shore power and sure enough...the new little inverter came on. It seems that 17 volts is too much for this inverter and it would shut itself off before being damaged. Then I unhooked the inverter and plugged the shore power back in and measured voltages and got 19 volts at the fixtures in the rear shell and slightly less the further forward I went. My "Voltminder" showed a constant 13.8 volts for the batteries no matter what.
I think that some how the charger has gone wackey and I was wondering if there was some way to turn it down, but maybe It should just be replaced with a new one instead......your thoughts gentlemen? If I do a replacement, what should I get to replace the PRC Parallax 6300 Q series model 6332 with battery charger?...any suggestions TM folks? I think this is a curse that has turned out to be a blessing!
Tom

I replaced my converter with a PD4600 series: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=8699

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Originally Posted by mjlaupp

I replaced my converter with a PD4600 series: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=8699

you went to the 45 amp model is that correct? And that was in 2009 right? So how has that worked for you, did this give you more power in the 12 v systems in your TM? I have the 6332 model (I believe it is a 35 amp unit but I don't see it listed...I do see a 6336), can I replace it with the next higher (or 45 amp) model like you did? Was the install very easy, I mean did it just slide in where the old one was?
Thanks for this information it's been very helpful!
Tom

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by Padgett

Sounds like you have quite a system, are you planning on extended dry camping ? I have 2x6v GC2s and that is plenty for my needs.

That said, If I were going to replace the converter, I would keep my distribution panel, remove the converter board, and get one of these..

I think I want something that ...first, will fit into the space where the old unit was and second is meant to be a direct replacement. I don't know if that would physically be able to fit in that space...then I would have to customize the TM to get it to fit right so as to take advantage of all it's options on the front.
thanks though...
Tom