American Enterprise Converter Upgrade
For those of you that have a American Enterprise (AE) converter as original equipment on your TM 2720 and are thinking of upgrading, I have finished upgrading to a 3 stage converter.
The need was due to the fact that the AE unit is a single stage charger at 13.5 volts DC. Although the AE unit I had says it provides 60 A, I felt that I needed a 3 stage charging system to reduce the time to bring the batteries back up and provide a means to maintain the batteries while at home.
I purchased the Intelli-Power PD 9260 with the Charge Wizard.
The installation allowed the continued use of the AE as a power distribution panel.
After disconnecting the batteries and insuring that the shore power plug was not plugged into A/C, I unscrewed the AE cover and enclosure then carefully brought it out to the "hallway".
I found that there was ample room on the deck and inboard of the bathtub to mount the PD9260. I used two 1" X 2" X 4" wood with Velcro to secure and elevate off the deck to protect against small amounts of flooding and allow for cooling. Getting a screwdriver in there is not fun.
Back to the AE unit, I marked and verified the wires from the AE converter and disconnected them from the DC and AC terminals. Then disconnected the LED board at the top of the AE panel.
The converter slid right out. The LED board, after unscrewing the mount screws, came out as well.
After installing the PD9260, I was uncomfortable with the amount of cooling clearance near the fan on the PD unit and the AE enclosure. The orientation of the PD unit is that the fan is pointed towards the trailer tongue.
I used a small saw blade to cut the side and back panel of the AE enclosure out to allow for adequate air flow. Being careful not to cut out more than the 2 panels. Doing this also allowed access to the blade fuses on the PD unit.
The next challenge was to trace the DC circuit from the converter to the outside batteries. This proved to be a nightmare at and around the back of the refrigerator, sink and bathroom. The condition of the wire outside made it an easy decision to replace.
Wire size on the DC circuit to the batteries looked to be either 12 AWG or 10 AWG THHN. Due to the distance verses voltage drop, I selected 6 AWG for the run. Yes, I understand that the existing wire would handle the 60 Amps for the short amount of time at that amperage. But hey! I am a chicken when it come to any possibility of fire plus I want the 14.4 VDC at the battery as close as possible to 14.4 VDC.
So, the PD 9260 AC side is connected to the AC bus in the AE enclosure.
The DC output from the PD9260 is connected to the 12 VDC plus and negative terminals in the AE enclosure.
I was not happy with the way all of the DC Neg. leads were connected with a very large twist on connector and then taped.
Connected a ground wire from the PD unit to the ground bus bar in the AE enclosure.
I backed up and coiled up the existing battery wires behind the refrigerator. Marking and securing. Then at the AE enclosure, disconnected, marked and secured the other end for future use if needed. The wire inside the TM is in good shape.
The new battery circuit run went well. I went from the AE enclosure straight towards the outside shower door. Remove the outside shower door enclosure. It is easy to do and after cleaning both surfaces, using white chalking worked well. measuring to find a good spot to cut a hole and not damage anything in the area, I used a 1-3/8" hole saw, drilled through the floor, from underneath, then glues a short length of PVC pipe in place to reduce chafing.
Enclosed the number 6 AWG into plastic split wire loom flexible conduit.
Ran the wire along the fore and aft main frame with eyelet cable ties and self tapping sheet metal screws.
After everything was connected and smoke tested, I foamed the inside piece of PVC.
All has worked out well. I measure 14.3 VDC at the batteries when in boost mode. This is what I was looking for.
Securing the wires behind the AE enclosure is a pain. Must make sure to put in enough slack in order to bring out the enclosure for access inside.
I want to thank Bill (member of this forum) for his support on this project.
If anyone needs to replace their existing AE unit, I have a CS6000XL that is in working order when I removed it. It is yours for just the cost of shipping.
This project was a bit time consuming. I think it can be done in a day or 2 if you focus on it and have the place or weather to do it. It took me 3 days at a about 3 hours per day to complete it. Yes, I over thought the project. I hate it when that happens...lol
I apologize for the long post.
Good Luck and be safe.
Ron
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