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Old 06-03-2018, 05:48 AM   #21
ChuckS
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Since it started working correctly when you moved it to look at switch settings I’d tighten the two heavy guage wires on the back of the converter. Actually I’d remove each one and reinsert into covertor and tighten. Then check same two wire were they attach to DC bus on power center. Most likely one end of the other of these two wires is where the issue is.
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Old 06-04-2018, 05:28 AM   #22
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Get thee to a dealer since you are under warranty. Converter messed up. As somedone said, unless you paid extra, you don’t have ‘true’ maintenance free batteries. The gel batteries (“military grade” usual term) are the only ones that are remotely maint free. I paid close to $200 for the one in my 20-12 Cougar; the one in my 2018 Montana is a “sealed” battery (hence why salesmen say they are maintenance free) is simply your standard battery. Depending on the model Converter installed, you will have a pendant (on Performancde Dynamics convedreters) or simply a circuit that trickle charges the batt/s. A Converter is simply a battery charger: a “smart charger”. Rather than charging in two modes, it charges in three modes. Third mode is to maintain your battery at optimum charge while in storage so as to not overcharge/burn out the battery. A standard charger will boil away your electrolyte destroying the cells. You should never need to put on a separate charger of any sort...because you already have one installed. It’s called your Converter. And an Inverter as mentioned below doesn’t obviate any problems caused by Converters: it exacerbates battery problems by constantly drawing down the battery converting 12 volt into 120 volt. Different animal. Get your warranty stuff done ASAP, not waste time asking questions on boards. Ask a technician assuming you use a professional dealership (Yep, a biiiigggg assssssumption these days). Good luck and best wishes.
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Old 06-04-2018, 05:59 AM   #23
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I’d avoid taking my RV to a dealer for issue you can resolve yourself. If you have the skill set and basic tools most issue can be fixed and many preventd by simply being proactive with service and routine care. Most service centers are so back live th wait would be long.
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Old 06-04-2018, 06:09 AM   #24
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I purchased a new 2017 Cougar a year ago. Same issue-batteries not charging sufficiently. After much discussion and cajoling I finally was able to convince the dealer to take a look. I had already suspected the culprit and was ready with evidence-the WFCO power supply was only producing 5.2 VDC. This "technician" kept measuring batter voltage at the output. With the batteries disconnected then he saw the 5.2 VDC.
What was comical is he questioned my ability to read a multimeter-I am a retired licensed aircraft mechanic, so, I hope I have the ability to read such a complicated device.
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Old 06-04-2018, 06:10 AM   #25
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My WFCO converter indicates output is 14.2VDC.
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Old 06-04-2018, 11:04 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdaniel View Post
My WFCO converter indicates output is 14.2VDC.
The WFCO converter is a 3 stage converter. Depending on which stage it is in, the voltage will vary from 13.2 to 13.6 to 14.4 VDC. Here's the explanation from the WFCO power center manual. You can download a copy of the manual specific to your model power center/converter on the WFCO website.
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Old 06-04-2018, 11:35 AM   #27
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UPDATE 2:
I went in again to check for loose wires and discovered that I could make the fans cycle on/off just by tilting/moving the unit back and forth. If I sit the unit flat, it works perfectly, fans don't run when not plugged in, and batteries charge correctly when it is plugged in, if I tilt it on its side (the way Keystone installed it), the fans kick on (with no AC power present). All wire connections are good. I talked to a technician at WFCO and he said the fans should never come on when there is no AC power, even if the battery connections were bad, so it's definitely something internal in the converter. He said there's some circuit boards in there than may be loose or not making good contact, he's seen that kind of problem before with this model.

Last fall when I first started having this issue, I tried taking it to the dealer I bought the trailer from. Dealer is 2 hours away so not convenient. I told them I was having intermittent problems with the converter not charging the batteries and fans running even when not plugged in. They kept my trailer for about 3 weeks, then called me and told me it was "ready to pick up". I got there and asked what the problem was. They told me "oh, we tested it and everything is working fine". "So, you didn't fix it?" I asked. "There's nothing to fix, it's working fine, you're good to go, have a nice day!". I don't go back to that dealer any more.

Fortunately, when I talked to WFCO, they are willing to work directly with me for a warranty replacement, which I will install myself. I filled out all their paperwork and emailed it in today. They will review everything, hopefully expedite me out a new unit, and RMA the old one. The tech said to make sure I sent it "attention" to him, so hopefully they won't tell me it's working fine, and charge me for the new one, lol!
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Old 06-04-2018, 03:51 PM   #28
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Appreciate the update and hopefully the folks at WFCO come thru for you with a new unit. It should not make a Hill of beans to that solid state convertor whether it’s mounted sideways, upside down, etc. either poor solder joint somewhere on PCB or something loose inside the unit. Good deal and keep us folks posted.
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Old 06-05-2018, 11:23 AM   #29
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Quote:
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My WFCO converter indicates output is 14.2VDC.
As John indicated, many WFCO converters are 3 stage (such as the WF-68100A), so the output depends on the current battery charge. If the batteries are low enough, it goes into "bulk" charge mode (around 14.2v) for a while, then switches to "absorption" mode (around 13.6v). Once the batteries have a good charge and there isn't any significant draw, it's supposed to go into the third "float" mode where it trickle charges the battery (13.2v) but mine has never done that, and I saw comments in an Amazon review that said (and also claimed that a WFCO engineer he spoke to confirmed this) that if there is even a tiny amount of draw (such as a co2 sensor) it won't go into float mode.
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Old 06-05-2018, 11:38 AM   #30
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Quote:
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Appreciate the update and hopefully the folks at WFCO come thru for you with a new unit. It should not make a Hill of beans to that solid state converter whether it’s mounted sideways, upside down, etc. either poor solder joint somewhere on PCB or something loose inside the unit. Good deal and keep us folks posted.
Thank you for all the help and suggestions, I will definitely follow up with the final outcome. I agree that it shouldn't matter how the unit is mounted, but from things the technician said, I suspect there may be a daughter-board or some other component that is more susceptible to damage from bouncing around when the unit is mounted vertically on the front to back axis (i.e. left or right side at the "top"), so if they do send me a new unit, I plan to mount it horizontally. There's plenty of room to do so and it won't affect airflow or anything so I figure it can't hurt, and might help longevity.
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Old 06-06-2018, 02:51 AM   #31
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I turn my batteries off when stored..Then turn them on a few days before we leave.. That way, I have always found them fully charged when we're ready to leave.
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Old 06-06-2018, 11:08 AM   #32
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I turn my batteries off when stored..Then turn them on a few days before we leave.. That way, I have always found them fully charged when we're ready to leave.
That was my intention as well, although with my converter not functioning correctly, it wasn't working out so well!
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Old 06-14-2018, 10:43 AM   #33
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UPDATE 3:

WFCO shipped me a new converter, which I have installed and so far is working fine. I guess I won't really know until we've done a few trips with it. Instead of mounting it vertically on the wall, the way Keystone did it, I made a little platform where it could sit flat.

WFCO provided a return shipping label to send back the old one, which I did. So far, they have been great to deal with. My only concern at this point (other than the new unit continuing to work of course) is that part of their requirement for the warranty replacement is that I had to give them a credit card number. Normally this is only used if the customer fails to send in the old unit, but they do have language in the warranty paperwork that says they could also charge me if they determine the old unit to not be warrantable, including if they can't find anything wrong with it. So, if they can't reproduce the problems with it, they could charge me for the new unit. They won't get the package for several days, then however long it takes to test it. I don't think this will be the case, but you never know. I would not be very happy if that happens!
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