Springdale 270LE Power Issue

cbramsey79 · 05-11-2016, 03:30 AM

Hey all, I need help. I am new to the forums and already finding a ton of good information. My trailer has been parked for about 3 months, in my haste after our last trip i failed to disconnect the battery.

When I picked up the camper from storage, when I plugged into my truck, everything worked fine. When I got home, I plugged into the 30 amp plug we have at the house. The lights were dim and battery indicating no charge. All of the A/C worked fine. I have established that I have a converter issue, having never replaced one of these I am seeing several options with multiple different amps. is this a situation where high amps is better, or is there a limit as to what I can put in my camper. We are going out tomorrow for the kids birthday party and I would like to get this fixed today if at all possible.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give.

cbramsey79 · 05-11-2016, 04:56 AM

Another question as I am away from the trailer right now, does anyone know what the standard converter that is used in the springdale?

cw3jason · 05-11-2016, 05:00 AM

Take the battery to get tested. it is more likely you have a battery issue from being drained and damaged, then a converter issue. A fresh battery could be all you need. Also if you test the connection at the battery with the trailer plugged in, you should have over 13 volts. This will tell you your converter is trying to charge the battery.

cbramsey79 · 05-11-2016, 05:12 AM

wouldn't the DC items work when plugged into shoreline if it were the battery? That is why I assumed it was the converter. I will have the battery checked as well.

cw3jason · 05-11-2016, 05:21 AM

you are correct. The DC items should work off the converter when plugged in. have you checked all your fuses? to include the reverse polarity fuses sometimes located on the backside of the converter?

**JRTJH** · 05-11-2016, 05:22 AM

First of all, welcome to the forum. We're happy to have you as a member.

You didn't indicate what year your Springdale is, so some of this may not apply to you. The power center (AC distribution panel, DC distribution panel and 12 VDC converter/charger) is a WFCO 8900 series. You probably have a WFCO 8955 installed (if it's a relatively new trailer). The 8955 is composed of a 30amp "AC side" and a 55amp "DC side".

As stated, the battery may be your problem. To find out, disconnect the battery completely. If the DC works, then it's the battery, if the DC still doesn't work, you need to follow the WFCO troubleshooting steps found in the manual. You can download the WFCO support documents here: http://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-8955-55-amp/

Depending on the age of your Springdale, the WFCO warranty is 2 years from date of purchase, so you may still have warranty service for the converter/power panel.

One of the most common issues is connecting the battery "backwards". There are two 40amp "reverse polarity" fuses mounted on the side of the WFCO power panel. If, even for an instant, the battery connections are "touched to the wrong battery terminals" you've likely blown those fuses causing a "no power" condition.

Download the WFCO manual, follow the troubleshooting steps and if you do need a replacement converter, it'll most likely be the 55 amp unit. It will be clearly marked, once you gain access to the back side of the power center, where the converter is mounted.

Good Luck and keep us posted on your results.

cbramsey79 · 05-11-2016, 05:23 AM

I checked the two 40 amp that are in the DC panel, i haven't removed the converter yet as I just determined this morning before leaving for office that was the issue (at least I think it is), it is the factory one that came with the springdale, from some of the pics I have seen, not sure if there are any fuses on it directly

dwall · 05-11-2016, 10:40 AM

I had same issue. Bad battery was the problem. I found this by disconnecting battery and plugging in shore line. All worked fine.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

cbramsey79 · 05-12-2016, 03:04 AM

Well, the converter was bad. We had an electrician doing some unrelated work at the house and he rewired the 30 amp plug to 220 by mistake. fortunately, i had all of the breakers off in trailer or no telling how bad it might have been. It looks like the converter isolated the extra surge as well.

thank you everyone for your help. On a bright note, it only took about 15 minutes total to change the converter thanks to the keystone rv video on how to do it.

**JRTJH** · 05-12-2016, 07:46 AM

Glad you found the problem and have it repaired. As a comment, yours is about the 4th or 5th incident documented in the forum (in the past 5 or 6 years) where an electrician or a home owner has wired the 30amp plug as a 220AC plug rather than a 110AC plug. Most have had more damage than you, but then, any damage is a problem.

Maybe your experience will serve as a reminder to others who are considering installation of an "RV plug" at their home, to be sure the wiring is correctly installed before plugging in the RV...

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