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Old 07-01-2012, 07:02 AM   #1
wmwise
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bad converter?

hey guys, new here, all appliances & Ac working fine but interior lights go dim after being on for a while, even when the AC is turned off. Doesnt matter if I have on one light or all of them. This occurs when I am plugged into 120v services. I dont even have a battery hooked up on the trailer.2006 Keystone 32'. I dont wanna just buy a converter if that isnt the problem. Any help here would be great!!!!
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Old 07-01-2012, 08:30 AM   #2
JRTJH
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If there is no battery in the system and the 12 VDC is dimming during extended use, it probably means you've got a "heat buildup" problem causing the converter to partially "shut down" or "stop working"

If I were you, I'd first put a battery in the system (converters work better with a battery to help carry the load) and see if that resloves your issue. If you don't have a battery handy, don't go buy one just for the test, take the battery out of your tow vehicle, install it in the RV and check for the problem. Don't DON'T DON'T connect the battery backwards !!!!! Black is + and white is - in RV circuits.....

If you do manage to connect the battery "Bass ackerds" you'll hopefully only blow the two 40 amp fuses in the converter, but why risk it? Make sure you're connected properly.

Once you are connected to 120VAC with a battery in the RV, turn on the lights as usual and monitor for dimming. You should be good to go, if so, then just go get a good RV battery, 12VDC if you seldom dry camp, or maybe consider a dual battery 6VDC system if you do extensive dry camping. However, from your statements, I'd guess that since you don't have a battery, you seldom dry camp.
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Old 07-01-2012, 11:46 AM   #3
wmwise
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Thanks I was wondering if that would troubleshoot the converter, if the lights still go dim does that pretty much indicate that it is in fact a bad converter? Thanks again for the input
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Old 07-02-2012, 07:33 AM   #4
campingcpl
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The easiest way I know of to check your converter is put a volt meter on your battery leads (battery not connected) and see what the voltage is. You should be getting about 14 - 14.5 volts and if you are not then I would say your converter has gone bad. You can add the battery but if you are not getting power to the battery then hooking a battery up really isn't going to make any difference.
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Old 07-03-2012, 10:04 AM   #5
bartletts
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Most converters don't like not having a battery connected, and it may be operating normally by shutting off for a while when it doesn't sense a battery. I'd try putting a battery on it to see if it works ok.
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Old 07-03-2012, 11:39 AM   #6
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PUT A BATTERY IN THEN CHECK THE VOLTAGE!!!!!! If the voltage is low then you have a bad converter. the chargecircut in the converter is looking for a load. with out a load or a battery the voltagewill read normal too high. that's why the converter is getting warm and shuting down in the first place. if you don't want to take the battery out of the tv use jumpers with the ignition off. and make sure you hook it up like previously posted by jrjth. black is pos white is neg. good luck.
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Old 09-03-2012, 07:30 PM   #7
potsa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wmwise View Post
hey guys, new here, all appliances & Ac working fine but interior lights go dim after being on for a while, even when the AC is turned off. Doesnt matter if I have on one light or all of them. This occurs when I am plugged into 120v services. I dont even have a battery hooked up on the trailer.2006 Keystone 32'. I dont wanna just buy a converter if that isnt the problem. Any help here would be great!!!!
what did you find out, i am having the exact same problem, with battery in? thanks
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Old 09-03-2012, 10:05 PM   #8
Me.Bikes.Dogs
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Testing a converter

I've been doing a lot of research into converters recently because mine is acting up. First, the purpose of the converter is to convert 120 volt AC to 12 volt DC and also to charge your RV's batteries. Whether or not the lack of a battery is hard on a converter seems to be determined by the converter itself. Some are intelligent enough to know nothing is connected and don't have a problem with a missing battery. Others aren't intelligent and are evidently constantly trying to charge the non-existent battery. In 2006 the "non-intelligent" ones were the most common.

One thing you need to know first is the quality of the AC power feeding your trailer. If it is high or low occasionally, it will cause problems. Not only with your DC items but with your AC items as well. I use a hi-lo surge guard. It will shut down if power is above 132V or less than 102V. It tripped once since I've had it. A transformer in the campground blew and power went crazy for a second. My surge guard saved my trailer. So first, if you don't have a surge guard, test your incoming power. The easiest way is to plug a volt-meter into one of your sockets (search for "plug in 110 volt meter" at google). This will tell you if your power is good/bad/fluctuating. Bad power will cause problems on the DC side too.

A simple way to test your converter is to wait until the hottest part of the day and with shore power connected, turn off your remote disconnect switch to remove the batteries from the equation. Then turn on most of your interior DC lights. That will put a serious load on your converter. If they flicker or dim, your converter is unable to keep up with the load. It could be it can't keep cool or it could be it is failing. If you don't have batteries or your disconnect switch is off, your DC lights will all go off if your converter shuts down. There are idiot lights on some converters that will tell you if it is having problems.

If you want to test your batteries, turn your remote disconnect switch on, disconnect from shore power and again, turn on most of your DC lights. If the batteries are good, the lights will be good. If the batteries aren't charged or able to hold a charge, they'll be dim or will fade. At this point you'd have to do some testing with a voltmeter to see if the batteries were at fault or the converter wasn't charging them properly.

Hope this helps some.
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Old 09-04-2012, 07:06 AM   #9
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The problem with looking at light brightness is that it will vary somewhat when the converter is turned on or off even if the converter is normal, and the judgment is very subjective (although obvious flickering while the converter is operating almost always indicates a problem.) A voltmeter is the only way to really check, they can be had for $10 or even less and every RV owner should have one. Buy one, and check that you can hold at least 13 volts under a decent load (lots of lights on will do the job.)

BTW stock converters supplied by RV manufacturers, while better then they used to be, are still low-line units like WFCO, etc., and there are several better alternatives available. If you boondock or depend on your 12V system a lot an upgraded converter is a good investment.
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