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Old 11-05-2011, 07:25 PM   #1
CaptRon
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No 12 volt from the inverter.....I think

I have a Magnatek 6300Q series Converter.
A couple of weeks ago I was prepping the RV for travel and when trying to run the slide outs it began to strain. I held the button for a bit and suddenly it stopped completely turned out my battery was completely dead. I connected jumper cables directly to the RV battery and it worked fine. I replaced the battery and all seemed fine until I got to my location. The fridge wasn't working. Turned out to be the 12V fuse.
Well after leaving it plugged in for 2 weeks I get back and the new battery is completely dead. Slideouts do absolutely nothing. and the fridge is off again but the fuse isn't blown on the fridge this time. I put jumper cable from the truck to the battery and viola the fridge works and the slideouts work. I leave the truck connected for about an hr while I run the heat. I disconnect the truck and leave the heat on while I take the bike out for a trail ride. When I get back a few hrs later the battery is completely dead again.
My inverter is evidently not charging the battery. Is there a hidden fuse for the 12v side like the fridge or have I cooked my unit?
Thanks in advance for your help!!!
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Old 11-06-2011, 04:34 AM   #2
dbunn
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I am not the master electrician, but I believe you may be referring to a converter. A converter would convert shore power 120 to 12v. The converter does that and charges the battery. The vehicle charging system can also do the same when it is plugged in. An inverter does the opposite by converting 12v battery power to useable 120v power. Examples of common inverters are the devices you plug into your cigarrette lighter to run a 110 plug off of. However, they make bigger capacity inverters and some do have theem installed in the rv. My guess is that you have a 12v appliance, short, etc that is dragging down your battery. The only time it can get recharged at all is while it is plugged into shore power or your vehicle. The previously blown fuse could be a good place to start troubleshooting for why you have a power drain. I bet there are others that could help you find the possible draw. Maybe using a method at the 12v fuse box to find amp draw? The fuse may have been a fluke too, so you never know as it may be unrelated.
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Old 11-06-2011, 05:47 AM   #3
CaptRon
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Yea I got the inverter/converter backwards

From what I understand the fridge does pull some 12v current when on battery or shore power. The RV has been plugged into shore power all along, when the slideouts quite on me before the new battery as well as the last 2 weeks while it was sitting on location. That's why I think it's probably an issue with the 12v power source that should be coming from the converter.
With 2 weeks on shore power and a brand new battery I would think that I should have been able to turn on everything 12v related in the RV without any issues.
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Old 11-06-2011, 06:08 AM   #4
Johnnyfry
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Converter woes

Capt Ron,

The converter has an AC breaker on the AC side which may have popped. Most also have fuses on the DC side. Check all these possibilities first.

An easy test, if you have a sensitive digital voltmeter. Hook up the meter to the battery terminals with the converter turned off. Take a reading and turn the converter on. If the converter is working the voltage reading should rise slightly ( say from 12.5 volts to about 14 volts or thereabouts). This is not a precision test but it should give an idea if the converter is alive.

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Old 11-06-2011, 06:36 AM   #5
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CaptRon,

Open the converter door, you will see the AC breakers on the left, the DC fuses on the right. Just between them, tucked down behind the DC fuses are 2 larger fuses, They should be red in color. They are the "main bus" fuses that control the DC output. Chances are one or even both of them may be blown. They are 40 Amp fuses and most hardware stores carry them, if not NAPA does for sure. They aren't cheap, but necessary... Good luck.
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Old 11-06-2011, 08:53 AM   #6
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CaptRon,

Open the converter door, you will see the AC breakers on the left, the DC fuses on the right. Just between them, tucked down behind the DC fuses are 2 larger fuses, They should be red in color. They are the "main bus" fuses that control the DC output. Chances are one or even both of them may be blown. They are 40 Amp fuses and most hardware stores carry them, if not NAPA does for sure. They aren't cheap, but necessary... Good luck.
Thanks hopfully that's it but........
I found some info on this site that tells me it could be a bad resistor.
Ugh!!! no time to get back up there until next weekend and I'll be too busy to spend any real time working on it while I'm there.
I wonder if a regular battery charger would be enough to keep it rocking or would I fry the charger if I keep it connected while in use?
I do have another idea up my sleeve.
I could pull the cranking battery and the 2 trolling motor batteries from my boat, connect all 3 in succession to the current battery and put my battery tender on it?
Thoughts??
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Old 11-06-2011, 09:30 AM   #7
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It only takes a second to check the breaker and fuses but if all OK just the battery tender alone should be enough to maintain the battery while your not there but you will have to charge it first. The fridge and other minor drains are minimal. Also !!!!!! You will damage your slide motor if your battery is not fully charged. Low voltage will cause them to overheat and burn out.
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Old 11-06-2011, 09:46 AM   #8
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It only takes a second to check the breaker and fuses but if all OK just the battery tender alone should be enough to maintain the battery while your not there but you will have to charge it first. The fridge and other minor drains are minimal. Also !!!!!! You will damage your slide motor if your battery is not fully charged. Low voltage will cause them to overheat and burn out.
What about while I am there?
If I'm trying to run the heat while I have a battery charger/tender connected would that be too much drain for the charger to keep up with?

I've decided to make the 240 mile round trip back up today to do some diagnostics. Hopefully it's just the fuse. I'm parked at Red River Cycle park in Bulcher,TX about 15 miles north of Muenster. Since I don't know the exact fuse I'll have to drive up check it, then probably go into Gainesville (30 miles away) to try and locate a fuse, if it is in fact the fuse. If it's the resistor I'll have to try to locate one next week.
Man all of this to put on an enduro....as a volunteer no less!!
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Old 11-06-2011, 09:56 AM   #9
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CaptRon, The fuse I think is blown is a large 40 Amp fuse. Very similar in look to the ones that are in your car (minifuse) or in your RV (reg size fuse) The 15 Amp ones on each individual circuit in the RV are probably blue in color and about 1/2 inch long. The 40 Amp red ones are at least 1 inch longand red in color. You may find them at Autozone, etc. but the last time I checked there, they were out. Seems there's little call for them so they don't restock very often ??? WalMart didn't have them either, but you should find them at NAPA or another auto parts store.

I'd almost bet it's one of the fuses. They are in the circuit to protect the converter from any voltage spikes, or from connecting the battery backwards, etc. I'd bet that when you were jumping batteries, etc, you "ARC'ed and SPARK'ed" something and one of the protection fuses "saved your converter".
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Old 11-06-2011, 05:05 PM   #10
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Well after the long drive I found that my unit has no fuse for the convert inside the converter box. There was an 30 amp inline glass automotive fuse at the battery but it was good. I did find a couple of things though. First off when I pulled the converter I found a massive pile of insulation and rat droppings on top of the converter covering the cooling fan. I pulled the breakers and tested continuity. All were good. The suspect resistor looks to be bad. It tested at .83 ohm. Should have been .15 ohm. Because it was pop riveted in in the very back of the converter box and behind the transformer which is also pop riveted in. I'm going to wait until I can put it on my work bench to fix it. Instead I'm going to try my 2 trolling motor batteries along with new battery already in it to supply the needed 12v with a battery charger on it. It's connected now set at 10 amps for 12 hrs. A friend of mine is up there now. He's going to set it back to 12 hrs every other day until I get back up there on Friday. Hopefully that will hold em. the only drain on it now is what ever the fridge needs from the 12v to stay on.
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Old 11-09-2011, 05:12 PM   #11
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If you are connected to shore power and your battery is dying you either have a shorted cell in the battery or the converter is defective. disconnect the battery and check the voltage at the cables you just removed from the battery, no voltage = bad converter.
I hope your battery charger is a quality unit as less expensive chargers use higher voltages to charge than the sensitive control board on the fridge might be able to handle. Most of these charges will have a warning about disconnecting the battery before charging to prevent damage to modern vehichles computer controls.
I hope this helps.
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Old 11-10-2011, 06:47 AM   #12
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If you reversed the polarity on the batteeryit may have blown the fuses in the converter.
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Old 11-10-2011, 07:00 AM   #13
CaptRon
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If you reversed the polarity on the batteeryit may have blown the fuses in the converter.
The only fuse for this converter is an inline in the battery compartment.
I checked it when I checked the resistor. The fuse is good but the resistor looks to be bad. I'm pretty sure that I cooked it when I was trying to open the slideouts with a completely dead battery. I could hear the pump on the slideouts trying and then nothing!! With a freshly charged battery it works great with or without shore power. Give it a week plugged in to shore power....no slideouts and no fridge.
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Old 11-11-2011, 10:48 AM   #14
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I got your converter confused with the updated one, yours was retrofitted with a newer regulator board and called the 7200 or 7300 (something like that) It has the protection fuses in it. As for the big ceramic resistor you have on the back wall. If that's the one you think may be bad, it's the same resistor that was used in older cars with generators. You may be able to pick on up for a couple of dollars at Autozone, etc. Would probably be cheaper than ordering from Magnatek. Just a thought, there should be resistance/watts stamped on the metal sleeve so you can compare with what's available in the auto supply store. Hope that helps.
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