Battery won't charge

[MHSRattler]

We have a 2004 Springdale 250 RKLS. The power center is a PPC 6300 Q series 32 Amp unit which is no longer in production. Everything else works fine as far as electronics. When I first got the trailer (bought used and we are newbies to the RV world) when installing the new battery I cross connected (or attempted to) the wires. In my world BLACK has always meant ground but after reading the label on near the battery box I see this is not the case in this situation. I checked for blown fuses and I don't see any bad fuses or thrown breakers. I am guessing the charger may have got zapped. So now for replacing it. I reached out to PPC who recommended replacing the charger/inverter with their latest 45TCRU model. I priced it at RVPARTSCOUNTRY.COM for $270. Looking around on that site and others I see I can purchase entire replacement power centers of other manufacturers for less than this PPC charger/inverter upgrade. Looking for suggestions on:

• What I might have missed that could be fixed.
• Should I stick with the PPC replacement
• Should I go to another brand and replace the entire power center.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[hankpage]

There may be glass fuses on the converter itself that have blown to protect polarity. If you replace the whole panel be sure to include the price of the circuit breakers if they are not the same type that you have .... the new panel does not include breakers. Good luck, Hank

[SteveC7010]

If you can not locate the glass fuses or there is other damage to the convertor, go here: http://www.bestconverter.com/ and do some reading. There is lots of information plus links to more educational info about convertors.

I am placing the word convertor in bold to emphasize that these are not inverters. There is a major difference. For the purpose of describing and discussing RV electrical systems, these simple definitions should work:
* Convertors convert 110vac down to 12vdc and charge the batteries.
* Inverters invert 12vdc up to 110vac.
If there is an inverter in your trailer, is certainly not a part of the PPS 6300.

Then look at this page: http://www.bestconverter.com/7300-Series_c_87.html

They are selling the direct replacement/upgrade for the 6300 for $235 for the 55 amp model. It's a slide-in replacement for the 6300 and comes with complete installation instructions. Others who have purchased from Best Convertor have reported that their customer service is the best and are able to answer most any question you might have about the products and the installations.

For your last question, there's no reason I can think of to stay with PPC's suggestion. They are offering a 45 amp replace/upgrade for $270. The 7300 series 55 amp replacement/upgrade is $235 from Best Convertor.

And there is no reason to swap out the entire power center as the 7300 is a direct slide-in replacement for the 6300.

[SteveC7010]

One more point: My '99 Sunline had the 6300 convertor in it, too. I always hoped it would crap out so I could justify an upgrade to the 7300 55 amp model. But it worked just fine for 11 years and presumably is doing so for the new owner as well.

[MHSRattler]

Thank you Steve and Hank. Great information. Onward and upward as they say.