Converter

[campsurveyor]

We went a week on our two batteries & it still had 40 percent left & we had somebody charge up our batteries with there generator,Let it run for about an hour & it was almost 100%,I checked the batteries 2 days later & they were almost dead,Hookup took a ride for an hr & 1/2 & not charging,Monitor in camper says the batteries are 2/3 charged but i have a battery tester that just about dead,Did i blow the converter?Where is the converter located?Do you think it might be a fuse?Going to electric site in a few days,When we put in the slides & front landing gear it doesn't seem like the batteries are going dead,Don't want to get it looked at anywhere near Yellowstone it will cost to much around here.I don't know what would have drained the batteries so fast in two days we had no lights on & turn the furnace on a couple of times for only a half an hour or so.Any opinions,Thanks alotEdited by: campsurveyor

[FB1965]

Some where inside your camper you have a brown or black panel that has the breakers for your camper inside. The converter is built into that box most the time.Your power cord connects to the converter also. If you drained your batteries it may take a while to return them to full charge . Your DC equipment will run off the converter even without a battery. That is what a converter does, converts AC to DC when your pluged in to power.The converter panel also has the DC fuses in it and there may also be a fuse at the batterys.I think I would try charging them for a while and see what happens. The converter also has a battery charger built in it that could have a problem with it. For your trip, the worst thing I would think is buy a portable charger or new batteries and fix it back home.

[campsurveyor]

When he charged my batteries with his generator we did not use the power cord that plugs into the truck we used the cord you plug into elec at the campground,Was that wrong?Never used a generator before,Thanks

[FFFord]

Youwould not normally "use the power cord that plugs into the truck", to charge the battery witha generator. AC vs DC & using adapters etc, it's possible but not usual. You would use the "shore power cord", that "you plug into elec at the campground". If he used a stand alone battery charger, & charged at a fast rate charge at ahigher amp than your circuit breaker, the c/b may have opened up & is now bad. I would check the continuity in the c/b, & thensee if you have power from your convertor to your battery. If he only used the convertor to charge a dead battery, it will take a long charge to bring one back to normal. Charging one or two batteriesin an hour, may have only given youenough voltage to turn up your battery % lights but not enough amperage to keep up the charge.

[FFFord]

Also using the "furnace on a couple of times for only a half an hour or so", the refrigerator, CO & LPG monitors, will eat up some amps on the battery while you are dry camping.

[Lloyd]

Greg:
Taking your batteries down to 40% is a no no, they don't like that. I start to get nervous when I see mine getting down close to 70%. Your furnace fan is the biggest user of battery power in your camper. I believe they draw 8.5 amps. That is why I went with a Olympian wave heater last year. They are expensive, but the furnace doesn't need to run, draining the batteries.
If you hooked that guys genny up to the land line on your camper, and your batteries were that low, it will take a lot more then an hour to get them charged back up. After unhooking from the genny and setting for awhile they will drop in amp reading (probably quite drastically) . Especially if they didn't get completely charged up and topped off.


If I remember right, they claim your batteries are essentially dead at 50%






Edited by: Old Farmer

[campsurveyor]

Thanks for all the info,What would not be working if the converter was damaged?Everything seems allright except the batteries,Lloyd Might stay here in Yellowstone until Sept,They need a cg host at Tower cg,Seeing alot of Bears this year hard to leave,Thanks again for everybody responce. The way it sounds now it is just the batteries,Thanks againEdited by: campsurveyor

[Lloyd]

I would try it for awhile plugged into ac before doing anything just to see if your batteries will rejuvenate them selves. You have a digital meter to check them with don't you? If you do , you should be able to see if the converter is charging.

Have fun this summer. If we get out to visit my Son in WA. we will stop by and say hi.

[hhh]

Charging your batteries only an one hour will not even come close to charging your batteries to 100% if they were at 40%. That would require at the very least 4 hours to get to the 90% range. The indicator panel in your trailer is close to worthless, you really need a real volt meter to know what the voltage is of your batteries.