PD Converter November 04, 2024, 10:49:47 pm Replaced the old Parallax with a lithium compatible converter/charger today. Interesting that the PD does not have a sheetmetal face like the Parallax. Not sure if it’s actually charging but no smoke came out when it was energized. 👍 Is there an easy way to test it to see if it’s actually working?PD 4655VL 55 Amp Converter Upgrade, Optional Remote Pendant
Re: PD Converter Reply #1 – November 04, 2024, 11:54:20 pm Quote from: HiLola - November 04, 2024, 10:49:47 pmReplaced the old Parallax with a lithium compatible converter/charger today. Interesting that the PD does not have a sheetmetal face like the Parallax. Not sure if it’s actually charging but no smoke came out when it was energized. 👍 Is there an easy way to test it to see if it’s actually working?PD 4655VL 55 Amp Converter Upgrade, Optional Remote PendantDo you have a battery capacity meter like a Victron Energy BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor?Amazon.com: Victron Energy BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor (Grey) : AutomotiveYou need one to determine the rates of charge and discharge and the battery's capacity at any given time.Are you planning on installing the lithium batteries yourself?Larry As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: PD Converter Reply #2 – November 05, 2024, 04:59:02 am Hi Greg; The ventilated brown painted cover is all that is needed to keep you out of the converter innards. There should be a 4 conductor cable going up to the fuse board. My fuse board needed replacement (23 years old and didn't have the two 30A supply fuses) so the charge wizard green blinking LED is on that fuse board. I didn't get the remote pendant. That basically is for converters that are hidden away in utility areas that are hard to access. Your handy DMM will show you the voltage being applied to your batteries. That voltage will tell you a lot about whether the converter is working. Do not enable equalization. It will ruin AGM batteries. That fourth charge state is only for vented wet lead acid batteries like a Trojan T-105. A good link, they've updated your converter compared to mine, and the charge wizard is located not on the fuse board like mine. You have a jumper that can lock out equalization for AGM batteries, leaving you with a three stage charger. The other jumper position for LiF batteries is just one charge state. That remote pendant may have the green status LED. Blink rate tells you it's charge status. RonB
Re: PD Converter Reply #3 – November 05, 2024, 09:17:28 am Larry, I have not yet installed a battery monitor but intend to at some point. Still not sure if I’ll attempt doing the batteries myself.Ron, thanks for the info regarding the brown vented cover being sufficient as I was wondering about that. I was able to confirm that the converter is working by using my meter at the negative and positive terminals of the DC fuse board. I did NOT install the new DC fuse board as I was told by another member that can be a bear due to the short wires LD used, so am not using the 4-wire harness that would connect the converter to the fuse board. I did call Randy at Best Converter to ask if that’s a problem but he said no. I welcome your thoughts on that, though. I guess worse case is I kill my 7-year old batteries a little sooner, then I’ll have to get new lithium batteries sooner! I did find the jumper on the converter that needs to be moved to make the switch to lithium (see photo). Also, I did not get the remote pendant either as Randy said it wasn’t necessary.
Re: PD Converter Reply #4 – November 05, 2024, 12:05:37 pm Progressive Dynamic Charge Wizards come in two variations: mounted on a 12-volt fuse board or as a pendant with a long connecting wire for remote mounting. The Charge Wizard isn't necessary but its flashing light shows if the converter is actively charging or if the battery is full. It can force the converter into full charge mode. If a battery monitor is installed, it will show the charge state of the battery or if it is being actively charged, making the Charge Wizard unnecessary.The 12-fuse panel is a bear to replace, as mentioned, the wires are short and difficult to work within the tight compartment. For most converter upgrades, the stock fuse panel is fine. Normally, the fuse panel is changed when the owner wants the Charge Wizard or if the panel is damaged.Larry 3 Likes
Re: PD Converter Reply #5 – November 05, 2024, 12:41:56 pm As Larry said, the fuse board is a bit difficult to replace. My 23 year old Magnetek refugee from the '50's needed to be changed out at the time I put in the new PD converter. Your 2017 model should be fine. The charge wizard is a button switch to force the converter into a different charge mode and a blinking green LED to let you know what mode it is in. Taken care of automatically by the converter without the need for any intervention, it becomes totally unneeded for LiF batteries. The blinking LED just slightly visible at night, just bothers my wife. For me it tells me the converter breaker is turned on. My BalMar SG-200 always on (dimly at night) tells me my state of charge. RonB 2 Likes
Re: PD Converter Reply #6 – November 05, 2024, 03:32:02 pm Just an update: I wanted to put the PD through the paces to ensure it’s working correctly so I covered my one solar panel to eliminate input, shut off the converter/charger breaker in the power center, and turned on pretty much every 12V component I could to draw the batteries down to about 50%. Once there, the converter breaker was turned on and I confirmed the batteries were charging. Eventually, the fans on the PD kicked on and off a few times, which I was hoping for. They don’t run very long and are fairly quiet, unlike the 75-amp charger that originally came with the 2017 models. 😊 1 Likes
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