Converter Failure January 13, 2021, 01:55:36 pm Perhaps you kind folks cans direct me further on my apparent converter failure.2010 LD RB. Converter 7300 series Model 7345.Attempted to run our house furnace but it would not start. Low battery possible culprit? Yep! - the HP 22B battery monitor says 11.6 v. I know that because I do read these posts.I have Read at least 40 pages of posts and additional topics from the LD crew on this subject since yesterday and this is what I have learned.1. Shore power is good - full 120 voltage2. Batteries were able to be charged up with an Aux Bat. Charger to 13.6 v overnight.3. The HP 22B MPPT monitor shows same Bat Voltage as the batteries.4. Array shows -05. Charging Amps -0- 6. With the batteries artificially charged (aux charger) All DC applications seem to work perfectly; lights, furnace, DC phone plug.7. All AC receptacle's and appliance's work. 8. My very limited ability in electronics and electricity determined with a Meter that I am getting 13.2 volts to the circuit board on the converter. The wires marked Bat. + and Bat - If I have to change this converter - Many of you experienced wizards have suggested Parallax 8375 (Joan) and ( Larry W) the PD 9270 converter.I am not a technician and therefore do not feel comfortable changing the converter myself - although in an emergency might give it a go. Is it possible that I missed something that would immediately determine that the failure is the converter only? I'll plan to phone Randy @ Best in a few days armed with as much information as possible so hopefully I will be making some sense.Looking forward to this *&%#@ Converter working.Cheers!Tony R (aka codefour) 1 Likes
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #1 – January 13, 2021, 02:01:48 pm "Parallax 8375 (Joan) and ( Larry W) the PD 9270 converter."----A correction: I don't recall ever recommending a Parallax converter of any type. If I somehow inadvertently did, I apologize. I have a PD, and would recommend those.YMMV, as always.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #2 – January 13, 2021, 02:08:24 pm On your breaker panel, is the converter turned off? That would result in the converter not working Rich
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #3 – January 13, 2021, 02:20:46 pm Ms. Joan - no worries. The PD it is! Is that the PD 9270?And yes Rich B all breakers are up and running.When I turned the Converter breaker off for 30 seconds or so, and turned it back on - it hummed for half a minute then stopped - but still produced NO charging.I'll try most any test you folks suggest to determine for SURE that only the converter is BAD!Then, have to figure out if I can take it to a repair facility for the change (preferred) or some other option. Best Co has a 7300 - 55amp KIT as a direct replacement. My preference is the Mothership, but that is probably a hopeful daydream.Cheers!Tony R. (aka codefour)
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #4 – January 13, 2021, 02:32:27 pm Quote from: codefour - January 13, 2021, 02:20:46 pmThen, have to figure out if I can take it to a repair facility for the change (preferred) or some other option. Best Co has a 7300 - 55amp KIT as a direct replacement. My preference is the Mothership, but that is probably a hopeful daydream.Our PD 9270 has been in service for 15 years, it works fine and charges the battery quickly..Almost anyone with electrical experience can change out a converter, there are only 4 wires, two for the 120-VAC supply and two 12-volt polarized wire. It’s important to get the 12-volt wire’s positive and negative wire connected correctly.Larry
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #5 – January 14, 2021, 11:33:38 am I just changed out our converter section with a PD 4645. Changing the power section was not a problem, the board section was a little trickier but do able if you take your time. You will have to disconnect your battery's because making that connection on the board is a little tight.Jon
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #6 – January 14, 2021, 11:51:32 am So why is the PD better than the factory Parallax?
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #7 – January 14, 2021, 11:54:06 am If you disconnect the house battery and aux charger at the battery terminals in their compartment, then measure the voltage as you did before at terminals, what is the voltage? A bad converter will show very low voltage, but a 13.6 or higher charging voltage will indicate battery internal shortage.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #8 – January 14, 2021, 11:59:24 am Sometimes, bad flooded lead acid battery has internal short /high resistance due to crystal formation, they still show a 12v+ voltage open circuit but cannot deliver any current. When you start a DC motor such as furnace fan, the large current draw will drop the voltage to 9v or lower. Measure converter output voltage only will help you diagnose the true problem.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #9 – January 14, 2021, 12:35:17 pm In addition, please do check the dc fuse (#7 10 amp on the dc fuse panel) for the furnace to make sure there is power to the furnace.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #10 – January 14, 2021, 12:58:21 pm Quote from: codefour - January 13, 2021, 02:20:46 pmMs. Joan - no worries. The PD it is! Is that the PD 9270?And yes Rich B all breakers are up and running.When I turned the Converter breaker off for 30 seconds or so, and turned it back on - it hummed for half a minute then stopped - but still produced NO charging.I'll try most any test you folks suggest to determine for SURE that only the converter is BAD!Then, have to figure out if I can take it to a repair facility for the change (preferred) or some other option. Best Co has a 7300 - 55amp KIT as a direct replacement. My preference is the Mothership, but that is probably a hopeful daydream.Cheers!Tony R. (aka codefour)"When I turned the Converter breaker off for 30 seconds or so, and turned it back on - it hummed for half a minute then stopped - but still produced NO charging." This seems indicating converter is working but when it reaches the full charge voltage it actually stops as design intent. The furnace trouble may be elsewhere.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #11 – January 14, 2021, 01:03:52 pm Quote from: HiLola - January 14, 2021, 11:51:32 amSo why is the PD better than the factory Parallax?In our case Greg, the Parallax converter wouldn't cycle below about 13.8 volts and the new one is a 4 way charger with a maintained voltage of 13.2. Easier on the battery's. Jon 1 Likes
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #12 – January 14, 2021, 01:45:27 pm Hi Greg. The Parralax in your motorhome is fine if it works. The 2019's seemed to have an early failure mode as noted on this site. The Parallax converters of the 1999 era were really simple, unsophisticated battery chargers, that mistreated the batteries. Newer technology electronic 'switching' converters have staged charging sections. Progressive Dynamics (PD) I think has better circuitry and better construction standards, and is what I put in my coach.(PD4655) My solar, with bulk, absorb and float, charges the batteries. I spend almost no time plugged in, and engine run time is what charges the batteries when I'm on the road. I only run the generator for air conditioning. So I delayed replacing the old parallax 6345 until recently. Your 2017 Parallax is fine unless it quits working. Use the money for gasoline! RonB 2 Likes
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #13 – January 15, 2021, 05:50:53 pm Today I did the following test - hopefully to further determine that our converter was in fact bad. *In my previous posts above the only way I was able to charge the house batteries was with an external battery charger.1. Unplugged shore power, and started the RV Engine (V10)2. Immediately saw 14.3 volts on the HP 22B monitor. From 13.39 volts on an external battery charger. 3. But No array amps nor charging amps on the Monitor. Both at -0- 4. Turned off the RV engine (V10) and started the generator.5. No change in battery voltage, no charging indicated on the Monitor. And out in the sun - no array charge -0-. Oh! And I did find and check the secret 12V manual reset breaker. It was ok. Not tripped.So, unless any of you wise wizard's have another idea, I am going to purchase and install another Converter/Charger as per your previous recommendations. I truly appreciate all of your suggestions and recommendations, but most often I am not proficient enough in mechanical/technical understanding to use much of it. Non the less - please don't stop attempting to school me.Cheers!Tony R. (aka codefour) 1 Likes
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #14 – January 16, 2021, 08:45:27 am In my opinion, you should use the house battery and make the voltage drop to 60% of charge, then connect shore power to make sure converter is not able to charge battery. Direct charge the battery by running LD engine just bypass the converter and is not an evidence that converter is not working. This is just my opinion.Is there a switch for the solar array you can turn off? If you turn off external charger, turn off solar array, and disconnect shore power, how quickly the battery voltage measured at battery terminals drop to 12.2v?
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #15 – January 16, 2021, 09:25:40 am cli288 ThanksI'll try that today.Tony R. (aka codefour)
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #16 – January 16, 2021, 10:48:41 am Quote from: HiLola - January 14, 2021, 11:51:32 amSo why is the PD better than the factory Parallax?I believe this vintage Parallax converter is a single-stage unit with a charging/output voltage under 14V. This is insufficient to fully top off the batteries, and too high to avoid boiling off electrolyte. The Progressive Dynamic units such as Joan and I have are drop-in replacements that are multi-stage, producing up to 14.6V for bulk and absorption charging stages, and dropping to the low 13's for maintenance. They also have an option for enabling an equalization stage on a regular basis.Steve
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #17 – January 16, 2021, 11:26:22 am I have just pulled my new Parallax 8300 55-amp multi stage converter from our 2021 RB replacing it with a Progressive Dynamics converter that is set up for properly charging my new lithium battery bank. If anyone can use it send me a message. 1 Likes
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #18 – January 16, 2021, 11:42:09 am Quote from: Mike Coachman - January 16, 2021, 11:26:22 amI have just pulled my new Parallax 8300 55-amp multi stage converter from our 2021 RB replacing it with a Progressive Dynamics converter that is set up for properly charging my new lithium battery bank. If anyone can use it send me a message.Message sent.
Re: Converter Failure, Covid-19, and Politics - Come ON! Reply #19 – January 16, 2021, 01:07:18 pm Someone has just spoken for my spare Parallax converter and DC fuse board.
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