Converter not charging battery

[bodatiouskid]

I have a Magnetek model 6345 45amp Converter/Charger.
The converter is running the 12volt lights,ect. but is not charging the battery.The tv booster & other things run off of battery alone.
How can I fix this?

[MACK C-85]

I'm a little confused, all the 12 volt appliances (lights, tv booster, radio, smoke detector) run through fuses in your panel. They are supplied by either the battery or the convertor. Normally, when on shore power, the convertor runs things and any excess capacity charges the battery.

The first thing to determine is if the convertor is putting out 12v? If it is and is not charging the battery, then there are usually inline fuses between the convertor and the battery that are probably blown.

If the convertor isn't putting out 12v, the 12v appliances will work on battery power alone until the battery dies.

I don't have time right now to dig deeper. I'm sure someone else will be along shortly to go into more detail!!

Mack

[bodatiouskid]

Tv Booster,radio, Heater fan all run on battery alone.Converter runs lights & other things,but is not charging battery.Can jump fron 12volt on converter to positive wire fron battery,but an scared it will overcharge battery.

[Galaxiedriver]

You have probably already checked but battery terminal tightness? Battery disconnect switch open? Or as stated, an in-line fuse open.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by bodatiouskid

Tv Booster,radio, Heater fan all run on battery alone.Converter runs lights & other things,but is not charging battery.Can jump fron 12volt on converter to positive wire fron battery,but an scared it will overcharge battery.

Hi,

It "sounds" like you are saying you can run TV booster, radio, lights etc when on battery "only", no 120 vac plugged in meaning no converter running. Please confirm this is correct.


Then, when you plug in 120 VAC and the converter is on, the lights work and other things but battery is not charging. Is the battery connected when this is occurring?

Do you have a volt meter? If so do this.

With no 120 VAC plugged in, wait 8 hours at least over night. This puts battery at rest and no surface charge.

With 120 VAC unplugged and convertor is off. Go to the battery and measure the voltage. Tell us that exact voltage.

Now plug in the 120 VAC and have the converter on and connect it to the battery. Measure the voltage at the battery. Tell us that voltage. You can unhook after test if you need to.

When a battery is being charged the battery voltage should rise to around 13.6 volts. If it does not rise that high then the battery is not charging.

Once a battery is fully charged and has waited over night for the surface charge to drain off a 100% charged battery will be 12.7 volts. It starts dropping down from there is is not fully charged.

See on the bottom of this web page for a voltage chart on battery resting voltages Trojan Battery Company

When the resting voltage (after 8 hours idle) 12.10 volts is 50% charge left. So 12.7 as 100% charge and with 12.10 at 50% you need to do accurate voltage measurements as 0.5 volts is a lot.

You have to figure out is your battery having issues, the converter having issues or some other problem.

Hope this helps and good luck.

John

What year and model camper do you have?

How old is the battery?

Did the converter and battery use to charge OK and now is not? Or did you just get the camper?

[mainah]

Pretty sure that charger has two circuits one to charge the battery and one to power the lights. the 45 amp is converter output and the charge rate is more like 3-5 amps. I also believe there is a glass fuse inside on the charge circuit that maybe blown. Don't jumper it, it will way over charge the battery. Every thing 12 volts either runs off the battery or the converter they are not split up.

[bodatiouskid]

It's not a Sunline,it's a Skyline Layton,1989.Just purchased Dec. 2nd. No current is going to battery.Undid positive off of battery & checked with a light.
Battery 1 year old.
This fuse panel is split up.3 fuses are powered by battery alone.Radio,12 volt outlet,& bath fan.
No fuse on charge circuit.

[Jim-Bev-2363]

The brand/model of converter could help here. Since converters may act differently and need to be tested differently. I'm just saying apples to apples.

[bodatiouskid]

As I said in my first post.It's a Magnetek model 6345,45 amp converter/charger.

[Jim-Bev-2363]

Sorry I missed that.

I thought I read somewhere that some converters would not try to charge when there is no battery in the circuit. The converter must sense low battery voltage before trying to charge. Maybe this was a safety feature?

For instance on my TT I found a incomplete circuit between the battery and the converter, a Magnatek 3240, so the converter did not "see" the battery and would not try to charge, but it would give voltage to house 12V items.

also on my converter it was possible to check on the converter circuitboard to see if there was potential to charge with. Not familiar with your model as to where to find the voltage.

Hope your problem is simple as a loose wire as mine was.

Good luck!


Edited to add: You might trace wiring to the converter circuitboard to find the output connections for the battery. Then you can use a volt meter to measure potential there. Then you can tell if converter is putting out but just not getting to the battery box.

Again, Good luck!

[mainah]

OK I just found a diagram There are two things that can be wrong one the charger board is toes up (most likely) or the relay assembly is bad. Either way it's part of the charger/converter. The battery circuit is protected with an auto reset breaker. When the charger is not plugged in the relay supplies 12 volts to the blue converter wire from the battery. Once it's plugged in the relay closes and disconnects the battery from the converter output and connects it to the charging board and the 12 volt stuff to the blue converter wire. Some units had 3 filtered 12 volt circuits and if the charger board was bad they would they would still work from battery power but the battery would not charge.