Battery not charging while connected to electric supply

[Melissa C-G]

I have been told that our battery should be charging while we are connected to an electric supply at a campground. This never happens. I know nothing about converters/inverters. Where it is or should be or if it's hooked up etc. A little info and guidance on what I should be looking for would be great!

 

[campbugjan1]

Melissa...Mine doesn't charge either but it does feed DC voltage back to the necessary things..I have since bought a charger/tender for $10 at Walmart..It has a long enough cord that I can plug it in either at the campers outside outlet or inside the camper..you cannot use an extension cord however. This works great all summer!

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Melissa,

Welcome!

We need some more help to help you better. The power converters in the campers differ by model year and sometimes prior owners change them. As the years went by, Sunline changed brands of the converters to get the next best thing Or to upgrade as the older one stopped making them.

Please give us what you do know.

What model and year camper do you have?

If you are not plugged into the campground, and you have a working battery on the camper, do the lights inside the camper work? We are trying to figure out if the battery is hooked up to the inside 12 volt DC power system.

To find the power converter, find shore line power cord on the outside of the camper. See where it goes into the camper in relation to the cord outside. The power converter is normally inside close to where the cord goes into the camper. Check down on the floor area, behind a removable wood panel, under a bed/couch or inside a bottom cabinet. When you find it, try and take pictures of the fuses an the make and model of the power converter and post.

We can help better when we know what you have. This may be a simple problem of a blown fuse, or something more complex yet to be determined.

Hope this helps

John

 

[mainah-SUN]

Age of the camper plays a part. The newer ones should do both. Next question how do you know it is not charged or charging?

 

[Viking-SUN]

I am surely stating the obvious, but make sure the battery disconnect switch is in the ON position.

 

[Tkch88]

Chiming in late.The original Converter on my 2001 2470 died in 2005. I replaced it with a WFCO unit. It was a "form, fit, function replacement". They sell them under other trade names I believe, also. In the past few weeks, my DC lights started to dim off and on, and progressively got worse. I then discovered the battery wasn't charging.

Good news is, WFCO sells a replacement charging unit, that you can swap out without redoing all the wiring. This only required disconnecting 5 wires, swapping out with a couple of screws, and rewiring. Less than a 1 hour job. Price is about $235.

Funny, you can get an entire new converter for cheaper, but then you have a big wiring job to do.

 

[TJW-SUN]

Having the same problem!

Hi All,

I’m having the same problem of the battery not charging when connected to shore power. I got a new battery and was camping for three nights when the battery drained down to the point that the lights were dimming, even though I was connected to electric the entire time.

Looking for any advice on what the problem is. I have a 2000 Sunline T-2670. Attached are some pictures of the power converter.

Thanks for any help on what to do.

 

[mainah-SUN]

Yours should. You have a pretty good cooked terminal on what was a yellow wire. It may have lifted the trace on the board. No ideal where it goes but it's not good. I am going to guess there in lays your problem the two 30 amp fuses are converter DC out.

 

[JohnGB]

Hi All,

I’m having the same problem of the battery not charging when connected to shore power. I got a new battery and was camping for three nights when the battery drained down to the point that the lights were dimming, even though I was connected to electric the entire time.

Looking for any advice on what the problem is. I have a 2000 Sunline T-2670. Attached are some pictures of the power converter.

Thanks for any help on what to do.

It appears/sounds in your case, that the new battery was powering your camper. This means the wiring and fusing from the battery to the fuse board in the camper is all working.

Then the battery went dead and the lights went out while plugged into shore power.

This all points to your power converter is not working or their is a wiring problem or both. The burnt up yellow wire on the fuse board, I "suspect" is the 12 VDC + from the power converter to the fuse board. That wire took a lot of heat for some reason TBD. The connection is most likely corroded at this point. If you are friendly with electrical troubleshooting, and know how to avoid the shock hazards, trace that wire and odds are high it goes back to the power converter board. If you are not electrically friendly, then find a electrician friend or RV repair shop to help.

The older converters do burn out over time and the older Centurnion converters have died before on many members.

If the converter is bad, you can look into replacing just the power converter portion on the bottom and keeping the rest, AC breakers, DC fuses, assuming the fuse block is still good and not burnt to the point it needs to be replaced.

If you want to confirm the power converter is working, have the battery in the camper and hooked up. Plug in the shore power. Then with a volt meter, check the battery voltage at the battery. If the converter is working, the battery voltage should read 13.2 to 13.6 VDC. If the battery is down at 12.7 VDC or lower, then the converter is not putting anything into the battery and it is not working. As FYI 12.7 VDC is 100% charge for the battery and the voltage goes down from there as power is drained from the battery. When the converter is working, it boosts the voltage up into the 13 volt range. No voltage boost, no converter working.

This 4600 series Progressive Dynamics (PD) power converter is a very good one. 3 stage charging with a desulfate mode. You just have to make sure it will fit in the case you have. You may have to remove it from the metal sleeve.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/inteli-power-4600-series/

Just caution on Amazon with PD, there has been several clone sellers out there and PD will not warrant the unit. Best Converter is an official PD dealer and very helpful. They carry other brands too. Progressive Dynamics Converters

PD also makes a stand alone converter, in the 9200 series, you just have to have room to mount it and then run wires to the old hookups.

Hope this helps

John

 

[mainah-SUN]

Yes I too believe it is the DC power output from the converter. It is mounted from the inside so it's probably pretty nasty on the lug side of the board. The heating represents a high resistance this overworks the converter and I kind of think it burnt the board pretty good where you can't see it.

 

[TJW-SUN]

Thanks very much JohnB and mainah. That is great information.
I tested with a volt meter and I’m not getting anything higher when I’m plugged.
Unfortunately this may be beyond my repair ability, but at least I know the problem now.
Thanks!

 

[JohnGB]

I tested with a volt meter and I’m not getting anything higher when I’m plugged.
Unfortunately this may be beyond my repair ability, but at least I know the problem now.
Thanks!

Your very welcome.

Ah yes, no voltage boost when the camper is plugged in, the converter is not doing anything.

This is not a hard problem to track down if the converter is bad. You repair person can back into that fairly quickly. If it is toast, odds are favorable, a replacement is common on the older converters.

Let us know how you make out.

John

 

[Roger66]

Hi All
My converter looked the same. Burnt terminal and all. The wire that is burnt comes up from the converter to the board. In my case I was able to remove the wire portion that was burnt and replace it with a new same grade wire. Also while replacing the wire check the screw and nut that holds the terminal to the board. Mine was loose which caused the wire to get hot and also burn the board. I removed the screw, nut and terminal cleaned everything up and put it back together. It worked for over 2 years then the fans started to go bad not cooling the system enough so I opted to change out the inverter.

Roger

 

[Roger66]

I would advise against amazon or ebay sources for buying a replacement. PD states right on their website that they will not warranty their product if not bought through them.

 

[Roger66]

Mine after clean up and wire replacement.

 

[mainah-SUN]

Hi All
My converter looked the same. Burnt terminal and all. The wire that is burnt comes up from the converter to the board. In my case I was able to remove the wire portion that was burnt and replace it with a new same grade wire. Also while replacing the wire check the screw and nut that holds the terminal to the board. Mine was loose which caused the wire to get hot and also burn the board. I removed the screw, nut and terminal cleaned everything up and put it back together. It worked for over 2 years then the fans started to go bad not cooling the system enough so I opted to change out the inverter.

Roger

Yes the burning is from loose connections, the lug being loose on the board the fixing screw at the wire etc. At 12 volts the current demand becomes a factor also.

 

[TJW-SUN]

Thanks for everyone’s advice and help.
I took roger66ogden suggestion and was able to replace the wire going from the converter to the board. With the wire replaced I now have a charge on the battery. Just got back from using it for three nights and no problems.

Thanks!

 

[Pattycat]

In search of 1985 Sunline Converter Battery Charger

Hello, I was given a 1985 Sunline CT. I'm told I need a new 30amp converter battery charger . Any suggestions on where I might find one of these?

 

[mainah-SUN]

Yep that's an old one. Every brand of the newer ones are far superior and there are just a few manufactures so you really can't go wrong.

 

[JohnGB]

Hello, I was given a 1985 Sunline CT. I'm told I need a new 30amp converter battery charger . Any suggestions on where I might find one of these?

Your original converter has been discontinued.

These folks are very helpful. BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics Give them a call, tell them what you have and they can supply a brand that will be the closet to what you have.

They also offer the Progressive Dynamics brand, which if that brand will fit, I highly recommend it. Just make you sure buy that brand from a certified dealer, which Best Converter is, and there are some others. But there has been a lot of cloning going on as the brand is so good, they sell for a lot less, but they are not the same as the USA made Progressive Dynamics brand.

Ask them if this series will fit your older converter case. If it will not, ask them what other brand they have to fit. https://www.progressivedyn.com/pd4600-converter/

Hope this helps and if you need more, feel free to ask any and all questions. Changing power converters on an old campers is common and many here on the club have been through it.

John