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Old 10-25-2014, 02:21 PM   #1
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Smile Problem with Converter/Charger

Howdy Folks! I have a Forest River 39' 2009 Sandpiper 50 amp 5th wheel. A couple of days ago, I had a breaker trip because I had plugged in an electric fireplace heater in and I guess it was too much for the outlet. I have since moved it to our bedroom with no problems. Anyway when I went to flip the breaker back on I saw a flash of sparks come thru the fan located on the Converter/Charger and a small amount of smoke come out. A few hours later the ceiling and wall lights started going dim and got dimmer until they finally went out. My furnace/AC fan also doesn't work. Thinking it was the battery I went and bought a new one and then charged it till it had a full charge. I then placed it into my RV and a little while later the lights and furnace fan came back on, so I thought problem was solved.
Au Contraire! So I got my battery charger and hooked it up to the battery and after a short while the lights and furnace worked again but now even with the battery charger hooked to the battery the lights and furnace fan don't work. I got a voltage meter and checked the voltage coming out of the battery, it was 11.9 but out of the converter it was 0.02. I also noticed that the little fan no longer works. Could I hear from some of you veteran RVer's out there as I'm still a rookie to tell me what I need to do about it. I found one on Ebay for around three hundred dollars so I can replace it but I notice they also just sell the bottom panel where the fan and fuses are for about half that... Sorry to be so long winded but I wanted to let you know all the info up front. By the way My Converter/Charger is a Parallex 500 Series Model 555, 55 amps. I really appreciate any advice that you could offer. Thanks so much in advance! Have a great weekend everyone!
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Old 10-25-2014, 04:59 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by pianoplayerjohn View Post
Howdy Folks! I have a Forest River 39' 2009 Sandpiper 50 amp 5th wheel. A couple of days ago, I had a breaker trip because I had plugged in an electric fireplace heater in and I guess it was too much for the outlet. I have since moved it to our bedroom with no problems. Anyway when I went to flip the breaker back on I saw a flash of sparks come thru the fan located on the Converter/Charger and a small amount of smoke come out. A few hours later the ceiling and wall lights started going dim and got dimmer until they finally went out. My furnace/AC fan also doesn't work. Thinking it was the battery I went and bought a new one and then charged it till it had a full charge. I then placed it into my RV and a little while later the lights and furnace fan came back on, so I thought problem was solved.
Au Contraire! So I got my battery charger and hooked it up to the battery and after a short while the lights and furnace worked again but now even with the battery charger hooked to the battery the lights and furnace fan don't work. I got a voltage meter and checked the voltage coming out of the battery, it was 11.9 but out of the converter it was 0.02. I also noticed that the little fan no longer works. Could I hear from some of you veteran RVer's out there as I'm still a rookie to tell me what I need to do about it. I found one on Ebay for around three hundred dollars so I can replace it but I notice they also just sell the bottom panel where the fan and fuses are for about half that... Sorry to be so long winded but I wanted to let you know all the info up front. By the way My Converter/Charger is a Parallex 500 Series Model 555, 55 amps. I really appreciate any advice that you could offer. Thanks so much in advance! Have a great weekend everyone!
It does sound like you fried the converter. You may want to take this opportunity to upgrade yours. I upgraded to one when I first bought my trailer to one that could fast charge the batteries. I have a huge battery bank though, so thats one of the reasons I did that.
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Old 10-25-2014, 06:08 PM   #3
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Thank You!

Please let me know what you upgraded to. I'm still learning about the RV thing and I would love to hear your suggestions. Thanks my friend!
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Old 10-27-2014, 12:22 AM   #4
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PD9200 Series RV Power Converters

Pretty sure I have one of those. Service guy recommended it to me, basically charges all batteries almost completely in a few hours when hooked to shore power. Good especially if having rainy days, and need to run the generators for a few hours to charge up the batteries, if solar isn't putting out enough.
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Old 10-27-2014, 10:05 AM   #5
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You almost certainly fried your converter. Before you just slap a new one back in there I'd try to determine why the converter fried when the breaker tripped. Did the converter share that breaker with the outlet you plugged the heater into?
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Old 11-02-2014, 07:06 PM   #6
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X2 on the PD9200 converters. Excellent charging ability and reliability. Jerry.
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Old 02-25-2015, 03:10 PM   #7
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X3 on the PDX9200 converter. I just went from the 55amp to a 70 amp on the trailer. Bought it on Amazon.com and it came with the manual override switch to change battery charging levels. Will be trying it out in next couple of weeks when we head for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC.
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Old 02-25-2015, 03:14 PM   #8
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I'll follow suit.
I'd only put in a progressive dynamics converter.
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Old 03-01-2015, 08:44 AM   #9
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me too....i saw where a guy put an oversize fan and a drilled out grill on a WFCO...talk about polishing a dirt clod...
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Old 03-01-2015, 12:32 PM   #10
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Second trailer I have owned both had WFCO converters that cooked themselves. Not impressed with them at all.
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Old 03-04-2015, 12:46 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pianoplayerjohn View Post
Howdy Folks! I have a Forest River 39' 2009 Sandpiper 50 amp 5th wheel. A couple of days ago, I had a breaker trip because I had plugged in an electric fireplace heater in and I guess it was too much for the outlet. I have since moved it to our bedroom with no problems. Anyway when I went to flip the breaker back on I saw a flash of sparks come thru the fan located on the Converter/Charger and a small amount of smoke come out. A few hours later the ceiling and wall lights started going dim and got dimmer until they finally went out. My furnace/AC fan also doesn't work. Thinking it was the battery I went and bought a new one and then charged it till it had a full charge. I then placed it into my RV and a little while later the lights and furnace fan came back on, so I thought problem was solved.
Au Contraire! So I got my battery charger and hooked it up to the battery and after a short while the lights and furnace worked again but now even with the battery charger hooked to the battery the lights and furnace fan don't work. I got a voltage meter and checked the voltage coming out of the battery, it was 11.9 but out of the converter it was 0.02. I also noticed that the little fan no longer works. Could I hear from some of you veteran RVer's out there as I'm still a rookie to tell me what I need to do about it. I found one on Ebay for around three hundred dollars so I can replace it but I notice they also just sell the bottom panel where the fan and fuses are for about half that... Sorry to be so long winded but I wanted to let you know all the info up front. By the way My Converter/Charger is a Parallex 500 Series Model 555, 55 amps. I really appreciate any advice that you could offer. Thanks so much in advance! Have a great weekend everyone!
Yes, sounds like your converter is shot. Mine is too in my yet to be used Forest River (2013 model purchased November 2014). I have gone through 2 batteries. I have an appointment in a week to get the converter replaced. 12-14 hour round trip and lots of gas. It's a bummer when these things happen, but part of the deal! Glad it's covered under warranty.
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Old 03-04-2015, 01:09 PM   #12
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me too....i saw where a guy put an oversize fan and a drilled out grill on a WFCO...talk about polishing a dirt clod...
Wonder who that was?
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Old 03-04-2015, 01:29 PM   #13
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The last 4 trailers I've had have had WFCO's in them and never modified any of them and never had a problem. This one could bite the dust tomorrow, but so far, so good.
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Old 03-04-2015, 01:55 PM   #14
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The last 4 trailers I've had have had WFCO's in them and never modified any of them and never had a problem. This one could bite the dust tomorrow, but so far, so good.
You got the only 4 good ones they made.
The rest are junk.
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Old 03-04-2015, 01:59 PM   #15
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Technically the converters are not that bad of units.
It's the cheap Azz cooling fans they put in them.
If you don't realize one has quit working the converter over heats.
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Old 03-04-2015, 02:22 PM   #16
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Technically the converters are not that bad of units.
It's the cheap Azz cooling fans they put in them.
If you don't realize one has quit working the converter over heats.
With all led lights, the fan seldom comes on. I think major problems occur when folks try to run the 12v stuff without good batteries or with no batteries.
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Old 03-04-2015, 02:24 PM   #17
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With all led lights, the fan seldom comes on. I think major problems occur when folks try to run the 12v stuff without good batteries or with no batteries.
Quite possible.

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Old 03-05-2015, 05:42 AM   #18
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Kevin,

You can't find a local dealership? You could upgrade to the best converter out there for what that trip will cost in gas alone.
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Old 03-05-2015, 09:14 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by kevinstennes View Post
Yes, sounds like your converter is shot. Mine is too in my yet to be used Forest River (2013 model purchased November 2014). I have gone through 2 batteries. I have an appointment in a week to get the converter replaced. 12-14 hour round trip and lots of gas. It's a bummer when these things happen, but part of the deal! Glad it's covered under warranty.

I'm with Kevin. The gas alone will be a bunch. Not to mention u just wasted an entire day. Plus they will only replace with the same unit. Get a PD with the same current output as what u already have and all will be fine! Plus they come with the manual charge mode override. Jerry.


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Old 03-05-2015, 04:19 PM   #20
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You got the only 4 good ones they made.
The rest are junk.
X2
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