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Old 03-10-2018, 02:02 PM   #1
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Good Converter, but batteries don't charge and weak shore power

I need help. My batteries won't charge and I have weak shore power when plugged in. When I hook up my truck I get full DC power however.

My 2016 Wildcat 312QBX came with a WF-9865 65 Amp Power Converter. I have tested it with a multi-meter and it is putting out between 13.6 and 13.7 amps. The "hot" wire coming into the front storage compartment where the batteries are also is carrying the full 13.6 charge from the converter. However, it plugs into some short of distribution switch and nothing has power from after that (See attached picture). I would think I would need to just replace the distribution switch, but the "hot" wire looks like it is plugged into the same side as all the black and white wires that I would think are grounds (sorry I am VERY unexperienced with electrical). The other side of the distribution switch seems to have all the hot items/posts connected with a copper plate. When I hook up a battery they all share that same power, but don't get the full charge from the converter. There also does not seem to be any fuses on the distribution switch that I can see.
  1. So I guess my question is, should battery and all the other wires/posts somehow be connected to the "hot" wire carrying power from the converter?
  2. Is the converter wire supposed to supply power to all the other posts? Even the ones with black and white colored wires attached to them?
  3. How to I get full battery charging and full DC power when connected to shore power?

The crazy thing is I haven't ever changed anything so I wonder if this ever worked correctly.

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 03-10-2018, 02:15 PM   #2
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See if there is a small black button on the top mini-breaker and press to re-set.....
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Old 03-10-2018, 02:37 PM   #3
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Looks like you have a 12V distribution setup made out of several single circuit breakers. The copper strip on one side feeds 12V into all the circuit breakers.

As was said earlier, the circuit breaker that shows no power from the converter probably just needs to be reset.

C/B's are good for some things but the nice thing about a fuse is that when it's blown, you can usually see that it is. With a C/B, not always evident.

FWIW, if you find the reset button and it pops off again, might be a good idea to see why. Check everything that's connected to it before replacing or for that matter just continuously resetting.
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Old 03-10-2018, 03:58 PM   #4
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Thank you both so much!! That was it. I simply had to hit the breaker reset button on the side (that I obviously didn't even know existed). Everything is getting full power now.

Thank you, both, again!
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Old 03-11-2018, 10:46 AM   #5
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Love the post I pulled the Wildcat out after I plugged truck in realized I didn’t push in battery disconnect and left outside lights on everything ran good until I unplugged from truck even with shore power slides didn’t work but hooked to truck it did even after 2 days charging didn’t have any juice so told wife thought maybe a smart charger where if battery totally dead it won’t charge Thought I was right because after 3 hour drive everything was good. However pulled the trl around Wednesday wife said slides didn’t work unless plugged into power so guess I will look for same reset won’t hurt to find where it is just in case anyway
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Old 03-11-2018, 05:26 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moose074 View Post
Love the post I pulled the Wildcat out after I plugged truck in realized I didn’t push in battery disconnect and left outside lights on everything ran good until I unplugged from truck even with shore power slides didn’t work but hooked to truck it did even after 2 days charging didn’t have any juice so told wife thought maybe a smart charger where if battery totally dead it won’t charge Thought I was right because after 3 hour drive everything was good. However pulled the trl around Wednesday wife said slides didn’t work unless plugged into power so guess I will look for same reset won’t hurt to find where it is just in case anyway
This is where the Battery Monitors that measure discharge current as well as charge current (Like Victron, Xantrix, etc) really shine. Some can set off an alarm when battery state of charge reaches whatever state of charge you set as a floor. The Victron's come shipped with 50% as the default.


Not just a State of Charge monitor but a good diagnostic tool as well. When you plug into shore power you can read charging voltage and charging current. The Victron corrects the the readings for the level of charge or discharge current. As the current in/out increases the battery efficiency goes down so you get more accurate data.

You might have a blown fuse or tripped 12V circuit breaker at your converter. Attempting to operate the slide with a totally dead battery may have been too much draw on the converter all at once. Both charging current AND slide can be a heavy combination.

Even after two days of charging, your battery(s) may be shot due to the total discharge (how long were they left discharged?). The factory LED "Christmas Tree" charge indicator lights will show charged batteries but the charge is merely a surface charge on a damaged battery. When you hook up your truck that may be the only source of power to the TT until you reset breaker or replace fuse.

This is where a Multi-Meter is well worth it's price. Good ones can be had from Amazon starting under $20. Check voltage where the Battery Wire connects to the converter with the battery disconnect shut off. No voltage, blown fuse, tripped circuit breaker usually. Could be a bad converter but I wouldn't jump on that until I chased down the other items.
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Old 09-22-2018, 08:22 PM   #7
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Old 10-01-2018, 09:06 PM   #8
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Please explain "Weak shore power when plug in"
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