Fan doesn't shut off in Pup

[PopupCamping]

We recently went on a three night trip to Lake Anna in our HW276. We hooked up to city water and electricity and I noticed the fan in the little black box (see picture) where the water pump and water heater are located ran the whole time we were there.

Don't think that's normal, any ideas what might be going on?

[darb]

That’s your converter charging your battery(s).
I’d poke a guess that your batteries (or battery) is toast and will not fully charge.

[njfishing]

What Darb said ^^^

Sounds to me you're not that familiar with the systems in your PUP so a little more explanation might help you.. For beginners, that black box does several things, all related to electricity..

- It has breakers in it which are the same sort of black switches you'd find in your homes breaker panel and distributes AC Power to all your AC outlets and appliances which run on AC power like a microwave or air conditioner.

- It has fuses in it just like your car fuse panel and it distributes DC power which is Battery power to the things that run on DC like your lights and water pump.


When plugged into shore power at a campsite it will
- Feed anything that runs off of AC power so Air Conditioners, Microwave, regular household like outlets that you plug a 2 or 3 prong plug into.
- Charge your battery which runs your water pump and lights

That fan noise may be your battery charger working overtime to try and charge your battery which is why Darb suggested your battery might not be taking or holding a charge and cause the fan to run excessively.. If it were fully charged you probably wouldn't hear that fan run continuously.

One way to find out what shape your battery is in is to test it with a multi meter... Unplug from shore power, wait a half hour to let the battery rest and it if reads anywhere from 12.5 to 12.6 volts you battery is charged.

If you don't have a multi meter you can take your battery to practically any auto parts store and have them test it.

That's where I'd start.

[KyDan]

How old is your battery?
Are you sure it's full of distilled water and not bare plates?
Did you leave any lights on over night?
Something is probably causing your 12v system to run a little more than just idle.


Consider a white noise machine! My wife can't sleep without one.

[Flybob]

Something is drawing a lot of 12V power. Check to insure that you did not accidentally pull the breakaway switch when unhitching. If it is OK make sure the fridge is not on 12V operation. The fan cools the converter when it is working hard.

[tomkatb]

The cooling fan in the converter only runs when the battery is basically dead.

Mine has only run once in three years. Dealer at the pdi forgot to turn off the light in the closet. Never has run since.

Frankly a battery monitor is a good thing. The BM2 on Amazon is a dandy.

[KyDan]

"The cooling fan in the converter only runs when the battery is basically dead."
Not so...

The cooling fan in my Rockwood Ultra Lite would sing with just the overhead LED lights on in the bathroom.
In fact it was the most annoying with just that one light on.

[PopupCamping]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I have two AGM batteries connected together that are about a year old (bought them at same time as the camper). I noticed a few months ago that when i went by to drop off something to the campter in long term storage, the Co2 alarm was sounding. It was all folded up and not connected to anything so was thinking it was just a misfire. I reset it and wondered if it had drained the batteries and hoped it wouldn’t misfire again.

Any further advice with this info in mind?

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by PopupCamping

Any further advice with this info in mind?

Yes. Recharge the batteries. Install a battery disconnect switch directly on the batteries and use that or disconnect the negative cables when you store it.
Rvs seem to have a parasitic drain on the battery and the only way to stop it is by totally disconnecting the batteries when not in use. Or if you have access to electricity at storage, use a battery minder that has an agm setting.

[njfishing]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Yes. Recharge the batteries. Install a battery disconnect switch directly on the batteries and use that or disconnect the negative cables when you store it.
Rvs seem to have a parasitic drain on the battery and the only way to stop it is by totally disconnecting the batteries when not in use. Or if you have access to electricity at storage, use a battery minder that has an agm setting.

Yes this too ^^^ With the batteries disconnected they will stay charged for a few months. In fact I usually leave them on the trailer over the winter and only charge them once during winter lay up. If I don’t disconnect them the
parasitic drain will drain them in about a week.

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Rvs seem to have a parasitic drain on the battery and the only way to stop it is by totally disconnecting the batteries when not in use. Or if you have access to electricity at storage, use a battery minder that has an agm setting.

THIS^^^^^ The CO2 alarm (and perhaps other items) are continously drawing down your AGM batteries which will cause them to fail permanently. Most TT have a battery disconnect switch that prevents this from happening while the trailer is in storage. If you don't have one, you can install one on the negative terminal.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

The cooling fan in the converter only runs when the battery is basically dead.

Mine has only run once in three years. Dealer at the pdi forgot to turn off the light in the closet. Never has run since.

Frankly a battery monitor is a good thing. The BM2 on Amazon is a dandy.

It only takes a few amps draw to start the converter fan on some models. The 2008 Cherokee 38P had a WFCO 8955 and I replaced it with a PD 4655. With both of them, all I had to do was turn on three or four lights to start the fan.

The 2002 Nash converter also starts as soon as a few lights are on.

I admit that the batteries in both are old, but they are certainly not dead.

[Bob414]

Are we talking LED lights? I have never heard the fan in the converter run, while turning on every LED light in the PUP.
If not running LEDs, why not. LEDs bulbs are not very expensive. Can provide more light. In most cases, you can find a LED bulb that fits the same socket as your incandescence bulb, so no need to change the fixture and you can get different colors and lighting warmth. And your battery is not discharged as fast.

Bob

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Bob414

Are we talking LED lights? I have never heard the fan in the converter run, while turning on every LED light in the PUP.
If not running LEDs, why not. LEDs bulbs are not very expensive. Can provide more light. In most cases, you can find a LED bulb that fits the same socket as your incandescence bulb, so no need to change the fixture and you can get different colors and lighting warmth. And your battery is not discharged as fast.

Bob

A 2020 popup should have led lighting.

[Bob414]

The OP did not mention a year.

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by Bob414

The OP did not mention a year.

Its in his profile. Some members put their RV in their signature, others in their profile.

[PopupCamping]

Originally Posted by Bob414

Are we talking LED lights? I have never heard the fan in the converter run, while turning on every LED light in the PUP.
If not running LEDs, why not. LEDs bulbs are not very expensive. Can provide more light. In most cases, you can find a LED bulb that fits the same socket as your incandescence bulb, so no need to change the fixture and you can get different colors and lighting warmth. And your battery is not discharged as fast.

Bob

Hey Bob, yes, they are all LED lights. Based on the great feedback in this thread, i suspect issue with AGM batteries. They were probably drained by Co2 alarm. I would have thought that three days on shore power would have charged them back up but not sure. We are planning to go on another trip to Cherokee NC soon so I'll get a chance to check it out then. thx Mark

[GalsofEscape]

I had that fan run non-stop when i forgot to switch the three way fridge off 12V when we had shore power.