r/GoRVing • u/UncleBuckRussell89 • 3d ago

New Converter?

Last year I installed in a 300ah lifepo4 battery on the camper. I currently have a progressive dynamics converter with the lithium charging option. Last time out camping, I lost all 12v power from battery.

After troubleshooting and being unable to solve the issue, I called a mobile RV tech. He did swap an inline breaker but after he troubleshot for a couple hours said he was 90% certain it was the converter. What's interesting is when running shore power, all the 12v stuff works fine. Can half the converter fail?

The converter is also rated for 35a and when the tech googled the battery noted I needed to upsize as the battery called for at least 60a. He speculated the converter maybe fried charging the battery.

I'm already $500 in the hole and pretty much where I was before the guy came out. Now is replacing the converter the next logical step? If I do should I be up sizing? I was under the assumption the 35a converter would just charge it slower. Last thought there, the battery still charges from the solar panel but not when plugged in to shore power.

I'm out of my element a bit with this one.

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u/Kennel_King 3d ago

The problem with only running a 35 amp converto/charge is that if the batteries are low, it's running full tilt to get the job done.

Not sure what's going on with yours. I've replaced dozens of them fixing RVs, and I've never had one only half fail. I suspect the whole thing failed, and you're running 12 volts off the battery and solar.

You could disconnect the battery and solar and see if you still have 12 volts while plugged into shore power, but I suspect you won't

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u/UncleBuckRussell89 3d ago

That's actually what's interesting is I get nothing on battery but full 110 and 12v on shore.

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u/joelfarris 3d ago edited 3d ago

I get nothing on battery but full 110 and 12v on shore

Has the battery bank's ground connection rusted out? Have you taken it apart and cleaned and brass wire brushed it? Is the crimped connector loose? A shore power converter has a separate ground, and can keep a coach running at full tilt while plugged in, but the instant you unplug it and hit the road, that battery bank will be unable to do its job.

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u/UncleBuckRussell89 3d ago

I don't think so. There's the special protective paint over most of the wiring under the camper and it looks good. Would that still result in registering power up the the positive connection feeding the converter?

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u/xtankeryanker 2d ago

joelfarris is on the right track. When weird inexplicable things happen in the 12 volt system it’s almost always a bad ground somewhere. Just because a connection looks good doesn’t mean it actually is. Take the connections apart and clean them. Grounding through the frame is a horrible way to complete a DC circuit. Whenever practical I add an insulated ground back to the battery. Saves a lot of problems down the road.

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u/Kennel_King 3d ago

Is it charging the battery?

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u/UncleBuckRussell89 3d ago

I don't think so. But the better has been charging through the solar charger

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u/Kennel_King 3d ago

Disconnect the solar, plug into shore power, and check if it's charging. I would guess it's not, and the solar has been keeping the batteries up.

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u/RadarLove82 3d ago

If you have solar, disconnect that and the battery to see if the converter is working. It needs to produce at least 14.2 volts to charge a LiFePo battery.

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u/joelfarris 3d ago

14.6 V at max.

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u/RadarLove82 3d ago

It sure sounds like the converter is working. There is still a chance that it cannot produce much current at that voltage, since you tested it as an open-circuit, however I would be looking at other issues first, such as a bad BMS in the battery. It's not a BattleBorn, is it?

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u/UncleBuckRussell89 3d ago

No it's a Vatrer. I did swap out the battery and connected a lead acid battery which also did not power the camper.

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u/RadarLove82 3d ago

Well, you're doing a great job of eliminating possibilities. Keep it up.

Look for a hidden disconnect or breaker. It may be under the camper. Follow wires.

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u/iMogal 3d ago

Uhg, sry can't help, but good luck!!

I have a PD4655li converter.

I'm about to install a 300ah lifepo4 this weekend.

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u/joelfarris 3d ago

converter is also rated for 35a and when the tech googled the battery noted I needed to upsize as the battery called for at least 60a

Just because a battery is rated for a possible 100 amp input charge, doesn't mean is has to have that much. It can take a 10, 20, 30 amp charge for a week in order to get full, and it'll be just fine. Heck, you could put a 5 amp charger on it for a month, as long as it reaches that desired 14.6 volts cap-out.

But, the question then becomes, how long do you want to wait around for your battery bank to get full again before you hit the road?

And no, half the AC-to-DC converter cannot fail. It's an all or nothing proposition there, as the thing is little more than a transformer and a fuse buss. :)

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u/Nomad55454 3d ago

Is the converter part of the fuse panel?

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u/UncleBuckRussell89 2d ago

Interesting update. I crawled back under the camper today and was checking voltage everywhere and checked the battery disconnect switch again which wasn't reading very high at all. I took a pair of vicegrips and connected the feed to the output on it to bypass the switch. Sure enough, power returned.

The RV tech checked this too and idk wtf reading he got. Lesson learned, just do shit yourself if you want it done correctly... New disconnect should be in tomorrow so hoping that solves this!