Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

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Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

Postby Dusty Mark » Sat May 05, 2018 11:17 pm

I was rushing to get my wife out the door so she could go camping with her daughter after I finished wiring the new trailer brakes and I realized that my three-year-old 105 amp hour AGM battery had died and the 12 volt items weren't working except on shore power. I assumed that it was a converter issue, but didn't have enough time to chase it down. I replaced the battery and sent her out the door. The battery probably didn't need to be changed, but we're heading to AK this summer and I decided to be conservative.

Upon her return I followed the Progressive Dynamics troubleshooting instructions for the converter and realized that it passed the test. The battery wasn't charging, but I finally clued in that the DC bus in the PD 4045 wasn't getting power from the battery. I had installed an in-line fuse holder with a 30-amp fuse when I built the camper. The fuse was good, but the actual fuse holder was bad and no longer allowed current to pass through it! I removed the in-line fuse for now and the system works great.

Question: Do I even need an in-line fuse between the battery and the PD-4045?
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Re: Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

Postby John61CT » Sun May 06, 2018 1:38 pm

Every wire from the batt need a fuse, sized to protect the wire, located as close as possible to the batt.
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Re: Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

Postby John61CT » Sun May 06, 2018 4:30 pm

Possible exception being from the alternator, since a sudden opening while it's charging can fry its diodes, if only one bank is online.
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Re: Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

Postby noseoil » Tue May 08, 2018 7:35 am

I run from the battery to the PD4045, but through an isolator switch (marine type) first with no fuse. My reasoning is that a battery is in a vehicle without a large fuse, so why not in a trailer? The panel is fused on each circuit, so that's the link between battery & any device downstream. Not saying right or wrong, just how I did mine & no problems so far...
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Re: Thought I Had PD-4045 Converter Problems

Postby Dusty Mark » Mon May 14, 2018 2:02 pm

I like the isolator switch idea. I installed one of those on a ski boat I built with my son in 2008.

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