converter crapped the bed?

[wincrasher]

My got my tear out of storage this week to clean up, sort my gear and get ready for a rally I'm going to at the end of July.

My battery was dead - too dead to recover (as I expected). Why I didn't expect was to plug the trailer into power and have no lights, no fan, etc. The 110 outlets work fine. I suspect the converter and charger part of the power converter to be broken.

I got a new 35 AH AGM battery, plugged it in and now all the 12v works. The converter's fan doesn't engage, so I think the unit is dead. I see where I can get a replacement on Amazon for $180.

I checked the breakers and all the fuses. Is there a way to reset this device? Elixir ELX-20.

For now, I hooked up a Battery Tender charger. I think these top out at 2 amps. Since I'm only using lights and a fantastik fan, it may be able to keep up with my usage when plugged in on a weekend trip.

How difficult is it to replace a converter? Is it just nuts and bolts, or are the connections soldered?

trailer is a 2012 silver shadow

[bdosborn]

The converter you have is a straight DC source, meaning it will happily ruin you battery if you leave it plugged in too long. At least that's what it says in the manual I found for it:

http://www.livinlite.com/pdf/Elixir12_30Manual.pdf

I found plenty of complaints about failures on the net at any rate. A WFCO WF-8725 might be a direct replacement and it's is a real battery charger, all though there have been a couple of failures of the WFCO among forum members. If your handy, you could replace it with a fuse panel and a Progressive Dynamics model PD9100 but it would take a fair amount of rework.

Bruce

[toolman]

I can't speak to your converter.

I do have a converter that is fused. It had a 35 amp fuse in it. All I could find was a 30 amp fuse to replace the blown one with.

Check your converter for a fuse some place on it.

Jerry

[working on it]

converter crapped the bed Got my attention! Last time I was in my wife's Puma trailer, I didn't get any power for the lights. I popped off the panel covering the converter, and saw no input (LED indicators). But, I did see that it is a WFCO converter. So, when I get around to fixing the problem (I had forgot all about it 'til now, 6 months after the cold rainy night I discovered it), what should I look for ...blown fuse(s), check the input voltage (cable to house power is still lit), or what? My little TTT build took precedence over the big trailer; now that it's done, I should fix the big one.

[wincrasher]

if it was a fuse, wouldn't the whole device be shut down - meaning no 110v power either?

The device has 3 110v breakers and 4 DC fuses on the front of it. I've check all and they appear OK.

[S. Heisley]

if it was a fuse, wouldn't the whole device be shut down - meaning no 110v power either?

The device has 3 110v breakers and 4 DC fuses on the front of it. I've check all and they appear OK.

Wincrasher, my first 8735 WFCO crapped out in the same manner as yours did. Luckily, in my instance, I was able to save my battery and it is working fine now. Mine was bad from the very beginning, but I didn't know it because it was the first one I had ever worked with and I didn't know how it should have worked. It wasn't until I got its replacement that I found that out; because the new 8735 works correctly and better than the old one. I wish I would have known while it was still under warranty but I found out too late. In hopes of helping you with your resolution, here are my thoughts:

- If you can, try charging the dead battery with a small, inexpensive battery tender/charger to see if it comes back to life. If it does and it is convenient, keep what you've got and simply add a battery tender/charger to charge the battery when power is available.

- When I got my first Chinese-made WFCO, they were being applauded on the forum. Now that some of our members have had problems with them, USA-made Progressive Dynamics is being recommended. Because of time constraints, I went with another WFCO; but, I understand that most of the people who have had problems had purchased the 8725, not the 8735. (Changing to another brand would have had fitting issues that I didn't have time to deal with, right then; which leads me to my next point....)

- Measure the space that you have now and check the measurements of what you want to purchase to see if it will fit in your space. I know that people who have replaced WFCO's with Progressive Dynamics have had to make some cutting adjustments to get it to fit.

- Lastly, before you disconnect your existing converter, take as many pictures of your wire connections as you can; as, once you disconnect everything to put the new one in, you may be doing some head scratching if you have forgotten anything. The pictures can make a good point of reference, even if you go with a different unit. If you didn't use different colors of sheathed wires and document them, label your wires with identifying tabs before you photograph or disconnect them. Bread ties or bread tabs can work pretty well; although, if you use bread tabs, you will need to put a piece of tape around the tab opening or they will fall off. Identifying each wire can help immensely. (Have you ever tried to figure out which wire is which under a desktop computer? HaHa!)

Whatever you decide to do, best wishes are sent your way.