'nother WFCO failure report

[GuitarPhotog]

I'm annoyed to report that my WFCO 8725 went belly up on my last trip

It's about 19 months old and had no problems before the complete (?) failure of the 12 VDC output from the battery to the other circuits. When I applied 12 VDC to those other circuits, the WFCO fan ran as normal.

I hot-wired around the converter to get lights and fan, but haven't done any further troubleshooting.

I'm seriously considering changing over to the Progressive Dynamics converter, based on the mounting number of failure reports on the WFCO.

Is the corresponding Progressive Dynamics converter the same size as the WFCO 8725? It will mean major surgery to the electrical cabinet door it it's too much larger.

More as I get the problem diagnosed and fixed.

<Chas>

[Shadow Catcher]

There are an abysmal number of complaints and the refrain I have seen repeatedly is replace it with a Progressive Dynamics their catalog http://www.progressivedyn.com/catalog.pdf includes the replacements for a number of WFCO models. I am sure that if you call them they can advise.

[S. Heisley]

The next time (yes, next) my WFCO 8735 goes out, I'm going to find a way to replace it with a Progressive Dynamics, whether it fits or not! My first WFCO was bad from the get-go and I didn't know it until I had to replace it because of other problems. Had I known that Progressive Dynamics was made in America, I would have started out with one of those.

However, this 2nd WFCO seems to be working okay. Let's hope it stays that way!

[Shadow Catcher]

This bring up a good point and that is monitoring. I did not know I had a problem with the original installation of our PD until I heard the battery boiling, and a check with the VOM proved the converter was not coming down off of boost. Corrected the wiring problem called Progressive Dynamics and had the replacement with in 14 hrs. No problem since. I do however monitor what is coming out of the solar panel and battery voltage which also tells me if the converter is working correctly.

[bdosborn]

Going on 3 years of service for my PD 9130. It's on 24/7 to keep my batteries charged.

Bruce

[GuitarPhotog]

Well, my WFCO converter is on its way back to Cheng USA, the American distributors for warranty repair/replacement.

We'll see how it goes from here.

<Chas>