Hey all, I'm troubleshooting the 12V system on my 1996 16' and wanted to get some peace of mind from the experts on here.
All of my 12V appliances function well when boondocking. All fuses and connections are solid.
However, when on shore power, the battery fails to charge and 12V appliances cease functioning once the battery has lost adequate charge.
To test my Parallax 3240 converter/charger I disconnected the battery and plugged into shore power: my multimeter then indicates only a 12.8V charge to the battery and the rest of my 12V system.
Is it safe to assume it's time to replace the converter?
While it may be a great time to upgrade the converter, I would do another test on the old one. Do that same test for voltage with a load hooked up in place of the battery. Some 12-volt appliance or even an old car headlight will put a load on it. Check the voltage again and see if it is still well over 12 volts, maybe even over 13. If not, you may just have a loose connection. Loose corroded connections are semi-common in old RVs.
Great tip!
I hooked up a 12V appliance to the battery terminals and voltage dropped way down to 2.8. When I removed it the multimeter read 12.34, so clearly there's some wide fluctuation happening.
To the battery or the wires running to the battery? If the wires…
The battery runs things OK when charged, but the power is weak getting to the battery from the converter. There may be a loose connection near the converter OR the converter output may be weak.
It is time to divide and conquer by checking along the system to see where the voltage first drops off. Others that know the system better may have some ideas. Please let us know what you find.
Yes, I'm testing the voltage on the wires themselves - the battery is completely disconnected here.
I've checked all 12V appliances and connections down the line with shore connected and battery removed. Oddly, all appliances measure ~12.5 but none function. When an appliance is turned on, voltage drops precipitously (down to ~7V) for those appliances earlier in the chain. The ground connection to the frame appears solid.
I'm stumped as to why the appliances reading ~12.5 won't function, but the decreased voltage of those earlier in the signal chain indicates the converter is pumping out a pretty weak flow.
I've just ordered a new converter to see if it solves the problem.
What if you took a known good charged 12 volt battery and connected it to the converter where the 12v output comes out and see if everything works. this would prove the system is good and the converter has nothing to give. Obviously observing polarity. and with caution.
2019 Scamp 13 standard
The converter should increase its output to maintain voltage when appliances are turned on. Since it doesn't, there's a bad connection or bad converter. Because all appliances are affected, the bad connection is probably near the converter or it's the converter itself.
After much troubleshooting I just dropped in a new PD-9245 converter and my 12V system is running like a champ.
I genuinely appreciate the suggestions from the thread - y'all know your stuff!
Happy Scamping, folks.
Thanks for the follow up. There may not be much wrong with the old one but it was time for an update and not worth repairing the old one.
Nice to hear all is well. Congratz
2019 Scamp 13 standard