Converter constantly cycles b/w battery & shores
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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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Topic: Converter constantly cycles b/w battery & shores
Posted By: BSCowboy
Subject: Converter constantly cycles b/w battery & shores
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2019 at 7:04pm
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Howdy,
My first post and second trip in my 2019 Rpod 179. I have a progressive industries internal EMS installed. The code it’s displaying when I am plugged into shore is E0, so everything should be fine with the shore power, but the converter keeps cycling between the battery and the power. When on power the fan turns on in the circuit box and the battery goes to 12.4. When the fan is running the battery goes to 13.5. Each time the battery indicator says it’s full. Other things The microwave only works on shore power, so it beeps whenever the converter switches. The Dometic fridge keeps cycling so I turned it to propane and the warning indicator keeps flashing. I’ve confirmed that the propane is on and there is propane in the tank. CraY thing is that I lived in this thing for a week plugged into my house prior to this trip and everything worked perfectly. Pulled up to the RV spot tonight and nothing seems to be working right? Any thoughts or suggestions? ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Replies:
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2019 at 7:28pm
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i’ve Flipped all the circuits off and turned on the inverter, the battery drops to 2/3 full at 12.3v.
I turned off the Dometic fridge and turned it back on after 20 mins or so, the fridge is working now. ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2019 at 7:44pm
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Not sure what you mean by the converter cycling between battery and power? The converter will charge the battery when it’s on shore power, and does nothing when you’re not on shore power.
One thing I’ve noticed with the WFCO charger is that at a relatively low battery state of charge it can get into a cycle in and out of bulk power mode. It senses low battery voltage so goes into bulk power mode, at which point it puts out its max current. The high current makes the battery voltage rise until the charger drops into absorption charge mode. Once in absorption mode the current falls off and the battery voltage drops, sending the charger back into bulk charge mode, and so on. If you think that might be your problem you can remove as much load as possible from the battery and let the charger recharge it fully, then see if the problem corrects itself. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2019 at 7:58pm
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Ahh, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Thank you! My apologies, I am quite ignorant of how these systems work. I’ve turned all the 110v circuit breakers off and don’t have anything else turned on at all. I’ll let the shore power recharge the battery (it now says ithe battery is 2/3 full, at 12.4v, and is charging. ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 12:05am
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It's not the 110 volt loads that is causing the converter to cycle, it's probably the 12V loads. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 6:51am
One of the circuit breakers runs the charger, don’t turn that on off. Do turn off any 12v loads you can and especially be sure the fridge is not running on 12v. You can run it on propane or 120v (with its circuit breaker on). ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 9:54am
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I forgot to mention, Offgrid, I didn’t turn off the circuit for the main or the converter. I left it overnight and flipped them back on today; the same thing is happening.
So, I removed the stereo & microwave fuses for the 12v side as GlueGuy pointed out. I switched the microwave circuit back on and the cycle was still cycling. The solar charger (I think of it as a trickle charger) has readout staying the battery is 75% full, while the KIB panel that tells me the level of Gray, Black, Fresh, and Battery indicates the battery is full. Still not sure what to do. Any thoughts? ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 10:32am
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It sounds like the converter is alternating between high output, and something less than that. It implies that there is either some other load than the battery (which will cause the battery to drain rather quickly), or there may be some issue with the battery (or batteries). If you have a DC current meter (with the clamp), then I might be inclined to monitor the current at the battery + terminal. Typical current drain if all the auxiliary DC loads (like the fridge) should be only 10-30 milliamps or in that neighborhood. If your DC load is over an amp, I would be looking around to see what else is pulling all the current. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 11:45am
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Bryan, The idiot lights on the panel do not indicate the battery is "full." If you look, there are two sets of scales. The one reads the tank levels. The other is for the battery. That one reads from bottom to top: (L)ow, (F)air, (G)ood, (C)harging. So the lights are not indicating that the battery is full but rather that it is charging. Things to check: Refrigerator: Are you running it on 12V, 110V, or Propane? Are you running an inverter to power 110V equipment for when you do not have shore power? Is that turned on? Those would be the most likely big draws. Lights, thermostat, TV antenna booster, and stereo systems should not be that significant a draw to cause this behavior. Go and get a clamp-on meter that can read DC as well as AC amperage. Check the power draw. as BP suggested above. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 12:51pm
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What is the battery voltage with everything (charger and all 12v loads) shut off? I’m starting to think it could be a bad battery cell. If you’re not sure that everything is off, disconnect the negative battery terminal connection, wait half an hour, then take the voltage reading. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 1:36pm
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I was thinking that also. What type of battery/batteries do you have? If they are flooded cell, have you checked the electrolyte level recently to make sure the plates are covered? You could very well have a bad battery. If the plates are exposed, you may have a damaged battery that may or may not charge properly if water is added to cover the plates (distilled only please). ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 3:04pm
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All, thank you for the advice. I don’t have the reader on me, I’ll stop and pick one up. If this is a bad battery and won’t hold a charge or something else, then I need to remedy that situation.
I drove a couple hundred miles to my next stop, this one for longer than one night, and everything works without the converter cycling. I will still follow up and have the battery checked. On a side note, I just had to replace an Optima Battery in my truck after owning it less than a year. First Optima to ever go bad on me, good thing it was under warranty. So, assuming this isn’t a bad battery, then I somehow drained the battery (prolly left something on w/out knowing) and the Converter was simply trying to charge the battery and run everything while the low battery itself was also under load. In other words, the low battery was causing an imbalance in the whole system. Lesson for the day; don’t drain the battery. Duly noted. In the event I do drain the battery the best option is to let the converter charge the battery by reducing the 12 v load (by pulling the pertinent fuses). Thanks again everyone! ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 3:37pm
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Good. I'm glad it worked out for you. I have not had to pull fuses, just run the refrigerator on shore power or propane and never on 12V. I only did that once when we first got our RPod and found out that even dual 6V batteries can't run the refrigerator overnight. I think the tow vehicle we had at the time was not putting enough current through to both run the refrigerator and charge the battery. I also had a converter go bad and had to get a battery charger to connect to charge it up until I could get a replacement installed. Now I carry it just in case.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 4:43pm
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Yes, no need to pull fuses, just keep the 12 loads off as much as possible, and leave the charger to do its thing. If the battery can hold a charge everything will be ok. If not, then it’s probably time to think about a replacement. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2019 at 6:24pm
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We leave our RP-179 plugged in almost all the time when we're not using it. Even with us going out there and turning on the lights and running the stereo a bit, our converter almost never cycles. The only time we hear the fan come on is if we have had it unplugged from shore power for more than a couple of hours. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: Ifishlbj
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2019 at 9:02am
| My converter fan cycles when the vent/fan in the bathroom is on low. The fan on the converter comes on briefly after the rig has been unplugged from shore power for a few days. I believe this is normal operation. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2019 at 9:17am
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The converter fan is going to run based on the internal cooling requirements of the converter. It will run faster when the converter is supplying more current to the battery and so is running hotter. Its not tied to anything else. Here is what WFCO says about it. Should my fan run all the time? No. The fan is controlled by the load. The fan will start running at a low speed when you have approx. 3.0 to 6.0 DC Amp draw. It will increase in speed as you add more load until you have approx. 14.0 to 15.0 Amps draw. At this point, the fan is at its maximum speed and will stay there even if you add more load, should amperage drop below 3.0 to 6.0 DC amps, the fan will shut off. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2019 at 10:49am
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So if the fan is running, that implies that the load is > 3 amps or so? ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2019 at 4:24am
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3-6 amp range yes, that’s the implication. I haven’t measured it. The fan is probably controlled by internal heat sink temperature rather than directly by current. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2019 at 10:50am
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Follow up:
Everything is working fine, it was simply that I drained the battery. Battery checked out. Thanks to y’all’s help (i’m a Texan), i now understand the system much better. And, more importantly, I feel more confident I can handle future problems. A quick question; I am running the fridge on propane b/c while running it on 110v yesterday it kept flashing the red warning sign and beeping. Nothing else was drawing power and I checked everything. I switched it to propane and haven’t had a problem since. Any idea what could cause such a thing? ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2019 at 11:37am
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Usually the beeping is due to an open door, or to condensation causing issues with the door switch. Now that it's working well on propane, without opening the door maybe switch back to 120Vac and see if the problem repeats. Be sure your circuit breakers are on and ac power is available. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 08 Jun 2019 at 9:19pm
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Also, check the GFI outlet to make sure it is not tripped. And take the lower vent cover off on the outside to make sure it is plugged in.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 13 Jun 2019 at 1:43pm
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Thanks again for all the help! ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2019 at 4:29pm
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Update: During the initial fiasco, I took the battery to an O’reilly Auto Parts somewhere in southern Oregon, they said the battery was fine. I believed them. So, I continued on my trip. Got to San Francisco and ran into more problems. I took the battery to American Battery Company in Hayward. They took one look at it and said; ‘This H6 means it’s 3 years old.’ (H = August, 6 = 2016) They hooked it up and said; “9.64V, 915MCA, 1MCA measured, Temp 70 deg F, Health 0%, Charge 0%...you’re battery is dead. At this age, you should prolly just get a new one.” Hence, Poulsbo RV (in Washington) sold me a 2019 RPOD with a 2016 Battery. I bought two deep cycle 6vs from them, providing about 3x the amp hours over the original 12v. Again, thanks to everyone for the help. In the end, it was the battery. Now, I just need to condensation from building on that damn door switch! ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2019 at 9:20pm
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Remove the cover, dry the switch and put a little silicone grease on it to keep moisture out. Then put a little drip loop in the wire leading to the switch to also help keep moisture out. That is what I did and so far, it has worked very well.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: BSCowboy
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2019 at 9:43am
I will try that. Thank you. ------------- Take care, Bryan Smith |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2019 at 10:01am
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I'm not sure if silicone grease is the same as Dielectric grease, but if not, you can use Dielectric grease and just fill it right up so you get a great contact. I also use the dielectric grease on the bargman connector, and on the shore power connector. I squirt a good amount into all the plug inlets. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2019 at 11:02am
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That is what I meant. I believe it is silicone based but the wrong word came to mind. Edit: I checked and the dielectric grease is silicone based, so I wasn't totally off.  The one I use is CAMCO Power Grip RV Electrical Protectant & Lube. It is a 1 oz tube that I bought a few years ago. Given how little I need to use at a time, I think I bought a lifetime supply.  ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2019 at 12:03pm
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What I've been using for a little over 30 years is DC4. AKA "Dow Corning #4". I still have a tube of it that I bought about 17 years ago. That's about $1/year. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/dc4.php - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/dc4.php ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |