What does an electrical converter do?

[78_Itasca]

Sent: 4/12/2003

When plugged into shore power, the converter's job is to supply 12 volt power and charge the batteries if I understand correctly.  The question is - does the converter "disconnect" the batteries from the scheme of things and supply the power independently, or do the batteries stay connected to the whole works while they're being charged? 

I need to know because my house and coach batteries are linked somewhere (and no it's not the momentary solenoid - it's been replaced) and I'm trying to eliminate things one by one, but I need to make sure I understand the system completely in order to do this.

Now for the warning - to some it may be a given, but needs stressing anyway.  Make sure you can visually inspect every single nook & cranny in your motor home without too much trouble, especially where the electrical is involved.  I say this because my inverter is located below the refrigerator, and there's no easy access to the "box" it's in.  The inverter can't be pulled through the hole because of ac wiring coming out both sides.  I ended up making an unscheduled repair today when I attempted to pull the converter through the hole and got a few pieces of paper that smelled like mouse.  I immediately pulled the fridge and pulled out the "floor" of that compartment, which needed replacing anyway.  Some of what I found was discolored from heat - the last guy who owned this rig is lucky he didn't burn it to the ground.

Jon

[denisondc]

Sent: 4/12/2003

On my 72 D22T when the converter comes on -with the shore power - it has a relay inside that disconnects the coach battery. It then supplies the 12volts itself, but only to the coach things - nothing to the engine system. If the shore power/converter goes off - the relay switches back to the coach battery.
And although it seldom comes up, accessible nooks and crannies are also a good idea when crossing the U.S./Mexican border - in either direction. Anything non-standard might require explanation/examination.
denison

[FredU-S-Ma1e]

Sent: 6/9/2006

when converter is connected to shore power it provides 12vdc to everything it's hooked up to.it's main function is to power your lights & 12v appliances. it even sends some to your batteries to charge them. there is 1 problem though. it is NOT automatic shut off when batteries are fully charged.it will eventually overcharge your batteries if left on after they're full... i recommend either replacing the converter with a good automatic battery charger or installing a charge controller between converter and batteries for their protection.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 6/26/2006

It depends on your converter, Fred.  My 71 Phillips converter doesn't charge the batteries at all.  I added an automatic marine battery charger to my system to charge the batteries, and it shuts itself off to a trickle when they are charged.

Kev

[hose-man]

For reference, here's the skinny on my 73 Indian.

The chassis battery is only connected to three things:
1.Starter solenoid
2.Momentary Solenoid to get a "jump" from the house batteries.
3."Dual" switch that delivers charge to house batteries when alternator is running.

Mine is the original '73 Phillips converter.   It does NOT send 12v back toward the batteries when it's got a 110vAC supplied.    I have added a plug in battery minder that check & trickle charges back to the house batteries when the house has 110vAC hooked up.

A couple times, when disconnecting the shore line, the solenoid within the converter has not switched back to house battery power.    This left me with no lights & a lot of worry, but a thump to the side of the converter kicked it free.   Walter sat for a decade before I acquired him, so i'm hopefull that the solenoid will perform fine now that its being cycled more often.   

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Sticking transfer relay is is normally attributed to burnt (pitted) relay contacts.  Many times you can take a small point file (from the old days before electronic ignition) and file the contacts flat to refresh them.  Be carefull you do not damage/streach the contact return spring if you do this.  You would have to disconnect the house battery and unplug 110VAC to converter if doing this.
Not sure if Progressive Dynamics (http://www.progressivedyn.com/) still sells replacement relays or not.  They used to sell both the relay and, for battery charger models, the circuit control board.

Dave

[newellkev]

Hey Hose Man
I don't mean to offend but I to have the orig. Phillips Power Converter in my 1973 Life Time Imperial. Thanks to the PO I have the orig. paper work on it. It's model number is a  PC-301-A-1. Apparently they made 3 different models a 20amp a 30amp and a 40amp. Mine is the 30amp model. According to this paper work it states that these converters "contain an automatic, solid-state POSITIVE CONTROL battery charger section by which the storage battery of your RV can be fully charged and maintained at "full charge" when the converter/charger is connected to the external 110-120 volt power source."

I have not checked to see if this function still works on mine due to the fact that I normally plug in where ever I go but I never had a problem with the house battery. Being new to the RV life style I haven't had the need to boondock yet so it looks like I had better check mine out.

Again yours might be different and I don't mean to offend.

[hose-man]

Mine is a MC-301-A-2      It is a 30amp without the charger section.    No offence taken.     Moral of the story is that they're all different & a person needs to learn about what they've got.

[newellkev]

How True !!!!