Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 04-13-2018, 08:32 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Elsmere
Posts: 36
2003 311 Converter bad

Still fairly new to camping and want to get some feedback.
My 2003 311 sits at a campground year round, last weekend I noticed the interior lights flickering and the furnace slowing down and speeding up.
I had just replaced the the 50' 30 amp extension cord that afternoon with #10 UV wire buried to the 30 amp electric supply.
I was thinking maybe I did something wrong with the wiring. I checked all my wiring and it was all good and correct, but still my lights would work fine for 15 minutes or so, then go very dim for about three minutes and brighten back up for about 8 minutes, then start the process over again.
I decided to start at the battery. I unhooked the battery and waited.... 8 minutes later, BOOM! all the 12 volt lights went out completely.
So my next step was to uncover the converter (Iota DLS45, original)
Under the fridge behind the fuse / circuit breaker box.
The converter was extremely hot, to the point that I could not leave my hand on it for more than several seconds. My understanding is that converters get warm, but this was ridiculous hot!

All power was off for about 10 minutes before I got the fuse / circuit breaker panel out of the way and was able to get to the converter, so even after 10 minutes of no power, the converter was still too hot to touch.
I waited a half hour until the converter was just warn and I turned the power back on. During this half hour I checked all of my grounds, neutrals, and hot wire connections; all were good and free of any burns or hot looking spots. (the darned chassis ground is up behind one of the water tanks, had to go by "feel" there.)

Anyway, I turned the power on and sat on the floor with the fuse / circuit breaker panel pulled and keeping my eye on the converter. It got very hot to the touch very quick and about 11 minutes later, all 12 volt power went out. After three minutes, the converter cooled enough and the 12 volt power came back on (battery still disconnected). All of this time the fan on the converter never came on to cool the unit.

That would lead me to believe that my converter is bad and needs replaced.
Would I be correct in this assumption?

I ordered a brand new Iota DLS45 from Amazon and I also got the IQ4 smart charge adapter for it. I figure sitting plugged in 24/7, I would rather have a trickle charge instead of the charger going full bore all the time.

So please let me know your thoughts....did I miss anything? Was my procedure carried out correctly by starting at the battery and going from there?
I'm just trying to make sure I am doing everything I can...

thanks for "listening" !
Kashmir is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2018, 04:44 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: johnstown
Posts: 321
Sounds like you need a new battery. The converter may be overworking itself to charge a bad battery. Just because it is plugged in to shore power all the time doesn't mean you can forget about your 12 systems. The battery is the buffer for lighting, furnace & any other 12v appliances. If the battery is old it may not be able to take a charge any more. Therefore the converter spends most of it's capacity creating heat trying to charge a bad battery. I would not rule out that the converter is bad from this but I would start with a new battery first. If you had a good battery your lights should have stayed on at least a hour or more before going out. Not 8 minutes.
o2silverado is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2018, 04:50 AM   #3
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Elsmere
Posts: 36
I do have a new battery to put in as well, the old battery was also very hot, so the converter / charger was struggling to charge a dead battery.
But I would assume that once the converter starts getting hot because of this, the fan on the converter would kick on...which it never did.
Kashmir is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2018, 05:18 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: johnstown
Posts: 321
Your right the fan should come on . I went through the same thing last year . Your doing the right thing just wanted to stress don´t forget about the battery! Just like in a vehicle you should replace it every 4-5 years .
o2silverado is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2018, 06:06 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Lake Huron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Port Huron, Mi
Posts: 1,730
Your converter is in a way like the alternator in your vehicle. If you have to replace the alternator in your vehicle, you most likely have a battery issue. There is a bad cell or cells in the battery and the alternator is constantly charging it and burning itself out. Eventually you'll find out your vehicle won't start because you have a bad battery. With your converter constantly charging the battery, that's defective, the battery is what cooked your converter. I'm my previous trailer, I installed a battery disconnect switch. When I get to my destination, I'd keep the battery switch on for 6-12 hrs and then turn it off. This way the converter is not constantly trying to charge the battery and there is no drain on the battery when it's off anyway. Everything that is 12v will work when plugged into shore power. If you didn't want to spend the $50-$100 on a switch you can also disconnect the battery cables from the battery, but make darn sure that red battery cable doesn't touch ANYTHING or you will end up with more than a hot converter. You'll end up with a hot pile of coals when your trailer is done burning to the ground. Switch is much safer and convenient.
Lake Huron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-15-2018, 06:58 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Fulton, NY
Posts: 958
When you hard-wired the power feed, you did only use 120 V right? Should only be 1 hot leg.
__________________


2017 28BHBE Kitchen skylight, remote control and Aluminum wheels hitched by ProPride 3P
2017 Ram 2500 CC LB 4x4 Big Horn Cummins
LiftedAWDAstro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-15-2018, 07:12 AM   #7
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Elsmere
Posts: 36
Yes 120 volt.
Used 10/2 wire, black to 30 amp breaker in power supply post, white and ground onto neutral / ground bus.
All 120 inside of camper is good and the supply outlet for converter was tested as well.
Kashmir is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.