Electrical and Canvas Issue

[eng45ine]

Good Morning Friends! I am taking my 2015 1007UD back to the dealer on Friday morning to have my electrical system evaluated, while connected to campsite power this past weekend, I noticed that my battery was extremely hot to the touch. The only appliance being used was the refrigerator and I did have it switched to AC power. I need to find out of the converter is overcharging the battery or if the battery itself is bad.

I will be documenting canvas leaks in all outside corners of the two bunks, the front driver's side corner leaks the worse. I seasoned the canvas prior to our very first trip four times, but I've experienced leaks with each rainfall since. This past weekend, that one corner leaked terribly and I've already been in contact with our dealer. We'll tough our way through the rest of this camping season, then bring the camper back to them for the necessary repairs.

We love our pop up, but we need to have these issues resolved.

[Jagiven]

The battery should not be hot. If it is, the converter is probably boiling the battery.

As for the canvas leaks. Hummm. Modern canvas is vinyl coated, so they don't normally leak. Seasoning the canvas helps seal the stitching. Any chance your issue is condensation? Also consider setup technique, maybe your skirts and so forth are channeling the water in

[RoyBraddy]

My tent camper had the original ELIXIR 30AMP DC Converter/charger installed which was a single voltage model that only produced 13.6VDC. This over time boiled oout my battery fluids and then then my battery started running warm to hot. By the time I caught it it had shorted out a internal cell killing my battery.

I went looking through photos on-line trying to see which model CONVERTER you have installed in your 2015 model and couldn't find any spec reference except saying you have a 120V Converter.

This 2015 photo looks like the WFCO model which has a round ID tag on the front panel. The WFCO is suppose to be a mulitmode converter/charger unit but has a long history of not ever changing these smart mode and always just produce 13.6VDC. The converter in this photo is the black cabinet on the floor on the left of this photo.

Would be nice to know what model converter/charger you are using. I did see some some small rectangle size ID tags from late model photos which looks like the ELIXIR models which are not smart mode converter/charger units.



If you have either the ELIXIR or WFCO WF-8900 series converter/charger model I would look into changing that out out for a Progressive Dynamics or IOTA model smart mode converter/charger. Otherwise you are going to continue to have this over heating problem with your battery which will requires checking fluid levels at least once a week when just sitting being on continuous charge...

If you have the WFCO 8900 Series main unit Power Distribution panels all you need to change out is the converter/charger unit located in the bottom compartment. Check with Randy at BESTCONVERTER to purchase either the Progressive Dynamics model or IOTA model converter chassis. Do NOT let Randy sell you another WF-8900 series Converter unit.

If you are planning on installing two or more batteries on your 2015 POPUP trailer you will need to change out the 35AMP Converter/charger anyway. The rule of thumb is to get a converter/charger that produces enough DC CURRENT to give you 17-20AMPS DC Current for EACH battery being charged in your battery bank. A 45AMP Model smart mode converter/charger is a good choice for two batteries if you want to get them recharged to their 90% charge state in a three hour time frame. I use the PD9260C 60AMP converter for my three 12VDC batteries I have on my POPUP trailer tongue.

Just some of my thoughts here...
Roy Ken

[eng45ine]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

The battery should not be hot. If it is, the converter is probably boiling the battery.

As for the canvas leaks. Hummm. Modern canvas is vinyl coated, so they don't normally leak. Seasoning the canvas helps seal the stitching. Any chance your issue is condensation? Also consider setup technique, maybe your skirts and so forth are channeling the water in

I agree, the battery should not be hot, I do believe that the converter is overcharging the battery, the service department will check that out tomorrow. With regard to the canvas leaks, the water comes in through the stitching between the top and the side of the panels, I've documented the leaks with pictures so the dealer understands what the situation is. As of this moment, I believe the dealer will work to resolve this issue following our last trip in mid-September.

Originally Posted by RoyBraddy

My tent camper had the original ELIXIR 30AMP DC Converter/charger installed which was a single voltage model that only produced 13.6VDC. This over time boiled oout my battery fluids and then then my battery started running warm to hot. By the time I caught it it had shorted out a internal cell killing my battery.

I went looking through photos on-line trying to see which model CONVERTER you have installed in your 2015 model and couldn't find any spec reference except saying you have a 120V Converter.

This 2015 photo looks like the WFCO model which has a round ID tag on the front panel. The WFCO is suppose to be a mulitmode converter/charger unit but has a long history of not ever changing these smart mode and always just produce 13.6VDC. The converter in this photo is the black cabinet on the floor on the left of this photo.

Would be nice to know what model converter/charger you are using. I did see some some small rectangle size ID tags from late model photos which looks like the ELIXIR models which are not smart mode converter/charger units.



If you have either the ELIXIR or WFCO WF-8900 series converter/charger model I would look into changing that out out for a Progressive Dynamics or IOTA model smart mode converter/charger. Otherwise you are going to continue to have this over heating problem with your battery which will requires checking fluid levels at least once a week when just sitting being on continuous charge...

If you have the WFCO 8900 Series main unit Power Distribution panels all you need to change out is the converter/charger unit located in the bottom compartment. Check with Randy at BESTCONVERTER to purchase either the Progressive Dynamics model or IOTA model converter chassis. Do NOT let Randy sell you another WF-8900 series Converter unit.

If you are planning on installing two or more batteries on your 2015 POPUP trailer you will need to change out the 35AMP Converter/charger anyway. The rule of thumb is to get a converter/charger that produces enough DC CURRENT to give you 17-20AMPS DC Current for EACH battery being charged in your battery bank. A 45AMP Model smart mode converter/charger is a good choice for two batteries if you want to get them recharged to their 90% charge state in a three hour time frame. I use the PD9260C 60AMP converter for my three 12VDC batteries I have on my POPUP trailer tongue.

Just some of my thoughts here...
Roy Ken

Roy, thanks very much for your detailed response, I appreciate it very much. I will see what the service department has to say tomorrow, I'll have a better understanding how to move forward to resolve these issues. Such a headache!!!!!

[eng45ine]

I took my camper back to the dealer today, my salesperson brought a generator out to check the status of the converter and the battery. He ran the generator, then plugged the camper into it, then checked the battery. The battery read 13.67 volts, at that point, he felt comfortable that the converter wasn't overcharging the battery. He then turned the generator off, then checked the battery and found that the charge was literally diminishing right in front of his eyes. The charge dropped from 12 volts to 8 volts within five minutes. He and the assistant service manager believe that the converter is operating properly, but the battery is probably bad. They removed the battery from the box, they want to trickle charge it for 48 hours, then re-check the output. If the battery is bad, that battery only carried a 12 month warranty, I will not be purchasing a replacement battery from the dealer if it only carries a 12 month warranty, I'll check with AutoZone or other local automotive store for something with a better pro-rated warranty. Stay tuned, I'll let you know where we go from here.

[Jagiven]

If you need a new battery buy a true deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries typically do not have much of a warranty.

I still think you have a converter issue, but I am not sure how to test that theory.

[eng45ine]

I am leery about the converter as well, what I plan to do is install a new battery next week and monitor how warm the new battery gets next weekend during our next camping trip. If the battery gets warm, I will disconnect the battery while we are plugged into AC power during our stay. If the battery does get warm, then I will move forward to purchase a new (and better) converter. Stay tuned!

[Rustysocket]

Charge your battery and then remove it from your system. Let it set for a couple days then measure the voltage. If it's less than about 12.4-12.5 volts you have a shorted cell and need to replace the battery.

If your converter is not stepping the amperage down after the battery is fully charged then you have a defective converter and it will boil the new battery as well.

The stitching on your tenting will leak if it's not properly maintained. That's how tents work. It was one of the primary reasons we moved on from popups years ago as we live in the climate of perpetual rain and whether it was a leak or condensation we always felt damp in the popup and I was constantly worrying about the tenting mildewing and trying to figure out how to dry everything out.

I hope your able to get everything resolved to your satisfaction soon.

[eng45ine]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

Charge your battery and then remove it from your system. Let it set for a couple days then measure the voltage. If it's less than about 12.4-12.5 volts you have a shorted cell and need to replace the battery.

If your converter is not stepping the amperage down after the battery is fully charged then you have a defective converter and it will boil the new battery as well.

The stitching on your tenting will leak if it's not properly maintained. That's how tents work. It was one of the primary reasons we moved on from popups years ago as we live in the climate of perpetual rain and whether it was a leak or condensation we always felt damp in the popup and I was constantly worrying about the tenting mildewing and trying to figure out how to dry everything out.

I hope your able to get everything resolved to your satisfaction soon.

I am very confident that the battery is trash, it lost energy immediately following removing power from the converter. I am very concerned about the converter, if the converter doesn't ramp down it's charge, it obviously is going to destroy the new battery. I'm expecting to talk with my salesman on Tuesday, we'll discuss the converter being defective and figure out what to do.

I do believe that the dealer will warranty the canvas, he was shocked when I showed him the pictures of the leaks. I'm ready to move into a hard sided camper, now it's time to convince the wife.

[eng45ine]

My battery was trashed, so I purchased a new one today. My salesman and his assistant service manager are quite confident that my converter is operating just fine, we'll find out this weekend during our next outing.

[eng45ine]

Just an update following this past weekend's camping trip....the new battery performed well and never became warm to the touch during our four day outing. We did have rain and we did have canvas leaks, we've notified our Jayco dealer that we will create an appointment with their service department and have our camper their following our last camping trip of the season so they can perform their own water tests on our canvas and make repairs while our camper is still under the two-year warranty.

Roy, our camper does have the WFCO converter and it did seem to operate properly. I'll keep an eye on the electrical system and move forward to replace it per your recommendation if needed.