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cb1000rider · 06-04-2013, 10:42 AM

Anyone know the model of the OEM converter (battery charger) - We're charging to about 13.6v when plugged in... The house battery (prior owner) is cooked and the battery box shows signs of lots of venting/acid...

I'll go look for it in a while - I hear it's either under the bed or under the fridge..

RustyJC · 06-04-2013, 10:56 AM

Our Jaycos used Todd Engineering converters, but the company went defunct around 2000 or so. I replaced the failed Todd Engineering converter in my 2000 Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS with a Progressive Dynamics 9155 with the Charge Wizard (makes it a 4 stage charger - boost, normal, float and desulfation modes) under the Jayco 2+5 warranty and never had another problem. Our current 5th wheel (see signature) came with the Progressive Dynamics 9180 to which I added the Charge Wizard, and our original 6V batteries lasted 8 years.

I don't know what Jayco went to after Todd Engineering, but if you choose to (or have to) replace your converter, I'd highly recommend a Progressive Dynamics smart converter/charger for your consideration.

Rusty

cb1000rider · 06-04-2013, 11:06 AM

Thanks for the recommendations, Rusty... How difficult to replace are they?

RustyJC · 06-04-2013, 11:28 AM

Quite simple, in my case. I had a 120VAC grounded plug for power in (standard 3 prong 120VAC 15 amp plug) and 2 wires (+ and - 12VDC) for power out to the batteries. If yours is integral with a 120VAC and/or 12VDC power distribution center, it's more complex, but if it's just a pure converter/charger, there's not much to it. You'll have to find out what you have now and go from there.

The current Progressive Dynamics 92XX series (XX represents the maximum DC amperage) has the Charge Wizard function built in, but there's still a "dongle" available for next to nothing that displays the mode function in which the converter is operating and allows manual override of the charger mode function if desired.

Rusty

cb1000rider · 06-04-2013, 11:52 AM

Looks like it's an IOTA DLS-45. Under the bed.
Apparently the DLS-45 is a pretty good voltage provider, but a single stage charger. It can either charger 13.6v or 14.2v. It's either on or off, which in combination with the fact that my push-to-disconnect seems to be broken is probably why batteries have fried on this thing for previous owners...

Some good news though, Apparently IOTA offers a plug in option to turn this thing into a smart-charger... See: IQ Smart Charger for DLS Series Battery Chargers from IOTA Engineering

Costs $25. Can't beat that for easy of conversion to smart charger...