Community Forums

Flatlander24 · 01-10-2019, 08:26 PM

After storing my 2003 American Eagle in November with it plugged into 115V in indoor (unheated), I returned in December to find my house batteries cooked and a mess in my battery bay. After talking to a tech at a “respectable” national electronics distributor, he convinced me that I need a new Inverter, and obviously, new batteries. For the sake of this thread, let’s assume the diagnosis is accurate. My question is, What is the right Inverter and (staying with 6V flooded batteries), what batteries should I buy. Thanks,

Flatlander 24
2003 American Eagle 40W

A Traveler · 01-10-2019, 09:02 PM

You need to find a new tech. An Inverter has nothing to do with charging the batteries. An inverter changes 12 volts DC to 110 volts AC.

You may need a new CHARGER, not an Inverter.

jcussen · 01-10-2019, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Traveler

You need to find a new tech. An Inverter has nothing to do with charging the batteries. An inverter changes 12 volts DC to 110 volts AC.

You may need a new CHARGER, not an Inverter.

Thinking a 03 Eagle has an inverter/charger which many people call an inverter. If indeed it is bad, would go all the way and buy a Victron inverter/charger and some battle born batteries.
But is you feel it necessary to buy lead acid, Lifeline makes some of the best agm's, but are not cheap.

Flatlander24 · 01-11-2019, 12:58 PM

I don't know how many 2003 40' American Coach's " A Traveler " has seen that DO NOT have a combination Inverter/Charger, but thank you to "jcussen" for clarifying my obvious oversight.

Anyway, would anyone care to weigh in on the Magnum MS2012 as a replacement to the stock unit in my 2003 MH. The stock unit is a Magnum but the company that built the keypad control is Tracer, which I think is now somehow connected to Xantrex, which also makes Inverter/Chargers for MH's.

It's obvious I know nothing about these things so I was hoping someone might point me in the right direction to get my Inverter/Charger replaced with the right device. Thanks.

twinboat · 01-11-2019, 01:27 PM

Before you run out and replace, have you done any testing on your inverter/charger.

If not, get new batteries installed and plug it in.

See what kind of voltage it charges at. You didn't say what brand you have but many use battery temperature sensors.

If the BTS goes bad, the float voltages can go low or high. If they go high, it will overcharge your batteries and boil the water out. From that point, the batteries get cooked. The BTS is a cheap replacement part.

If you measure high float voltages, un-plug the phone jack looking plug on the inverter case. It should be marked BTS or battery temp sensor and see if they come down to 13.2 to 13.4 volts.

When you first plug in, with new batteries, it will charge higher then float voltage, for a few hours, so you do need to wait that out.

Keep us posted.

vito.a · 01-11-2019, 03:36 PM

Twinboat is correct. You could have had one battery with a bad cell and it kept the voltage low enough for the system to overcharge the rest.

I've replaced a couple of the early Trace Xantrex inverters with new Magnum pure sine inverters. Even if you purchase a new Xantrex inverter you will need a new inside remote panel so I'd recommend you go with the Magnum. It's made in the US and is a quality product. I'd recommend the MS2012. You will also need the Magnum remote panel (ME-ARC) to control it. Installation is pretty straight forward. You will need to cut and reverse the plug on the RJ11 telephone cord. Magnum uses a reverse polarity on the cord from Trace.

Do a search on here as someone else was replacing an inverter in an American Coach. You may have to rework the auto transfer switch as well.

Flatlander24 · 01-11-2019, 07:53 PM

Thanks "vito.a" and "twin boat". I'm gong to look for someone local that can remove my inverter /charger and do some testing. It would be great if I can just replace a battery temp monitor switch instead of the whole inverter /charger.

Because I'm in the midwest and winter is here, I won't be replacing the house battery bank I cooked until Spring. The chassis batteries are fine but I want to put a battery tender on them to keep them up. I believe my 2 12V chassis batteries are wired in parallel to keep the voltage at 12 but increase the capacity.

My question now is: Do I buy a 2 Bank 12 volt charger (1.25 amp) and hook up the batteries separately or do I just need 1 single charger to charge both batteries since they're wired in parallel?

twinboat · 01-11-2019, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flatlander24

Thanks "vito.a" and "twin boat". I'm gong to look for someone local that can remove my inverter /charger and do some testing. It would be great if I can just replace a battery temp monitor switch instead of the whole inverter /charger.

Because I'm in the midwest and winter is here, I won't be replacing the house battery bank I cooked until Spring. The chassis batteries are fine but I want to put a battery tender on them to keep them up. I believe my 2 12V chassis batteries are wired in parallel to keep the voltage at 12 but increase the capacity.

My question now is: Do I buy a 2 Bank 12 volt charger (1.25 amp) and hook up the batteries separately or do I just need 1 single charger to charge both batteries since they're wired in parallel?

Just get one maintainer. Both start batteries are tied together in parallel.