Community Forums

Riverratt · 03-16-2014, 05:22 PM

I purchased a used 1989 Winnebago Chieftain last fall that was not used in a long time. I only used it 2 times before I put it away for the winter and I am having problems with the 12v side. The last trip in November I replaced the battery in the coach with 2 batteries in parallel from my boat. It was working great until the middle of the night when I ran out of propane and the furnace fan continued to run and killed my batteries in the middle of the night and i was plugged in to a friends generator at the same time. I put a volt meter om the batteries and I was down to 9 volts so my lights were very dim and the steps would not even go out. Why didn't the generator produce 12v for me? I hooked up a battery charger to my batteries and that brought up the batteries enough to finish out the weekend. I dont remember the details of the convertor or inverter which ever it is but it just seams to plug into a receptacle and has 2 hot wires hooked up to a lug and a ground and it is a Magnatek. Where do I start troubleshooting?

Shadowcatche · 03-17-2014, 04:18 AM

Magnatek converters are single stage from that era and unreliable at best. Progressive Dynamics makes a unit which may drop in with little problem. A VOM/multimeter is your friend it does not even have to be an expensive one. Check that you have AC coming in to the converter and DC coming out. The batteries have been permanently damage by being discharged down to 9V and will need to be replaced with true deep cycle batteries Homework time Deep Cycle Battery FAQ

dvmweb · 03-19-2014, 08:35 PM

26 year old electrics. Check back from 110 v with a meter. Converter/inverter bad?

camper33 · 03-20-2014, 07:14 PM

The old magnateks had a relay in them that would sometimes stick. Also they had a seperate circuit board for the charging section that would go bad. Upgrade to the progressive dynamics as suggested. Stay away from the parralax, they do not play well with electronics.

Riverratt · 03-21-2014, 03:55 PM

I was either thinking of the Progressive Dynamic or it looks like PowerMax seams like a decent unit also. Is one any better than the other? I like the quick charge feature so I could run the generator for a little to charge the battery if I had to

Shadowcatche · 03-22-2014, 04:30 AM

PD is made in the US and they are responsive if you do have a problem. Ours was wired incorrectly in by the folks who made out trailer and it failed, I called PD on a Tuesday after Enoon and had a replacement the next morning by Fed Ex.

wa8yxm · 03-22-2014, 08:29 AM

First on a rig that old you MIGHT have a progressive dynamics (I have had PDI hardware that old) but odds are you have a Magnetek 6300 series. How to tell: Open the door to the fuse/breaker panel. Look on the inside of said door.

This converter is not what I'd call worth much.. An upgrade is indicated.

now the Progressive Dynamics IntellaPower 9200... There is no upgrade.

Second, since you pulled the batteries from your boat, this means they are Marine/Deep cycle. and since you took 'em down to 9 volts.. Wave By-By to em..

IF you have the headroom, Replace with a pair of GC-2.. More amp hours, less cost and true DEEP CYCLE. those do not like 9 volts either. but Mine have recovered from that deep a few times (They finally died, 9 years after they were installed I get new ones in 1-2 weeks when I get paid and move the house to the battery store).