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Old 06-26-2023, 08:50 PM   #1
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Reading 21.5V on my 12v

I took a multimeter to my 12v side cause I kept burning bulbs. Im plugged in at my house and

ITS AT 21.5 right now. Yesterday it was as high as 70V! How the heck is this possible? Bad converter?
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Old 06-26-2023, 08:52 PM   #2
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I should also mention that my BCC is out right now because I'm replacing components. So house batteries are disconnected. I imagine whatever happened is the reason my fridge, air and heat pcb components fried.
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Old 06-26-2023, 09:05 PM   #3
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A LOT of converters use the battery bank as a buffer to help control output volts.

Please include some info on the converter ; make , model and year of your coach , so member know exactly what you're dealing with .

Disconnect NOW from shore power !
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Old 06-26-2023, 10:41 PM   #4
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If you have solar, you may have a bad solar charge controller.
Connecting the solar to the charge controller without a battery may be a problem.
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Old 06-27-2023, 04:38 AM   #5
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I have a 1998 Fleetwood Southwind. The original converter went belly up and I got an Progressive Dynamics Inteli-power PD9245C Converter/Charger with Charge Wizard and Pendant from a buddy to replace it.
I've had nothing but issues since purchasing this rig.
The short of it is: My exgirlfriend had her friends mess with my RV while it was being stored at one of our mutual friend's properties. Slashed tires, eggs, spray paint, and Im sure they had something to do with this but I cant say for sure. Anyway, the smoke got out of the comparator on my BCC. So I removed it to find the part number and order components. My house batteries have been bad for some time now (only charge up to 6.7V) and were disconnected when I moved the rig to where it sits currently. The BCC fried while it was parked here. Just out of the blue I came outside and smelled it.... burnt electronics. I immediately thought "My batteries!" but after disconnecting and inspecting everything, I moved to the front of the RV and there she was, burnt up - looking all disappointed in itself.
So im not sure if this all happened at the same time or what but the day prior I had just gotten everything in the RV to run again. The fridge turned on and was getting cold, the AC and heat worked. Things were looking up. However, after the BCC fried, randomly my furnace turned itself on as well as my ACs. Discovered 3 burnt components and disconnected. My fridge is no longer working. Discovered 2 burnt components and disconnected. Every single light in my RV burned out - none of them work.
Do you think that having the batteries disconnected would cause the converter to put off 10-60V extra?
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Old 06-27-2023, 04:46 AM   #6
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Yes . . . As someone else said you need the batteries to regulate the converter usually.
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Old 06-27-2023, 05:05 AM   #7
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It says right in the manual

Quote:
The INTELI-POWER series of converters are designed for use
with a battery; however, filtered DC voltage can power
sensitive electronics without the need for a battery or other
filtering
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Old 06-27-2023, 11:02 AM   #8
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First things first ; can you take your multimeter to your car and run tests on voltage , at the battery , and look for ; 12.5 >12.7 volts then with the engine running 14.0 >14.3 volts.
To confirm proper meter operation .
Note : Digital multimeters I've had will give weird readings if their internal battery is weak.

Then back to the coach , if you have any solar device disconnect it , and go to the converter output terminals and test voltage there . Maximum output from the converter should be 14.2 volts.
Let us know what you find.
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Old 06-27-2023, 05:03 PM   #9
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Many convertors were supposed to be hooked to the batteries. The batteries become a huge capacitor and smooth out the noise and ripple from converting from a sine wave. Supposedly newer ones it's not necessary but obviously you're having a serious issue. The 70v voltage you may be seeing on your meter is actually noise and ripple/spikes not in true RMS. Hopefully you didn't do further damage to 12 volt electronic components.
The BCC is not necessary a necessary device if you were to hook directly to your house batteries with your converter charger. Plugged in any battery would work but At this point I'm not sure I would trust the converter.
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Old 06-27-2023, 08:50 PM   #10
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That "converters need batteries for ballast" is almost ancient history now. The old Magneteks and equivalent had both filtered and unfilter output and lacking a battery could cause it to deliver noisy power (but not sky-high voltage). None of the newer digital converters have that flaw, including the OP's PD9245C.


It's conceivable your 9245 went whacko, but they are pretty reliable performers. My first step would be to test your meter and its settings on a know go12v source, e.g. the battery in your car. Assuming it checks ok, my next step would be to start measurements at various points in the RV 12v system to figure out where things are going wrong. Disconnect the 9245 from power (or just disconnect shore power) and see how that changes voltages.
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Old 06-29-2023, 07:20 AM   #11
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Well after removing and inspecting my converter, I found the problem. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I'm thinking this is most likely the reason for all my burnt up board troubles. Although this morning it was only reading 19v, it had been up as high as 70v when I first started troubleshooting. I didnt believe that I actually had 70v on my 12v side. I assumed my meter was reading funny but no, it was reading just fine.

Well now on top of a new BCC (ouch, have you seen the prices) I guess I'll be buying a new converter, the upgraded Waiter ECC to replace my burnt one, a new fridge pcb, and new light fixtures. Thank God.
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Old 06-29-2023, 11:32 AM   #12
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Seems like some BCC are really over priced parts in box of what once was simple individual components.
Is there smart info panel tied to BCC. I guess what I'm asking what else does the BCC do the automatic charge relay battery combiner doesn't.
Did you fry 12 volt fluorescent ballasts in the lights. If so a popular upgrade is to use 12 volt LED strip lights in the fluorescent housings. It will definitely be cheaper than buying all the ballasts. Unless you can find somebody who did the upgrade and would sell them cheap.
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Old 06-29-2023, 01:01 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdilliplane View Post
It says right in the manual
It's not your converter/charger unless it's fried too.

Those who say it needs a battery are wrong. Most RVs have a battery disconnect switch that leaves the converter powering everything.

Everybody forgets to or accedently switchs the battery off once or twice while on shore power. No bulbs burnt out.
They must have had it happed to them, they just forgot.

I would be looking at your battery bay to see if they messed with your cables. Your probably sending 24 volts thru the system. Remove all negetive cables.
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Old 06-30-2023, 12:51 AM   #14
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Are you sure meter is set to DCV vs ACV? Test it on another vehicle for meter accuracy? If meter good, yes, CONVERTER= BAD.
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