Community Forums

zilly · 01-07-2017, 09:28 PM

I have an Intel Power 910 model PD9180 convertor. I have power going into the unit and power coming out, however, the power coming out is battery voltage with cables connected and 13.6 with cables disconnected. The batteries are not charging as per the indicator and test meters. Is this unit defective ?

cc8375 · 01-08-2017, 05:25 AM

I would say yes, if there is NO fused battery lead to the battery. Either in line or on the converter. Progressive has been helpful in the past with trouble shooting and selling refurbished converters and you send your old unit in.

If the converter is working, providing 12 volts to lights etc. , you could elect to add a battery charger separately for charging.

nothermark · 01-08-2017, 05:41 AM

Probably not broken. It's rated output is 13.6 VDC which it is putting out. If it puts that out under load I would think it was working. What makes you think it is not? What do your meter say under what conditions?

I would expect the output of the converter and the voltage at the battery terminals to be the same. I would not necessarily expect them to be 13.6 VDC if the batteries are low.

zilly · 01-08-2017, 08:11 AM

Well as I stated, the voltage coming out of the convertor with the leads to the new batteries connected is exact battery voltage, 12.3. When I disconnect the leads the convertor jumps up to 13.6. I feel that is an indication the unit is not working under a load. Correct ?

cc8375 · 01-08-2017, 08:26 AM

Do 12 volt items in the RV work with the battery disconnected? My converters All charged my battery at a higher rate. Usually high 13 v to 14.2 volts

Hooligan · 01-08-2017, 08:35 AM

Manual for your converter.
http://www.bestconverter.com/assets/...RTERMANUAL.pdf

Low output could be overload, bad battery cell or low input voltage. I would also look for a loose connection at the converter or battery.

zilly · 01-08-2017, 12:13 PM

Well, pretty sure I have determined my problem is the convertor. I disconnected the leads coming out of the convertor going to my batteries and connected my trickle charger to them and everything works normal. I think I need a new convertor.
Thank you all for your input.

wa8yxm · 01-08-2017, 12:52 PM

Many factors affect voltage at the output terminal but try this

Sears sells a very nice AC/DC CLAMP ON multi-meter the clamp will read both AC and DC amps.. Not every one does,, IN fact Sears sells two differentones Mine is the less expensive

Clamp on one of those wires and measure amps. (Clamp just one wire)

If you have enough battgeries, and they are new enough...
And the leads between converter and battery are big enough and short enough

You are ALWAYS going to read battery voltage at the converter
No matter if it's 12.6 (Resting voltage full battery)
13.6 (Floating,, caharger working)
or 14.6 (Bulk/absorption)

IT's going to work

Also if you do not have the optional wizard get one, about 20-30 bucks as I recall, Plug it in and tell me what the light does

Steady
Fast blink
Slow blink
What light

All indicate different thigns.. the light is basically a voltmeter by the way .

nothermark · 01-08-2017, 01:29 PM

The issue is the load. If the load is too high that converter will drop the voltage to limit current flow. It's rated at 80 Amps so reading the current will tell you if it is actually dropping the voltage to limit the current or collapsing under load. Easiest thing might be to let it run over several hours and see if the voltage is increasing. If it is then the batteries are charging and everything is probably OK. Better would be to monitor the charging current. You also need to be aware of what other loads are on the system as the converter output is split between the DC loads on the system and the battery. With enough load you can run the battery down with the Converter plugged in. Given that you should also dump as many other DC loads as you can while waiting to see if the battery is charging.