Power converter not charging battery?

CharlieRN

It appears that the WFCO-8735/40 converter in my 320BD is not charging the battery at all.

The background is this: Last week, I fully charged the LiFePO4 battery via an external charger (Victron BSC), checking the voltage afterward, so am certain I started with a fully charged battery. The camper has been plugged in to shore power since then, but the battery has lost charge every day, and this morning read 13.06 volts. The relevant fuses at the converter (5 & 6) seem to be good (pulled, checked visually and with the VOM) and the camper has AC power throughout. I've since turned off the battery switch and reconnected the external charger.

Could it be the case that the WFCO is not providing current to charge the battery but is otherwise working OK? I know that this model will not fully charge a lithium battery but it should still keep it charged to some extent.

Dutch061

I have noticed a few times on our 2020 400 BDL that has 2 BB's and a PD9260CV Converter that the battery will start to discharge but the voltage was high enough that the converter didn't think it needed to charge. Of course, the 9260 has a pendant and I can force the Bost Mode (14.4 Volts) whenever I want, so that is what I do.

Sounds like your converter may be taking a turn for the worse. At 13.06, I would have thought it would start to charge, in looking at the the specs the Float Voltage is 13.2 V which is likely the same thing that I have experienced a couple of times.

***EDIT*** It is possible that at 13.06 Volts that the converter doesn't deem it necessary to charge, since it is not that far off of the Float Voltage. The fact that the battery has "lost voltage every day" doesn't shock me since it is not meant for Lithium Batteries, Lithium Batteries have quite a bit higher voltage from fully charged to completely discharged. 

If you were to add a load to the 12 volt side, does the voltage continue to drop or does it recover? IE turn the ceiling fan on High to add a load and watch the voltage to see if it starts to come up.

The other thing that can affect this is the gauge of wiring from the power distribution center to the battery and the distance. That was one of the major issues with our 400 until I installed a converter close to the batteries. The resistance over the distance prevented the Bulk Charging Mode from ever being used. On your 320, I have no idea as to the distance or location of the Power Center (Converter) to the battery.

Brad

ScottG

Did you also check the fuse at the battery itself?

Are your battery voltage readings taken at the battery terminals?

Do you have a voltmeter in the camper? If so, what is it registering when plugged into shore power? 

CharlieRN

@ScottG The voltage reading is at the battery terminals and the inline fuses seem to be OK.I'm not sure about what the last question is however.

Are you asking if there is AC  power to the converter? Or DC power from the converter at fuse block?

@Dutch061 I really hope that the converter has not gone south. The camper was bought new this spring and has been used only a few times, so a failure at this point would be disappointing.

When I have some time this weekend, I check to see what the voltage reading from the converter is. I assume this means disconnecting the battery and taking a reading with the converter plugged into shore power?

Denny16

Charlie, your TaB should still be under warranty, take it back,to,the dealer and have them check the converter to make sure it is working correctly.  That said, it is only going to charge a LiPO battery back up to 80-85% best case, which is fine for winter storage charge levels.
cheers

ScottG

CharlieRN said:

@ScottG The voltage reading is at the battery terminals and the inline fuses seem to be OK.I'm not sure about what the last question is however.

Are you asking if there is AC  power to the converter? Or DC power from the converter at fuse block?

...

If you have a volt meter in the camper--either built-in as part of the stock monitoring system, or a cheap plug-in version that fits in a 12V socket--it will reflect the voltage coming from the converter when plugged into shore power (and with nothing else running).

Mine usually reads ~13.65V. If you are getting that in the camper but something significantly lower at the battery, that suggests the converter is fine but the connection to the battery is compromised.

Whether or not that converter is suitable for charging your lithium battery is another issue about which I have no expertise. 

MuttonChops

@CharlieRN . . . . what @ScottG just said { 12:15PM } with a couple of adds:

+ Do your 12V Outlet voltage check with battery cut-off switch in both positions. Battery 'load' or circuit could be dropping the voltage . . . ie. Convertor output normal with battery out-of-circuit

+ If you don't get the typical 13.6VDC with battery out-of-circuit.  Try removing DC Panel fuses one-at-a-time to isolate some other T@B DC Circuit issue before deciding the convertor is the issue.

Marceline

Do you have a non-lithium battery that you could drop in as an experiment? I have a 2013 T@B with a converter that is that old, and it does charge my lithium battery, but I usually use a standalone charger. 

Marceline

When the trailer is plugged in to shore power and you have the battery cutoff switch in the green position, what is the reading at the battery posts if you use a multimeter? 

CharlieRN

OK, thoroughly checked the inline fuses and all are good. A check of the voltage from the converter shows 13.6, so that seems OK as well.

My understanding is that while 13.6v is not enough to fully charge a lithium battery, it should be sufficient to keep the SOC in the 90-plus% range. The battery has dropped as low as 13.2 v while connected to shore power however. So what gives?

Dutch061

As I mentioned before, I have seen similar things on our 400 BDL. My suspicion as mentioned is that the voltage on Lithium is always higher than LA or AGM so the converter doesn't always start to charge. I have noticed this at least 3 times since I put the 2 BB's in.  

I suspect that if you were to draw the BB down to a lower voltage that you would see the converter charge at the absorption rate.

***EDIT*** The voltage level being higher on Lithium is why the standard converter will not fully charge them, it senses the voltage being in the upper range and typically will not charge at the Bulk Rate or goes into the Absorption Rate too soon. With my converter, I can force the Bulk Rate via the Boost Mode (which is 14.4 volts) and easily get 100% SOC.

Brad

Bayliss

@CharlieRN, you probably have already done this, so maybe a stupid question and therefore being asked "just in case."  In your original post, you indicated that you turned off the battery switch (to use an external charger.)  Did you turn that switch back on so that the converter can send power to the battery?  That's the only thing I can think of (other than what @Dutch061 has suggested) since the fuses are apparently OK.  I'm following this discussion to hear how it is ultimately resolved.  Good luck!

3172943415

Similar question.  Battery is not powering camper. Battery and fuse replaced.  Powered up for a brief second.  Then dead in the water.  Thoughts?  

pthomas745

Welcome to the Forums!

There are so many combinations and changes and things this could be...

But, we have to know:What camper?  What year?  And, if you are talking about batteries, and you have a 2023...what battery setup does it have?  the One Lithium?  The 4 lithium? 

Do you have the Victron app?

So, the year and model of the trailer, just to start with troubleshooting, is important.