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Old 08-26-2021, 06:41 PM   #1
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Converter? 2008 outlook 31C

Recently purchased a 2008 outlook 31c. The converter doesn’t appear to be working. I turned on 3 fans to drop battery voltage to below 12 volts then plugged in the coach. Checked output of converter voltage was same as battery. I thought I’d order a new converter but no brand or identifying numbers other than 2 stickers that have barcodes but no other identifying. Anyone know what brand or type that I need to purchase? Thanks
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Old 08-26-2021, 07:52 PM   #2
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First check to make sure that the AC breaker that feeds the converter is on. Also check to make sure that other AC appliances like the microwave are getting power.

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Old 08-26-2021, 08:08 PM   #3
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Checked voltage to converter and getting 120 I’ll check other appliances in am. At what voltage does everything go out voltage was 11.9 lost time I checked and nothing worked
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Old 08-26-2021, 08:17 PM   #4
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If it's original, replacement with a modern converter with multi-stage charging is a good idea. Your batteries will last much longer. Also, make sure you set the switches controlling the charging profile to match your battery type.

In the meantime, you might want to see if there's an integral, plug in automotive type fuse.

This is what I replaced mine with:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Be careful with the wiring. Mine was either faded or didn't follow the expected color coding on the 12V side. It's possible that the PO changed something. Your best bet is to unscrew the converter from the floor and remove one wire at a time, either labeling them or connecting them to the new converter as you go. I miswired mine and blew the plug-in fuse. The fuse on my HVAC thermostat also blew. Fortunately no damage was done.

Don't be tempted to buy one that's a lot larger than your current one in terms of amps unless you make sure the wiring to your batteries is up to the increased current load.
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Old 08-27-2021, 06:34 AM   #5
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Converters consist of an AC breaker panel, a fuse panel for DC loads and a separate charging module. It is the latter that you have to replace.

I don't like WFCO stuff, so I replaced my charging module with a Progressive Dynamics 60A charger. See https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It mounted differently than the WFCO charger but otherwise was the same size. I unscrewed the WFCO panel, turned the charger AC breaker off and unscrewed the charger. Then I unhooked the three AC wires and the two DC wires.

I had to drill some new mounting holes in the WFCO housing for the new charger, and they were at a bit of an angle due to the cramped housing. But I was able to screw down the new PD charger and hook it back up. I did have to cut off the AC plug from the end so I could wire the AC wires directly to the WFCO AC breaker output.

All works well and being a real three step charge it charges much faster at 80% SOC, about 20-30 A whereas the WFCO charger would only charge at a few amps.

David
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Old 08-27-2021, 07:10 AM   #6
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Thanks for the info. I ordered the pd converter. Seems strange that with batteries at 11.9 volts that everything would shut down. I thought you could draw them down to 11.5 or so. In the mean time I’ll charge them with trickle charger. On the battery cover sticker says to disconnect batteries before charging from outside source . Do you know why? Thanks
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Old 08-27-2021, 07:53 AM   #7
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Before declaring the converter bad, I would check carefully for something like a plug loose on it or there may be other things like breaker or fuse, etc. on the unit itself.

I have never removed the battery cables when charging but do flip the breaker for my converter off on both in and outsides, as a ways to isolate some of the things which "might" be effected.

You sound like you have a good idea of what's up on the electrical, but are you aware of the drawings that might come in handy?

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ram/Wiring.htm
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Old 08-27-2021, 08:16 AM   #8
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Thanks for the info. I ordered the pd converter. Seems strange that with batteries at 11.9 volts that everything would shut down. I thought you could draw them down to 11.5 or so. In the mean time I’ll charge them with trickle charger. On the battery cover sticker says to disconnect batteries before charging from outside source . Do you know why? Thanks
Shutting down at an apparent 11.9 volts indicates a bad connection somewhere. When you put a load on the batteries the bad connection creates a big voltage drop and everything turns off. Measure the battery voltage directly at the terminals and see what happens. If the battery voltage stays up but everything shuts down, that is an almost sure sign of a bad connection.

The advice of disconnecting the batteries before charging from an outside source is silly. Do you do that while solar charging?

David
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Old 08-27-2021, 09:44 AM   #9
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Thanks I’ll charge the bats first then start looking for bad connection. Very frustrating for neophyte!
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Old 08-27-2021, 10:02 AM   #10
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Very frustrating for neophyte!
Banjo... you are just getting started. There will be tons more stuff that will be even more "frustrating." That is the nature of RVing. Strap in, it's going to be a long bumpy ride.
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Old 08-27-2021, 01:23 PM   #11
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Thanks just what I’m looking forward more frustration!!! Good info from all!!
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Old 08-27-2021, 01:32 PM   #12
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Thanks just what I’m looking forward more frustration!!! Good info from all!!
Frustrating but fun if you enjoy problem solving and fixing things. In addition to the link Morich provided, there's a lot of useful stuff here:

https://www.winnebago.com/owners/owner-resources

The parts catalog is especially useful for its drawings of parts, their locations and how they're connected. And it's searchable.
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Old 08-27-2021, 02:07 PM   #13
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There is one area that many have problems with that is basic to several of the electrical problems we see, so a mention of that may help if not looked it over yet.
Since we have more than one 12Vdc system (start/auto and coach?) looking at each and how they tie together is often step one to sorting which is the problem.

There is a mode solenoid which works to tie the systems together at different times. One is when we want to jump start a weak battery, we have a switch on the dash (boost or aux?) that we can push to close the solenoid, OR it also closes when the engine runs to let the engine alternator put some charge in the coach batteries as we drive to the next site! This solenoid is a frequent source of problems until we know what it should do!
Usually right alongside the solenoid, there is a battery disconnect relay which is controlled from a switch, often near the door, so that we can cut a lot of the load off the coach batteries while stored. So if that relay is relay is not opening/closing as it should, that can be a major headache!

I've made some snips of the drawing and added some items which are not shown but we need to know about them.
One thing that made me wonder is when you say it all stops at a certain voltage?
The battery disconnect relay is one which uses voltage to move but then when we release the momentary switch, it "latches" in on or off position and won't move if the batteries are too weak!

A point to check if you can reach yours easy enough is to make sure that relay is getting enough power to move!! OR is it off and just not getting power to move?

Mode solenoid ties the two together and we can often hear a clunk when somebody pushes the switch but the second item is the relay which is between the coach batteries and the coach but it has to have power to move, even when we do flip the disconnect switch to the correct position!

11.9 should be enough to get you some dim lights at least but not if it is not enough to move the relay closed!

Click this drawing for better view.
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Old 08-27-2021, 07:58 PM   #14
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Thanks everyone for all the info. I read more in the manual and it referenced a circuit breaker in an outside compartment. Looked around and found the circuit breakers in the right side compartment just behind the batteries. The 12 volt breaker was tripped pushed in and eureka the 12v house came alive. Still have the charging issue. New pd charger coming tomorrow. So I’ll install and hopefully the system will charge. I’ll let you know tomorrow. Thanks again to all. Banjo
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Old 08-28-2021, 06:47 AM   #15
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My 31c does the same thing occasionally. I just upgraded to AGM batteries and getting ready to replace the converter. I tested it when plugged in and it's pushing almost 15v, a little high.The easiest way to tell if it's tripped is that the thermostat will be blank when you unplug. Hope that helps

I'm going this route, supposed to do lithium too whenever I take that step

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OR2FIW...v_ov_lig_dp_it
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Old 08-28-2021, 07:23 AM   #16
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Thanks to all again more knowledge in this group than all the dealers combined.
After finally getting the house Back, the auto door step sounds like a machine gun when closing. I’m sure it’s tied to the low voltage but driving me crazy. Any ideas? Also I had the bats trickle charging all night and voltage only 12.45 this morning. I get the new inverter today hopefully that will charge them to 12.6-.7
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Old 08-28-2021, 07:55 AM   #17
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Don’t rule out bad batteries, or one bad battery. Your system will only register the voltage of the weakest battery and it will bring the voltage down on all the batteries to its level.

When were the house batteries last replaced? What kind are they and what size?
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Old 08-28-2021, 08:01 AM   #18
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Charging is one of those simple things that are more complex than we often think. Step one is remembering that voltage/current always flows from high potential to lower and the amount of current depends on the difference in the two.

That leaves a charger that starts out at 14+ volts often doing a quicker charge on a low battery than one which only starts at 12+. That is something we want to get a faster charge done but as a second point, we want that charge level to taper off and get lower as we near the fully charged level.

Nothing wrong with charging at 15 volts when a battery needs lots of charge but the better charger systems do then level and reduce the voltage and current as we near fully charged. Before deciding the 15 volt level is too high, we need to look at what it does when the battery is nearing full charge. If the charge voltage is still at 15, then the charger may not be the best as that will lead to too much water being lost.

A big point to remember is that voltage is not a terribly good way to check batteries and it can lead to all kinds of confusion due to it only being a reading of the voltage right at the post. A battery has to be "rested" or stable without charge or discharge for a few hours, so that the chemicals in ALL the cells level out before a voltage reading has true meaning.

Charging might be like dripping black ink into a barrel? If we drip the ink in and look at the hole, we may see totally black but when come come back in a few hours, there may not be much color at all as the ink has spread out in the barrel. So when we put a charge on a battery and take it off to look, we may see 14 volts but only really has 11 in the whole battery! Surface charge is the term to search for more info.
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Old 08-28-2021, 09:20 AM   #19
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Don’t rule out bad batteries, or one bad battery. Your system will only register the voltage of the weakest battery and it will bring the voltage down on all the batteries to its level.

When were the house batteries last replaced? What kind are they and what size?
Mine were both reading 12.6, marine deep cycle, put them in my truck, one started it the other couldnt turn it over.
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Old 08-28-2021, 09:39 AM   #20
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Batteries are new 27dc marine deep cycle
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