Dimension inveter/charger question

HD4Mark · 05-29-2012, 01:33 PM

After returning from a short trip for a NY State inspection I plugged into our 30A outlet as usual Friday. Today I went in to get some stuff out and the lights are dim and I get a "peep" alarm from somewhere. Grabbed my VOM and found the house batteries almost completely flat. The Dimensions readout is no help since the voltage has dropped under 9V. Last I checked water in batteries is fine, will have to dig out my hydrometer to test later since it is pouring.

I did unplug and plug back in while listening for the familiar click that I hear from the inverter when plugging in and nothing. The breaker on the front of the inverter is not popped. The manual says to check the inline fuse. Any idea where that might be? I did a search here and checked the wiring diagram at Winnebago. Year and model in my signature. I did try to rest the breaker feeding it with no luck.

My automotive charger is on the batteries now so I can maybe get a readout tomorrow. With any luck the batteries aren't shot due to the low voltage condition.

Dave78Chief · 05-29-2012, 02:23 PM

The 300 amp Inverter/Charger fuse is shown on pdf page 2 (upper right) of 12VDC Wiring diagram http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_147320.pdf

Physical arrangement location of the fuse is shown on pdf page 2 (section AA; top left corner of battery tray) of Chassis Wiring installation diagram http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_147311.pdf

Ensure 30 amp breaker in main AC distribution panel (supplies 120VAC to inverter/charger for charger section) has not been tripped. Cycle it OFF and ON.

Dave

HD4Mark · 05-30-2012, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

The 300 amp Inverter/Charger fuse is shown on pdf page 2 (upper right) of 12VDC Wiring diagram http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_147320.pdf

Physical arrangement location of the fuse is shown on pdf page 2 (section AA; top left corner of battery tray) of Chassis Wiring installation diagram http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_147311.pdf

Ensure 30 amp breaker in main AC distribution panel (supplies 120VAC to inverter/charger for charger section) has not been tripped. Cycle it OFF and ON.

Dave

Thanks Dave,
I did find those drawings at Winnebago's site. Didn't find the fuse from them though. I'll take another look. I'm not sure the fuse is the problem anyway. Might be one of or all the batteries. Today I will remove them to test each one after labeling and photographing the connections. I did flip the breaker on and off. It did not seem tripped but I can hear the inverter click on, or try to click on twice each time.

HD4Mark · 05-31-2012, 04:28 AM

Update: I found the inline fuse. If it was any closer to my face when looking in the battery bay I think it would have bit me

It is not blown though. The three class 27 batteries are out and charging. It is taking a long time and I only have two chargers but no hurry. After they are charged I will put them back in and see what the Dimensions panel might tell me.

Dave78Chief · 05-31-2012, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Update: I found the inline fuse. If it was any closer to my face when looking in the battery bay I think it would have bit me

LOL - One of those things that you have to have some idea of what/where it is first. We tend look past things when we get overwhelmed at all the complex stuff in front of us.

Unless you have a very small charger, it should not take more than 12hrs to chagre a battery. So, before you connect them back in, let them sit overnight off of the charger and see if they hold a charge. They may simply be past their prime.

Dave

FIRE UP · 05-31-2012, 02:25 PM

HD4Mark,
Just in case you should find that the batteries might have gone south permanantly, might I suggest you change over to 6V units. Lots depends on the change. Like, how much dry camping you do, do you have the same size battery tray as not only I do but, many Winnie's and Itasca's of the same model year and, how interested you are in doing the change.

For us, it was no brainer. We dry camp at least 50-60% of the time so, longevity and duration in state of charge is pretty high on the priority list. It's pretty well proven that the 6V setup is better than the 12V style. We have an almost identical coach to you. With the exception of length, our coaches are sisters. Anyway, your Dimension Inverter charger has somewhat of a sinister reputation but, many are still working just fine. In our manual for it, it states that unit should, about every fifth cycle, should go into an "equalizing" charge cycle. Ours has done so twice since we've owned it. I haven't seen it for a while though.

Wiring your rig for the 6V change over is a piece of cake. The original cables to the coach/inverter still worked. I only created new inter-connector cables out of some new 1GA and lugs. Anyway, hope you get that worked out. These coaches are so nice.
Scott

HD4Mark · 06-01-2012, 06:21 AM

Here is where I am now. The first battery on my 2/10amp charger took over a day to charge. I then tested it with a hydrometer and load tester, both proved to be OK. The second one is just about done and the third on my little 2amp charger is unknown since it has only LED readouts, charging, charged and bad battery.

We boondock about 2 nights a year when on route south in the fall and back north in the spring. If we are parked somewhere like a truck stop where we can run the genny, it is going all night so the investment in 6volts doesn't seem worth it.

We had this problem once before but were in the MH and caught it before the batteries were completely flat. Still not sure what is causing it. Due to the extreme low voltage the Dimensions panel read nothing so no error code. I am hoping when we are all charged up if the thing does work it will tell me something.

From what I have read here the rebuild cost for the Dimensions is about $500, 1/3 the cost to change to a Xantrax so that will be way to go if needed. Never ends with these big toys but sure cheaper than a loan payment every month.

HD4Mark · 06-02-2012, 10:00 AM

Another update, hope you are all not getting sick of me

All three batteries charged and load tested good. Reinstalled and popped breaker to the inverter back on. The Dimensions display reads chg cond mode 13V (started at 13.9) 0 amps. I could hear it click on at first and the fan run momentarily but it is quiet now. I assume the condition mode will let the batteries discharge some then charge them back up. I unplugged the display panel to reset it and it came back on the same.

The troubleshooting chart isn't much help since it mostly refers to error messages and there aren't any.

FIRE UP · 06-02-2012, 11:15 AM

HD4mark,
Certainly no one's getting tired of you Sir. Comebacks, reports, and analysis information is what we all learn by. You report a problem, or ask a question, and some here may have experience in your query. So, they respond with an anecdote or answer or, a suggestion. Many times, and we on many forums have seen this time and time again, the original OP NEVER GETS BACK TO REPORT progress or a fix. Many have answered the query but, the OP is not courteous enough to say even thanks.

So, enough soap opera, I'm glad you're getting it back in order. I too have what I think is the same exact inverter/charger. As stated earlier, the main difference in your setup and mine, is the fact that I wanted the 6V system so I changed over. keep up the info, it's very useful.
Scott

camper33 · 06-02-2012, 01:27 PM

One thing I did not see stated here by anyone, is if your batteries get too low the dimension will NOT turn on the charge feature. A quick solution, but be careful, is to jump 12 volts from your chassis batteries to your coach batteries to fool the dimension inverter/charger into seeing 12 volts so it will turn on.

HD4Mark · 06-03-2012, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camper33

One thing I did not see stated here by anyone, is if your batteries get too low the dimension will NOT turn on the charge feature. A quick solution, but be careful, is to jump 12 volts from your chassis batteries to your coach batteries to fool the dimension inverter/charger into seeing 12 volts so it will turn on.

Yes, I did find that out. When the problem first started the batteries where so low the LED readout would not even light up. The jump from the chassis batteries is a good idea.

Thanks FIRE UP for the encouragement. It does appear that these inverters are pesky little devils. I should know later today what it is up to and will report back.

CWHTRAINS · 06-03-2012, 07:22 AM

On your inverter control panel, make sure the "charger draw set input" button is not set at zero. It goes from 0 to 25 amps in 5 amp increments with each push of the button. If it is set at zero, it is not charging your batteries. I use a low setting when plugged into 20 amp outlets, but when plugged into 50 amp power, set it at 25 amps.

HD4Mark · 06-03-2012, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWHTRAINS

On your inverter control panel, make sure the "charger draw set input" button is not set at zero. It goes from 0 to 25 amps in 5 amp increments with each push of the button. If it is set at zero, it is not charging your batteries. I use a low setting when plugged into 20 amp outlets, but when plugged into 50 amp power, set it at 25 amps.

Thanks, it is set at 25 and plugged into the 30amp outlet I installed on our garage. Nothing else drawing on it I know of. Tomorrow I plan to call the company and quiz them if it still isn't working correctly.

HD4Mark · 07-05-2012, 12:12 PM

The inverter came back from being rebuilt at Dimensions (Sensata) a couple of days ago. I have it back in the electrical bay, not an easy task and everything seems to be working OK.

If you ever get into doing this be sure to label the AC input and output wires. The tech at Dimensions said if you hook them up backwards the unit will be going back to them for repair again. Let me also say that it is not easy getting the 43lb inverter in and out since it hangs on 4 bolts on the side wall of the compartment and there isn't much room to work. I used some of the packaging it came back in to stand it on its side and connect everything before bolting in. That made the connections easier to get at.

Beabop · 07-05-2012, 08:15 PM

You were lucky, we had to rebuild ours when it was 3 years old. Has held up fine since,