Trying to wire powerstation 12V/30A DC port to DC fuse box. Progressive Dynamics unit won't accept the current, confused

[daveemac]

1990 Odyssey w/original PD 7231 unit.  The PD's conversions are super lossy, so I want to do what others have done, and connect my Bluetti's 12V/30A DC port to the DC fusebox so I can power all DC directly from the Bluetti (AC200MAX).

 

I thought it would be as simple as disconnecting the Progressive Dynamics DC input power to the fusebox and replacing the wires with the DC from the Bluetti 12V/30A port, but it's not working.  After swapping the wires I see 13.5V at the fusebox input terminals (from the bluetti), but for some reason the Progressive Dynamics fusebox isn't distributing the  power.

 

I've tried disconnecting the coach battery to avoid back feeding it, but that didn't fix it.  I'm an electronics novice, so my not-very-informed guesses are that 1) there's something in the PD unit that's rejecting DC from an external source or 2) the current is being lost in the system somewhere even though I've disconnected the battery.

 

One major point of getting the Bluetti was to avoid upgrading the PD and the coach battery--I'd rather just take them out of the system for DC use.   Any advice is much appreciated, thanks!

 

 

[WME]

Well this is going to be interesting. We going to be dealing with 20 year old foggy memories.

I think the the original PD has 3 output wires, ground, filtered 12v and unfiltered 12v.

So disconnect the Bluetti and battery from the DC panel. You will need an Ohm meter. Find the - (Ground) and the + with the fuses in. Should be continuity. Remove all the fuses and no continuity, reinstall them 1 at a time, check continuity again one fuse at a time. Some of the fuses will work and others won't. The fuses that don't work, have the other + in on the back of the fuse panel.  If all this works a simple jumper between the back and front should get all things working.

Fuses 1-6 are grouped and fuses 7-9 are grouped.

Edited July 19, 2022 by WME

[daveemac]

Thank you @WME

Pardon the newbie-ness, but are you talking about the positive and negative going into the fuse panel, the DC coming in to be distributed?  If so, I have 13.8V there, but don't have continuity...

Or do you mean + & - in the back, and if so, which wires should I be testing, will I need to remove the charger component?

Thanks!

(enclosed photos of front and top of unit)

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by daveemac
photos

[WME]

OK faulty memory, I was thinking of a Parallax. 

If you completely remove the DC power supply. Then hook up a new 12v source it has to work. I'm not what sort of load the Charge Sentinal presents, can you temporally remove it??

Are you taking the 12v from the Bluetti 12v super DC 30 amp outlet or another port?. The smallest new converter is 35 amps so you are under amped from the get go

 

 Bluetti 12v + to the 12v+ fuse panel, Bluetti 12v- to chassis ground.

First picture red wire 12v+, white wire ground????

[Maineah]

Little late into this so I'm not real sure what you are trying to. The fuse panel is fed battery voltage through the red and white #10 wires. First thing I would look at is the red wire it has been hot enough to blacken the insolation. Not a good thing. The #10 white wire is the fuse panel ground. It is a 30 amp panel max. The other colors are for accessories lighting etc. Not that it makes a difference but you image is up side down. What is the thing you are trying to hook up? I have no ideal what a Bluetti is.

[daveemac]

Thanks for the replies!

First:  black on the red wire is just electrical tape residue, but thanks for noticing .  

Yes, unit appears to have been installed upside down, before I owned it.  

I don't know how to override charge sentinel

So:  I attached the positive bluetti wire where the red one is in the picture, and the negative to where the white one is.  After connecting Bluetti wires, my meter reads 13.5 measured at the terminals...but I get no DC in the RV.  Re-attach the red & white wires and it's fine...

 

Any ideas?

PS:  30A unit has run this thing for years, so the 30 from the bluetti should be enough, no?

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by daveemac

[WME]

OK full on peanut gallery🤪...Make another ground wire and go from the white wire to the chassis, so two wires where your white wire is.. Check with an ohm meter but I think that the terminal strip with the green wire will do..

Edited July 20, 2022 by WME

[Maineah]

 I think I would very skeptical about the up side down power panel. I thought it was just the way the camera was held. There is very little space back there real easy to yank some wiring free not even sure how they did it. Me I would unplug the house power and the battery and pull the panel. Crossing DC with AC wiring is a big no no.

[WME]

What I'm thinking, is that everything works with the factory setup. But when the Bluetti is hooked up things don't work. The Bluetti (solar generator) does not have a chassis ground, there is no external ground lug like a real generator. So when it's installed, the Bluetti - (ground) is floating. 

So hooking the Bluetti - wire to chassis ground with a jumper wire should give the Bluetti a complete circuit for 12v. All grounds are then common.

P.S...https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac200max-power-station

Edited July 20, 2022 by WME

[WME]

Try measuring volts from the red wire on the fuse panel to the ground wire on the original house battery.