futar Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Thanks for the wiring diagram. Well, I found one of the 30amp breakers in the coach battery box fried. I heard it clicking on and off when I was camped. Also my 1,000 watt inverter wouldn't work (now disconnected). It had a reading of a fault. The coach battery is in great condition. I replaced the fried breaker. When I went to hook the battery to the positive a huge spark flashed so I did not connect it. Nothing was turned on in the MH. I plugged the motor home in with the battery disconnected. The 12v lighting still does not work. I don't read any 12v at the converter. The 110 system works fine and no breakers or fuses in the converter were tripped or blown. I have the Parallax 7345RU upgrade installed in the converter. Shouldn't the 12v work off the converter without the battery connected? Could the converter have failed and blown the battery breaker? Ideas out there???? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Thanks for the wiring diagram. Well, I found one of the 30amp breakers in the coach battery box fried. I heard it clicking on and off when I was camped. Also my 1,000 watt inverter wouldn't work (now disconnected). It had a reading of a fault. The coach battery is in great condition. I replaced the fried breaker. When I went to hook the battery to the positive a huge spark flashed so I did not connect it. Nothing was turned on in the MH. I plugged the motor home in with the battery disconnected. The 12v lighting still does not work. I don't read any 12v at the converter. The 110 system works fine and no breakers or fuses in the converter were tripped or blown. I have the Parallax 7345RU upgrade installed in the converter. Shouldn't the 12v work off the converter without the battery connected? Could the converter have failed and blown the battery breaker? Ideas out there???? Thanks Not sure if this is any help (I don't have the Parallax system at all. But here is a trouble shooting guide for the 7345 upgrade... http://www.parallaxpower.com/7300/Flowchart7300.pdf If you look at the flow chart (no DC output)... you get to a big box instructing you to do a voltage check (after a couple of other minor obvious checks): "Voltage should be at 13.2 to 14.2VDC" or something to that effect. Then if it fails that test (in all likelyhood), you end up replacing the converter. Hope that's not your case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 The Parallax staff responded and I learned something that I would like to share. The two 30amp fuses on their circuit board are not overload protectors. They are reverse polarity protectors. The converter circuit responds faster than any fuse. I pulled those two fuses and got a 13.5 voltage reading. So there's nothing wrong with the converter. I have a short somewhere in the coach circuit. I have a suspicion. I was out at my farm where it is being cleared for restoration. There's a lot of debris like barbed wire on the ground. I am going to do a thorough under chassis inspection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 The Parallax staff responded and I learned something that I would like to share. The two 30amp fuses on their circuit board are not overload protectors. They are reverse polarity protectors. The converter circuit responds faster than any fuse. I pulled those two fuses and got a 13.5 voltage reading. So there's nothing wrong with the converter. I have a short somewhere in the coach circuit. I have a suspicion. I was out at my farm where it is being cleared for restoration. There's a lot of debris like barbed wire on the ground. I am going to do a thorough under chassis inspection. Glad your converter is good... would have been expensive. As a good double-check maybe you can disconnect all 12VDC loads at the converter and use a temp "test load" suitable for 12VDC... A headlight or something would be useful as the test load. See if the unit works with the known good test load... then proceed to locate the short. A verification of the "goodness" of the converter is worth lots when it comes to spending what could be lots of time looking for an obscure short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 I followed the Parallax diagnostic directions and found that the wire from the coach battery was shorting out. I crawled underneath and traced the wire. I found that a wiring harness retainer let go. The harness and battery wire fell on the exhaust shorting out. I repaired it and all systems go again. I think my 1,000 watt inverter might be damaged from it. No biggee, I've been sitting on a new 2,000 watt unit that I bought on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I followed the Parallax diagnostic directions and found that the wire from the coach battery was shorting out. I crawled underneath and traced the wire. I found that a wiring harness retainer let go. The harness and battery wire fell on the exhaust shorting out. I repaired it and all systems go again. I think my 1,000 watt inverter might be damaged from it. No biggee, I've been sitting on a new 2,000 watt unit that I bought on sale. What kind of inverter was the (possibly fried) 1000-Watt? I have a Sunforce 11240 1000-Watt pure sine wave model that I picked up on sale at amazon.com for $194.15... wondering what to avoid with it, although it does seem to have lots of input protection. On the short to the exhaust system, was the wire melted onto the exhaust or was it simply shorting due to friction? I have been using c-clip metal (some nylon) retainers for my wiring modifications along with grabber screws to hold any cables... sometimes finding the right channels to route cables is a challenge I must admit. As a circuit board and system designer I know that strain relief considerations are extremely important in mobile systems (I actually design industrially hardened systems for military and aviation uses... if you want to fire your computer or Ethernet system out of a bazooka, I'm your man). As you can imagine I'm VERY anal when it comes to wiring, but the RV world and all of the standard practices are new to me. I'm very open to tips on how others have implemented their modifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 ... the RV world and all of the standard practices are new to me. You must be feeling very, very frightened at this point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 You must be feeling very, very frightened at this point! Funny that you mention it... not frightened; I would say "inquisitive." This has been quite an education. Topics have included 1) De-winteriztion 2) Fuel capacity blues (solved with 40-gallon upgrade... I can now go 350 miles between fillups) 3) House electrical system upgrades and understanding the basic operation/theory of converters. 4) The "Geo-method" of waste-tank care (this made a HUGE difference!). 5) LPG tank basics... why horizontal tanks are exempt from over-fill protection devices (OPD's). 6) Fuel economy (still working this out). 7) Winterization (now in process for the 1st time... I've bought the fluid). Still to come... Furnace lighting ceremony (the only system I have not tested...) Fiberglass repair and new finish Dinette set construction. Birch interior overlay. And when I get it all finished, I'll probably sell it (at a loss for the cost of my education) and buy another one. I'm really trying hard to make everything as professionally installed as possible. I'm not skipping details and too proud for my own good. Is this experience similar to what other guys have the 1st time in an RV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetboy Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Funny that you mention it... not frightened; I would say "inquisitive." This has been quite an education. Topics have included 1) De-winteriztion 2) Fuel capacity blues (solved with 40-gallon upgrade... I can now go 350 miles between fillups) 3) House electrical system upgrades and understanding the basic operation/theory of converters. 4) The "Geo-method" of waste-tank care (this made a HUGE difference!). 5) LPG tank basics... why horizontal tanks are exempt from over-fill protection devices (OPD's). 6) Fuel economy (still working this out). 7) Winterization (now in process for the 1st time... I've bought the fluid). Still to come... Furnace lighting ceremony (the only system I have not tested...) Fiberglass repair and new finish Dinette set construction. Birch interior overlay. And when I get it all finished, I'll probably sell it (at a loss for the cost of my education) and buy another one. I'm really trying hard to make everything as professionally installed as possible. I'm not skipping details and too proud for my own good. Is this experience similar to what other guys have the 1st time in an RV? Alvin...I've been where you are! Done most of the stuff on your list, including updating the interior. I gutted all the old stuff and built new couch area with extra storage, moved water tank forward, installed Bamboo flooring, and installed big recliner. If you search out some of my earlier posts, I put up pics I did of my Birch veneers with Polyurethane topcoat. Rebuilt cabinet doors too with smoked glass insets. Did it all on the cheap, but looks much more modern. As for the furnace, I scrapped the old troublesome inefficient system for a new 95% efficient Catalytic heater. A simple small air hose with small computer fan blowing air in (over the heater) assures I stay toasty and asphyxiated-free! My fuel tank rusted and clogged my pump within a year of getting it cleaned out, so I sealed it this time with POR-15. No more rust worries with that awful water-loving ethanol blend! Hey, how 'bout posting some pics?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.