dolphindriver Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hello all, Just bought a 1989 Dolphin that had been stored for a while (a long while as it has 34,000 miles on it). Problem is the converter makes a click then a banjo twang note, then repeats this two note symphony for as long as the coach battery is connected. There is no 12 volt power in the rv when the coach battery is connected. When the coach battery is not connected - plugged into 120 AC - all the 12 volt circuits work with no twanging. I can isolate the twang to the converter component with a spring like thing. It is the original converter. I know that I need to change the converter to a new model, however I need to use the toyota for the next few weeks before I can afford the cost for a quality replacement. Any quick and dirty ways to fix this problem, or is there any other options besides the $150+ new converter. Thanks for your time. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Welcome to the forum Dophhindriver. I am sure that one of the expets will be along pretty quick. I suspect that your only option is going to be replacing the converter. I will be doing that to my Escaper this summer when it comes out of storage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I would have to guess it's the breaker there is a thermostatic auto reset breaker inside of the converter just make sure your battery is correctly installed the +/- part other wise it's probably a converter issue (internal short). Once it's plugged in the relay closes and the battery is disconnected from the 12 volt lighting that's why I think you may have the battery leads reversed. One of the best upgrades you can do to your MH is a modern converter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphindriver Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Thanks for the reply Maineah. You were correct - I had the polarity switched on the coach battery. It appears I am in need of more careful work. I had the battery hooked up with the + and - cables reversed. I did check with a voltmeter but I misread my voltmeter when checking the polarity of the cables from the cables from the car (or my old belief that black is always negative made me ignore my voltmeter). SO black is + and white is negative for my 89 Dolphin at the battery box. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Hi guys. I am having the same exact problem. I am hearing a click and then a twang but only when my marine battery is connected which is connected correctly. Do I need a new converter? Where do I buy one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Does this only do this on shore power? What happens if you connect the battery and don't apply shore power. What happens if you connect the battery and start the truck. If the "click - twang" sound you hear keeps repeating every few seconds, then its the self resetting circuit breaker that's popping , then resetting. These are typically 35 amp breakers. they do go bad, but check other stuff first. 1) battery is shorted or connected wrong. if there are multiple wires connected to the PLUS or MINUS, make sure these really go where you think they go. If you have multiple wires going to the battery terminals, connect them together with a bolt, but don't connect them to the battery terminals and see if it does the clicking thing. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidadro Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thanks for the reply Maineah. You were correct - I had the polarity switched on the coach battery. It appears I am in need of more careful work. I had the battery hooked up with the + and - cables reversed. I did check with a voltmeter but I misread my voltmeter when checking the polarity of the cables from the cables from the car (or my old belief that black is always negative made me ignore my voltmeter). SO black is + and white is negative for my 89 Dolphin at the battery box. Cheers. Don’t get confused, as yes in Black in most cases is Negative for Direct Current, but Black is Live or Charged for Alternating Current, with the White being Neutral, Green usually Ground. I say this to let you know that your outlets and 110 situations will no doubt be wired for the Alternating Current, and the 12 volt will be for the Direct Current. Your converter distributes the power as needed to each system. DO NOT connect wires black to black if you are installing something unless you have checked which particular voltage type the wiring is, as one could do some damage if they connect a 12 volt to a 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 It does make the same sound if I am not connected to a shore line. I must note that when we connected an 800 watt power inverter in it it smoke the inverter, We hooked up a 1500 watt and it blew all of the fuses. Is this normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 NO, you got something wrong. Lets start at the beginning. Did it ever work correctly?? John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Yes it worked correctly until last week when I fist tried to hook up the 1500 wt converter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 If your absolutely positive that the battery wires are correct, then its probably the self resetting breaker is bad. When you tried to hook up the inverter, are you hooking it directly to the battery?? John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Yes we are directly hooking up to the marine battery. I am going to re check the wiring tonight. But, this noise is happening even without a battery. Even when I have the shore line plugged in. How is that self resetting braker fixed? or can it even be fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Pic of my converter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 WAIT - You say, if the battery is not connected, and your plugged into shore power, you get the clicking noise? ( I must have misread your post as I thought this only happened when you had the battery connected.) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thats the same converter I had. Without the battery connected, and hooked to shore power, do your lights and water pump work? John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 When we plug into shore and dis connect the battery the lights everything do work. but when the battery is connected we get the sound. I tried testing every wire and leaving one out to see if it was a specific wire and it does it on them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 the fuses all seem good. Look at the pic of the fuses and notice where there is one missing on the left. This was missing before this problem though. What is this fuse for? Also, I located the box that is making the noise and took a pic of it. Also, right after the click teh lights go dim and then I get the banjo sound. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 There is a short some where or the battery is wired backwards. Do the lights come back on and it starts all over again? The missing fuse is a spare slot. That is a old converter/charger now would be a good time to upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 The black upside down T right in the middle of the bottom compartment is what is making the noise which I believe is a relay. If this switch blew cant I just get a new switch? If not, I dont even know where to begin to look for a converter for this. Can someone point me in the right dirtection buying online? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 the banjo twang was what happened to me when i had my deep cell hooked up backwards. everything works until you start the car right, and then you hear twang, twang twang thats because lights can work perfectly wired backwards. youve got your ground wire ( thick wire) connected to positive. connect it to negativce. youve probably already killed your deep cycle check on the warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 The black thing is the self resetting circuit breaker. I'm inclined to believe that its OK and just doing its job. I base this on your statement that the lights dim (something shorting out the 12 volts) just before the Twang (the sound of the circuit breaker popping). Disconnect the coach battery. Does the coach lights and water pump work when you start the truck (yes/no) Do you have a voltmeter - If not, you need to buy an inexpensive one ($15 or $20), Walmart, radio shack, It really does seem like the coach battery is hooked up backwards. If/When you get the voltmeter, you can connect it to the wires that go to the coach battery (battery still disconnected) start the truck, and see what the voltage and polarity is. How old is the coach battery?? John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 You have two things there that could make noise. The small one is a auto reset breaker the big one with all the wires is a change over relay it switches between the battery and city power. It would do you a world of good to replace the unit you can put all kinds of converter/chargers in but it would involve some mods on your part bestconverters.com is a good outfit give them the numbers from your old one and they can tell you what is out there to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Maineah - Another piece of this puzzle is that he said he smoked an 800 watt invert when they tried to connect it, and blew the fuses on a 1500 watt inverter. It sounds like the inverters may have been hooked up to incorrect polarity. I've never seen it, but I guess its possible the PLUS and MINUS are incorrectly marked on the battery - A Voltmeter would answer this question in about 1/2 second. Everything points toward a battery that is hooked up with incorrect polarity, but he swears its correct!!!! John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Also I would like to add as deep as you are into that box there are potentially dangerous voltages present when it's plugged in so be careful poking around in there. Quite often the converters are wired directly to the power cord meaning they can not be turn off with out unplugging them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Maineah - Another piece of this puzzle is that he said he smoked an 800 watt invert when they tried to connect it, and blew the fuses on a 1500 watt inverter. It sounds like the inverters may have been hooked up to incorrect polarity. I've never seen it, but I guess its possible the PLUS and MINUS are incorrectly marked on the battery - A Voltmeter would answer this question in about 1/2 second. Everything points toward a battery that is hooked up with incorrect polarity, but he swears its correct!!!! John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto It is possible to charge a dead battery backwards. On all automotive batteries the negative post is smaller then the positive a volt meter will tell you pretty quick if it's backwards. Inverters are very fussy reverse polarity will take out the fuses instantly most have a pretty beefy protection diode just for that purpose. I agree it points to reverse polarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8white Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Ok guys. It was the battery hooked up backwards like everyone suggested. I took it to a friend who was a mechanic to find this out. My mistake. Thanks for all your help guys. It was greatly appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Gr8white; Thats good that you found this out. I would recommend buying a small roll of RED and BLACK electrical tape. Wrap the wires that go to PLUS with the RED and the wires that go to MINUS with the BLACK. When I installed my Inverter, I moved al the wires that normally get connected to the battery inside to a terminal post, and then ran two cables for the battery, one RED and one BLACK. theres no messing around trying to figure out what goes where. After you get settled down, you may consider upgrading the Converter, this depends how you use the Toyhouse. In the meantime, if you leave the toyhouse plugged into shore power, consider removing one of the battery terminals so you won't cook your battery. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto John Mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 <p>The conveter you have has 2 12VDC sources. The main one is a regulated, but unfiltered 12VDC supply that runs the coach lites, heater, etc when plugged into shore power, your picture doesn't show it but there should be a small pc board to the right of the isolation relay, this is a trickel charger for the coach battery which is connected to the battery when plugged into shore power. This charger is adjustable, there is a small trimpot on the ckt board. If you will be plugging into shore power for more than several hours with an already charged couch battery you should adjust the output voltage down to a maintain voltage level, around 13.1 VDC or slightly less. If the transformer on the left isn't getting too warm after several hours of run-time I would keep what you have unless you are using appliances that don't like the ripple riding the top of the coach 12VDC, installation of a dual filter capicator will also take care of this. The advantage of the syestem you have now is because the coach battery is seperate from the coach DC you could install a device called a battery tender in place of the original charger, which will do a much better job of taking care of your coach battery that any of the so-called "smart charger / charge wizard" ckts of the 3 sources that I found when the transformer got too hot for me. I replaced ours with the Progessive Dynamics unit so at least I can see what it's putting out in volts, there's a red led whose blink rate changes to tell which of the 3 voltage levels it's putting out, and I can manually change that with the pushbutton on the fuse/charge "wizard" ckt board. For the money I am not at all impressed, and think I will do this myself if I can scource the center tapped transformer in the MagneTek 6335 that came with our 91 Dolphin. Anyway, like you have to blow out the electrostaticly attracted dust from your computer and TV the picts of your converter show it to be in serious need of a clean-up. Whichever way you go good luck. I will say the Progressive Dynamic kit is a neat wellbuilt product that is an easy install. vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Newer charger/converters are light years ahead of the old units they are close to 90% efficient 1/4 the weight (no huge transformer) their output amperage is the same as the power output instead of a 3 amp battery charger they are electrically quiet and well regulated they do not need relays. They can be left on all winter with out fear, they disulfide the battery, can be bought for as little as $150 and run cool whats not to like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Mine got put in wrong because a mine came with no coach battery and no explanation from the po And b because my ground wire is red but all the other wires are black or blue, all positive. I hooked it up, it worked I thought end of story. It started out with a banjo twang then it literally melted wires. What's crazy is it takes a long time but the alternator beats the rear battery into submission and kills its charge. I do believe it could explode. Mine was just ruined I turned it in for costco warrany one month old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I've got one newer than the ops in mine maineah but I don't think it has any of the features you described. Its a step newer but barely with glass tube fuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I had a 50 amp Magnetech. I measured the amp charge into a half charged battery..,1 amp. I now have a 60 amp Progressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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