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Power Center Noise


Ritabago's Dad

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My power converter, located at the base of the couch in my '91 Winnebago Warrior has always had an audible hum, but lately, it has taken to making a louder, sort of rattling, grinding sound occasionally. Not all of the time. Usually when I turn on the roof A/C and then turn it off. I go outside and unplug, then plug back in and it goes back to a quiet hum. My meter will show differing voltages from the same pedestal. For example, at the camp site I'm at now, it's read 116 to 123 each time I do a reset. Here's a link to a YouTube video showing the reset.

What am I looking at here? Is that a fan noise? Fan going bad? Something worse?

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I agree that it sounds like the fan. My converter is about 4 ft from the fuse panel so it is easy to tell where any noise is coming from.

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Should I be worried about the fan giving out and the converter overheating, causing more problems? I'll be passing through Nashville soon and have a guy there who can work on it. Just have to get through a few days of shore power with this 100 degree heat index!

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Vacuum the enclosure around the fan and give it a little oil on the shaft.

To get access, remove the brown front panel. I found a huge dust bunny in mine.

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My power converter, located at the base of the couch in my '91 Winnebago Warrior has always had an audible hum, but lately, it has taken to making a louder, sort of rattling, grinding sound occasionally. Not all of the time. Usually when I turn on the roof A/C and then turn it off. I go outside and unplug, then plug back in and it goes back to a quiet hum. My meter will show differing voltages from the same pedestal. For example, at the camp site I'm at now, it's read 116 to 123 each time I do a reset. Here's a link to a YouTube video showing the reset.

What am I looking at here? Is that a fan noise? Fan going bad? Something worse?

Sounds like a cooling fan on it's way out Campground voltage is not real stable there are 5 sites on one breaker load usually so if an AC for instance goes on in another camper your voltage will drop when it goes off it will go back up. That voltage range is normal I would not be concerned. They do sell inline surge suppressors that will take care of over voltage spikes but are they worth $200 to you?

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I bet it is the fan. If you remove the front panel (the one that has the door you flip down to see fuses) - it is held on by a few screws, you can see the fan. I bet it is very dirty in there - lots & lots of dust. Vacuum it out MAKE SURE SHORE POWER IS NOT ON first.

The cooling fan kicks on when the transformer gets warm (the hummmming noise) which happens when: 1) the house battery is charging, 2) when 12v DC lights etc are being used, and 3) when it is just warm out - like summer time.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the input, everyone. Here's an update: water had gotten low in the coach battery. Topped it off and did invest in a surge protector. It was still noisy for the next couple of state parks, but it's gone back to being quiet.

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the fan only runs when it gets hot in there - like when the converter is really working hard charging the battery or running 12vdc stuff (lights, exhaust fan, etc) -- and indeed if it is hot outside, it will warm up quicker and more often.

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