2020 Transcend Converter outage issue

[SupahCoopah]

Converter output shows 11 volts at the terminal board inside the WFCO 8995PEC but the voltage on the battery leads alone is about 9 volts with the battery reading 11 by itself. Assuming my converter is crapped out am I reading the battery at the converter output lugs in the terminal box? Part deux. I ordered a new converter that will not arrive for a week, in the meantime can I run a battery charger straight to my battery and run some of my 12 volt stuff? Mainly the furnace since it is cold as hell this week. Roads are closed for the next few days so getting to an RV parts dealer is not an option. Thank you.
Mark,
2020 GD Transcend 221RB w/ Factory solar package

[howson]

Converter output shows 11 volts at the terminal board inside the WFCO 8995PEC but the voltage on the battery leads alone is about 9 volts with the battery reading 11 by itself. Assuming my converter is crapped out am I reading the battery at the converter output lugs in the terminal box? Part deux. I ordered a new converter that will not arrive for a week, in the meantime can I run a battery charger straight to my battery and run some of my 12 volt stuff? Mainly the furnace since it is cold as hell this week. Roads are closed for the next few days so getting to an RV parts dealer is not an option. Thank you.
Mark,
2020 GD Transcend 221RB w/ Factory solar package

The pic on the GD Parts website is blurry but it looks like your Transcend has a WFCO WF-8955. I attached the manual for your convenience.

To answer your questions:

...am I reading the battery at the converter output lugs in the terminal box?

Yes. See diagram on page 4 in the manual--the POS+ lugs are wired (through a 30A self-resetting circuit breaker that's tucked under the frame just behind the battery)) to the battery.

in the meantime can I run a battery charger straight to my battery and run some of my 12 volt stuff? Mainly the furnace since it is cold as hell this week.

I'm not 100% sure on this one, Mark--hopefully a more informed individual can answer. I *think* the answer is "no" because a typical automotive-style battery charger is not meant to deliver a (relatively) high amperage over a long period of time.

What might work is charge a second battery while using the one connected to the trailer. When the trailer battery gets low, swap with the (hopefully) charged 2nd battery. Rinse and repeat until the new converter comes in. The second battery could always then be put on the tongue as a "backup". (Since the batteries will different wiring them in parallel is probably not a good idea as they won't be balanced.)

When you get a chance, please check out the Welcome Letter to New Members

Howard

[howson]

SupahCoopah

Forgot to mention---check the Reverse Polarity Fuses. See the manual (page 3 & 4):

Reverse Battery Protection
The WF-8900 Series Power Centers will charge the 12-volt House battery if installed. A battery DOES NOT have to be installed for WF-8900 Series Power Center converter operation. When a battery is installed, two reverse polarity fuses protect the converter circuitry. The fuses are located along the left-center edge of the DC fuse board below the VCC+ lug. Refer to Figure 1 below. This feature prevents permanent damage to the converter from a battery connected into the circuit backwards. In addition to protecting the converter section, the reverse polarity fuses are the main connection between the converter and the DC fuse board.

[TucsonJim]

As Howard, howson mentions, check the reverse polarity fuses on the converter. They are a frequent cause of failure. See page 8 of the manual Howard posted for a trouble-shooting flow chart on your converter.

A battery charger has relatively low current capability. It MAY work though. As long as you're pulling less current out of the batteries than you're feeding back into them, you will keep the battery charged.

Jim

[SupahCoopah]

Thanks all. Spare battery and a 15 amp charger are doing the trick.

[Bookumdanno]

This training video gives some good tips on trouble shooting a WFCO converter and an inverter at the end. A little long but it's good for a tech RVTI continuing education credit. It can be run without a battery, but not for high amp usage such as a slide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpuW...ature=emb_logo