electrical brown out

[gobears]

I'm experiencing a new problem i havent run across before, this just started happening the past couple trips. when hooked up to 30 or 50 amp, the monty is experiencing frequent brown outs, the power is fine then everything dims, including the furnace fan. then the electrical panel fan kicks on, everything returns to normal. this cycle continues and is very frustraiting, only seems to be affecting the 12v system. could it be a bad battery?

[Ozz]

Yes, I would check the battery

[gobears]

thanks Oz, supposed to warm up by Wednesday, i will get the meter out and test it

[Tom S.]

Also check your inverter. I'm still on my first battery, but my second inverter.

[Art-n-Marge]

Tom S., did you mean the converter? When plugged into shore power there's some amount of that amperage being used by the converter for recharging and running 12v stuff and I've read many stories about when it's not working. I don't know how to check that the converter is recharging but maybe someone can jump in and tell you how. This could be causing the battery to fail or not run at its best if the converter is not recharging correctly.

I don't have an inverter in my rig, but I sure wish I did. But that would be for when I'm boondocking with 12v and need some 110v. I thought that an inverter which converts 12v to 110v worked opposite of the converter which converts 110v to 12v. But then why are some generators called inverters which has a motor that generates 110v or is it a misnomer? Is it because it's a clean AC wave? Wow, the New Year is here and already I'm puzzled.

I hope you post what you find.

[HOOK]

Could be as simple as low battery water.

[MIMF]

gobears,

It sounds to me that, the converter is getting ready to go bad at any time. If it should quit, you will not have any 12 volt power to operate any of the 12 volt appliances. All of which, you mention in your initial post. What is happening is, it is not taking 110 power from the distribution panel and converting it to 12 volt power. The converter is then what supplies that power to the 12 volt side of the distribution panel. You know, the side of the panel with all the pretty colored fuses.

I think you need to have someone hook up multimeter to it and watch. You will see ups and downs in the 12 volt power it is producing which, explains the lights going dim and bright.

The old Challenger is on her 2nd converter. I suspect that within the next year or 2, she will need the 3rd one. When that happens, I'm going to up grade to atleast a 65 amp converter instead of a 55.

BTW folks, if you do have converter issues, one of the best things you can do for it is to make sure it has plenty of air flow over and around it. When I installed the 2nd one, I created more air flow to the compartment it was in by drilling a 3"diameter hole in the wall behind the steps. I do not hear the cooling fan operate nearly as much. So, perhaps this converter might last me longer than I think it will. But, the quickest way to kill a converter is not to allow it to be ventilated.

[ray fischer]

gobears, that's exactly what happened to me when my convertor was dying. The battery checked out fine, it was the convertor. Once the convertor was replaced,no more issues.

[Phil P]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

But then why are some generators called inverters which has a motor that generates 110v or is it a misnomer? Is it because it's a clean AC wave? Wow, the New Year is here and already I'm puzzled.

Hi

The motor produces DC and the solid-state inverter changes that to AC. The result is a regulated Voltage / cycles that don’t change with engine RPM.

This is a simplistic way of saying it.

Phil P

[jackel1959]

gobears,
When we had our Mountaineer, we had the same issue you are talking about. Ended up being the converter.....it was only putting out between 6 and 9 volts. Check your battery, but if your converter isn't providing enough voltage (around 13-14 volts) your battery will not get charged. IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE CHECKING THE OUTPUT FOR THE 12 VOLT SYSTEM (BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE TO DO IT WITH SHORE POWER HOOKED UP) HAVE IT DONE BY A CERTIFIED ELECTRICIAN OR RV REPAIR SHOP.

R,
Jack

[MIMF]

This is to make it more understandable as to what an inverter is as I understand it. An inverter does the exact oposite that a converter does. It takes 12 volt power and inverts it back to 110.

[gobears]

If I'm reading these replys correct, I can disconnect the battery ground line, connect the shore power, if the 12v lights don't work, my converter is bad?