Converter - Have you upgraded?

[BrucePerens]

If I wasn't mechanically and electrically capable, having a 2004 Trailmanor would indeed be a hardship. I'm not sure there is a trouble-free RV, and I bought a beater (it was totaled by the insurer for hail damage) purposely for my first RV. But maybe a much newer conventional one would be a good balance of cost and hardship.

[B_and_D]

We're still using the original converter on our 1997 TM. No problems so far.

[Mainemoosepies]

How does the 12 vdc system work in a Trailmanor

[Bill]

How does the 12 vdc system work in a Trailmanor

Quite well, actually.

Or perhaps you have a more specific question.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

Originally Posted by Mainemoosepies

How does the 12 vdc system work in a Trailmanor

AC power connected to the pedestal
Pedestal connected to the house power cable
House power cable connected to the converter
Converter connected to the battery
Converter connected to the water pump
Converter connected to the furnace
Converter connected to the light switches
Light switches connected to the lights
NOW, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!
Dem trailers, dem trailers, gonna roll around!
Dem hoses, dem hoses gonna drain around!
Dem campers, dem campers gonna get around!
NOW, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!

[Bill]

Originally Posted by mainemoosepies

How does the 12 vdc system work in a Trailmanor

OK, we've had our fun. I'm still not quite sure what your question is, but perhaps the attached sketch will help clarify things. (Check back to this post, as I will be updating it.)

Here are several notes for this post.
1. "AC power in" can come from either a campground power post outlet or a generator, through the TM's big black cord.
2. The box that we normally call the "converter" contains both a DC side and an AC side. The DC side has a number of fuses (the colored plastic things, a dozen or so), and the AC side has 3 or 4 circuit breakers (the big black things).
3. The thing labelled "charger" converts 120 VAC power to 12 VDC power. This 12 VDC power is used both to charge the battery, and to run the various 12 VDC loads. That is why you can remove the battery and still run the 12 VDC appliances if you have AC input power.
. . Purists will say that the word "converter" applies only to this charger block, but it has become common to refer to the entire box of stuff as the converter, so I labeled the diagram that way.
4. I have shown distribution of AC power on a single AC distribution line, and distribution of DC power on a single DC distribution line. And I have shown each branch line attached to one of these distribution lines. This is conceptual, but not quite physical. In reality, every branch line goes all the way back to its own fuse or circuit breaker, physically located in the converter. The diagram was getting too crowded and confusing if I brought out each fuse or breaker separately. Your blue book contains a more complete diagram.
5. The refrigerator is shown on both the AC side and the DC side, since it can operate on either.
6. I have shown the various electricity consumers (appliances, etc) from memory. There may be others I have missed. For example, an electric tongue jack is not shown, nor is a solar power system.
7. The TM's road-related lights - brake lights, turn signals, running lights, and backup lights - are powered solely through the tow vehicle. Those lights are not related to the diagram in any way.

Bill

[Mainemoosepies]

Hi guys,

Kudos for the humor & sorry for the delayed reaction. I'm sitting here horse laughing and my family thinks I have finally lots my mind

Been quite tied up with work the last couple of days and when the new TM website launched this forum website has been blocked at work due to it not being listed as secure anymore. Essentially when arriving home I am getting watered, fed and going to bed shew. Has not been much time for projects the over the last week.

So, I asked a very open ended question without specifics and got what I asked for. Thanks for laugh lol

Lets play again please?

Must a battery regardless of charge status need to be hooked up for the 12VDC to function properly?

[Bill]

Originally Posted by mainemoosepies

Must a battery regardless of charge status need to be hooked up for the 12VDC to function properly?

As mentioned in Note 3 in my post above, the answer is NO. Assuming your TM is plugged into shore power, you can remove the battery and the converter will continue to supply all the 12-volt loads.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

The original WFCO converter is missing DC filtering. Without the battery there will probably be a hum on the power that will be heard in the radio, and it might work poorly with some devices. Also, some Trailmanors (my 2004) use the battery for the break-away brake system. On those units, the battery is a required safety component.

[Mainemoosepies]

Hello again! Hope everyone is doing well

All is back up and functioning! Woot! Woot! At least the things I knew were working at this time last year.

We are the 3rd owners of this 2008 2720SL. When we bought it from the previous owners they stated everything functioned the last time they used it which was...who know when. Since it was already fully winterized at the time of purchase and our camping utilization would be 90% in a winter dry camping environment - we have not fully tested everything out. ie the furnace, water heater/pump, toilet

After upgrade 2 mystery wires -

After some discussion with the tech at Progressive Dynamics he has a hunch that my two mystery wires may be responsible for charging the battery when in tow mode. Now that I know everything is functioning, tomorrow I am going to disconnect the battery then hookup the power connection to my tow vehicle and test the two wires to see if I am getting power to them.

If that turns out to be the case I have no idea on what to do with them. On the old WFCO board there was a dedicated positive lug input and the negative lug input to the converter was doubled up. I am fairly confident doubling up a positive connection is not how it is supposed to work - what would the potential implications of doing this be?

Finally, putting it all back together.

When I was swapping out the converter I noticed the top plastic retainer clips that held the circuit board in place were broken off. Currently all just kind of just hanging out there. Does anyone have any recommendation on how I can get this circuit board back in?

Thanks again for all your wisdom and guidance. Everyone has been incredibly helpful. Once this project is completed I intend to do a summary in hopes to help some future green horn from making the same mistakes I have hehe