Converter 5 Amp Fuse

[camper rich]

On our recent 3 month break-in trip to Baja I only used shore power a few times and am not sure it is working properly. This is the post from the campground we stayed at in Yuma AZ on the way down:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13855-cant-get-ac-power/

At one point we had cloudy weather and the battery was down to 12.3 and I could tell that the solar wasn't keeping up, so I got out my Honda 2000 and plugged it in and ran it for about 2 hours. It did nothing and the battery continued to fall by the next morning to 11.9. Luckily the sun came out and the solar did it's job of charging the battery back up. I did as recomended, turning off the converter circuit breaker before hooking up to the generator.

It was later that I pulled the black plastic grill off the converter and found that there is a single 5 amp fuse that had been blown, probably back in Yuma when I had that surge from the shore power in the RV park.

We have since returned from Baja and I am still wondering if my converter is working. We stayed at a KOA in St George, UT where I plugged into shore power for one night. There was still no indication that I had more than 12.7 or 12.8 volts reading on the Zamp Controller, which seems to read the same as what is on the batteries. I think it should be reading more like 14 or more volts after charging all night.

Anyway, after arriving home, I have plugged it in and it still only reads the 12.7 or 12.8. During the day, the solar takes over and I do see 14.5 volts. I have found the 5 amp fuse blown 3 times now, including this morning when I plugged it in.

Anybody else have this problem? Any suggestions?

 

[camper rich]

I am conducting a test to tell me if the converter is working. First I removed the solar connection at the battery so that solar has no input to charge the battery. Next I disconnected my two golf cart batteries from the camper and connected a 12 volt RV battery I use for my fishing boat to run my fishfinder. It is a Costco 85 AH deep cycle. I checked the charge on it and it said 12.1 or 12.2 Volts, so it is in a state of discharge, which I knew it would be. I figured that would cause the converter to kick into charging mode. After connecting up the shore power to my garage and turning on the converter circuit breaker I figured I would see some voltage change. So far nothing. The master push pull switch is definitely in the out position in case you're wondering.

I'm going to let it sit like this overnight and if I don't see the battery come up I'll assume the converter is not working.

 

[TacoTruck]

I think I remember being told on walk around if I want to charge off of shore power the master power switch needs to be off are you doing that? I don't think that explains the fuse blowing issue.

 

[camper rich]

As I understand it, the master switch has to be in the out position, or pulled back in order to charge the battery. The result of my test over the last 4 hours is that there is no charging going on at all. The battery is still at 12.1. There is also no power on the two wires that fasten to the battery.

The LED light in the camper was on, being powered by the test battery. I disconnected the battery and the light went out, indicating that the converter is not working at all. The accessesories should continue to work off the converter even though there is no battery connected. The only place I have power is to the 120 volt GFCI plug, indicating that there is shore power coming into the camper.

The instructions that came with the camper indicate that there is a Green LED light on the fan end of the IQ4 smart charger. I had to use a mirror to find it and it is working as advertised, ie. after turning on the breaker to provide power to the converter, the LED flashes 6 times to indicate the number of battery cells. Then it just stays on solid green, which according th the table indicates that it is on Float Status. Obviously it is not as the battery it is connected to only has 12.1 volts.

Are there any other fuses hidden in there that might be keeping the power from reaching either the battery or the 12 volt accessories?

The installation guidelines indicate that there are some internal reverse polarity fuses that may blow if the unit is hooked up wrong. I have looked for them and cannot find them where indicated. It looks like the unit needs to be removed from the cabinet to get to any fuses that might be there. I also don't think that reverse polarity is the problem although I guess it is possible.
There no indication as to what the symptoms would be if one of them was blown.

I can see this is going to lead to a phone call to FWC to get it straight.

 

[PaulT]

I think I remember being told on walk around if I want to charge off of shore power the master power switch needs to be off are you doing that? I don't think that explains the fuse blowing issue.

Service manual http://www.fourwh.com/FWC_Owners_Manual_03.20.2014.pdf, page 5 of 15 (assuming 2016),
The batteries will charge from solar or truck alternator regardless of master power switch position.
In order to charge from AC via the Iota converter, the master switch must be pulled out.

However, you need to determine the reason that 5 amp fuse in the Iota is blowing. Because the Iota outputs 30 amps, the 5 amp fuse must be on the AC side. I would contact FWC for some help troubleshooting what may be causing the converter to draw enough AC current to blow that fuse.

Because you have a Honda EU2000i generator, you can buy the battery charging cable set. This provides about 8 amps DC for charging batteries. It is _NOT_ a smart charger and you must stop charging manually to avoid damaging the battery. However, that may allow you to get by until you solve the problem. Monitor voltage & state of charge on the Zamp display.

Paul

 

[Old Crow]

<snip>

Are there any other fuses hidden in there that might be keeping the power from reaching either the battery or the 12 volt accessories?

The installation guidelines indicate that there are some internal reverse polarity fuses that may blow if the unit is hooked up wrong. I have looked for them and cannot find them where indicated. It looks like the unit needs to be removed from the cabinet to get to any fuses that might be there. I also don't think that reverse polarity is the problem although I guess it is possible.
There no indication as to what the symptoms would be if one of them was blown.

The manual for the DLS Series tells us (under Battery Connection on the second page) RV installations require a breaker within 18" of the battery. Can you find that breaker?

Also- this video may be helpful. It includes a Troubleshooting section (starting around the 7:35 mark) and also shows where the reverse polarity fuse(s) are. Also note that the Troubleshooting section also shows the breaker.

If the reverse polarity fuse blows, there will be no voltage from the output terminals.

I am mystified by the 5-amp fuse. Can you describe the location in more detail or perhaps post a photo.

 

[camper rich]

FWC has installed their breaker box right next to the IOTA. I don't know if it is on the power line going into the IOTA or in the 12 volt DC line on the output of the IOTA. I can't get a look at the wires without removing the front of the cabinet which is glued together (it looks like to provide a seal on the battery compartment). I did find a 30 amp fuse attached where the reverse polarity fuse was supposed to be and it looks good. It appears the FWC replaced the blade fuse with an inline blade fuse so that it would be more accessable through the small opening where the converter is ie. there is a yellow wire with a fuse holder in the middle with male blade connectors on each end to the wire which are plugged into the polarity fuse sockets.

I have disconnected the solar so there is no input to the batteries other than the converter which has also been disabled by turning off the circuit breaker. I am trying to draw down the battery far enough so that the converter will need to go into other than the float phase to charge the battery back up. When it gets down to 12.4 volts (without a load) I will turn on the converter and see if I get any charging.

My general feeling is that the converter is toast because it does not power any of the 12 volt accessories with the battery disconnected.
I don't believe the battery needs to be connected for the converter to put out 12 vdc.

I have a call in to IOTA bult they haven't called back.

 

[camper rich]

Finally talked to the tech at IOTA an he told me that if the fuses are good and the green LED is on, then I should be reading 13.6 volts without the battery in place. It is reading zero, so he told me to package it up and send it in to IOTA to have it checked. I am going to work through my salesman at Equipt Expeditions in Salt Lake City and FWC as it looks like a lot of disasembly of the cabinet is involved to get the IOTA out of the small space it is in.

 

[camper rich]

After taking my camper into the FWC dealer (Equipt Expeditions) in Salt Lake City and discussing the problem with them, they talked to FWC and determined the 5 amp fuse is in fact for the outboard running lights and has nothing to do with the converter that is still not delivering voltage to the battery. One of the running lights is shorting out and causing the fuse to blow. I found another blown 5 amp fuse this morning before I took it in.

They also came to the conclusion that the converter is not working because there is possibly a loose conection within the cabinet somewhere, a conclusion I was considering since the LED light on the converter seems to be functioning properly. They are going to look in to it and fix it.

FYI, I found out there are only 3 fuses in a FWC other than those in the fuse panel; one for the running lights, one for the converter polarity, and one for the solar panel.

Paul at Equipt has been very helpful and has conveyed the message that FWC will do what is necessary to solve our problem. They want to make everything right. Meanwhile the solar is taking care of the battery just as it did in Baja.