Converter swap - need help

[xtremexj]

I just had to swap out my fried ELX25 for a WF8725-P and am having some problems. I have connected all of the 12v wiring on the back of the new unit in the same order as the old one but I have no power making it to the appliances. If I test for power at the fuses on the converter and use the main battery ground at the back of the converter I show full power. However, if I test for power at the the appliance using the immediate power and ground I get no power readings. I am thinking ground problem somewhere but I have everything connected that came apart and I can't seem to figure it out. The main chassis ground is connected to the buss bar where indicated. I tried plugging it into shore power and still no power to the appliances. Anybody have any suggestions? I am supposed to be heading out in two weekends so I need to get this sorted soon.

 

[dwh]

The manual is a bit skimpy.

My first thought is that maybe it's the reverse polarity protection fuse. That may be in the negative line.



Check from battery neg to appliance hot to see if the problem is in the ground somewhere.

 

[xtremexj]

The manual is a bit skimpy.

My first thought is that maybe it's the reverse polarity protection fuse. That may be in the negative line.



Check from battery neg to appliance hot to see if the problem is in the ground somewhere.

Already thought about the fuse and it's fine. As I stated above, I do have appliance hot if I use main battery ground for testing. If I use appliance ground I have no power. I believe it's ground but can't think of why it would be considering I didn't move any wires other than those connected directly to the converter.

 

[xtremexj]

OK, so I have an update. I called the US distributor of the WFCO converters and they solved my issue - I think. The Elixir converter uses a metal box so it functions as a chassis ground. The WFCO box is plastic so the main 12v ground on the back of the box needs to be grounded to the chassis as well. I kind of suspected this could be the problem but wiring gets under my skin on a good day. Any suggestions as to where I can find a chassis ground on a wooden framed camper? They recommend 2" from main AC ground but I don't really have anything that I can think of that meets that requirement.

 

[brian90744]

You could run a 12V wire from the back of the WFCO to the camper battery ground. Your camper is grounded thru the 7wire 12V plug-in. Just my info.

OK, so I have an update. I called the US distributor of the WFCO converters and they solved my issue - I think. The Elixir converter uses a metal box so it functions as a chassis ground. The WFCO box is plastic so the main 12v ground on the back of the box needs to be grounded to the chassis as well. I kind of suspected this could be the problem but wiring gets under my skin on a good day. Any suggestions as to where I can find a chassis ground on a wooden framed camper? They recommend 2" from main AC ground but I don't really have anything that I can think of that meets that requirement.

 

[xtremexj]

You could run a 12V wire from the back of the WFCO to the camper battery ground. Your camper is grounded thru the 7wire 12V plug-in. Just my info.

Thanks for the tip. I'll head back out and see if I can find where that wire is grounded to and I'll tie the converter into that.

 

[xtremexj]

Problem solved!! I was able to have a chat with the service manager at Palomino and he was able to point me in the right direction. Because there is no chassis ground per say, I had to run a jumper wire from the main battery ground at the converter to the main ground bundle. This was the bundle that ties all the 12v appliances together so now everything works like a charm. At least it was something simple and all of my other wiring for the new converter works as it should as well. :wings: