trimster Posted July 18 Report Share Posted July 18 I'm confused about the actual wiring from the converter in our trailer. Are there two sets of wires/circuits for the 12v side? One that charges the batteries and one that draws from the batteries to run the 12v side of things? I'm assuming that there is a relay of some sort in the converter that drops the charge circuit when shore power is removed. Quote Robert & Lisa '14 Keystone Fuzion 315 38' 5er 2015 Volvo VNL 670, D13, iShift 'The Tartis' (ours) 2013 Smart Fortwo Passion 'K-9' 2011 CanAm Spyder RT Limited (Ours) We are both USAF vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl&Rita Posted July 18 Report Share Posted July 18 Not a relay, typically. No need for one. Quote I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 2000 Kenworth T 2000 w/N-14 and 10 speed Gen1 Autoshift, deck built by Star Fabrication 2006 smart fourtwo cdi cabriolet 2007 32.5' Fleetwood QuantumPlease e-mail us here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimster Posted July 18 Author Report Share Posted July 18 Thanks. That diagram makes sense. Quote Robert & Lisa '14 Keystone Fuzion 315 38' 5er 2015 Volvo VNL 670, D13, iShift 'The Tartis' (ours) 2013 Smart Fortwo Passion 'K-9' 2011 CanAm Spyder RT Limited (Ours) We are both USAF vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted July 19 Report Share Posted July 19 (edited) Just how things are wired depends on the maker of the RV. A battery doesn’t care either way. It has only 2 posts, positive leaving and negative where the electricity returns. If the battery voltage is higher than the voltage of the wires connected to the positive side the battery supplies electricity and of battery voltage is below the voltage of the wire connected to the positive post it gets charged. That is assuming that there is a return path to the negative post. The converter supplies power by sending out a voltage to a common connection to the positive post of the battery and also common to the supply side of the 12V system. When the battery charge reaches the same voltage as is being supplied by the converter it stops being charged and sits idle while the converter does the work. If you remove the power to the converter it turns off and sends nothing to the battery so it takes over supplying the voltage. This is a simplified explanation that ignores some things but in basic terms is accurate. Edited July 19 by Kirk W Quote Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Schneider Posted July 19 Report Share Posted July 19 (edited) Very old converters had an internal relay because the technology at the time didn't allow the production of large amounts of filtered DC power. So the converter only produced a small amount of filtered DC for loads like a radio and to trickle charge the battery while the relay switched most of the loads between the dirty power output of the converter when it was on and to the battery when it was off. This went away 30-40 years ago and all modern converters have a single output which goes directly to the battery and the load center. The dual output terminals are for convenience, sometimes manufacturers used the converter terminals as the tie point between the battery and the load center. Each pair of terminals connects to the same point in the converter so you can use one or both in the pair. Edited July 19 by Lou Schneider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted July 23 Report Share Posted July 23 Trimster, its been yearssssssssssssssssssss since I had a Converter/Charger with switching and relays but I have no idea what you have ?? If its a more modern basic RV 12 Volt system, its the BATTERY, that energy source which powers all 12 Volt loads (lights, fans, water pumps, fridge controls etc etc). Of course, you need a 120 VAC in to 12+ VDC out Charger to replenish the battery energy consumed which the Chargers two + and - wires provide by their connection to the BATTERY + and -. If you happen to have Solar Panels and their Charge Controller, its two wires also connect to the BATTERY. Basically, connect all loads to the battery and connect any charging sources to the battery also (using overcurrent protection) EASY PEASEY TWO WIRE 12 VOLT SYSTEM While the two + and - load busses can work wired at different locations I prefer they be connected right at the battery. If you have a modern so called SMART 3 State Charger (Bulk, Absorption, Float) it automatically maintains the proper charging voltages and State of Charge level to the battery, no work on your part aside from normal battery maintenance. John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimster Posted July 23 Author Report Share Posted July 23 2014...so new, 3 stage charging side of the converter. No solar, yet. Quote Robert & Lisa '14 Keystone Fuzion 315 38' 5er 2015 Volvo VNL 670, D13, iShift 'The Tartis' (ours) 2013 Smart Fortwo Passion 'K-9' 2011 CanAm Spyder RT Limited (Ours) We are both USAF vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted July 23 Report Share Posted July 23 1 hour ago, trimster said: No solar, yet. Thanks for the update. Solar NO PROBLEM just connect the Solar Charge Controllers DC Output to the battery same as Charger EASY PEASEY John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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