POWER CONVERTER CHARGING ISSUE

[AGENT86]

My 2006 Rockwod has the WFCO ULTRA WF-8935AN DISTRIBUTION PANEL. It's charging intermittently cutting out to zero output at any given time no matter whether there is a load or not. I have discovered the cooling  fan has also quit. I pulled the charger from the distribution housing & found the problem to be two ceramic resistors....or whatever the proper terminology is.

When I gently tap on the top of these ceramic resistors the  unit comes back on and is in BULK mode. The charger may remain on for several hours or cut off several times in one hour. As long as I tap the tops of these"resistors" it will come right back on.  I believe the cooling fan not working may be partially or fully due to these components as well. I currently have a small fan set next to the charging unit to keep it cool.

Does anyone have any idea if I can buy  replacement parts & repair the charging unit? I would hate to buy a whole new unit if I can simply  repair this one. Those parts can't be that expensive when compared to a new charging unit.  Whats a good online site should I have to buy a new charging unit?

 

[Alfa38User]

It depends how adventurous you are. If you are a competent DIYer in electronics, you may be able to fix it cheaply. The parts themselves are likely available anywhere stuff like this is sold, once you identify exactly what you need. You are not likely to find that info from the Chinese made WFCO itself and a wiring diagram for your unit may not be readily available.

But... bear in mind that WFCO units often have a reputation of a short life expectancy (5-6 years or so) so you may be better off installing a replacement unit from PD or other 3 stage converter manufacturer. A good place to start may be here: www.bestconverter.com/ and talk to them

The only difficulty I see in replacing the charger unit with a better one would be the determining what modifications are necessary because of the distribution panel associated with the existing unit, as it will have to be retained.

 

[Great Horned Owl]

I won't claim that it is impossible. but I have never known a resistor to fail in such a way that tapping on it would make a temporary fix. Much more likely is an intermittent solder joint where it is connected to the circuit board.

If you do need to replace the part, you will need to identify it. What are the dimensions, length and diameter? Does it have any markings? Is there a series of colored bands on it?

Joel

Staff edit: Remove huge leading white space

 

[AGENT86]

I won't claim that it is impossible. but I have never known a resistor to fail in such a way that tapping on it would make a temporary fix. Much more likely is an intermittent solder joint where it is connected to the circuit board.

Joel

I believe you've nailed it...when it cut out again today which was the first time since posting my question I pressed down on the resistors instead of tapping on them & that got it charging once again. To me this  sounds more like what you described rather than a faulty component. I am preparing for such a repair with high hopes.

I've located my fine-solder for electronic repairs & now must locate my soldering gun which I haven't seen for a LOOOONG time. I may end up buying a new one.  Now I just need to purchase a new deep-cycle battery & I can jump in with both feet as the saying goes. Thank you.

 

[AGENT86]

It depends how adventurous you are. If you are a competent DIYer in electronics, you may be able to fix it cheaply. The parts themselves are likely available anywhere stuff like this is sold, once you identify exactly what you need. You are not likely to find that info from the Chinese made WFCO itself and a wiring diagram for your unit may not be readily available.

But... bear in mind that WFCO units often have a reputation of a short life expectancy (5-6 years or so) so you may be better off installing a replacement unit from PD or other 3 stage converter manufacturer. A good place to start may be here: www.bestconverter.com/ and talk to them

The only difficulty I see in replacing the charger unit with a better one would be the determining what modifications are necessary because of the distribution panel associated with the existing unit, as it will have to be retained.

I believe Great Horned Owl has correctly identified the issue as an intermittent solder joint. I'm leaning in that direction & will know for sure next week when I cut power to replace battery & hopefully perform a successful repair on the unit. I shall post back after that...THANX!