Replacing the Elixir power converter

[subaruwx]

I think my power converter is dying, and of course I'm just out of warranty on my QS10. I remember from the old yahoo forum that the WFCO converter is the standard upgrade/replacement, and I see that LL is now installing these as standard, specifically the WFCO model 8725. 

I've gotten more comfortable with 12V power since I got this camper, so I think I can do this myself if it's not too much of a PITA.

Has anyone else replaced their power unit? What did you install? Any helpful tips? 

[admin]

I just replaced mine with the WFCO model. I would still recommend reaching out to LL since the converters prior to the WFCO series were known to be defective they might still send you a replacement. At least they did for me.
In my 10.0 I found the opening was just a hair too small for the WFCO. I was able to take a grinder (for speed) to knock down just a bit of existing material. It was maybe a 16th of an inch total removed and I split the difference as best I could between the upper and lower bars. Other than the size opening it was a direct replacement, but keep in mind the converter powers both your 120 and 12 volt systems so you should feel comfortable working with both systems.

My main advice is to be sure all power (120 and 12 volt) is disconnected before you do any work to it. Then take plenty of pictures and make plenty of labels as you take it apart. Its really not complicated and if you do forget where something goes, its relatively easy to trace it back. Other than keeping track of the circuits it should be a direct replacement.

I'm in Fuquay but work in Cary so feel free to reach out if you have any questions if you do decide to do it.

-Sean

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/2177/thread" timestamp="1406566522" author="@subaruwx"]I think my power converter is dying, and of course I'm just out of warranty on my QS10. I remember from the old yahoo forum that the WFCO converter is the standard upgrade/replacement, and I see that LL is now installing these as standard, specifically the WFCO model 8725. 

I've gotten more comfortable with 12V power since I got this camper, so I think I can do this myself if it's not too much of a PITA.

Has anyone else replaced their power unit? What did you install? Any helpful tips? 


[/quote][font size="3"]Sean's post has some good cautions and advice. If you have to replace the converter look at the Progressive Dynamics units. Their Charge Wizard is functionally much better than the WFCOs[/font] [font size="3"]and reportedly more reliable. I really like the PD in my CL 21RBS. I don't know how close it is physically to your present unit.
[/font]

[subaruwx]

I finally got around to replacing my old Elixir with my WFCO power center. I learned a lot, but it took some mistakes. Here are some thought to share...

The WFCO8735 is not a drop in replacement for the Elixir. I got the 8735 since it provided a few more DC circuits, and I want to add some outlets and USB chargers in the future. When I first checked the WFCO site, I remember checking the dimension, but clearly I made a mistake.  The 8725 might fit the opening, but I had to cut another 1 inch above the old opening. It was a PITA - I had to cut through the entire aluminum bar above the panel. There is a vertical aluminum bar that now just hangs down. This is far from ideal, but structurally it probably doesn't matter much. I hope.  

Once I got the opening sized and inserted the WFCO unit, I realized how lacking the instructions were in the WFCO manual. I must have connected and cut 6 new butt connectors before I had everything connected correctly.  I found this on the Popup Portal site, which was very helpful :

[admin]

Glad to hear everything turned out ok. I think you will  be much happier with the 8735 with your future expectations. I will say the 8725 is listed as a direct replacement, however I still had to spend a lot of time shaving the metal supports because they were about 2/16" too small.

[subaruwx]

Tried out the new converter for a few days of camping. I didn't have an electric site at Stone Mountain, NC, so it was going to just be battery for lights and maybe a fan.  I had tested everything the previous weekend after the (long) installation, so I figured everything would work. Ah, by that would be too easy. No 12VDC.  Had my multimeter handy, so I checked the battery. No problem. Checked the incoming line - 12.7 volts.  But none of the circuits nad power. Checked the fuses - they all looked good. Oh well - it didn't ruin the trip or anything. We just took the LED lantern inside the QS10. But I spent lots of time thinking about what could be wrong.

Back home today to troubleshoot. When on 110VAC, the 12VDC ports get intermittent power.  So I Installed a new dedicate clamp for the negative wire coming out of the converter and secured it to the frame. Now the 12VDC ports have consistent power - must have been a loose connection for the negative wire.  But still no 12VDC when connected to the battery.  

After checking every circuit, I was ready to order a new converter. Then I checked the fuses again. This time, I checked both sides of the fuses and noticed one that was burned on one side but not the other. And this was the fuse for the circuit that goes to the battery. Bingo! A new fuse on this circuit and now everything works.  I'm guessing the loose negative wire shorted the circuit and broke the fuse.   So remember all you newbies like me - check those fuses thoroughly!

[admin]

Now that you mention it I remember having to fight with the negative wire lead as well. I'll have to double check next time I open the QS up but I think I ended up grounding it directly to the frame as well. I'm trying to remember all the details but I think I had the main positive and negative lines coming from the battery which was then tapped from the factory for various reasons. The Positive line went to the converter to be branched off as needed. The negative line was tapped to run to the 2 12v mini outlets and 1 12v car style outlet. I could not get the power to work correctly if the negative line from the converter was connected directly to the negative line from the battery. At the time I was just happy to have it all working but now I'm getting more and more curious on how everything is wired and why it is the way it is...

[admin]

Also how was Stone Mountain? We were thinking about heading up that way at some point. Right now we have a couple of nights booked at South Mountains SP on the 17th. I cant wait for some crisp fall mountain weather.

[subaruwx]

Stone Mountain was nice!  They have 3 campground loops, and one of them is heavily wooded. The RV sites are in the open, but are not on top of each other. I stayed in one of the wooded sites, and there was a nice buffer between us and surrounding sites. The bathhouse was older, but very clean and in good repair. Lovely sites and a well maintained campground. The hiking was great! Several waterfalls, the open bald, and the restored homestead.  I'm not a fisherman, but we saw lots of folks fishing for trout in the miles of streams. The trails are well maintained, and the steeper areas all had wooden or stone steps. There is a nice little country store just outside the park that caters to campers, but also had ice cream and a grill.  And we were just a short drive from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Doughton Park.

Our goal is to visit all of the state parks in NC, and Stone Mountain is on our short list of places to return.

[admin]

thats great to hear

[leslie]

I like to see the reports on different campsites, state parks, etc. I am making a list of places where I want to camp. Stone Mountain has just been added to my list.