Noisy converter?

Just recently our converter has become noisy. I assume that it's the fan, but when new it didn't make any noticeable noise. Any suggestions on quieting it? Thanks!

I thought mine cycled on a lot and the manufacturer's info said it was so quiet I would probably not hear it.  I was concerned so I called them.  I had a nice conversation with a technical service guy.   He said mine was quieter than earlier models, 2006.  I suggest you call them, they should be able to tell you if you have a problem or not as they did with me.  Good luck,  2travel ,Steve

Right before hitting the sack, we turn it off at the breaker. Being a VERY light sleeper, that solves the problem of the noise at night. It doesn't bother George but I can't tolerate the cycling on and off of the fan.

Judi

I thought mine cycled on a lot and the manufacturer's info said it was so quiet I would probably not hear it. 

One man's quiet is another man's 1st row rock concert seat.  I find the converter fan is a restless beast cycling at what I would think should be low peak current draw times.  We try to ignore it. 

Mark

Newer PC's are equipped with a converter (120v to 12v) (converter located below the circuit breakers) and a separate inverter (12v to 120v) (inverter located under passenger side bed).  On ours the cooling fan on the converter is almost impossible to hear.  When we were having electrical issues I had to put a tissue over the fan grill to even determine the fan was running.  On the other side of the coin is the cooling fan for the inverter, it is noisy and goes on and off all time.  The inverter requires the cooling fan because it is constantly monitoring the shore power even when the inverter is turned off.

Before you start troubleshooting make sure the noisy fan is the converter and not the inverter.  As Judi points out she is turning off power to the inverter.

Barry

I had assumed that it was the converter because the inverter was switched off behind the driver's seat. If the inverter fan runs whether switched on or off, then I'm still surprised that when new it was quiet and now noisy. I'm almost always hooked to shore power so I could just turn off the circuit breaker (or is it fused?) to the inverter. Is the inverter only used for the TV and equipment or are some of the outlets fed by the inverter? 

I have replaced cooling fans in a number of different electronics.  If one day my Tripp-Lite needs a new fan, I'll replace it too.  Exact replacement cooling fans can be purchased on the internet for very cheap.

But before you replace your fan, first blow out the inverter with compressed air, It could be debris sucked in and caught in the fan itself.

The same applies to computers, both desk tops and lap tops..

With the Xantrex Power Distribution Panel shore power is passed to the inverter via Circuit Breaker 5  for monitoring.  This causes heat buildup in the inverter so the cooling fan needs to run.  If you turn Circuit Breaker 5 off power to the inver is removed and the inverter fan will not run.  If the noise goes away the inverter fan is bad.  If the noise remains the converter fan is bad.

There are also some outlets controlled by the inverter.

Barry

In our unit, the inverter outlets are: bathroom, kitchen, and in the cabinet over passenger seat (and driver - we added one). Also in our rig, just those outlets are white while all others are black but Kermit said the color doesn't really designate inverter or not. An easy way to tell is unplug from shore power and use a nightlight or something to check which outlets have power.

I have a question though, aren't all the lights, vent fans and refrigerator fan powered by the inverter? I thought everything that ran while on battery had its power run through the inverter first.

aren't all the lights, vent fans and refrigerator fan powered by the inverter?

These items are 12V and powered directly from the house batteries.

Barry

Having just returned from our very first trip in our 2350, we survived one night and one night only with the sound of that fan.  After that first night, I threw the breaker on the site electric box before bed time and turned it back on next morning.   Since it is underneath the corner bed, I think I will just pull the bed supporting platform up and take a look.   We mostly boondock, so it is not going to be a problem but man that little fella is LOUD. 

Paul

Quote

aren't all the lights, vent fans and refrigerator fan powered by the inverter?

These items are 12V and powered directly from the house batteries.

Barry

So the only time we are actually using the inverter is if we are not plugged into shore power and plug something into one of the inverter outlets? If so, then figuring out a way to easily turn the inverter on and off would be a great help IF that is the fan we hear running. Kermit told us it is the CONVERTER fan that we hear and most people will never hear the inverter as it has a little fan and is tucked back in under the bed.

Quote from: Barry-Sue on November 09, 2013, 08:39:31 am

Quote

aren't all the lights, vent fans and refrigerator fan powered by the inverter?

These items are 12V and powered directly from the house batteries.

Barry

So the only time we are actually using the inverter is if we are not plugged into shore power and plug something into one of the inverter outlets? If so, then figuring out a way to easily turn the inverter on and off would be a great help IF that is the fan we hear running. Kermit told us it is the CONVERTER fan that we hear and most people will never hear the inverter as it has a little fan and is tucked back in under the bed.

Yes, you are correct, the inverter is just sitting there waiting for you to use the 110v outlets if you are not plugged into shore power.  While waiting, it powers an internal relay to pass 110v power through but when 110v is not present then the relay switches off to allow the inverter to provide 110v power from the 12v batteries if you turn the inverter control on.  The fan runs to cool the relay and circuitry while in standby mode.

Yes, you need to determine if the fan you hear is the inverter or converter.  In the electrical box there is a breaker that sends 110v to the inverter, turn this off at night and if the fan noise is gone then it was the inverter.  There are two breakers for the inverter, hopefully they are labeled "to" or "from" the inverter.  I am not at my RV, but as I recall, there are three breakers at the bottom of the panel, one is from the inverter and feeds the two below it that go to the inverter controlled 110v outlets.  So, the one that goes to the inverter is above those and that is the one to turn off.  If that works, you can just turn that breaker off at night.

I eventually rewired my inverter so that I have a manual switch to bypass the inverter so that the inverter is not powered when not needed, thereby eliminating the fan noise.  A couple years ago I posted a description and photos of the rewire, but the photos are not posting any longer, I will redo them and repost if anyone is interested.

Another way to determine which fan is making the noise is to tape a tissue over the fan grill of the converter and see if it moves when you hear the fan noise.  The converter fan is at the bottom of the electric panel and you can see the fan grill.  The inverter fan is not readily accessible since the inverter is located under the bed.  I have found that the converter fan rarely runs, it has to be working hard to convert 110v to 12v before it's fan operates and then it is a quieter fan noise to me.  So, at night there is not much 12v converter work going on and no fan, whereas the inverter is still in bypass mode and cooling it's fan.

Bob

There are a few things that use inverted power 24/7 unless you go out of your way to disable or unplug them.  They are your GFI outlet in the bathroom, your TV and possibly your head unit with CD/DVD player.  They just might be the reason why the inverter is blowing it's cooling fan for what appears to be randomly.  That is why many of us turn on the inverter only when 110V is needed, otherwise utilizing 12v system features.

There are a few things that use inverted power 24/7 unless you go out of your way to disable or unplug them.  They are your GFI outlet in the bathroom, your TV and possibly your head unit with CD/DVD player.  They just might be the reason why the inverter is blowing it's cooling fan for what appears to be randomly.  That is why many of us turn on the inverter only when 110V is needed, otherwise utilizing 12v system features.

Yes, the inverter fan might run more often when the inverter is working to create 110v from the 12v batteries for the items you describe.  However, the issue here is that the inverter fan goes often even when plugged into shore power and the inverter is turned off not and not creating 110v.  In that mode, there is a relay in the inverter that is powered by the 110v to allow 110v shore power to pass through the relay contacts to the circuits.  The inverter is off and doing no work to create 110v, but the relay gets warm and the fan comes on to keep it cool.  Even if all the circuits fed by the inverter were disabled and no 110v current was passing through the relay contacts, the fan would continue to cycle to keep the relay cool due to the heat created by the relay coil itself.  When 110v is not present, the relay switches off to a condition to allow the 110v created by the inverter to flow to the circuits if the inverter is turned on.