converter not wired for a battery

[SheBantam]

I just bought a new to me 1979 Jayco popup.  I had it in the shop to have the bearings packed, then part of the lights went out...so I had them check the converter to see if I could hook up a battery.  They said something about my converter was only to convert the 110 to 12 volt...

Somehow that makes no sense to me...but I am the first to admit that I know nothing about electricity.  Changing a converter is far beyond my paygrade...and my husband will throw fits if I spend too much on this old camper.

I understand from reading elsewhere that my truck battery would not run the inside lights.
I have also read where a battery can be "clipped in" what ever that means.

This popup ( and I have NO idea which 1979 model this is) is very basic, stove does not come out, has a 10 gallon fresh water, no w/h or heater, but lo and behold it does have a very old roof top AC.

Any ideas on putting a battery for lights in it or should I just go to Walmart and buy a couple of those lamp looking things???

[oreo57]

My nephew has an older starcraft where the converter wont charge a battery but does the 12v lighting. There is a switch for converter/off/battery, so I made a pigtail to connect to the 6 pin connection on the tounge and then to the battery. Works like a charm.Look for an electrical schematic and see if its possible on yours.

[wavery]

I just bought a new to me 1979 Jayco popup.  I had it in the shop to have the bearings packed, then part of the lights went out...so I had them check the converter to see if I could hook up a battery.  They said something about my converter was only to convert the 110 to 12 volt...

Somehow that makes no sense to me...but I am the first to admit that I know nothing about electricity.  Changing a converter is far beyond my paygrade...and my husband will throw fits if I spend too much on this old camper.

I understand from reading elsewhere that my truck battery would not run the inside lights.
I have also read where a battery can be "clipped in" what ever that means.

This popup ( and I have NO idea which 1979 model this is) is very basic, stove does not come out, has a 10 gallon fresh water, no w/h or heater, but lo and behold it does have a very old roof top AC.

Any ideas on putting a battery for lights in it or should I just go to Walmart and buy a couple of those lamp looking things???

The guy hadn't a clue what he was talking about. All you do is splice into positive (black) 12V wire coming out of the converter and run a hot wire (maybe a 10g or 12g wire) out to the positive post on the battery. Run another wire from the negative side of the battery down to a screw on the frame. The negative wire should be white. Be sure to put a 30A fuse in the positive side.

If you are concerned about the battery doing damage to the converter (which is unlikely IMO) you could put a diode (available at any auto parts store for less than $5) in the line between the splice and the converter. A diode is like a one-way gate that only allows DC current to flow in one direction. Have the diode positioned so that current cannot flow from the battery to the converter but it can flow from the converter to the battery. The diode will be marked.

It's real basic stuff and you really can't hurt anything as long as it is fused. The converter may not put out enough voltage to keep the battery charged completely but the lights will work off of the battery when you are dry camping (no hook-ups). You may need to charge the battery with a "Smart" battery charger.

The tricky part is to be sure that you select the correct wire coming out of the converter. It may be red or black. Either way, check the voltage with a volt meter (while the camper is plugged into 110v house current) to be sure that the wire is putting out 12V DC and it's not 110V AC.

People try to make these converters a big mystery. They are really very simple devices. They take 110V AC and convert it to 12V DC by running the current through a transformer and a series of diodes so that the output is DC only. THAT"S all it does. It does not know if there is a battery hooked up or not and it doesn't care.. It just puts out current and if there is something there to accept the current, the current flows, if there's not, current doesn't flow. No magic about it.

If you do this, you may want to disconnect the battery while hooked up to house current. In the unlikely event that the converter puts out over 13.5V (which I doubt) there is a slight chance of over charging the battery.

[austinado16]

Cool Wayne, thanks for that education.  Next time I have my camper out I'm going to see if it's set up to charge the battery via the convertor, and if not, install a charge wire as you've outlined.

[coach]

I suggest you go to wally world and buy a few battery (c, d, AA cell) powered flash lights/lanterns. Except for a lawn mower or motorcycle battery, the smallest deep cycle is gunna set you back $70 at Cosco/Sam's/Sears. Then the 3 stage smart charger is another $50-100, then a $5 volt meter or hydrometer ... That's a lot of flashlights/lanterns/etc that can be used elsewhere.

12v deep cell batteries require some maintenance/education.

My mid 90s converter does not charge the battery (not designed to), it has a conv-off-batt selector. It's 9 amp, 13.6v output would 'boil' off the battery water if I kept it connected.

[wavery]

I suggest you go to wally world and buy a few battery (c, d, AA cell) powered flash lights/lanterns. Except for a lawn mower or motorcycle battery, the smallest deep cycle is gunna set you back $70 at Cosco/Sam's/Sears. Then the 3 stage smart charger is another $50-100, then a $5 volt meter or hydrometer ... That's a lot of flashlights/lanterns/etc that can be used elsewhere.

12v deep cell batteries require some maintenance/education.

My mid 90s converter does not charge the battery (not designed to), it has a conv-off-batt selector. It's 9 amp, 13.6v output would 'boil' off the battery water if I kept it connected.

Coach, if you put a diode in the line from the converter to the battery, the battery would never see the converter power. I picked up a new 25A Shuemaker smart charger on eBay for under $20 (incl shipping).

[SheBantam]

Thanks guys.

I have 2 hard sides, one 15' from end to end and the other a 21' hybrid both take the deep cells and I have taken them out in the winter and put them back in in the spring and have also replaced them. Both are charging through the truck battery.

I also have an OLD craftsman electric battery charger that my father gave us before he passed, so we have had it since around '87 and it was old then, it is old reliable, it is one of those that goes into trikle charge when it reaches capacity, so recharging when I get home is not a problem.