Wow, what an amazingly helpful video! I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out upgrading my ‘83 Bigfoot’s panel. You helped me a lot!

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Thank you so much . had electronics shop in high school ,beating my head over trying to fig this out. I watched so many videos still banging head, then found you !!! OMG,I get it ..... When you got to the bus bar I shrugged - then the light went off ...... the bus bar completes the circuit on the DC side . I have the Progressive Dynamic 4050 . I cant thank you enough !!! you have a talent , you should teach. I am now going to wire my trailer .

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, enjoy

Really nice job! Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video. Really helpful

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Just what I needed thanks for a great tutorial

Really good detailed video shots of the inside of the control center, the breakers, the wiring, the neutrual bar, the grounding bar with easy to follow narriation/instructions. I have a 2005 PastTime Camper with a EXL-20 30amp/120v that went bad I 'm replacing it with the PD4100 Control Center. There are some difference between the 2. EXL-20 did not have a main breaker in the control box for the Shore power; it connected directly to the busbar and had a main breaker in the main service panel or I could unplug from shore power. The PD4100 requires a 30amp main breaker in the control panel with 2 15amp breakers. If you've ever installed/wired a subpanel with a main breaker you should have no issues with the AC side. The DC side seems straight forward. I may do the same and hold off on the battery side being I'm connect to shore power. The camper is used as an on-site office; no longer on the truck; I may need to run the grounding wire to a grounding pad/rod being there is no chassis to connect to. This was way easier to follow than the instructions that came with the control center. I had to enlarge the opening; the new height was 6 3/4" . The new length was 10" (half an inch shorter) so will try to center the control box in the opening or use a filler. Thanks for saving me time to figure this out it appears to be a good DIY project.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for coming across your video! I have the 4500 series only connected to shore power, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why the DC side wasn’t working. It turns out that you need a negative / ground wire connecting the negative battery terminal to the shared ground bus bar for both AC/DC. Voila!! It works.

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris, Yes, I have had several folks have the same problem.

Very informative video. Thank you for the well thought out instructions

This has been extremely helpful, thank you! I'm replacing an old old old OLD 15amp system with glass fuses on a 70's trailer and upgrading it to a 30 AMP system with the same (or very similar model). I was able to compare what's in the trailer now with your video and know exactly what I need to do now so thank you!

@JoediyLab

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback.

Very good explanation of information. This helps alot!!

Your video is very helpful! Thank You!

@JoediyLab

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback

You are awesome, thank you

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir

Nice video Joe 👍😁

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dave

@wadeolson19

3 жыл бұрын

Very through! Thank you. I purchased a similar converter which also has all the black DC hot wires coming out of the DC side (not individually marked). How did you determine which of these wire goes to which fuse?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@wadeolson19 Hey Wade, on the back side of the fuse circuit board, you can see the wires from each fuse. With the power off you could use a continuity tester to test the fuse to each wire.

Thanks!

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Charles, good luck

Thank you for the great video, my install went flawlessly in part to your video for guidance and confirmation. I would like to know a bit more about the shunt, does it read each load individually or the battery as a whole. Thanks again

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Thanks

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Total amp draw, Thanks

Thank you Joe for such an informative guide to understanding a power converter. I just received my PD4100 and am ready t o install it. I was wondering what to buy for a battery monitor. What did you use?

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dan, I put the link to the battery monitor in the description.

I just got this converter and my brain has had a meltdown. My old conver didn't look like this and so the wire setup is very different. So basicly I'm starting off new. I understand how to wire the ac side with the breakers, bus bars and all that. Where I get confused is the DC side. My old wire system consists of 3 wires coming up thru the floor of my pop up. Blue, white, and black. I followed the blue and white up the wall to. My ceiling and porch lights. No idea where the black wire disappears too. Now I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, the blue is probably bthe positive and would attach with a wingnut to one of the black wires on top. Where does the white wire go?. Do I need a separate bus bar for them, and then one wire attaching it to the bus bar on the ac side? Also it looked like in the video the black wires were attached to the white wires with wing nuts. That confuses the heck out of me. Video was very helpful in explaining alot, but I could use a little more elaboration on that please. I'm a bit slow bwith this kinda stuff. Thanks!

Hey joe! Great video! I have a question. I’m building a camper van that will ONLY be setup for shore power. Can I run this setup without a battery/battery bank? I will have some led lighting, a radio, and USB ports wired to the DC side. In theory the internal converter should be able to handle that, correct?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Yes you can, While I was waiting for my batteries to arrive I did some testing on shore power. Worked just fine

What a lucky video to find, because we're replacing the exact same old model with a PD4100. One question: old box had a single 15/20 tandem breaker. Our new PD box has one opening right now, for the main breaker. I just need to punch out the covers for additional breakers for branch circuits, right?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I currently have the main 30 amp and two 15 amp breakers for my AC circuits

Hey Joe. I watched your video on this install. I installed the same PD 4100 in my trailer. But for some reason, the 12 volt side is not working. I have an electrical back ground and can not figure this thing out. I have nothing at any of the fuses. Any ideas? HELP!!!!! THANKS JOE.

Great video, you do a great job. What is the significance of the 2nd red wire? I am switching to this from the WFCO 8735 and it’s mostly straight forward. The WFCO is a 6 circuit and the F6 is the power with a 30 amp fuse (F7 is reverse polarity fuse). Wouldn’t a red wire indicate that it should be attached to the battery? Thanks!

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Yes the first red wire goes to the battery, the second red wire is for a 30 amp DC circuit.

@drewjames1676

9 ай бұрын

Is this the same for the PD4060k? I dont see anything in the specs for using the red wire on the dc side to the battery. It has a separate lug in the converter for the + to battery. Thanks, Drew

I have a faulty WFCO-8735-P Power Center in my TAB trailer that needs replacing. I currently have a standard lead acid battery, but hope to convert to lithium in the future. Would this PD4100 fit exactly into the same hole as the WFCO-8735-P (and have the same wires to connect up with)?

@JoediyLab

11 күн бұрын

Check Progressive Dynamics web site, I am not familiar with the WFCO unit. They list the dimensions. The PD4100 has a switch for Lead acid/Lithium based batteries. I run the Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.

Very informative tutorial, Joe! Thank you for posting. On my RV, I added an automatic transfer switch. The two electricity sources are, therefore, shore power and inverter/battery. I have solar for battery charging when on inverter power, but I want the battery to be charged by the converter/charger when on shore power. Thus, if I remove the 3 wires that feed the converter/charger (via the breaker...14:26 in the video) and attach them to the shore power connection in my transfer switch, battery charging when on shore power will be handled primarily by the converter/charger. When boondocking and thus on inverter/battery, shore power is disconnect (and thus the converter/charger is disconnected) and we avoid the "battery charging/discharging loop" that can cause bad things to happen. Am I thinking through this clearly? Please correct me if I've got this wrong.

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Robert, Depends on what type of inverter/charger you have. Some are smart enough to convert. There are some auto transfer switches that do this. Since I do not know your setup, you can google running converter and solar/inverter together. Here is a link to get you started www.parkedinparadise.com/rv-inverter-charger/

@robkaOK

3 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thanks, Joe! My converter/charger is the PD4045KA (very much the same as yours). ATS is the Go Power! TS-30. 3 kW inverter + 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery and an old but reliable PWM solar charge controller. My solar panel is a old but venerable Uni-Solar PVL-144. Thanks, again!

Hey, looked they the comments, didn’t see this question asked… Do you know if this unit has a low voltage cut off? To keep the battery from fully discharging if lights on a 12v circuit were left on. Thanks.

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

I double checked the docs, did not see anything, But you can install a battery monitor with a shunt and set an alarm to warn you when the battery voltage reaches the critical low voltage.

Great video Joe. Ive just installed this same unit and the AC side is working but no DC circuits are working when unplugged from shore. Battery is good. Any advice? Just as an aside, I'm fairly certain all my wiring is correct.

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Make sure you have your DC grounds connected to the DC bus bar.

Yes how did you wire your metering device off the shunt? I am getting ready to put the 45 amp model I'm my camper and would like to be able to monitor my voltage as well.

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Here is the link to Amazon, Check out the image of the wiring diagram. That will help you out on wiring the shunt. www.amazon.com/AiLi-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Voltage-Motorhome/dp/B07FGFFHC6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=5GGZ3JML9D2J&keywords=battery+monitor&qid=1661315060&sprefix=battery+monitor%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-4

@berniefiorelli3501

Жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thank You!

Nice video. Can you give more details about the Shunt? I saw how you wired the neg to it, but how about the unit itself that you are reading?? Can you tell/show how that is wired and more about reading the data to understand the DC loads

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Kathleen, go to the Amazon link and click on the image with the wiring diagram. This will show you how to wire the battery monitor and shunt. www.amazon.com/AiLi-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Voltage-Motorhome/dp/B07FGFFHC6/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1YSPT41QE53D7&keywords=12+volt+battery+monitor&qid=1661104877&sprefix=12+volt+battery+monitor%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-5

Hi Joe, Can I just wire the DC negatives to the grounding bus bar on the AC side or do I have to get a separate bus bar for that?

@fogstain

2 жыл бұрын

Seperate

@ejlanigan4089

2 жыл бұрын

I don't think it matters, as all the DC negatives should ultimately be grounded together. Having a separate DC bussbar (connected with 1 thicker wire to the controller bussbar) may make it easier if you don't have enough space in the controller's bussbar.

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful. One question, I put a 30amp shore power inlet and a 15 amp extension cord inlet in my camper. My thoughts on this was I don't need 30 amps much but would like the option if needed. The extension cord inlet powers one outlet for a small heater or a coffee pot with USB plugs for charging phones. Can I hook the 15 amp inlet to one of the 15 amp breakers in the converter? Or can I wire the 15 amp inlet direct to the plug since the extension cord will be hooked up to an existing fused outlet at the house? Suggestions please!

@JoediyLab

2 ай бұрын

If I understand you correctly, If your camper is not wired for outlets, yes you can wire an extension cord to supply power. But do not go too long with the cord. Longer extension cords will consume more amps and would require larger conductor size. If you are wanting to charge your batteries from a house extension cord then there is separate wiring on the converter that you can wire in for shore power. Look at the documentation for which wires are for shore power. The best way of course it to wire one or more outlets in your camper and wire outlet(s) directly to the power converter. Good Luck.

@lindathompson6041

2 ай бұрын

I'm building my camper. I put one outlet in it. I have a 30 amp shore power inlet hooked to the converter but I also installed a 15 amp power inlet. I have a 50 ft 12 ga. extension cord and a 30 ga. 25 foot shore power cord. Right now I have the 15 amp inlet wired directly to the plug so I can use it if I am parked at home. The 30 amp power inlet is connected to the main fuse on the converter to use when I have 30 amp service at a campground but I don't have any outlets connected to that. I would like to connect the 15 amp inlet to one of the 15 amp breakers on the converter. The only thing the converter has attached to it is the LED lights (5) and water pump. Would it work if I connected the 15 amp inlet to work thru the converter's 15 amp breaker? I would never be using both inlets at the same time. 90% of the time I wouldn't be anywhere there's 30 amp service.

@JoediyLab

2 ай бұрын

Linda, Run everything through the power comverter. Setup your shore power so you can plug in to either a 30 amp service when on the road. When at home, get an adapter so you can plug the same shore power connector to your 15 amp home service. or wire in a 30 plug at home. You always want to bring shore power to the power converter. Then wire into one of the 15 amp breakers to power your extension cord. Then wire the other breaker to your one plug in the camper. If you have space in your home panel, wire in a 30 amp breaker that way you can power your camper from 30 amp. If you do not have the space, then use a 15 amp or 20 amp breaker in your home panel and wire that to your shore power plug going to the power converter. (you will need an adapter from the 30 amp plug so you can plug into your home service of either 15 amp or 20 amp at home. Wire your LED lighting to the 12 volt fuses, The Power converter hads 12 volt circuits as well as 120 volt circuits. Thanks

@lindathompson6041

2 ай бұрын

​@@JoediyLabthank you so much for the info! I usually don't struggle with things like this ( I wired a complete new pole barn and cabin 20 years ago and the inspector said he wished all the jobs he inspected were that good!) I'm not as familiar with 12v systems and converters, so your help has been great!

@JoediyLab

2 ай бұрын

Yes If you have an extension cord from the house, then run that into the camper. I am not sure what you mean by 15 amp inlet? Are you talking about the wire coming from the house? The ideal situation would be to let the power converter handle the distribution from shore power. But if you want to run a cord from the house and that cord is attached to a circuit breaker in your panel then you can run that into the camper. But it is much cleaner to power your camper from shore power connector coming to the power converter. The converter handles converting from AC to DC, it will automatically charge your batteries in the camper. The two 15 amp breakers can be wired to supply several AC outlets. Running from a cord from the house to the 15 amp breaker in the power converter bypasses your shore power. You loose the management capability it provides. The whole purpose of the converter is the manage shore power. No reason to bypass it. If at home you have a 15 amp cord then purchase a 30 amp to 15 amp adapter. Having a 30 amp shore connector will give the flexibility to get 30 amps down to 15 amps. If shore power is 30 amps, that does not mean you cannot run 15 amps, All 30 amp cord to power converter give you is the capability to safely handle up to 30 amps, but also give you access to any lower amperage as well. If you still have questions, send me an email at jpitz31@outlook.com,. I will give you my phone number.

Hi thank you for the video. Maybe I missed it but what about the 12 volt ground wires? When connecting rv lights aren’t their two wires? I saw you connect the dc positives but not the grounds.

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, make sure you connect the 12 volt ground wires to the 12 volt grounding bus. Do not connect to the AC wire bus.

@drewjames8594

9 ай бұрын

There should be a ground bus on the dc side as well.

At the 4:19 mark, speaking of connecting to that 30A breaker - you seem to take a black wire that originates on the DC side and hook that up to the 30A breaker. Is that what you do? Is that the wire I plug into the 30A breaker? I have this exact same unit. But next you talk about putting your lead from shore power on that breaker so it's really misleading - please try to clear this up. I DO have a black wire coming from the DC side of the box that is not hooked up to anything. Do I hook BOTH it AND the shore power lead to the SAME 30A breaker? Thanks anyone who can clarify this for me.

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Here is a diagram of how to wire the breaker, www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/PD4100-English-manual.pdf

I have located the switch for the charging type. If the switch is down does that mean it is set up for lead acid?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, Switch S1 is for battery type. When S1 is off that is for Lead Acid. The S1 light on the fuse panel should be on when set to Lead Acid.

Thank you for the video!! I am using this in my popup camper to replace a 25amp converter. I was told that I need to have 8 gauge wire connecting my battery terminals to the red and white wires coming off the back of the 4100 as I am using it with a LiFePO4. How would I go about wiring this? How do I attach an 8 gauge wire to these coming from the back of the converter? I plan on moving the battery from the tongue to inside the camper so I assume I would need to run a separate cable to the brake controller that is on the tongue in the event of an emergency.

@JoediyLab

7 ай бұрын

Sit down and calculate what kind of amperage draw you will consume. You can look on each appliance to determine amperage draw or watt consumption. Are you going to have any AC circuits? Try to determine how many appliances you will use at one time? I am sure you will want lights on and some other appliances on. If you use lights and one other appliance at a time and stagger appliance use. You can wire the battery with wires with AWG that matches your amp consumption. Just add another 20 percent for added protection. What charge rate will you charge your batteries at? 30 amp breaker can be handled with 10 gauge wire.

@joshhestermann8825

7 ай бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thank you for the reply. Our amperage consumption should be quite low off of batteries - led interior lights, water pump when sink is used, and the fan from the gas heater but (even that doesn't pull much). We have outlets we will use off of AC as well as the AC unit when needed. I have a portable battery power bank for that that plugs into the campers 30am socket that we will use for off shore power if needed. In terms of the LiFePO4 battery that will go in my camper I was told I need thicker gauge for when the converter charges it. Am I OK just taking the white and red wire from the back of the 4100 and hooking that to the battery? Should i be concerned with the other negative DC wires to the 12v devices not being thick enough or is that only for the battery? I guess I am confused with hooking that part up with the other negative wires.

@JoediyLab

7 ай бұрын

Yes on the red (+) and White {-} battery wires. That way your battery will charge when on shore power. I checked the specs and cannot find what amp rate the converter charges the battery at, but will not be more than several amp up to 10 amps. Call Progressive Dynamics and ask then what the charge amperage is. I had 14 guage wire to my battery. 14 guage wire can handle 15 amps. But I used very little appliances. Make sure your both AC and DC wires go to a ground connection. Choose wire size based on the amp rating of the appliance, Google AWG amp rating.

@joshhestermann8825

7 ай бұрын

@@JoediyLab thank you! Can that ground connection be the bus bar in the converter if that bar is grounded to the chassis?

@JoediyLab

7 ай бұрын

Inside the converter are ground connectors, Yes you should take your chassis ground and add it to the converter ground bus bar.

The Progressive Dynamics website references in their description of their PD4100, two versions of the PD4100: A "Retail model #PD4135KW2BV" and an "OEM model #PD4135KW2B". Are there any differences between the two? Looking at the photos, the Retail model has a red-colored fuse background plate, whereas the OEM model has a green-colored fuse background plate. The OEM model also appears to have 7 fuses instead of 6, and it has tab connectors instead of the wire tails which the Retail model has. Is it best to go with the OEM model 4100? The OEM model doesn't seem to be available online, however.

@JoediyLab

9 күн бұрын

The OEM version is usually incorporated and sold with a vehicle by a dealer. You best bet is to purchase the retail version.

Hey Joe! Awesome video- I'm a noob when it comes to electricity but I know the basics, and I just bought a popup camper that has a busted converter(no DC). So I bought a new one, same model as video, and I have the AC wired in correctly- I get power when I turn on the 30A, I maintain power when I turn up one of the 15W, however when I turn on the second(w/converter wire)15W I trip the breaker switch on the GFI outlet at the WALL(and not immediately either, the indicator light blinks on the converter and does stay on awhile), but not in the camper(all breakers stay on in the camper). Does that mean I'm plugged into a shore power outlet with too low amperage to support 30W, like a 15 or 20? Sorry probably a dumb ? and it would make sense to me but of course I could be completely wrong- I just thought I'd confirm it, because w the old converter we didn't have that issue.

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Carl I run my AC circuits from an extension cord to my camper using a 15 amp plug, no problems. For the converter you do need the power to the the converter. Try turning on just the breaker wired to the converter first. Sounds like you may have a short in the second 15 amp circuit. Try moving the converter wire to the other breaker to try to isolate which circuit is the problem. Make sure your DC circuits are grounded to the green bus bar. Ground the AC circuits to the white bus bar.

@carlhungus69

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thanks again Joe! My problem was the second part of the sentence- I had some DC circuits grounded to the AC ground buss bar- that was where the short was coming from. Did I mention I was a noob!?? Thanks for the education! Working well now!

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Great news Carl, good luck

Using this system, can your 12V DC appliances run without having batteries connected as along as you are connected to shore power?

@JoediyLab

7 ай бұрын

Here is what the instructions indicate: "The INTELI-POWER series of converters are primarily designed for use with a battery, however, the output of the INTELI-POWER converters are a regulated, filtered DC voltage that can power sensitive electronics without the need for a battery or other filtering."

Judging by all the questions below I think someone needs to make a long video completely start to finish installing this in a virgin trailer (not a replacement, a virgin install where no install existed before). Take the time, have someone run the camera for you while you point and talk and work all the way through the AC and DC sides, from hooking in the shore power to hooking in the DC power to the grounding, all of it. I wouldn't care if it was 2 hours long if would just teach a person how to install these horrible, horrible things that come with instructions so bad it would be better to have no instructions at all. This video is a little helpful but it also leaves a lot out.

@LeahHacklemanGood

6 ай бұрын

Agreed!

Hey Joe, where would one put the wire from the 7 pin that charges the battery as you drive?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Of the two red wires, the first red wire, I believe it is labeled 1,.double check the manual, goes to the positive battery post. The negative post wire goes to the green grounding bar

@ianw.gordon1756

3 жыл бұрын

Wondering where you wire in the aux/charging wire that comes from the 7 pin to the converter. Typically the black wire.

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@ianw.gordon1756 There is a black and white wire, that comes from the converter side. The black wire need to be connected to one of your 15 amp AC circuits, The white wire gets connected to the white bus bar. Those two wires provide power to the converter.

@conallmuir6708

3 жыл бұрын

@@ianw.gordon1756 Hey I was just looking into the same thing and it I didn't find a clear answer but the likely answer is no. The only info I found was that the 7 pin connection is designed to connect directly to you battery... this being said the charge voltage being sent through that 7 pin is designed to charge a starter battery (NOT A DEEP CYCLE BATTERY). You can hook up a deep cycle but it will either blow out or significantly decrease the life of your battery and possibly your alternator. Here is a link for a video that explains fairly well the possible setups for charging a deep cycle battery via your vehicles alternator. kzread.info/dash/bejne/hnV53KWckdyvYMo.html

Question! What is the purpose of the black, white, red, yellow 4 prong cables?? Mice chewed them up and I need to replace! How would those affect the electrical in the camper??

@JoediyLab

4 ай бұрын

, www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/PD4100-English-manual.pdf Here is a link to the manual

@Corndogryn07

3 ай бұрын

@@JoediyLabyes I did look there- can’t seem to find the purpose of it- next plan is to contact the company

@JoediyLab

3 ай бұрын

Yes Call their support folks, They are helpful.

if not plugged into shore, will this automatically draw from the battery as a source of energy to us both my AC and DC components?

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

This is a converter, will convert from shore power to 12 volt DC. You can run your 12 volt circuits from the battery. You would need an inverter to convert DC to AC via battery.

@drewjames8594

9 ай бұрын

I added a battery shutoff.

Hey Joe, thanks for the video! I just received a this unit and I am looking to install it in my van. I am currently looking to use shore power to run my DC needs and additionally an AC unit. The AC unit calls for a 20 AMP breaker. My question is should I run the 20 Amp unit off the 30 AMP breaker red white wire in the example or would you suggest substituting one of the 15 amp breakers in your video for a 20 AMP breaker. Additionally, will this system default to pulling DC power from the battery when it is not plugged in to shore power? I was assuming so but did not hear it mentioned in your video explanation. Hope this question makes sense, I am new to electrical and hoping to get it close to right the first time. :) Appreciate any help you can offer!

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Hi, I would put a 30 amp breaker as the main breaker and then a 20 amp breaker in the other slot. You then do not have enough amps for a third breaker. Yes when not plugged into shore power your DC circuits will use the batteries.

@davecoy2294

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thanks Joe! Using this advice for the install. An additional question, The distribution panel is supplying DC power to the system by converting shore power or battery using connection when not charging. Where would be a smart place to install a kill switch for the DC system? Between the battery connection and PD4100? Simply insure shore power is unplugged? Open to suggestions

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

@@davecoy2294 You could do that if you wanted. I did not and left the camper sitting for 5 months and did not affect the battery charge. I am using Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries though.

@davecoy2294

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Appreciate the help Joe !

Wow. What an incredibly helpful video. We bought what looks like the exact same converter -- the "manual" (only a page or two) specs call it a 4135. A couple questions arose: (1) I'm guessing we can reuse the breakers from the old converter, since we never had any problems with the AC side (it's about 12 yrs old); I'm also pretty sure the breakers are compatible, based on another KZread video -- but I'll double check (our old converter is a WFCO 8735 I think); (2) I'm guessing it's better to get new fuses, as our old converter's problems were on the DC side -- but maybe use our old ones to test it out? Seems like it wouldn't be a problem until a fuse was about to blow, but...what say you?; (3) I'm not 100% sure how to wire the DC side -- you went into less detail there. I guess the WFCO and PD converters have about the same number of DC circuits -- so, maybe, just take apart the old wires, label each one -- and then rewire the new ones in the same order (?); really a noob question, but I'd guess you just wire them up pretty much exactly as they had been wired in the old converter -- it's DC wiring, so should be simple, right? (No white, no ground, I guess). Other than those minor questions, I feel pretty confident that our converter change-out is going to go pretty smooth. If you have time, please clarify the above. I gotta say -- this video was much easier to understand than other videos I watched on the same basic topic. I don't know how you did it -- you organized the material to be truly understandable. I'm tempted to subscribe, tho' I don't have tons of projects like this. Thanks again!

@JoediyLab

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback 😃, yes check the breakers to make sure they will mount, there are different mounting styles. Fuses should be ok if not blown. On the DC side, make sure you ground the ground wires to the white side and not the green side, those are for the AC side. Also make sure you ground your chassis to the converter as well.

@doNoHarmtowardabetterworld

8 ай бұрын

@@JoediyLab Thank you very much. I confirmed the breakers are compatible (Square D, homt). Not sure how to remove them yet.They don't come out easy. There's a thick black wire entering the back of the existing converter -- must be main "hot". Back-center of the existing converter, there are 3-4 whites and a yellow. (I have photos, don't think I can upload). Not 100% sure what all those are. On the right back side (DC side) of the existing converter, there are 7-8 different colored wires. Maybe they connect directly into the old converter? I figure we'll connect each of those to the black DC wires coming out of the new PD converter -- w/ wire nuts. A couple probably go to the battery -- must double-check the wiring diagram on the old converter. I'm not sure what you mean by "on the DC side, ground the ground wires to the white side". Do you mean ground the wires to a second ground "bus"? I thought there was just one "ground wire bus" inside the new converter. I must be misunderstanding. If it's explained in your video, I'll go back and re-watch it. Anyway, if any of that makes sense, pls feel free to advise. And thank you again! One more thing: we have 3 "double" breakers (again, I have photos, but...). A 30 20, a 15 15, and another 15 15. (So 50, 30 and 30?). Not sure how that might affect how we connect the new converter. 🙂

@JoediyLab

8 ай бұрын

I@@doNoHarmtowardabetterworld If you have the 4135 the max AC amps is 30 amps, I run mine with a main 30 amp breaker and two 15 amp breakers. www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/PD4100-English-manual.pdf

@doNoHarmtowardabetterworld

8 ай бұрын

@@JoediyLab I see. Thank you. I guess the breakers have more capacity, but that doesn't mean we have to USE that capacity. I can't see us using more than 30 amps in this small, 16' trailer. It's 30 amps of AC, right? We don't use the fridge or air conditioner. That's a good warning. I think the most we've ever used in that trailer was a 12 amp max space heater and a 6 amp max dehumidifier. Plus small stuff: modem, computer. It's a good caveat. Got to be aware of how much we use in there. The 30 amp breaker is tied to the AC, right? And the 15 amp breaker is tied to the DC? Now I can't remember what the 2nd 15 amp breaker is connected to, in your case. And yes, the manual you posted is exactly the same as our installation guide/user instructions.

@doNoHarmtowardabetterworld

8 ай бұрын

@JoediyLab Quick update: I have a friend who is a G.C. I've bounced this off of him. I understand that I am asking a LOT of questions. Sorry for the imposition! I'll let you know what he and I come up with. I'm pretty sure we'll figure it all out! And thanks again for a great video!

I’m getting 120v to my outlets but not getting 12v. My camper does not have a battery. Do I need to wire this differently?

@JoediyLab

13 күн бұрын

More than likely your 12 volt wires are not grounded to the DC bus bar. You have the AC side and the DC side. Also make sure you have the chassis ground connected to the converter. Having a battery or not does not matter.

@paulbusch3542

13 күн бұрын

@@JoediyLab got it! I was not tying in the negative lead that would go to the battery. All works now.

@JoediyLab

13 күн бұрын

@@paulbusch3542 Great, good luck

I'm confused as to where I should connect the white wire coming out of the converter you said went to the battery bank.

@JoediyLab

9 ай бұрын

The white wire from the converter goes to the neutral bus bar on the left, not the ground bus bar on the bottom. See the diagram: www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/PD4100-English-manual.pdf

@lindathompson6041

2 ай бұрын

In the directions for the converter, it says to connect the white wire to the battery negative. You say to connect it to the neutral side on the buss bar? Which is it?

Well explained sir. I wired my trailer following your instructions. All AC circuits work but unfortunately the DC circuits don't. I had 0V on the positive side and -13.4V on the negative side. Can you give me some advice? Thanks.

@korishafer6532

3 жыл бұрын

Harry I am in the same boat as you. Please post if you find a resolution I have been working with this for quite some time I am concerned that the converter itself might be the issue.

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@korishafer6532 check your switch S1,. Mine was un-soldered. I had to re-solder. Make sure you are using the correct red wire to the battery. Make sure all DC ground wires are connected to the ground bus

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

Harry,. Sounds like you have your ground wires backwards. Make sure you are using the correct red wire to the battery. Make sure all DC ground wires, battery included are grounded to the ground bus.

@harryfu3054

3 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab I haven't connected to a battery yet. Does it have to connect to a battery to make it work?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@harryfu3054 No, if you connect your shore power, you should also have DC power. The wires coming out of the back of the fuse panel side are all DC positive. The ground side of your DC circuits must be connected to the grounding bus.

How do you get dc power to the box so I don't have to use shore power?

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

You need a battery or battery bank. I am putting together a video on how I tie in my batteries. The first red wire on the fuse circuit board wires to the positive lead of your battery, The negative wire is wired to your ground bus bar. When you connect to shore power the converter will charge your battery.

@CTSHOYT

3 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Great Video, I just installed this unit this weekend but the converter has no charging voltage!!! All the 120v and 12v work perfectly except the converter wont charge the battery. Do you know of any connection issues that would cause this? I confirmed i have 120v to the converter but no DC voltage out. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@CTSHOYT Check the obvious first, Make sure you are using the correct Red lead, There are two. Make sure you have your battery grounded to the bus bar as well. Put a volt meter on the red lead and ground and check your voltage. On my unit the S1 switch came off and I had to re-solder it. If you cannot find the cause give Progress Dynamics a call, they were very helpful when I called.

@CTSHOYT

3 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab Funny you mention that your S1 switch came off and had to re solder it. This is my second unit, i returned the first one due to the S1 switch being bent and not attached to the board. The replacement I got looked go so in it went, now after reading you comment I went and looked over the board to see if anything was out pf place...sure enough my D71 transistor (bottom left corner) was bent and the connection was broken from the board, I also checked the S1 switch again and it also was loose from the board, looked like the solder was even missing. I took it out and soldered the two pieces back on and its solved my problem, 13.6v to the battery. Looks to me that Progressive Dynamic has a bit of a quality issue going on. Thanks for your reply, it helped me solve my issues!!

@JoediyLab

3 жыл бұрын

@@CTSHOYT Great, I am glad you were able to fix it. I spoke to one of their engineers and told them about the quality issue. You might want to call and pass your issues along as well. Maybe they will clean up their act. Thanks for the follow-up

Hi joe ive watched this video 20 times! lol. im pretty sure i can put the PD4100 in my popup. However, at the end of the video you lost me when you had the battery cables hooked up to the DC12v side. Can you explain that to me again?

@JoediyLab

Жыл бұрын

Hey Derek, Coming from the PD4100 there is a Red Wire and a Black wire. Those two wires are connected to your coach batteries. When you are on battery power the DC circuits are powered by the battery. When you are on shore power the batteries are charged. Let me know if you have anymore questions, Thanks

@gtrcvry

Жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab thank you I'll let you know how I made out

If you're not plugged in to shore power do the battery feed back to run your DC circuit? I'm new at this I don't want to sound like an idiot 🙃

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Robert you are absolutely correct, the batteries will power your DC circuits when not on shore power.

What happens if I have more than 2 15amp breakers to wire in? I also have 8 fuses.

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Paul, you only have a total of 30 amps on the main breaker. If you need more amps, you would want to upgrade to a higher total amp unit. the fuse breakers are for DC only. The 30 amp breakers are for AC circuits.

@PaulBartomioli

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab in the space of three full size breakers, I have six half size breakers. Looking at the breakers, left to right. 30, 15, 15, 20, 15, 15. They are labeled Main, GFCI, Microwave, A/C, Water Heater, Converter. I would just move them over in order to the new PD-4100?

@PaulBartomioli

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoediyLab the unit I am replacing is WFCO, Model WF-8740P. The converter was fried when the electrician hooked it up to 240. I was told that the WFCO unit is PROBLEMATIC. In case you haven't figured out, I am a total noob to this whole idea of RV trailers

@JoediyLab

2 жыл бұрын

Paul, the PD4100 max AC amps is only 30 amps. The individual circuits can then only add up to a max of 30 amps, so two 15 amp breakers is your max. If you need more max amps, look at there larger converters.

@PaulBartomioli

2 жыл бұрын

but, as I pointed out, there is a 30 amp main breaker. The trailer is wired to a 125v 30amp breaker. the wiring set up on the original unit is also 30 amp, but with the listed breakers. I don't know enough about wiring to know if this is correct. However, the trailer manufacturer, Forest River, installed the wiring on the unit. Looking at the 2 units, the AC side is identical. 3 standard breakers, on my trailer, breakers are "split" into 6 half-size breakers.

Started doing this today. Got confused, had a beer, it didn't get any clearer. AC is all pretty straight forward with 30 amp master to 2 x 15 amp AC branches (one to the converter, the other to a GFCI + 2 boxes). The instructions are pretty sad and I was glad to see this video. I've watched the video twice and read through the comments. According to the wiring diagram, the white wire coming into the top right connects directly to the DC negative of the battery. The first red connects to battery +. Here you are saying that the negative from the battery also connects to the bottom grounding bar (also shared by the green grounds from AC). So, if that's what is supposed to be done, why isn't that white negative wire just connected directly to the green grounding bus bar so it connects with the battery negative in that way. Seems odd to me (an unnecessary splice) . I don't get it. I think I am getting confused by "ground bus bar". When you say this I'm thinking you mean the bottom AC ground bus bar. But I think your video shows an entirely different external DC negative (ground) bus bar with one large ground feeding all the DC grounds. Then others are talking about using the AC ground bar and mixing the terms neutral with ground etc. Leaves a guy confused. You mention that the second red wire is for something that draws up to 30 amps AC current. You meant DC correct? You could put any DC circuit on there if you wanted to. Correct? I'm running 8 AWG from the vehicle battery through a battery isolator to the trailer battery and 8 AWG right to the converter. Negative is also 8 AWG coming of the tow vehicle frame, and everything is going through 7 pin connector. I have a fiberglass trailer and am running 2 x 14 AWG conductors to each of 3 DC outlets, fan and lights to avoid the inevitable problem with corrosion of grounds on the frame. So, all of my negatives for these circuits should connect to AC green grounding bus bar where the battery negative is also connected?.....I just want to be sure because I think I read in one of the comments that the AC neutral bus bar could also be used for the DC negatives. I was just going to get an external bus bar and connect everything negative to that because I have no idea what leakage there might be mixing the AC neutrals, or grounds with the DC grounds. But maybe it doesn't matter and saves using an external bus bar. Or is it necessary to have the negatives sharing that internal AC ground bus bar? I appreciate your efforts to help us. The unit seems great, but the instructions are inadequate. Thank you for your time.

@drewjames1676

9 ай бұрын

Im in rhe same boat. Did you ever confirm whether or not you need to get an additional ground bus for the dc side? Thanks