The continuing saga... new converter and batteries

The other night my CO2 alarm went off, and it wouldn't stop until I had both large windows open for a while.  I haven't had a problem since.

I woke up this morning, and had absolutely no power, even though the wall unit said there was still 1/3 power in the house batteries, which was normal, but I got nothing.  Well I did get something when I tried to turn on the water pump and a light - a high pitched, continuous screeching beep.  That was a new sound! :( 

So...   I packed up The Palms, and left the campground.  On the way out I asked the ranger at the ranger station if he knew of any RV repair places in the area.  He gave me two business cards, one really close, but he mainly did emergency repairs, and the other was back in the town of Hurricane and is a full repair shop which hopefully would have parts, if needed.  It's called Main Street RV and Marine.  I called and they said they could see me today, so I went down.  I stopped and filled the gas tank and headed down the hill to Hurricane. 

Here's the power center - with the black cover - the converter is under the drawer on the bottom right.

The owner came out to diagnose the problem, and he seemed to know what he was doing.  He thought it was probably a bad breaker, and seemed surprised when they were all okay.

 Power Center

Then he checked my converter and it was dead.

Old converter - D.O.A.  :(

He said the batteries weren't getting charged except when I drove the truck or started the engine.  In fact, when he pulled out the drawer over the old converter, he said, "Wow, do you smell that?"  It was like a burnt match - brimstone.  That might be what set off the CO2 alarm.  And it might have eventually caused a fire? 

I haven't been able to turn on any of the lights in the coach and have been using a small LED Coleman lantern - hard on the eyes, and it didn't give out much real light.  Not so cozy.  :(   So I was really glad he found something that could be fixed or replaced.  The new Converter is bigger than the old one.  The old one is a 45 amp and the new one is an 80 amp.

New Converter - My Hero!

He said I shouldn't have any issues now.  Also, I'll be able to dry camp much easier, but he did recommend that if I'm going to do a lot of boon docking, I should still get some solar.  That is still my plan when I'm in Arizona.

And while he was at it, I had him pull the two new 12V batteries I bought in August and install two new 6V deep cycle batteries.  He gave me a price break on the new ones and kept the old ones.  So now I have better batteries and a new, bigger converter that works.  

I knew the 6V batteries had to be wired in "series," and the 12V batteries were wired in "parallel."  When the owner turned on the system, it didn't work, and he went outside to check the batteries. The technician who was installing the batteries hooked them up wrong.  The owner explained to him that they had to be wired in series because they were 6V and showed him.  Thank goodness he caught that before I left.  When I need new batteries, I'll make sure to mention it, you never know.

I'm sorry I didn't get their names, but Main Street RV and Marine is a husband and wife run business, with the wife in the office and the husband and his crew running the shop part.  

They were both very nice and they had two large dogs there, one was a black Great Dane, a beautiful, sweet girl, and the other was an older black dog with a grey muzzle and white feet.  The dogs kept coming over to say hi, and were very curious about Katie.  The older one tried to come home with us. 

 Here's another shot - this looks like a really nice converter!  :)

I'd recommend this repair shop if anyone is ever in the area of Zion and needs RV help.

When I turned on the lights over the dinette tonight, I almost had to put on sunglasses!  I didn't realize how dim the lights have been in The Palms, but they are sure brighter now.

 

I took photo this on the way down to Hurricane - so interesting.

I love all the different shapes of these hills and mountains.  The one above looks like something out of Egypt.

 Pedestrian entrance to the park.

 Sunset the other night

   

Moon rising over the mountains last night from the campground.

Well, it's been more than four hours and the lights are still bright - YES!  And I still have full batteries according to the wall display.  That's a first.  I'm usually very optimistic, but I have to admit this issue has had me a bit worried.  I'm soooo hoping this is the end of it.  Keep your fingers crossed.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Tuesday night, everyone!  :)