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intermittent roof vent fan

 

Hey there,

Electrical engineering expertise sought ?

I installed a Starvent roof top vent fan in my 2000 EVC. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B66Z77X6/ref=pe_386300_440135490_TE_simp_item_image?th=1) Got the 12 volts from the adjacent dome light in the pop top. The 12 v DC source comes from the deep cycle marine house battery, not the cab battery.

Here’s the issue I’m experiencing: ?All works great as long as I’m not tapped into shore power. When I plug into shore power, the fan stays on for a while, but at some point shuts down. Once it shuts down, I can’t get it to ?turn on again unless I unplug the shore power and revert to the DC house battery power. According to the manufacturer, the fan threshold voltage is between 10.5 -13.7v. I suspect that I’m getting some voltage fluctuations outside the threshold voltage that is making the fan’s controller shut down. I have no problems with any of the other DC "appliances" in the camper.

Maybe there’s an issue with the converter (AC to DC) that charges the house battery when plugged into shore power?

I haven’t hooked up my multimeter yet to see if I can determine the suspected voltage fluctuation.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Pete
2000 EVC, ~107k
 

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Hi Pete,

I think you are on the right track.?

The Magnatek power converter has 2 outputs "filtered" and "unfiltered":
- the unfiltered output goes to the fuses marked LAMPS, REFRIG and FURNACE
- the filtered output goes to the fuses marked MONITOR 12V RECP and LP DETECTOR

Since you tapped into the dome light, you are getting the unfiltered 12V DC which probably has some nasty AC ripple on it.

A few solutions I can think of:

1. Replace the ?Magnatek with a better unit. ?For example ??or?

2. Get a DC-DC converter to clean up the power I have one of these which fixed a problem I was having with a LED light strip flicker due to my solar panel PWM:

3. find a way to route a wire from the "clean" side of the MagnaTek to the fan.

Mike


On Jun 25, 2024, at 10:55?AM, Pete via groups.io <pdebarber@...> wrote:

Hey there,

Electrical engineering expertise sought ?

I installed a Starvent roof top vent fan in my 2000 EVC. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B66Z77X6/ref=pe_386300_440135490_TE_simp_item_image?th=1) Got the 12 volts from the adjacent dome light in the pop top. The 12 v DC source comes from the deep cycle marine house battery, not the cab battery.

Here’s the issue I’m experiencing: ?All works great as long as I’m not tapped into shore power. When I plug into shore power, the fan stays on for a while, but at some point shuts down. Once it shuts down, I can’t get it to ?turn on again unless I unplug the shore power and revert to the DC house battery power. According to the manufacturer, the fan threshold voltage is between 10.5 -13.7v. I suspect that I’m getting some voltage fluctuations outside the threshold voltage that is making the fan’s controller shut down. I have no problems with any of the other DC "appliances" in the camper.

Maybe there’s an issue with the converter (AC to DC) that charges the house battery when plugged into shore power?

I haven’t hooked up my multimeter yet to see if I can determine the suspected voltage fluctuation.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Pete
2000 EVC, ~107k

 

Thanks Mike. I'm willing to give suggestion #2 a try as this seems the simplest to implement.

I'll let you know...
 

Hi Pete, Good ideas, Mike!??

I replaced my Magnatek with a? PROGRESSIVE DYNAMICS 45 AMP LITHIUM CONVERTER SECTION PD4645LIV converter that works flawlessly.? As well, I installed a Renogy DC-DC converter.? The? converter is easy to replace (after removing the plastic covering) just plugging in as the Magnatek does.? No fuss.? I found a great place to put the DC-DC converter, which I've included a photo showing the location.? It is easy to cut into the line to and from the coach battery.? You would want to provide a vent hole (round keyhole saw and hardware store pop-in grill) so that the DC-DC converter is adequately ventilated.? ?There is a spot on the plastic covering very near to where the converter would be located.? Needless to say, I put in a 100 ah lithium iron battery in the coach space. (Renogy)? The 12 volt and 120 volt systems are clean and working great everywhere.? Just to complete the coach electrical, I added a 1000 watt inverter in the space right above where the coach battery lives.? It's on a support and fits perfectly.? From there, I simply put an extension outlet and the inverter control on the wall by the sliding door.? My coffee maker is happy.? Bob
 

For replacing the Magnatek, I installed a IOTA DSL-30 with the IQ4 4 stage charging option. Seemed less expensive than competitors, is smaller, seems well supported, and one can buy external programming modules for use with different battery technologies, if you change your battery chemistry type. I've had zero issues with it.



I obtained mine at (no affiliation to me).

I also installed a "smart" bidirectional battery isolator - so that the charger charges the starting battery when plugged into AC.

--
George Y
95 EVC Winnabago - Ottawa ON area

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