Power converter

[Lurker]

I am putting a power converter out of a camper trailer into a trailer i am building and have some wiring ?s There is a row of fuse ,the old glass type , i think 5-6 of them that you can run a circut each off and the wiring diagram says i you have any 12 volt devices to hook into theone that is nearest the positive feed from the battery. This is where i'm lost, isn't all the ones 12volt? The 110 come from the breaker box that you hook into it? Also how do you hook into the trailer light wires to charge battery going down the road?

[Sharkey]

The purpose of a power converter is to be able to run some (most/all/whatever you connect up) of your 12 volt coach loads from shore power when it is available. The converter is a step-down transformer with a rectifier that can supply 12 volts DC from a 120 volt AC supply. In order to make the operation of a power converter as simple as possible, a relay is included in the converter which automatically switches your loads to battery power when there is no AC connected to the converter. When AC power is supplied to the converter, the loads are connected to the transformer and rectifier, saving your battery from being discharged.

In order for the converter to be able to switch between battery and shore power for the loads, there will be a "battery" input terminal, and a bus with several fuses on it for loads, the "output" of the converter. To connect the converter, install it "between" the battery and the loads so it can do it's relay switching magic. Unless you have multiple load feeds, you might only need to connect to one of the output fuses.

Normally, only lights and appliances are connected to the converters output. Sensitive electronics like radios and such will not operate properly from a converter because it does not contain filtering for the DC power. Leave these devices connected to the battery. This might be why your converter says to use a specific terminal for "12 volt devices", this may be a terminal for radios and other sensitive electronics. Most converters will also supply a charging current to the battery when they are connected to AC power.

As for charging off the "tail light wires", can't do it. Usually, a trailer that can charge from the tow vehicle will have a tail light wiring connector with auxiliary contacts in it. These are connected to a battery isolator in the two vehicles engine charging circuit (alternator) so that the two batteries (engine and coach) never "see" each other. Do a google search for "battery isolator".

[lurker]

Thanks Sharky!