Question Replacing Elixir Power Control with WFCO - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

drob00 · 09-15-2019, 08:39 AM

I am in the process of replacing the original factory Elixir power control center in my 1907T with a WFCO 8900 series (full replacement of case, DC fuse board, and converter) and I have the following question:

Original setup - It looks like HiLo ran two positives to the control center... one positive was connected to the DC fuse board (described as positive IN on the HiLo wiring diagram) and the other, interestingly, was directly connected to the converter with two in-line 30A fuses (described as positive OUT on the HiLo wiring diagram). The 30A fuse locations were not used on the DC fuse board and the DC fuse board did not appear to include a Negative/Ground lug location, but rather used a Negative/Ground bus bar mounted to the inside of the case (which included negative connections from the battery, the converter, and all of the other DC chains).

New setup - The WFCO prewires the converter positive to a VCC Positive lug on the fuse board and and the converter negative to one of two Negative lugs on the fuse board. The fuse board includes two usable Positive lugs and one additional (unused) Negative lug (it does not include a Negative/Ground bus bar). It also comes with the two 40A fuses pre-installed on the board.

My first thought (and the one I'm leaning towards) would be to just connect the original Hi-Lo positive cables (described as positive in and positive out) to the two positive lug locations on the DC fuse board and take the negative bus bar off the old case and connect it to the one free negative lug location on the DC fuse board.

BUT I could also try to replicate what HiLo did in the original - presumably by removing the pre-installed VCC positive from the DC panel lug and directly connecting it to the Hi-Lo positive OUT with in-line fuses. My concern here is that the newer converter/board (which is a 3-stage) may not be able to analyze the power appropriately with this setup.

Any thoughts? Has someone come across this before?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

RichR · 09-15-2019, 01:53 PM

I think you will find that Hi-Lo's arrangement was made necessary because of the way the lift system is set up. My wife's cousin ran into that when replacing the converter section of the Elixir with a Boondocker converter.

If you are replacing the Elixir to change only the converter for better charging it would have been better to just replace the converter section with a Boondocker direct replacement converter. I just replaced the WFCO converter in our Jayco with a Boondocker. It works the way three-stage converters are supposed to. The WFCO never worked three-stage the way the manual said it would.
Here's the link to Best Converter that sells Boondocker and Progressive Dynamics converters: BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics

Treeclimber · 09-15-2019, 01:56 PM

Rich, does that site have the diagram for the Boondocker? If so I'd download that!
Tree

RichR · 09-15-2019, 02:08 PM

They do not have a diagram, but if you go to the bottom of the page you will see the Boondocker replacement converter for the Elixir.

drob00 · 09-16-2019, 12:29 AM

Tree / Rich - Thanks for your replies.

I was getting the audible "overload" alarm from the Elixir indicating that the DC power demand exceeded converter output rating and/or voltage was dropping to below 12.5V; however, I didn't have any optional DC circuits running, batteries are new (13.5V+), and I was connected to shore power - all signs were pointing to a bad converter and/or DC board, so I just opted to replace the whole thing. Based on what I've seen online, Elixirs aren't exactly known for their ability to last 12+ years.

I had seen a few people comment on their WFCO's not properly "3-staging" but most reviews I saw were pretty decent and it was listed as a compatible replacement (power and dimensions) for the Elixir, so I went with it anyway (hoping for the best).

I opted for trying the two positive wires through the DC board first, and I'll post my results. If that doesn't work (or if I have lift issues or switch/isolation issues), I'll attempt the bypass, and finally if I still have problems, I'll try the Boondocker components.

Thanks again for your replies-

RichR · 09-16-2019, 08:22 AM

The only thing that may suffer will be your battery life with the WFCO if it doesn't perform with its claimed 3-stage charge. The WFCO converter section was always sitting at 13.7 volts. It didn't show the bulk charge up to 14.6 volts or a 13.2-volt maintenance level. I never saw anyone claim theirs did the 3-stage modes. I replaced the WFCO with a Boondocker, now it goes up to 14.7 volts, then drops back to 13.7 volts, then tapers down to 13.2 volts. That stage can take up to 30 hours. Periodically it is supposed to give a quick 14.7 volt charge that is to disulfonate the battery plates.

drob00 · 09-16-2019, 10:04 AM

So far so good with running both positives through the DC board and not using the bypass method Hi-Lo did on the Elixir. I didn't have time to check it with a volt meter this morning, but I did hook up the batteries and plug it in. The 3-way switch functions properly, all of the DC and AC circuits work, and the fan for the converter kicked on with the 3-way in any position, so it seems like it's charging... at what level is yet to be determined. I'll re-post when I do some more testing. If it doesn't do the staging properly, at least now I know the upgrade to the Boondocker will be easier / more straight forward.

RichR · 09-16-2019, 11:00 AM

Thanks for the progress report. If the top goes up and down you've done it right. That's what the cousin had a problem with. If it kicks into the three-stage you can celebrate.