No Power to Wifi Ranger

[wdw0528]

Noticed that we were not picking up a signal from the WiFi ranger that had previously been working fine. Troubleshooting I noticed no lights on the box itself but the switch outside the cabinet (green light for power) seems to be on/working correctly. I have unplugged and replugged the power cord and did not see any power button or on/off switch on the box itself.

 

Any ideas from the community? Anyone else experienced this?

 

 

 

 

[Overland]

You can poke your nose in the access hatch to see if a wire has come loose.  Otherwise, it could be a bad switch, short in the wire, or worst case something in the unit has fried.  If you’ve got a multimeter, you can check for all but the last of those ideas.

[wdw0528]

Thanks Overland - I was already in the process of exploring that area and testing. Looks like the switch (outside the cabinet wall) is okay - it is providing power to a step up converter (photo) I discovered in that access compartment, however there is no power reaching the wifi ranger box itself. Based on what I've learned I'd say that converter is the problem? At this point I have sent an email to Jason Esray and I also plan to reach out to the WiFi Ranger tech support team during their normal business hours this week.

[mjrendon]

It is likely the 24v step up transformer that has failed. The router uses a common 5.5x2.1mm DC connector and can run on anything between 10v and 50v. The step up transformer is used in RVs to reduce router performance issues that sometimes occur when the house dc voltage drops below 12v.

 

 

 

 

[mjrendon]

Something like this would be a handy backup item to have for when the step up transformer fails.

 

auto to 5.5x2.1mm

 

 

 

[John E Davies]

The step up transformer is used in RVs to reduce router performance issues that sometimes occur when the house dc voltage drops below 12v.

 

I did not know that. Thanks. It sounds very stupid to me, and I would throw mine in the trash if I had a WiFi Ranger. If the battery bank is getting down past 12 volts the last thing you need to be doing is surfing the Internet. It is time to switch on your brain and start switching off active circuits.

 

edit.... they do fail, they have a $30 version.  “The V2 model is more reliable and robust than the original 24V Step-up Converter.”

 

https://wifiranger.com/shop/product/66-24v-step-up-converter

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[wdw0528]

Jason confirmed that it is most likely the step up converter and is going to send us a replacement - will be interesting to see if it is the V2 that John Davies inserted a link for???? BTW - this failure is NOT the result of house batteries falling below 12 volts!!

[mjrendon]

BTW – this failure is NOT the result of house batteries falling below 12 volts!!

 

 

Sorry, I was not implying that your house battery voltage dropped, causing the failure, but rather that WifiRanger added this component to their systems to address what some of their users have experienced when they were plugged directly into the house battery and the voltage dropped to below 12 volts.  The 24v step-up transformer addresses this issue, but at the expense of adding another failure mechanism.

[wdw0528]

Sorry, I was not implying that your house battery voltage dropped

No worries mjrendon - I did not take offense :-)

[wdw0528]

Update - since we were one week beyond our one year warranty period Oliver was going to have to charge us for the replacement which I believe would have been the older version. I had also reached out to the customer service folks at the WiFi Ranger company and they were great - they agreed to provide the upgraded part under warranty and they held off on shipping until we returned home from our trip. Expecting delivery soon.

[ScottRicki]

We also just had the DC Step-up Converter stop working which supplies power to the WiFi Ranger. Now there is a WiFi Ranger Company Technical Service Bulletin regarding the issue. The Tech Bulletin will allow you to enter your WiFi Ranger ID, found on the unit, to determine if your Step-Up Converter needs to be replaced. It also indicates that it is possible to damage the WiFi ranger if the Converter overheats. I haven't installed my new converter yet to test if mine was "toasted". As you can see in the pic the V2 is much more robust. I plan on using heavy duty velco or 3M adhesive to secure it.

 

https://wifiranger.com/tech-bulletins

 

[attachment file=Wifi Ranger pic 2.jpg]