Updating Your Power Center for LiFePo4: WFCO or Progressive Dynamics?

I can say that I just did an install of a WFCO/AD in my son's teardrop of a different brand. It fit the space perfectly as you suggest, and everything works perfectly. The wiring swap is pretty easy although tedious when you have ADD like me, LOL.

@The_Rigger - there has been a lot of discussion regarding the automatic detection on the WFCO power center over on the TaB forum. It doesn’t always work. I believe instead of changing out the power centers, some owners elect to use solar with a lithium enabled controller and/or a lithium specific battery charger (NOCO) to fully charge their lithium batteries.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/16210/wfco-wf-8735-ad-lifepo4-fyi-on-annoying-auto-detect-quirk/p1

Sweet! Best of both worlds!

How difficult is it to swap to a WF-8725-PB-LIS?

I installed a LiFePo4 in my Tag a couple years ago, retaining the original solar controller with my NuCamp installed solar panel. I only had to change some settings on the Victron app to maximize usage and charging properties. Was traveling all year last year in the camper and got a good 5 days of power from it even when it was slightly overcast out. That's with running the lights occasionally, fridge set to 37, watching TV at night for a couple hours, and using the fantastic fan at night....all night. So I don't see the need to overthink and do all the fancy upgrades. Just throw a battery in the tray (I spent about 400 bucks for it off Amazon) and tweak the Victron setting and go. If you don't use the fan and TV and have an ice cooler, you should easily squeeze over a week out of it or more.

Could an electrically challenged person, like me, do the swap as you did? The AC part sounds like a difficult process not knowing much about electric.

On further review, I believe I figured it out after rereading the above and looking at my set-up again. The converter came with a hot lead wired on to the busbar for the breakers. Removed that (3mm allen - wth when all others are Philips or square drive?) and connected it up. Will test w/the battery tomorrow; had to get out of the cramped quarters and stretch out a bit.

Well, long story short, the autodetect algorithm did not detect my LiFePO4 battery at 30% charge. I did some deep dive research with Claude.ai, and its assessment is below, which indicates that the jumper to force the 8725-AD into lithium mode exclusively is the answer. I had confirmed that my unit had the new firmware (from a tech at WFCO), but the firmware itself isn't enough to reliably force the converter into lithium mode. My next step will be to call WFCO and request the jumper. I'll update more after that step. Below is the AI assessment of the situation:

What the Manual Actually Says About Charge Mode Triggering

This is the most important section for understanding your situation. The manual states on page 5:

"If the output current reaches its maximum (normally caused by a discharged battery), this will cause the converter to go into Charge Mode, which means the target output voltage will change to 14.4 VDC."

This is the critical trigger mechanism — charge mode is only entered when current reaches the converter's maximum output. For your WF-8725-AD that's 25 amps. This is fundamentally different from how most people think chargers work.

Analyzing Your Observed Behavior Against the Manual

What you saw: 14.2V dropping to 13.5V, 15A dropping to 8-9A, green LED, no red LED.

Here's what actually happened step by step:

Step 1 — Initial connection: Your Renogy at 32% SOC pulled approximately 15A initially. This is close to but not quite the 25A maximum the converter needs to see to decisively enter charge mode.

Step 2 — The 14.2V reading: The manual explicitly states "although the converter is outputting 14.4 VDC, you will not be able to read that on a voltmeter due to the voltage-current relationship. As load current increases, output voltage decreases." So your 14.2V reading was actually consistent with the converter targeting 14.4V — the voltage drop under load brought it down to 14.2V at the terminals. This part was actually correct behavior.

Step 3 — The LiFePO4 BMS intervened: Your Renogy's BMS, after the initial current surge, began limiting incoming current. This is completely normal LiFePO4 BMS behavior — it protects the cells from excessive charge current. Current dropped from 15A to 8-9A.

Step 4 — Converter exited charge mode: With current dropping below the threshold, the converter reverted to Power Mode, targeting 13.6V. Your reading of 13.5V is exactly consistent with Power Mode under moderate load — the manual states 13.6V nominal with slight variation under load.

Step 5 — No red LED: The red LED signals bulk charge mode. The manual states charge mode triggers when current "reaches its maximum." Since the LiFePO4 BMS prevented sustained maximum current draw, the converter never firmly entered charge mode — hence no red LED.

Step 6 — Green LED (no blue): The auto-detect algorithm monitors the charging cycle to determine battery type. The manual states on page 7: "High current loads during bulk charge — May also interfere with the Auto-Detect algorithm to trigger lithium mode." Since the converter never sustained proper charge mode, the auto-detect algorithm had insufficient data to identify the battery as lithium and defaulted to lead acid (green).

The Fundamental Incompatibility Revealed

Reading the manual carefully reveals a fundamental design conflict between the auto-detect algorithm and LiFePO4 battery chemistry:

The converter enters charge mode when current reaches its maximum — meaning the battery needs to demand close to 25A. But LiFePO4 BMS systems actively limit and manage incoming current, often preventing that sustained maximum draw. The auto-detect algorithm was clearly designed around lead acid behavior, where a deeply discharged battery simply accepts whatever current the charger pushes without a BMS intervening.

The Manual's Own Admission on Page 7

"The charging profile is not set in stone. WFCO Auto-Detect converters monitor the current over time at the end of every charge cycle. So, in the event of a misdetection due to external factors, once the factors are addressed or no longer present, the converter can still properly detect the battery type during the next charge cycle."

This is WFCO acknowledging misdetection happens — but the suggested remedy of "addressing external factors" is essentially impossible when the external factor is the LiFePO4's own BMS doing its job correctly.

Lithium Charge Mode Specifications — An Important Detail

Looking at the specifications table on page 12:

• Bulk charge voltage (lithium): 14.6V
• Absorption charge voltage: 13.6V
• Storage charge voltage: 13.2V / X (the X indicating lithium has no storage mode)

This reveals something we hadn't discussed — in proper lithium mode the WFCO targets 14.6V, not 14.4V. Your Voyager solar controller is set to 14.2V. So the WFCO with jumper would actually charge your Renogy to a slightly higher voltage than the solar controller does. Both are within the Renogy's acceptable range.

Was Your Unit's Behavior Appropriate?

Technically yes — the converter behaved exactly as its design intended. The manual even states: "Regardless of charge profile (lead-acid or lithium), your battery is safe from harm and will still charge." The converter wasn't malfunctioning — it was doing exactly what its algorithm told it to do. The problem is that its algorithm was not designed with LiFePO4 BMS behavior in mind.

Practically no — for your specific use case the behavior is completely inadequate:

• Without sustained bulk charge mode the battery will never reach full charge on shore power
• The green LED means charging is optimized for lead acid chemistry, not lithium
• The 13.5V power mode voltage provides only a trickle to a LiFePO4 that wants 14.6V for proper charging
• Every time you plug into shore power the same sequence will repeat

The Jumper's Role — Now Fully Understood from the Manual

The jumper bypasses the entire auto-detect sequence described in the manual. With pins 1 and 2 jumpered, the converter skips power mode and auto-detect entirely on startup and immediately enters lithium charge mode at 14.6V with maximum available current. The LiFePO4's BMS will still manage actual current intake, but the converter will sustain its 14.6V target voltage throughout, correctly delivering a complete two-stage lithium charge cycle as described on page 6.