Somehow my batteries got run to 11 volts. Normally I have had 24 -30 hrs of battery run time . Yesterday I was running the 3000 watt pure sign inverter along with the stereo , water pump . Heater . The volts got low enough in 10 hrs that the gen set would not start .
Light the engine and boost , start genset . The volts acted like the main smart charger was not charging. My bats are low tech acid 8d with at least 1600 amps total .
Seems like I have seen that the charger won't charge if the bolts are very low. Is that what has happened?
I stupid charged the bats overnight and they are about 12.7 now.
Should I unplug the charger wiz module ?
I will run over my circuits wth the watt meter in a bit . Thanks for any insight.
I need my propane for 4 more days to cook with at the race track.
Yes, most smart inverter/chargers will not charge a deeply discharged battery-- a safety precaution.
So you need to get voltage up to where the inverter/charger will start charging.
Options:
Boost switch
"Stupid" charger
Jump from another source
If main engine will start, the alternator will also work
Just to clarify a point: Your volt meter only read battery voltage? Some smart chargers will not initiate charging unless battery voltage is present. Not to be confused with a smart charger rolling back the charge voltage to prevent an over-current condition. The brand I use can be run as a power supply without a battery being connected. Co I'm not worried but I carry my 10A dumb charger just in case I'm wrong.
If you normally were getting 24-30 hrs out if your house batteries, when you get home I would suggest to load test them individually after a full charge. It sounds like you could have a failed battery. How old are they?
Armchair guess:
If you start your big engine and activate the boost switch, both battery banks should see full alternator charging volts/amps. Your dash volt meter should jump up to 14+ volts. If you then start your generator to power your inverter/charger, the battery charger will see 14+ volts on both battery banks. Due to the high voltage reading, it
may think the batteries are fully charged, and will go into float and/or standby mode. This will make it "look" like the battery charger is not "working".
Did you try shutting down the big engine (with boost switch on and generator running) to see if the inverter/battery charger would start charging?
Actually, if working as designed, no need for the boost switch. The main engine/alternator charges both battery banks automatically (through the battery isolator).
Yes, the boost switch would be a "work around" if the battery isolator diode to the house battery bank is bad.
I unplugged the charger wiz and the charger came to life.
Only the genset is running now . Batts are about 2 yrs old. But cheapies .
Bolts are now 12.7 with both chargers running off gen set.
I'll give them another hr ?
If you have a PD9100 converter/charger, when you unplug the Charge Wizard, the battery charger should put out a constant 13.6 volts. Easy to check with your multimeter. If charger is working, battery voltage should start increasing.
PD9100-Converter - Progressive Dynamics (https://www.progressivedyn.com/pd9100-converter-2/)
Charge Wizard PD9105 RV Battery Chargers (https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/charge-wizard/pd9105-tcms-charge-wizard/)
Absolutely correct.
With a voltage reading of 12.7 with the converter working, that would indicate that the converter is putting out its maximum amps and is not able to attain full voltage. As battery charge level continues to rise, so should voltage until somewhere in the 13's is attained.
FWIW the Charge Wizard with its blinking light* will tell you which charge regime is active and pushing and holding the button switches charge regimes manually.
*What a great gift for a guy. A little box with a push button and a blinking light. Hours of entertainment!
You mentioned 1600 amps battery capacity - assuming you mean 1600 amp-hrs. From total discharge it will take more than an hour of charging. Assuming you have the 80 amp charger it would be more like 20 hrs to fully recharge the batteries.
Also recommend getting a DC clamp current meter (if you don't already have one). With this you can verify charger current (and alternator current), and also see that each battery is accepting equal charging.
That's a lot of batteries! :o
My O'Reilly 8DAGMs have a 20 Amp Hour Rate (Ah) of 245Ah...would need 6.6 batteries to equal 1600 amp-hrs.
I wondered the same thing. Mike may be referring to the CCA rating. Typical 8d flooded batteries are rated around 1400- 1600 CCA, and capacity of 200 amp-hrs. A pair of these would be 400 amp-hrs. So at 80 amps full charge would take say 5 hrs. Smart chargers will reduce current approaching full charge, so actual charge time will be longer.
Right 1600 plus cca .
I use about 160 amp hrs for math . These have never shown over 12.8 .
I should be plugged in at about 3 today . Ran all circuits on the watt meter and no faults.
Thanks for the tips.
Maybe the wiz and these batts don't like each other .
Assuming we are talking 12v batteries.
To defeat a chargers sensibility to low voltage, put a good battery in parallel with the low voltage batteries.
Yup. The boost switch will do that if the chassis batteries are not deeply discharged as well.
AAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!
Cold Cranking Amps is the rate at which a battery can deliver its electrons.
Amp Hour is the total number of electrons that can be delivered at some predetermined rate.
And FWIW the 13.6V default rate* of the PD 91nn series is thought of as an "absorption charge" rate. 24-36 hours from empty to full. The "Bulk rate" of 14.4V is the four hour charge to 80%.
*The battery only slowly boils to death at this rate. When I realized my new-to-me Foretravel came with a PD 9160 sans** Charge Wizard, I ordered one and plugged it in.
**I bought my new home from a dealer , , , gotta maximize profit!
Update . I'm pretty sure that my charger is/ was faulty. Also , good chance that both batts are ruined . When I first installed the dorm size fridge , the batts would run it 24 plus hrs at 38watts, 2000 watt pure sign wave inverter.
Ending volts would be about 12.4 maybe 12.3 on this meter.
Last week I was unplugged for about 6 hrs and had the power drop to 11 volts . I charged off the gen set and plugged in my stupid charger for the rest of the week. Volts showed 13.1 . When plugged in now , with the fancy Intella 9100 charger , the volts show a max of 12.8.
I unplugged today and after 4 hrs show about 12.4 .
What say you?
I say, THAT AIN'T RITE.
12.8 is fine for a battery at rest, but means is is NOT being charged. 13.2- 13.5 is the correct charge range once charged, and most smart chargers begin in the 14-14.5 during bulk and absorption phases.
Our Progressive Dynamics charger/converter advertises 13.2 volts for a maintenance/float voltage. Since we purchased it, I watch the twin dash voltmeters and they are always within 0.1 volts of the 13.2 volts. It bumps the voltage up every 20 hours for 15 minutes to eliminate any sulfation. Read reviews at: Amazon.com: Progressive Dynamics PD9245CV Inteli-Power 9200 Series Converter/... (https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynamics-PD9245CV-Inteli-Power-Converter/dp/B000GANZZ6)
It's much more accurate than the old PowerMax unit that was installed.
Pierce
I have that but in a 9100 series .
This one seems faulty with or without the wizard .
It passes the no load test at 13.6 . But no charge hooked to batts. Will call thurs..
No great loss. We had a 9160 and I gave it the Massachusetts witch test and it passed, so I replaced it with a 9260. Switching power supplies and water don't mix.
The 9160 checks at 13.6 unhooked. Hook it up and about .5 amp to the batts. Hooked up stupid charger and see about 5 amps on each leg. 4.6 on ground side and 5.2 pos side. ??
Ordered a cheaper Powermax 55 or 60 amp deal.
Update; The charger was faulty according to the tech line. I installed a Power max 60 amp today . It might be a semi smart charger with staged charging for my LA batteries. It has good ratings and few failure reports. Goo d price at 120$vs 270 ish for the Intella power 9160 .
Both batts were bought from Rural King a little over a year ago . 8 D , low tech tractor start battery . 960 CCA rated and 150$ each . Both failed to take a full charge or deliver the rated amps. Rural King swapped out both . no charge :)
When fresh they ran my resi fridge and computer power station for at least 24 hrs through a 2000 watt Pure sign wave inverter , in the past.
****
****20$ to good or mediocre home; The Intella charge wizard . ** used about 1 year.
So how would you read the amperage for charge individually? Wouldn't the clamp need to be between the battery and the cables to read? I wouldn't have clearance to use there with cables installed. Hopefully I'm missing something.
Thanks Scott
Klein Tools CL390 Digital Clamp Meter, Reverse Contrast Display, Auto... (https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-CL390-Electronic-Resistance/dp/B08DTDCG7T/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=KKgkY&pf_rd_p=29505bbf-38bd-47ef-8224-a5dd0cda2bae&pf_rd_r=MBNYW5YSDRNHX0N2Y7GS&pd_rd_r=0f1ecdb9-7273-4f46-a145-d080b0837544&pd_rd_wg=ieewJ&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m)
Did your batteries run the fridge to 50% state of charge of empty? Run a SLI battery flat one half dozen times and it will be toast. That's the difference between a starting lighting and ignition grid plate with paste battery and a true deep discharge solid lead plate battery.
35watts draw or less. I have the killo watt hooked up . I can do another run .
Yes, depends how short/tight the battery interconnect cables are. On our '91 there was just enough room to get the clamp on. Maybe read ground cable if you can clamp there, current will be the same. If your main cable goes to one battery and then jumps to the second battery you can measure the main current and then measure the second battery which should be 1/2 the total if both batteries are healthy.
I ordered a clamp dc amp meter yesterday and showed up today. I have a ac clamp and use all the time. Yes I can read between. Thanks for updating, I do appreciate it.
Scott
Klein Tools CL390 Digital Clamp Meter, Reverse Contrast Display, Auto... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DTDCG7T?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details)
Ah, 3 parallel batteries, you can take readings on the main cable and each jumper and then calculate what each battery is getting.
1st battery = main - 1st jumper
2nd battery = 1st jumper - 2nd jumper
3rd battery = 2nd jumper
Post results...
Also can do the same balance test with a load on the batteries, using the inverter with a high wattage appliance. A couple times a year I load test batteries running the microwave, or induction hot plate, hair dryer, etc. Our van has 2 banks of 6v Gel golf cart batteries for 400 AHs. With a load of say 140 amps I am happy with a difference of 5 amps between banks. After 5 years so far so good.
For capacity testing I plug in a 300 watt light bulb I have and leave it on all day, watching my battery monitor to get to 50%. I estimate the batteries have lost about 20% over 5 years. For the camping we do maybe get 1 more year out of them. With engine generator it's easy to idle to recharge if needed, plus solar helps too.
For those that report 6, 8, 10, 12? years battery life, it would be interesting to see the % of rated capacity you have at that age.