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Topic: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging (Read 636 times) previous topic - next topic

1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Ever since we got our coach in November, we've kept it plugged in. Last week in was unplugged a couple days because Bob parked it where he works Thursday night because he was supposed to take it to get the oil changed Friday but the guy said to wait till Sunday to bring it due to the weather..
When we went to start it Sunday we had to jump it.
It started fine when we left the oil change place and brought it home Sunday evening and we've had it plugged in since.
When he looks at what the charge is on the house batteries it is negative 200.
So he wonders if that means they are not charging.

This coach also has three solar panels on the roof and we don't know if those should be turned on when it's setting to help charge the batteries.
We have the back furnace set at 50 as we are leaving on our first trip of the year in 2 weeks.(we are in Ohio)
I know running the generator will charge the house batteries, but we are waiting on a fuel pump to come tomorrow for that.

It was probably only driven 60 minutes total to and from the oil change place.
I know this post is lengthy but I'm trying to give as many details as possible.

Thanks for any advice.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #1 –
What inverter/charger dou have? Is the control panel for it set to charge the batteries when plugged in? What type of solar charger do you have? What are the settings on it?

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #2 –
It is a xantrex. The charge button was not pressed. I pressed it and it says DC volts 14.0 DC amps 25.
I think where he was getting the -200 # is down at the bottom under amp hours
If I toggle the switch over to volts, it says 14.35 and amps now says 18.5

The control panel for the solar is made by RV Power Products.
It is a solar boost 2000E
It says it's a 25 amp maximum power point tracking solar charge controller

It is not currently turned on

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #3 –
If the rig is plugged in then it should make sense to have the inverter charge the house batteries. If the is outside then it should make sense to have s the solar controller charge the house batteries. Unless someone has added a charger to charge the chassis batteries then I wouldn't expect them to be charging unless the engine is running.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #4 –
Does it matter if it's sunny or not? Since we've never had solar before, we are not really sure how to use it. Currently it's 38 degrees and raining.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Rocky1down –
1.  Ever since we got our coach in November, we've kept it plugged in. Last week it was unplugged a couple days...
2.  When we went to start it Sunday we had to jump it.
3.  It started fine when we left the oil change place and brought it home Sunday evening and we've had it plugged in since.
4.  When he looks at what the charge is on the house batteries it is negative 200.
5.  This coach also has three solar panels on the roof and we don't know if those should be turned on when it's setting to help charge the batteries.
6.  We have the back furnace set at 50 as we are leaving on our first trip of the year in 2 weeks.(we are in Ohio)
7.  I know running the generator will charge the house batteries, but we are waiting on a fuel pump to come tomorrow for that.
8.  It was probably only driven 60 minutes total to and from the oil change place.
I'll give a shot at trying to dissect what's going on.  Only my O-pinion, so "for what its worth" and all that.

1.  D.J. (above) asked if your inverter is set to charge the batteries.  He is asking because some inverter/chargers come on (in battery charging mode) automatically, while with others the battery charger must be turned on manually at the control panel.  Let's assume your inverter battery charger is turned ON.  In that case, whenever your coach is plugged in to shore power, the coach (house) battery bank should be receiving a charge.  HOWEVER, with the stock factory wiring setup on your coach, the inverter/charger does not charge the engine start batteries.  This would explain what happened in Number 2 below.

2.  Because the engine start batteries are not (normally) charged by the inverter/charger, they were depleted, and you had to jump start the coach.

3.  Driving down to the oil change place apparently put enough charge into the start batteries that they could start the engine (after the oil change) and allow you to drive home, where you again plugged the coach in (putting you back to Number 1 situation above).

4.  I don't know what "negative 200" means.  You'll have to provide more info.  Where are you reading this value?

5.  IF (as is the normal case) your solar charger output is connected directly to the coach (house) batteries, then you can leave the solar charger turned on all the time.  It won't hurt a thing.  This is the way I run our coach, which is parked outside without a cover, and always plugged in to 50A.  Our solar charger is turned on 24/7, as is our Magnum MS2812 inverter/charger.  The two charging sources get along together just fine.  Whichever one is putting out the "strongest" charging current will supply the (coach) batteries, which always stay fully charged.  Solar panels can put out some charging current even on cloudy/rainy days, but of course they work best on clear sunny days.

6.  The 12V furnace motor runs off the coach (house) batteries.  If the furnace is going on and off a lot, it can draw the house batteries down pretty quickly (assuming coach is not plugged in or generator running).

7.  I'd say absolutely get the generator fixed before you go on any long trip, especially if your battery condition is questionable.

8.  Your alternator can put a quick charge into the start batteries in a fairly short time.  However, it cannot fully charge a big battery bank unless the coach is driven several hours at highway speed.

Question.  Do you commonly use your BOOST switch when you start your coach engine?

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Rocky1down –
Does it matter if it's sunny or not? Since we've never had solar before, we are not really sure how to use it. Currently it's 38 degrees and raining.

I leave my solar controller set to charge all of the time—unless the coach is in storage under a cover. When it is stored under cover I disconnect the solar system from the batteries so that there isn't an inadvertent discharge. I have left both the solar system and our Magnum inverter/charger turned on for months at a time when we are traveling/camping with hookups with zero problems.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #7 –
Ok, I'll try turning it on. Just wasn't sure how to use it.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Rocky1down –
Ok, I'll try turning it on (the solar controller). Just wasn't sure how to use it.
I'm straying away from the original thread subject (as usual), but since you brought it up...

If you don't know how to use the solar controller, grab a Owner's Manual from online source.  Scroll down the page linked below to Downloads.

Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E 25 amp MPPT

If you want to learn more about how solar works on a motorhome, I recommend the link below as a place to start.  AM Solar knows the business inside out.  They installed our complete system about 8 years ago and it has operated flawlessly since then.

RV Solar Education

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #9 –
Different opinions on leaving solar controller on all the time. . .

25 amp solar is okay, but know it may take a long time to charge batteries if not plugged in, not running generator, and not running coach engine. Solar works best in cooler temps with more overhead sunshine.

Problems can occur when running multiple charging sources like solar & battery charger, because a battery charger decreases charger output as batteries get "filled up". To determine how full batteries are, the charger uses battery voltage.

For example, when an empty battery (with low voltage) is being solar charged very slowly, which may take many hours to fill up, the big Xantrex-type battery charger sees solar charge voltage, etc. and thinks it is looking at the battery charge level. In this case, the big 100-amp battery charger may shut off. There are ways around this confusion, but the simple solution is to keep solar off until there are no other charging sources in play.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Barry & Cindy –
Different opinions on leaving solar controller on all the time. . .
Agreed - differing opinions, and differing scenarios.

For example.  My coach is sitting in our driveway, plugged into 50A shore power, inverter/battery charger (both modes) turned on AND solar controller turned on.  The inverter/charger is on all the time, including during the night and on rainy/cloudy days.  At night and on the dreary days, when the solar is inactive, the inverter/charger brings the batteries up to full charge and goes to maintenance mode (float).  Then if, on a sunny day, we happened to lose grid power to our house (not uncommon where we live) OR for some reason our RV shore power outlet vented the magic smoke, our battery charger would drop offline and our inverter would start drawing power out of the house batteries (to power our residential fridge).  The solar controller would automatically take up the slack and try to maintain the batteries until I could resolve the shore power malfunction.

I agree - with the house battery bank "empty" then it makes more sense to turn the solar controller off and use the inverter/charger to recharge the big battery bank.  But, with the house battery bank normally at float, then I don't see a problem with leaving both charging sources powered up all the time, since neither one of them will have much to do.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Rocky1down –
Does it matter if it's sunny or not? Since we've never had solar before, we are not really sure how to use it. Currently it's 38 degrees and raining.
Solar panels need direct sunlight to work, and a shadow going across the panel will stop the entire panel from working.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #12 –
Quote from: Rocky1down –
It is a xantrex. The charge button was not pressed. I pressed it and it says DC volts 14.0 DC amps 25.
I think where he was getting the -200 # is down at the bottom under amp hours
If I toggle the switch over to volts, it says 14.35 and amps now says 18.5

The control panel for the solar is made by RV Power Products.
It is a solar boost 2000E
It says it's a 25 amp maximum power point tracking solar charge controller

It is not currently turned on

Check your manual but the -200 watt hours just means the watt hour totalizer needs to be re-set.  They're handy but not perfect at comparing the outsies to the innsies.

14.0V at 25 amps sounds like the full charging output of your Xantrex.
The voltage rose to 14.35 and the charging current dropped to 18.5 because the battery is no longer gobbling all of the electrons and the Xantrex is now regulating the voltage at 14.35 for a fast charge.  The current will continue to fall. eventually the voltage will drop back to 13.6 to finish charging the battery slowly.  Before, your Xantrex was rolling back the voltage to limit the current flow to 25 amps.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #13 –
My sola
Quote from: Old Toolmaker –
Solar panels need direct sunlight to work, and a shadow going across the panel will stop the entire panel from working.
I thought that you needed direct sunlight to work but my solar panels will start working when it gets light out. I was
getting 5 amps before the sun was up above the hills.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #14 –
Agreed.  Might be better to say "Solar panels need unobstructed light from some source to work".

Some very efficient panels will produce a bit of power even at night...when parked under bright parking lot tower lights.

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #15 –
I think the first thing you need to do is have someone knowledgeable bring you up to speed on all the systems in your coach. Unless you have a good understanding of how and why things work, you are going to experience more of the above crises. Without someone looking over your shoulder, it's going to be just about impossible to get all the problems fixed without a lot of frustration and cost. Everyone has an idea but which idea is the right one?  :D  :D

Being stuck on the side of the road far from home not only hurts the pocketbook but may be dangerous for you and your loved ones also.

Pierce

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #16 –
What hasn't been addressed is a solution for the start batteries during storage.

Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie –
I'll give a shot at trying to dissect what's going on.  Only my O-pinion, so "for what its worth" and all that.

1. ...snip
  HOWEVER, with the stock factory wiring setup on your coach, the inverter/charger does not charge the engine start batteries.  This would explain what happened in Number 2 below.

2.  Because the engine start batteries are not (normally) charged by the inverter/charger, they were depleted, and you had to jump start the coach.

Install a battery maintainer such as Trick (or AMP)-L-Start
https://www.lslproducts.net/ALS_Instructs.pdf
to charge the START batteries while they are not being charged by the alternator.
Simple installation at the battery isolator.

hth

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #17 –
Quote from: TheBrays –
Install a battery maintainer such as Trick (or AMP)-L-Start
Elliot,

Somebody mentioned a while back that LSL Products was no longer shipping their products, which still seems to be the case.  There may be a few unsold devices floating around out there, but good luck finding one.  Time for us to update our standard Forum recommendation to a suitable alternative.  See the link below for more info:

trik-l-start no longer available ? - Page 2 - iRV2 Forums

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #18 –
Quote from: TheBrays –
What hasn't been addressed is a solution for the start batteries during storage.

Given the cost of start battery(ies) we installed a second PD9260, and thereby gained a "back up alternator."  With our flooded cell 8D batteries I only need to add water once each year.

An added plus, if I leave the headlights on all night, not that it has ever happened, once I find someone to jump start my generator by the end of breakfast there will be enough juice in the start battery to turn the engine.
 

Re: 1995 U320C SE house batteries don’t appear to be charging

Reply #19 –
 I used the AMP-L-Start on my other coach and it quit so I made my own using 2 40 amp diodes.
The only problem I had with it was trying to start my coach forgetting to hook up my start batteries
after have doing some maintenance and burnt out the diodes. I made up the same for my Foretravel
after taking off the Xantrex echo charger. Now both are off as I am using a blue sea systems ml-acr
automatic charging relay.