New England States

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Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #25 – June 26, 2012, 12:46:03 pm

If you are unable to get charging voltage at the batteries and both 300A T Fuses (if you have two) are ok, then the problem is either the generator, the transfer switch, or the inverter/charger unit.
Does the inverter power the 110v circuits in the coach without the generator running? If so, the inverter is ok, but the batteries will be really dead in a short while.
Does the generator, with the inverter off, power the 110V outlets? If so the generator is producing usable 110vac power to the internal battery charger and is ok.
That would leave the onboard battery charger as the culprit. Your measurements of 12.0 vdc at the first 300A fuse is the first indication that the desired output of the charger is too low.

I would guess your onboard battery charger is not working properly.
This would be confirmed by the resulting increased charge in the batteries by your 25A external charger after some time elapsed. Or after running the coach engine for a couple of hours to see if the battery voltage increased.
As someone else asked, does your control panel offer a way to turn off battery charging? If so, is charging switched on?

Dean

95 Magna 5280

Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #26 – June 26, 2012, 01:25:10 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80539

Judy,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We were busy taking care of stuff here at home with all the rain we are getting here in Jacksonville, FL. Sun shining right now, but have a lot of standing water around and expecting more rain later tooday.
Anyway....at 11.7 your batteries are dead. If you turned on the charger and then checked the voltage at the battery terminals where the inverter/charger cables are connected, you should have seen a voltage higher than 12.0. With the batteries being at 11.7 at rest should have caused the charger to immdeiately go into the bulk charge mode which should be somewhere areound 13.8vdc. I think you may have problems with the 458 charger/inverter.
There is one thing you can try that has been posted several times in this forum......hit the inverter/charger with a broom handle or some other device and see if it will begin charging the batteries at a higher bulk mode voltage. Also, I found on my coach that the RJ control cable contacts would get dirty and would not make contact. The cable is like that of a telephone. With the inverter/charger off, take the plug out and back in several times at the inverter/charger. Then turn on the inverter/charger and see if the bulk charge voltage returns. Hopefully, this will be your problem.

Your fuse is good.

I see from other posts in this chain you are charging the batteries. If you check the battery voltage after charging, it should be done after you remove the charger and the batteries rest for about an hour. Otherwise, your readings will not be valid.
Also, when you have everything checked, have your batteries load tested. You may find that you have some bad batteries with them being completely discharged like they were. Recommend even if only one battery in the bank is bad, replace all of them as a set.

Jim Hughes

2000 Allure #30511

Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #27 – June 26, 2012, 02:28:26 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80540

Thanks for the advice. I ran the genset for about 5 hours last night with the external charger on and then again this morning. The volts on the charger read around 13 and the same on the panel. For some unknown reason i pressed the charge button on the panel and the voltage jumped up to 14.5 and the same on the external charger. I have unplugged the external charger and the voltage on the panel is between 14 and 14.5. I will leave the genset on until voltage gets down to 13.5, float charge, then will wait an hour to check at batteries several times to see if they are holding a charge. Will report back this evening. Just in case have located the broom handle and it is ready to jump into action!

Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #28 – June 26, 2012, 02:43:34 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80541

Judy, you have all the signs of bad batteries. Or they just got to low for the inverter to charge them.

Leonard

97' Magna 5418

Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #29 – June 26, 2012, 09:24:29 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80547

For those who have been following this thread and those that have helped me, a big thanks! After four hours of batteries sitting idle with no chargers the voltage at the batteries is a little over 12.7. I will check them again tomorrow morning. Hopefully everything has returned to normal. I am usually so attentive to usage and have never run the batteries below 12 but I will admit I was a little negligent in monitoring them the last few days. I just naturally assumed I was running the genset enough.

Judy, a happy camper
2006 Inspire 51760

Judy, you have all the signs of bad batteries. Or they just got to low for the inverter to charge them.

Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #30 – June 26, 2012, 09:45:30 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80548

Judy, does your coach have the "Auto" start feature that will start the gen set at a certain battery voltage? If not, is is available as an add on? If you are a big dry camp fan, you might want to add solar back up to help. With a gen set, I find it best to be sure and charge every day. If the batteries get to low, it takes forever to recharge to full. We love dry camping and have solar, plus carry a 3500 Honda portable gas gen set to finish off charging the batteries. The Honda is very quite and a little gas goes a long way. Just do not try and use the 2000 Honda, just not enough output for our bigger coaches. If its cold and we need to run the heat at night then it is the diesel gen for breakfast to put the big charge back in, then switch over to the Honda until batteries are fully charged. Just added more solar panels so will see how much they can take run time away from the Honda. What a new battery bank cost is no small investment. They will not take to many below 12volt discharges. Think as some kind of back up as a investment to get the investment back from the battery bank.

Some things to think on.

Leonard
97' Magna

Glad you are back up.

Re: Batteries are not getting Charged

Reply #31 – June 26, 2012, 10:44:47 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 80549

Thanks for the advice Leonard. I have dry camped for 6 years now for about 5 months at a time and have never encountered a problem like I just did. We camp far enough away from anyone that I can use my generator at will. I usually have it on 2-3 hours in the evening to watch TV and get on the computer. The autostart feature is a great idea and I may look into it when in Oregon in August. I did have a Honda with my previous motorhome mainly because the generator was propane and used it to keep the batteries topped off. I never use heat at night, love getting under those blankets, jumping up in the morning and getting a campfire started. Of course that is out the window now that the entire southwest is under fire restrictions.

Thanks again,

Judy

2006 Inspire 51760

Judy, does your coach have the "Auto" start feature that will start the gen set at a certain battery voltage? If not, is is available as an add on? If you are a big dry camp fan, you might want to add solar back up to help.