Battery Isolator Hurting Leisure Batteries

[JoRow]

My leisure batteries seem to be holding less of a charge than they did at first and I'm going through everything to make sure it's wired properly and I noticed something odd (I think) about my battery isolator..

It seems to be closing the solenoid as soon as I turn my key to the "accessory" position. So I think that when I'm starting my van, it's probably pulling from the starter and leisure batteries? 

I'm assuming this is incorrect. I'm probably going to order a new stinger solenoid and get rid of this ancient one that I'm using now but my main question is. Has this possibly been destroying my leisure batteries? I have two 230ah 6v's and they seemed great at first but they're draining really quick now.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Unless there' some kind of time delay circuit, I would expect it to be pretty normal for the house and engine batteries to be paralleled when the engine is being started.  Certainly a simple solenoid would have no such built in time delay.  It shouldn't hurt the house batteries at all.

Have you hooked a multi-meter to the house batteries while the engine is running to confirm everything is working ok and they are being charged?  What sort of volt reading are you getting?

Is it possible that you are just not driving enough to bring the house batteries back to full?  It can take a lot longer than most people think.  Is the engine the only source of recharge current?  No solar?  Ever plug in to shore power?  If so, have you confirmed that the converter is working ok?

 

[JoRow]

Unless there' some kind of time delay circuit, I would expect it to be pretty normal for the house and engine batteries to be paralleled when the engine is being started.  Certainly a simple solenoid would have no such built in time delay.  It shouldn't hurt the house batteries at all.

Have you hooked a multi-meter to the house batteries while the engine is running to confirm everything is working ok and they are being charged?  What sort of volt reading are you getting?

Is it possible that you are just not driving enough to bring the house batteries back to full?  It can take a lot longer than most people think.  Is the engine the only source of recharge current?  No solar?  Ever plug in to shore power?  If so, have you confirmed that the converter is working ok?

I just have a voltmeter hooked up to the leisure batteries that I've been monitoring and while driving it got all the way up to about 13.2 but then settles back down to 12.6 turning off the engine for a bit. I also have 160 watts of solar on the roof hooked up through an mppt charge controller.

My initial thought was that my batteries just haven't received enough charge but my MPPT controller is in the "float" stage at 12.5 volts (in direct sunlight) when before it was bulk charging at 12.5.

I need to do some more testing but it is good to know that my solenoid is operating normally.

 

[SternWake]

I just have a voltmeter hooked up to the leisure batteries that I've been monitoring and while driving it got all the way up to about 13.2 but then settles back down to 12.6 turning off the engine for a bit. I also have 160 watts of solar on the roof hooked up through an mppt charge controller.

My initial thought was that my batteries just haven't received enough charge but my MPPT controller is in the "float" stage at 12.5 volts (in direct sunlight) when before it was bulk charging at 12.5.

I need to do some more testing but it is good to know that my solenoid is operating normally.

Batteries need to spend several  hours above 14.2v after each deeper discharge.  Mny vehicles deactivate lights or blowermotor during engine cranking. Make for better trigger circuit. Solenoid passing starter current will wear out faster.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 on what stern said about your trigger wire. your solar should be pushing your batteries up to 14.2-6, depending on your controller. anything less and your batteries are going to live a short life. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

When your vehicle is running the leisure battery should be getting 13.8 volts or more. Check the voltage at the vehicle battery when running. I believe the acceptable range for an alternator output is 13.8 to 14.6. If it is there and your leisure battery is only 13.2, you have either a wire that is too small or a bad connection. See if there is a voltage drop across your charge relay when the vehicle is running. There should be very little to none.

 

[SternWake]

It can take 230 ah of healthy but depleted batteries a considerable time at 50 amps before voltage exceeds 13.7. Less healthy will require lesser time and lesser amperages to be brought up to these higher electrical pressures .

As always. Voltage alone tells less than half the story. How many amps flow at that voltage fills in many more.chapters. a clamp on ammeter is an enlightening tool. A voltmeter alone is an obfuscation device for a newb.

Sulfated batteries require lesser amperages to raise voltage. A healthy depleted battery will gobble up everything the charging source can produce. Healthy Gc2s can gobble more than 80 amps and at that rate should achieve 14.5v+ IN 5 minutes or less. Provided voltage regulator seeks that much voltage and cabling is sufficient to pass that much juice.

The vehicles.voltage regulator plays a huge part in how well the battery charges. Most are too timid to seek high enough voltage and hold it long enough. Combine this poor voltage control with too thin and too long of copper. And with no other charging sources employed, leads to short lived batteries that perform poorly in that shortened lifespan.

80. To 100% charges requires no less than 3.5 hours. And that is when they are brought to and held at absorption Voltage.

PlaN on early battery failure or.plan on adding solar or employing a plug in source regularly.

100% charged regularly and s the key to acceptable battery longevity.

 

[ccbreder]

The accessory connection of the switch is the correct for the bypass relay. When the starter is engaged the accessory is off. But as stated above, you do not have enough charging current.

 

[Trebor English]

Does the solar controller stay in float, 12.6V, all the time?  Does the voltage only go up to 13.2 when the engine is running?

 

[JoRow]

Hey guys sorry I'm trying to understand all of this still but basically what I'm understanding is that I'm probably not fully charging my batteries.

The voltage only goes up to 13.2 after driving for maybe an hour or so.

One thing that's confusing my a bit still is that I had my batteries on just a little battery tender charger and they charged to full after about 8 hours. Or full according to the battery tender at least and then when I reinstalled them they were reading 12.8 and fell back to 12.6 the next morning and that's where they have stayed since


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[JoRow]

x2 on what stern said about your trigger wire. your solar should be pushing your batteries up to 14.2-6, depending on your controller. anything less and your batteries are going to live a short life. highdesertranger

That is definitely not happening so I must have something wrong with my controller or wiring ...


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[DannyB1954]

Wet cell batteries at rest will read 12.8 when fully charged. When I say at rest I mean nothing getting put into or out of them for a number of hours. They should maintain that voltage for quite a while. If you have not put any load on them and they drop to 12.6, that indicates that they have an internal or external short. Make sure the batteries are clean, (with baking soda). Any acid on the top will cause electricity to drain across the top between the positive and negative post.

Batteries have a resistance to taking a charge, that is why you have to push a charge in at a higher voltage. When your vehicle is running the leisure battery should be seeing 13.8 volts from the alternator. I believe I mentioned this before. Just after you turn off the vehicle the battery may read 13.5 volts and then eventually drop to 12.8. This is normal. They should stay at 12.8 if you take nothing out.

 

[Trebor English]

Since the battery voltage only goes up driving it seems that the solar system isn't working.  Just driving isn't a good way to keep your battery charged unless you use very little electricity.
What is the voltage at the input to the charge controller from the solar panel?  What is the controller output voltage? Is that the same as the battery voltage?

 

[JoRow]

It can take 230 ah of healthy but depleted batteries a considerable time at 50 amps before voltage exceeds 13.7. Less healthy will require lesser time and lesser amperages to be brought up to these higher electrical pressures .

As always. Voltage alone tells less than half the story. How many amps flow at that voltage fills in many more.chapters. a clamp on ammeter is an enlightening tool. A voltmeter alone is an obfuscation device for a newb.

Sulfated batteries require lesser amperages to raise voltage. A healthy depleted battery will gobble up everything the charging source can produce. Healthy Gc2s can gobble more than 80 amps and at that rate should achieve 14.5v+ IN 5 minutes or less. Provided voltage regulator seeks that much voltage and cabling is sufficient to pass that much juice.

The vehicles.voltage regulator plays a huge part in how well the battery charges. Most are too timid to seek high enough voltage and hold it long enough. Combine this poor voltage control with too thin and too long of copper. And with no other charging sources employed, leads to short lived batteries that perform poorly in that shortened lifespan.

80. To 100% charges requires no less than 3.5 hours. And that is when they are brought to and held at absorption Voltage.

PlaN on early battery failure or.plan on adding solar or employing a plug in source regularly.

100% charged regularly and s the key to acceptable battery longevity.

I heard what you said about the voltmeter giving insufficient data so I've ordered a "bluetooth dongle" to connect to my MPPT controller that should give me a lot more information about what's going on with my controller and batteries.

Thanks as always


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[JoRow]

Just an update for everyone who has been helping me...

I just realized that I had a blown fuse in my charge controller! I never would have guessed because all of the lights were blinking as if it were working properly, it just kept going into float mode when it should have been in bulk.

Another thing that I corrected was apparently I'm not suppose to have the MPPT controller grounded to the panel as well as the battery, it said to do one or the other so I just disconnected the negative wire going from the panel to the controller and the controller immediately starting pushed my voltmeter up to 14.2 volts.

So I THINK that everything should be working properly now. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to give their thoughts on the matter.





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[highdesertranger]

thanks for the follow up JoRow. glad you got it figured out. highdesertranger