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Old 05-02-2016, 09:01 AM   #1
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Charger/inverter won't charge with a/c in

Hi, I am new to this forum (first post). Ok...I have a Xantrex Freedom 458-25 charger/inverter. Problem is house batteries don't charge with a/c in (shore power or genset). They do charge when awsom cummings 400 is running. Lights on charger and remote are steady green with a/c in and inv. lights on both flash green as they should. Although lights indicate everything is working properly, house batts. loose about 1 volt per day. When I disconnect a/c coming in, the unit does not invert. Green inv. light still flashes on remote but is solid on Xantrex unit.
The batt level indicator on remote says bulk charge is low with solid red light on, even if batt. voltage is 12.4 or above. I am checking voltage with tester and it does match reading on remote and on 12 volt batt. shutoff switch. I have checked a/c coming in and going out of Xantrex unit. All is ok. What's going on?
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Old 05-02-2016, 03:43 PM   #2
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You need to take voltage readings at the batteries and the charger output to help figure out what's going on. The house and chassis batteries are isolated from each other until a charging current of at least +13.4 v is detected. After a delay, the two battery groups then get connected to the charger.

I'd also suggest you remove and clean all battery connections, including those to ground. Dirty connections cause many issues like these. Does your inverter/charger have a temperature probe on battery? Those get disconnected or broken and can also cause problems.

Just as a point of clarity, most on the forum use A/C to mean 'air conditioner' not 'alternating current' (AC).
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Old 05-02-2016, 05:39 PM   #3
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Thanks bflnn181 for the clarity. Did check voltage on both banks. Can't remember readings. Will check again tomorrow. Too frustrated and tired to continue. Must be my age
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Old 05-02-2016, 05:51 PM   #4
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FWIW A/C is Air Conditioning. AC is the Alternating Current power line. ;-)

Thor wires many of their units so the battery disconnect relay only controls the battery. That way any AC power applied to the coach will power up the Inverter\converter so that the converter side will supply 12 VDC to the coach but not charge the batteries. The easy check is to disconnect the AC from the unit and see if the lights turn on inside. The storage switch has to be set correctly for them to work and the battery to charge. If the battery is not charging then there is probably a fuse or connection problem. The easiest way to troubleshoot it is with a voltmeter.
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Old 05-03-2016, 07:05 AM   #5
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Thanks for replies. I should mention that I have a 2004 Damon Escaper LX400, built
by Damon before Thor took over. I also forgot to mention that the low batt indicator on the remote only shows when the charge light is on. With the charge light off it shows acceptable batt condition. This occurs when ac power is coming in. Batt voltage drops throughout the day while in charge mode and ac power in. Seems like no matter how high my voltage readings are, I still cant invert with ac power disconnected.
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Old 05-04-2016, 05:41 AM   #6
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If your battery voltage is dropping while the AC power is on you are not getting power out of the converter or converter section of a combination Inverter\Converter. Troubleshoot that first. It may answer all your problems.
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Old 05-04-2016, 08:16 AM   #7
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I may have solved the problem. Checked voltage on each battery, all reading 6.5 volts. Checked all cells with hydrometer, all read bad. Getting new batteries today. Thanks for all the input guys.
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Old 05-04-2016, 08:54 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rambowg View Post
I may have solved the problem. Checked voltage on each battery, all reading 6.5 volts. Checked all cells with hydrometer, all read bad. Getting new batteries today. Thanks for all the input guys.
If they are 12 v batteries, they are probably toast. But, the question still remains, how did they get so low? If you're connected to shore power, the charger should have kept them in better shape. nothermark made a good suggestion, especially if you've invested in new batteries. Without a charging current, your new batteries will soon be as dead as the old ones.
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Old 05-04-2016, 09:43 AM   #9
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Batteries are 6 volt. I left the MH plugged in all winter, boiled out too much water. After adding water and recharging on portable charger for 24hrs all batteries read 6.5volts. Problem is no specific gravity reading. I assume they need to be replaced. Am I right? I read somewhere that bad batteries will not let charger/inverter function properly.
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Old 05-04-2016, 10:00 AM   #10
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Did you give the batteries a chance to 'rest' after charging? Batteries should be given a rest period to allow surface charge to be absorbed. This is generally 6 to 24 hours after charger removed. 6.5 v is a little high, a fully charged 6 v battery is usually 6.37 v.

Did you fill with distilled water? If they were low on electrolyte then you added water and put on the charger, it will take time for the crystalized chemicals in the battery go into solution again to create proper electrolyte. The fact that you read 6.5 v and 0.0 specific gravity doesn't sound at all proper, I think you should have waited a couple of days to accurately access batteries after a long winter of neglect.

With the new batteries connected, take careful readings of the charger output to be sure a charging current is present, or you'll shorten the life of the new batteries.
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Old 05-04-2016, 12:31 PM   #11
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Ok...I did check batts immediately after charging. They are still in the bed of my truck waiting to go to Sam's Club to replace them. Rechecked voltage a nd specific gravity. Voltage now reads 6.4 volts in all 4 batts. Specific gravity now reads 1.100 - 1.102 in cells. Batteries did rest about 17hrs before checking. Should I invest in new batts or reinstall and recheck charger? If you recall my first post I did have ac coming in and going out of Xantrex unit.
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Old 05-04-2016, 02:20 PM   #12
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If you check Table 1 about half way down this page, the proper voltage and specific gravities don't match what you should get. Did you adjust SG +/- 0.0004 for every 10º above or below 80º?

You also again mentioned AC coming in and going out of the Xantrex, but what about the DC voltage coming out of the charger?

If they were my batteries, I'd put them on a working charger for another 24 hours, let them then rest another day, then test SP and voltage. If numbers are good, take to an Auto Parts store and have the batteries load tested. If it passes that, put them back in the RV and enjoy. If not, then replace batteries, after being sure the Xantrex inverter/charger is working properly.
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Old 05-06-2016, 01:40 PM   #13
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Talk about being confused...It was mentioned twice that I check dc voltage going out of inverter/charger. How do I do that? I measured voltage on batt cables connected to unit and got the same readings that I got from the batt bank. I then disconnected ac power from the unit and made sure that it was off. I checked dc voltage on the cables again and still got same readings as batteries. I now assumed that those cables connected to unit is dc coming in. To be sure, I disconnected cables from unit and checked terminals on unit and got 00 voltage. Checked voltage on the disconnected cables and got the same readings as batteries again. Sooo...my question still remains. How do I check dc going out of unit?
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Old 05-06-2016, 02:43 PM   #14
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I would guess you have two 6 volt batteries connected in series to give 12v power. The two batteries together should read 12.6v or so if fully charged. In order for your charger to push energy back into the batteries, there needs to be a voltage of 12.9v (or 2.15v per cell) to overcome resistance. When your charger is on, you should read an increase in voltage over the voltage provided by the batteries. If you don't see an increase, your charger isn't charging.

The specific gravity readings you reported show on this chart that your batteries are discharged, but you had voltage readings of 6.4v.

If you are still getting readings that different from the norm, I'd try another volt meter and perhaps another specific gravity hydrometer. Also, if the batteries are in the bed of your truck, take them to a battery store (auto parts) and have them load tested to see if they are working properly.
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