Help Troubleshooting Freedom 458 Inverter/Charger

[Mac and Chris]

I now have a Heart Freedom 458 Inverter/Charger. It will some day be replaced but for now I'd like to get it to charge the batteries. I have conflicting indications as follows:

Standard remote panel inside: "AC In" and "FAULT" are lit. Overtemp is dark (not lit). 15.5VDC is FLASHING.

The user guide says this is a "High Battery Shutdown" and the resolution is to "check other charging sources connected to battery".

Well, there are NO other charging sources and the battery reads 11.0vdc with a digital multimeter (yes, I know that's way too low).

The "Charge" button is selected and green. The "Invert" button is not selected and is dark. Turning Charge on and off has no effect. Running "Setup" and then resuming operation has no effect.

On the inverter itself the "Overtemp/Overload" is RED. The owner's manual says: "Unit is too hot, or the required output current is
too high. Unit will automatically restart when it has cooled down. Check for excessive loads or a short circuit on the inverter output. Correct the problem and restart by pressing INVERT." All of this seems to apply to the "Invert" function which is not being used.

Pressing the "Invert/Charge" button is supposed to reset the unit. It has no effect.

Anyone seen this combination before?

[RV Wizard]

It sounds like the load of the battery bank is too high for the charging section to contend with. I do not know how many batteries and of what size is in your bank nor the condition of any one of the batteries. I would first use a hydrometer to analyze each cell of the batteries, looking for a bad cell, as I suspect is what you have. It is possible however that the batteries are OK but draw too much power causing the inverter/charger to fault out. In this case, charging the batteries up with a stand alone charger first may resolve the problem.
If you find after your battery bank is charged up good and you have good batteries it still goes into a fault, you need to look at, venting, good connections at both ends of both conductors, the amount of time it takes before the inverter faults out to determine if you have an inverter/charger failure.

[JLMunsil]

My Heart inver/charger had a white button about 3/8 diameter on the box just below one of the d/c connections. It was hard to see. When the batteries were low and charging it would pop out and I would have to push it back in. This would allow the charger to be reset by pressing invert. I finally discovered that if I put the power share on 10 amps it would not kick out as much.

[RV Wizard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLMunsil My Heart inver/charger had a white button about 3/8 diameter on the box just below one of the d/c connections. It was hard to see. When the batteries were low and charging it would pop out and I would have to push it back in. This would allow the charger to be reset by pressing invert. I finally discovered that if I put the power share on 10 amps it would not kick out as much.

This is the circuit breaker and pushing it in resets it. Turning the power share down will in effect reduce the charging output and will not draw as much current, thus not trip the breaker.

[JLMunsil]

Wizard, Even though I don't have the heart inverter anymore I never understood why the circuit breaker would kick out so easily. I had new good batteries checked all connections and it still would kick out if I put power share on 30 amps when the batteries were down around 12.4 volts. I always assumed the breaker was weak.

[Mac and Chris]

So the Invert/Charge "button" referred to in the owners manual is actually a circuit breaker. That makes sense, and adds another item to my list of malfunctions.

Note that I've never owned this model inverter before, so I don't know how it works in normal operation. I'm now assuming that when pushed this breaker is supposed to pop out and turn the unit off? Mine doesn't. I had originally thought it was a momentary contact switch because it's flush and moves only slightly when pushed, like the buttons on a Power Gear leveler system (for example). Am I now understanding this switch/breaker operation correctly?

Mac

[Mac and Chris]

Updated information:

This morning I cleaned the D8's with baking soda solution and filled the cells with distilled water to the bottom indicator. None of the cells were showed plates before filling. Now I measure voltage at the battery of 12.5 volts! Not quite the lost cause reading of 11.0 I had last night!

Since the breaker (on/off - reset) on the inverter won't work I switched off shore power to see what would happen. Turned it back on and then had my wife to press "charge" on the inside control panel. The inverter lights went out, then "Low Battery" came on flashing, then it went off and the green "Charging" light came on. I cheered, but in about 30 seconds the Overload/Overtemp light lit, the 15.5 v. fault came on inside, and the charging light went out.

I cycled through several times to see same results. Voltage remained 12.48 to 12.51 throughout.

[JLMunsil]

Mac, the invert/charge button on the control panel is different then the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is a little button on the inverter box next to where the DC wires connect it. These are two separate buttons. The invert/ charge button on the control panel will reset the fault after you reset the circuit breaker on the inverter box. If the circuit breaker keeps kicking out you need to check the things that RV Wizard mentioned in his post above.

[Mac and Chris]

Photo below shows the model I have so we're all on the same page.

1. I'm not using the Inverter function at all, just trying to get the charger side to work.

2. NO breakers are tripping.

I currently have shore power turned off and I'm charging the batteries with an external charger. They're taking a charge very well. Iota charger maxes out at 14.1 volts (I know, won't be a "full"charge) and the amps have dropped off to 6.

Question: Referring to the operation of the Invert/Charge button. Is this a momentary contact switch that moves only slightly when pushed? Or, is it a two position switch (or breaker) that is supposed to pop out when pushed (off position) and lock in when pushed again (on position).

It seems to work like a momentary contact but has no effect when pushed.

[JLMunsil]

Your picture has the arrow pointing at what I'm calling the circuit breaker. If it kicks out when you push it you will feel it click back in. Yours may not have kicked out. The inverter button in the upper left corner marked invert has to be pushed to turn off the inverter then again to turn it back on, to reset faults. This can also be done at the control panel.

[Mac and Chris]

You know those two buttons in the upper left corner? I didn't think they were buttons, but locations where buttons would be on other models since this one has a remote. LOL.

So now I've charged the batteries. Pressing either of these newly discovered buttons does nothing. Tried both pressing one at a time and together for up to 15 seconds, with and without the remote attached. I think it's toast.

[JLMunsil]

Try disconnecting the temp sensor. It's the the tele cable just to the right of the remote cable. If that does not work try disconnecting the battery cables from the inverter for a couple of minutes then reattach them. When the inverter comes on the first little light next to the charge button should come on. be sure you are not in setup mode.

[RV Wizard]

Mac, when the overload/overtemp light came on, was the inverter warm or had you been trying and re-trying several times before? If this is so, you could have a bad fan inside the inverter not moving air to keep things cool. It can be replaced if bad.

The circuit breaker (as you have indicated) is a 120vac circuit breaker and not 12vdc. If other loads on the output side of the inverter are also pulling any amperage, the amperage of the charger inside the inverter and these loads are what this circuit breaker is in series with. If this amperage exceeds 25 amps, it should pop out and any voltage feeding the charger (or coming from the inverter in invert mode) will cease. Thus the labeling of inverter/charger at this circuit breaker. I know it can be a little bit confusing, but the power coming into the inverter for charging is also passed through to the loads out of the inverter. This circuit breaker protects the inverter and conductors from excessive amperages.

Mac, have you removed the battery cables and cleaned them? This could be an issue to inspect. Make certain they are clean, very clean and tight.
While you have the cables off and no power feeding the inverter, you might want to check the fan inside the inverter I mentioned previously. Apply 12 volts dc to it and see if it runs. If not, replace it. If so, re-connect battery bank and power it back up with out the temp sensor connected to the inverter. Let us know the results.

[Mac and Chris]

Thanks Wizard, I'm going to remove the inverter in the next few days and will let you know what I find about the fan, but it doesn't seem to actually be overheating. When you flip it to charge with the remote it faults out in about 7 seconds.

Amazing where the factory installed this. It's open to the engine compartment and was caked in dust.

FYI, just bought the RV and the inverter wasn't working from the start. I plan to replace with a pure sine unit this fall but would be good to have it work in the meantime.

Mac