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Old 10-26-2022, 06:48 PM   #1
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B.I.R.D - Relay issue

Hi all,

I had my charging system fail in me last April. Since then I replaced my Converter/charger, BIRD, and Relay (see pics)

My on board generator charges my house batts through the converter, once I get to full battery 100% per my victron smartbmv, i shut down the generator. My victron shows house at 13.6v & chassis at 12.8v.

Genny is NOT charging chassis batts.

About a minute after my genny is shut off, my chassis battery jumps up to the same voltage as my house battery.

It seems my chassis battery is equalizing with my house batteries when no charge is being applied.

Pretty sure that is NOT correct.

Please - any thoughts?

My house batts are 2 years old expensive sealed AGM 300ah GPL6ct lifelines & i dont want to ruin them!

my chassis batts are new as of April.

Pic 1 = old BIRD
Pic 2 = New BIRD (manufacturer confirmed direct replacement)
Pic 3 = New relay
Pic 4 = Smart BMV screen cap post shutdown of genny
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Old 10-26-2022, 10:25 PM   #2
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B.I.R.D - Relay issue

The generator input to the BIRD inhibits the system from activating the solenoid to combine the banks, so converter only charges house when genny running. See the attached theory of operation.

So when you shut off the genny the inhibit is removed and the house surface voltage is high enough for BIRD to combine the banks for awhile which matches what your describing.

In other words the system is working normally.

You could remove the 12v generator wire from the BIRD and allow it to combine the banks with genny running
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File Type: pdf P17 BIRD Module 2.pdf (92.6 KB, 14 views)
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Old 10-26-2022, 11:03 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Jon_C View Post
The generator input to the BIRD inhibits the system from activating the solenoid to combine the banks, so converter only charges house when genny running. See the attached theory of operation.

So when you shut off the genny the inhibit is removed and the house surface voltage is high enough for BIRD to combine the banks for awhile which matches what your describing.

In other words the system is working normally.

You could remove the 12v generator wire from the BIRD and allow it to combine the banks with genny running
Thank you fir your help

That makes sense. I thought I was draining batteries too quickly when boondocking & thought the chassis was draining my house batts.

I had a Progressive Dynamics PD9260 intellipower charger/converter that died on me in April & replaced it with a dumb 45 amp charger. It just wasnt holding up. Today I installed a new pd9260 and things seem better but that chassis jumping up when genny was off & no shore power had me concerned.

Just weirdness has me jumpy I guess 😀
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Old 10-26-2022, 11:22 PM   #4
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Just weirdness has me jumpy I guess 😀
Jim that is because you only have 8 years navy experience not 10 like me.

Couple of tips. GC2 from Sam's club or Cosco work fine. Second a beer cap under the 'aux start' switch replaces the pfm BIRD.
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Old 10-27-2022, 02:14 PM   #5
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Jim that is because you only have 8 years navy experience not 10 like me.

Couple of tips. GC2 from Sam's club or Cosco work fine. Second a beer cap under the 'aux start' switch replaces the pfm BIRD.
LOL - probably true

You mean keep the aux start on dash engaged? I guess that makes sense to keep the chassis charged while running the genny. My next batts will be gc2’s from costco. Lifelines are nice but too expensive
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Old 10-29-2022, 06:03 AM   #6
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Thank you fir your help

That makes sense. I thought I was draining batteries too quickly when boondocking & thought the chassis was draining my house batts.

I had a Progressive Dynamics PD9260 intellipower charger/converter that died on me in April & replaced it with a dumb 45 amp charger. It just wasnt holding up. Today I installed a new pd9260 and things seem better but that chassis jumping up when genny was off & no shore power had me concerned.

Just weirdness has me jumpy I guess ��
The only time the BIRD should be operating/triggering the big combiner relay is when it senses 13.1-13.3V for a minute. That only happens when the batteries are being charged. When "genny was off & no shore power" the highest the batteries should be is 12.6V ish, which is a fully charged bank. Not sure how you're seeing 13.6V when there is no charging going on.
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Old 10-29-2022, 01:06 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by RKins View Post
The only time the BIRD should be operating/triggering the big combiner relay is when it senses 13.1-13.3V for a minute. That only happens when the batteries are being charged. When "genny was off & no shore power" the highest the batteries should be is 12.6V ish, which is a fully charged bank. Not sure how you're seeing 13.6V when there is no charging going on.


Right after the charger is removed the surface charge on the batteries will remain and will be high enough to trigger the Bird. My batteries will stay at 13+ volts for awhile after charging as long as theres very low load on them.
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Old 11-01-2022, 11:45 AM   #8
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Right after the charger is removed the surface charge on the batteries will remain and will be high enough to trigger the Bird. My batteries will stay at 13+ volts for awhile after charging as long as theres very low load on them.

Yep. That’s exactly what I see. All seems to be working right now. I aporeciate all of your help on this everyone.
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Old 11-01-2022, 05:31 PM   #9
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Yep. That’s exactly what I see. All seems to be working right now. I aporeciate all of your help on this everyone.


Your welcome!
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