Generator not moving the Battery monitor gauge/limited power coming in
Tamsun said
12:37 PM Mar 28, 2023
Hey everyone Im having some power issues and not very knowledgeable in this area so would love any advice or support to help me troubleshoot. When I turn my generator on its not moving the battery monitor gauge to show that I have power however the generator is providing enough power to charge my microwave and air conditioning unit. The gauge is working when I turn my van on and when using solar to show I have more power. I have limited power due to the rain and limited sun so hoping I can fix the issue.
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 03:27:57 PM
Tamsun said
12:40 PM Mar 28, 2023
Cant seem to edit my subject topic but what I meant was
The generator is not moving the battery monitor gauge.
Whenarewethere said
01:00 PM Mar 28, 2023
Firstly need to clarify things:
Are you charging the microwave & air conditioner or running them off 240 volts?
Are you charging the batteries directly off the generator or do you have a separate battery charger plugged into the generator?
Tamsun said
03:04 PM Mar 28, 2023
Thanks for the response.
The microwave and aircon only operate when I'm plugged into 240 volts and I have the two batteries in the van that are charged when plugged in/with solar.
Does that answer the question?
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 03:14:34 PM
Whenarewethere said
04:24 PM Mar 28, 2023
Have you measured the batterys' voltage with a multimeter? (a second way of checking things can often solve minor issues,)
What capacity are the batteries?
How old are the batteries?
Are you charging directly from the generator?
Are you charging from a proper charger plugged into the generator?
Something like this (10 amp & 30 amp Victron charger):
Tamsun said
05:09 PM Mar 28, 2023
Hi so I have measured the batteries and they are both at 12.1. so pretty low.
I plugged into power and the gauge is also going down too. I have had the motorhome for almost 3 years and I cant recall if they were put in then or were already there.
Is there anything I could do to prolong the life of these batteries?
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 05:34:20 PM
There will be a date somewhere. Maybe stamped into the plastic somewhere around the top.
Like week/year, 1317, so 13th week of 2017.
Tamsun said
05:37 PM Mar 28, 2023
I cant seem to find a date anywhere. There is large writing on the side but cant move them enough to see anything.
Triggy said
10:27 PM Mar 28, 2023
looks like no power coming on your gage.just battery voltage showing and no amps flowing. You have a problem with your generator or your battery charger not charging to the batteries what sort of generator do you have is it inbuilt in the van or external on the ground .Where is it plugged into in the van ,direct into a charger or the power inlet of the van. The problem is from the generator via charger to the batteries .the generator puts out 240 volts ac into the charger then the charger converts it to approx 14v dc to charge the battery so your meter should be showing how many Amps flowing in on your gauge.(A= Amps) the picture of the battery on your gauge should be charging voltage if all was well .check all connections from the generator to the batteries To test, Try plugging a 240v small appliance directly into the generator see if this works or not will tell if the generator is working or not . Is the charger turned on or has it blown fuse . The generator can also go off on overload if too much 240v current draw Turn off all 240v appliances eg hot water microwave .etc and restart the generator .Its trial and error to find cause. Your batteries won't be the cause of no charge as shown on your gauge .
TimTim said
10:55 PM Mar 28, 2023
Hi Tamsun,
Ok, a little bit confused so I will try and work it out. Im assuming that your aircon and microwave are running off the generator.
What we need to know is the whole system. Can you take some photos of the battery, battery charger and if u have one the DC to DC charger. Make and model number or photos help. As pointed out if your generator is running through your 240v inlet to your van and the aircon and microwave work then for some reason your battery charger isnt working. Look for lights on your charger. It may be plugged into a 240v outlet, if so use an appliance to test the outlet. If no power then look at your fuse board.
If you do have a dc to dc charger then you can run your vehicle for a while to provide some charge to the batteries. Many 12v appliances work at below 12v, some things such as LEDs not so much.
Probably a few others will be able to help you in the morning.
Good luck
Tim
Tony Bev said
01:20 AM Mar 29, 2023
Tamsun wrote:
Hey everyone Im having some power issues and not very knowledgeable in this area so would love any advice or support to help me troubleshoot. When I turn my generator on its not moving the battery monitor gauge to show that I have power however the generator is providing enough power to charge my microwave and air conditioning unit. The gauge is working when I turn my van on and when using solar to show I have more power. I have limited power due to the rain and limited sun so hoping I can fix the issue.
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 03:27:57 PM
Hi Tam Sun
I am not a techi, so the rough sketch is how my system works, and I assume that it would be fairly close for other RV's
If my sketch is wrong, then I hope that knowledgeable people will correct me
You mention that when you turn your van on (I assume your engine), or your solar, then the gauge is working But When you have your genset working, there is 240 volt power, but the gauge is not working
Knowing my charging system, (as per the sketch below)
There is a switch between the Power Supply and the house battery If this switch has been accidentally switched OFF Both Solar and engine would still be charging the house battery But nothing would be coming from the power supply to the house battery You will have the symptoms you described
You will have a fuse from house battery to power supply (close to the house battery) If this fuse is blown, nothing from the power supply will get to the house battery You will have the symptoms you described
You may or may not, have a fuse from the power supply to the house battery (close to the power supply) (Notice that the house battery to/from the power supply is a 2 way street) When the 240 volt is not connected, the house battery 12 volt, has to go through the power supply, to run the 12 volt stuff If this fuse is blown, you will have the symptoms you described
Hope that this is useful for you
Tamsun said
09:27 AM Mar 29, 2023
Thanks so much everyone.
Hey Tony Bev, I cant see your diagram from my phone but what youre saying sounds to be about right. Im trying to get him to check the big 150 Amp fuse at the moment but cant seem to get at it.
Trying to post pictures from my mobile but not sure if I can.
Aus-Kiwi said
11:31 PM Apr 3, 2023
Are you using a battery charger ?
Monty10 said
10:22 PM May 8, 2023
Hi Tony,
from your diagram it appears you are connecting your generator directly into your 240v inlet, and this is charging your van batteries. Is this an acceptable practice, or should I invest in an AC/DC battery charger and go from the generator to charger to batteries.
About to purchase a generator but unsure of how to charge van batteries.
Monty 10
Tony Bev said
12:19 AM May 9, 2023
Monty10 wrote:
Hi Tony,
from your diagram it appears you are connecting your generator directly into your 240v inlet, and this is charging your van batteries. Is this an acceptable practice, or should I invest in an AC/DC battery charger and go from the generator to charger to batteries.
About to purchase a generator but unsure of how to charge van batteries.
Monty 10
Hi Monty10
Below is the diagram of the original Jayco Conquest setup
On paper it probably looks OK, but for whatever reasons, it only ever trickled charged the house battery The bookwork with the RV did say to plug the 240 volt in, for several days, to charge the battery (or words to that effect)
The built in POWER SUPPLY is a Setec brand
I think that it may have originally been set up this way (in 2006), to utilise caravan parks I think the method behind the madness, (from Jayco), could have been
When you are plugged into 240 volt, the power supply supports all 12 volt DC and 240 volt AC, and the house battery is not used
In the above scenario, when the battery is not being used, you would only require a trickle charge
When driving the vehicle, the alternator ENGINE BATTERY, would be running the fridge, and any other 12 volt DC, (fans etc) would be obtained from the POWER SUPPLY. So once again the house battery would only require a trickle charge
If I knew then, what I know now, I would never have tried to use the original system to charge the house battery, while being off grid
Without actually seeing your setup, I would not be technical savvy enough to advise how to set your system up, for charging the house battery
The two ways I know are
Genset plus 240 volt battery charger, or solar plus DC/DC charger
Perhaps you could start a new thread, asking the techi people what is the best way for your situation
Monty10 said
09:52 AM May 9, 2023
Thanks Tony,
Yeah just looking to trickle charge the house batteries when in the bush as a back up to solar charging if we have a few days bad weather. I think i'll invest in a smart ac/dc charger.
Monty10
Aus-Kiwi said
12:31 AM May 10, 2023
Or just a good 240v 20amp DC charger
Running off any 240 system . Generator or mains .
Hey everyone Im having some power issues and not very knowledgeable in this area so would love any advice or support to help me troubleshoot. When I turn my generator on its not moving the battery monitor gauge to show that I have power however the generator is providing enough power to charge my microwave and air conditioning unit. The gauge is working when I turn my van on and when using solar to show I have more power. I have limited power due to the rain and limited sun so hoping I can fix the issue.
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 03:27:57 PM
Firstly need to clarify things:
Are you charging the microwave & air conditioner or running them off 240 volts?
Are you charging the batteries directly off the generator or do you have a separate battery charger plugged into the generator?
Thanks for the response.
The microwave and aircon only operate when I'm plugged into 240 volts and I have the two batteries in the van that are charged when plugged in/with solar.
Does that answer the question?
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 03:14:34 PM
Have you measured the batterys' voltage with a multimeter? (a second way of checking things can often solve minor issues,)
What capacity are the batteries?
How old are the batteries?
Are you charging directly from the generator?
Are you charging from a proper charger plugged into the generator?
Something like this (10 amp & 30 amp Victron charger):
Hi so I have measured the batteries and they are both at 12.1. so pretty low.
I plugged into power and the gauge is also going down too. I have had the motorhome for almost 3 years and I cant recall if they were put in then or were already there.
Is there anything I could do to prolong the life of these batteries?
-- Edited by Tamsun on Tuesday 28th of March 2023 05:34:20 PM
There will be a date somewhere. Maybe stamped into the plastic somewhere around the top.
Like week/year, 1317, so 13th week of 2017.
I cant seem to find a date anywhere. There is large writing on the side but cant move them enough to see anything.
looks like no power coming on your gage.just battery voltage showing and no amps flowing. You have a problem with your generator or your battery charger not charging to the batteries what sort of generator do you have is it inbuilt in the van or external on the ground .Where is it plugged into in the van ,direct into a charger or the power inlet of the van. The problem is from the generator via charger to the batteries .the generator puts out 240 volts ac into the charger then the charger converts it to approx 14v dc to charge the battery so your meter should be showing how many Amps flowing in on your gauge.(A= Amps) the picture of the battery on your gauge should be charging voltage if all was well .check all connections from the generator to the batteries To test, Try plugging a 240v small appliance directly into the generator see if this works or not will tell if the generator is working or not . Is the charger turned on or has it blown fuse . The generator can also go off on overload if too much 240v current draw Turn off all 240v appliances eg hot water microwave .etc and restart the generator .Its trial and error to find cause. Your batteries won't be the cause of no charge as shown on your gauge .
Hi Tamsun,
Ok, a little bit confused so I will try and work it out. Im assuming that your aircon and microwave are running off the generator.
What we need to know is the whole system. Can you take some photos of the battery, battery charger and if u have one the DC to DC charger. Make and model number or photos help. As pointed out if your generator is running through your 240v inlet to your van and the aircon and microwave work then for some reason your battery charger isnt working. Look for lights on your charger. It may be plugged into a 240v outlet, if so use an appliance to test the outlet. If no power then look at your fuse board.
If you do have a dc to dc charger then you can run your vehicle for a while to provide some charge to the batteries. Many 12v appliances work at below 12v, some things such as LEDs not so much.
Probably a few others will be able to help you in the morning.
Good luck
Tim
Hi Tam Sun
I am not a techi, so the rough sketch is how my system works, and I assume that it would be fairly close for other RV's
If my sketch is wrong, then I hope that knowledgeable people will correct me
You mention that when you turn your van on (I assume your engine), or your solar, then the gauge is working
But
When you have your genset working, there is 240 volt power, but the gauge is not working
Knowing my charging system, (as per the sketch below)
If this switch has been accidentally switched OFF
Both Solar and engine would still be charging the house battery
But nothing would be coming from the power supply to the house battery
You will have the symptoms you described
If this fuse is blown, nothing from the power supply will get to the house battery
You will have the symptoms you described
(Notice that the house battery to/from the power supply is a 2 way street)
When the 240 volt is not connected, the house battery 12 volt, has to go through the power supply, to run the 12 volt stuff
If this fuse is blown, you will have the symptoms you described
Hope that this is useful for you
Hi Tony,
from your diagram it appears you are connecting your generator directly into your 240v inlet, and this is charging your van batteries. Is this an acceptable practice, or should I invest in an AC/DC battery charger and go from the generator to charger to batteries.
About to purchase a generator but unsure of how to charge van batteries.
Monty 10
Hi Monty10
Below is the diagram of the original Jayco Conquest setup
On paper it probably looks OK, but for whatever reasons, it only ever trickled charged the house battery
The bookwork with the RV did say to plug the 240 volt in, for several days, to charge the battery (or words to that effect)
The built in POWER SUPPLY is a Setec brand
I think that it may have originally been set up this way (in 2006), to utilise caravan parks
I think the method behind the madness, (from Jayco), could have been
So once again the house battery would only require a trickle charge
If I knew then, what I know now, I would never have tried to use the original system to charge the house battery, while being off grid
Without actually seeing your setup, I would not be technical savvy enough to advise how to set your system up, for charging the house battery
The two ways I know are
Genset plus 240 volt battery charger, or solar plus DC/DC charger
Perhaps you could start a new thread, asking the techi people what is the best way for your situation
Yeah just looking to trickle charge the house batteries when in the bush as a back up to solar charging if we have a few days bad weather. I think i'll invest in a smart ac/dc charger.
Monty10
Running off any 240 system . Generator or mains .