I had a battery issue yesterday when the 12 month old battery went flat or shut down as it was only at 10.7 volts. I have been plugged into mains power for the past fortnight so it should have been charging and also the solar is going. The only issue I had was that I tripped the mains power a week ago and had to turn off some appliances and reset the shut off switch in the van.
My question is how to tell if the charger is cactus. Does it have a reset switch or fuse that could be the cause or is it a matter of replacing the unit itself. If the latter, is it just a matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in a new one or is it a job for NASA or at least someone who is qualified.
I will hook the car up to the van today and give it a ten minute burst which should fire up the battery. All the 240 volt things are working ok (touch wood) so I think it must just be charger related.
TimTim said
07:52 AM Jun 23, 2024
Hi DMaxer,
You also say the solar is going so the battery should of been charged by the solar as well even if the charger wasnt working.
What make and model of batter, solar controller and 240V charger?
Tim
DMaxer said
09:18 AM Jun 23, 2024
Hi Tim, thanks for the quick response. The battery is an 120amp bought twelve months ago and has been going fine off grid with just the solar to charge it. It all went black last night whilst reading in the cot so decided to wait until morning to check it all out. I checked the charger first of all. It is an Electro 12 volt 30 amp that is the original one in the van so about 12 years old. The light on the charger shows it is charging and on and the light also shows it is on float. On the display screen it also shows the charger is on and is on float.
After I checked all of this I turned off the power at the trip switch, waited a couple of minutes and turned it back on. The battery was showing 10.7 volts and all the lights came back on showing it was charging and on float. I left it alone and went for a walk and now it shows 13.2 volts so charged up again. It is not from the solar as it is overcast and I am parked under a big tree cover.
When it went down last night the charger also showed it was on. I think the only one who might know what is happening left us 2000 years ago under not very pleasant circumstances.
There is nothing open today so maybe I just leave it and see what happens. Could a reboot have fixed it and if so, what did it fix?
Whenarewethere said
09:57 AM Jun 23, 2024
There are lots of cheap tools these days to measure things. Once upon a time they used hammers. These days it's far more efficient with a nail gun.
TimTim said
11:04 AM Jun 23, 2024
Hi DMaxer,
This is may be your manual which covers a number of models of your make of controller.
You didnt say what type of battery you have but Im assuming that it is an AGM.
What are you measuring the voltage with as your Electro does not have a display.
If the battery was showing 10.7V and you went for a walk it would not be fully charged by the time you got back unless you went for a long walk. You say it was showing as being on float which I assume when it was at 10.7V and if this is the case I have concerns as it should not be on float at that voltage. If it was switched to power supply then according to the manual it would show that battery as being on float. Whether it is the charger or battery is hard to establish at this stage so we need to try and establish which it is. If it happens again switch the charger over to power supply and see if works because it should irrespective of whether or not you have a battery installed.
Is your switch set as battery charger or power supply as per Fig.4 and part G of the manual?
Reboots can do all sorts of things sometimes
After reading the manual again I have edited my post.
Tim
-- Edited by TimTim on Sunday 23rd of June 2024 02:23:52 PM
DMaxer said
02:16 PM Jun 23, 2024
I had a look for a manual online first thing this morning Tim but could not find one. I didn't think it would be the battery as it is an AGM deep cycle one that is only twelve months old and has worked perfectly. The charger I have only has a power switch on the exterior and nothing else.
I gave it a reboot at about 7am and when I checked it again it was about two and a half hours later and showing over 12 volts with inclinations up to 13.2 volts.
Separate to the charger and in a little cupboard I have a monitor that displays the battery voltage as well as whether the charger is on and if there are any faults. The charger itself only has two lights to show charger is on and it is on float.
The latest check of the battery monitor now shows 13.2 with the voltage in the battery being 12.9,
Thanks for your help. I will check it out again tomorrow and see if there is any change. It just seemed so odd for the lights to go out and the battery showing 10.7 only for it all to return to normal after a reboot. Perhaps after I overloaded the circuits and the trip took place it may have needed rebooting, I don't know.
Will keep you posted and thanks again.
TimTim said
02:29 PM Jun 23, 2024
Ok I took a stab in the dark hoping that would be your manual but I guess you have an earlier model. Batteries do die as i found out with two calcium batteries just on less than 2 years old.Let us know how you go.
Good luck
Tim
DMaxer said
02:34 PM Jun 23, 2024
Thanks Tim. In relation to the battery I have had two go to battery heaven since I owned the van. The first was the original and the second lasted about 4 years. What I found then was that they seemed ok whilst the van was plugged into mains but died when I was free camping with just solar to keep the charge,
This one stopped dead whilst still hooked up to mains. That is why I think something must have happened when I tripped the power and why it may have fixed itself with a reboot.
I will see how the patient copes overnight and let you know. Many thanks for your help.
Dougwe said
05:45 PM Jun 23, 2024
G'day BigD, long time no chat, hope you are well.
Mate, it sounds like you are a bit of a bright spark, sorting that out. Well done.
TimTim said
08:08 PM Jun 23, 2024
Ok Maxer Im going to take a stab in the dark again seeing as we cant find your manual. I have a feeling that your charger may be a Voltech charger labelled under the name of Electro. Are you able to post a photo of the front of your charger?
DMaxer said
09:15 AM Jun 24, 2024
Hi Tim. All is working well with the battery this morning. It is showing 13.3 with charger on and on float.
I cant seem to be able to attach photo from phone.
DMaxer said
09:25 AM Jun 24, 2024
I think there has been a major scientific break through here Tim.
The charger is a 3 stage switch mode. I think what happened is when I tripped the power it went into the wrong stage, charge, absorb or float and the battery died. The reboot got it going in the right stage.
What do you think?
DMaxer said
09:29 AM Jun 24, 2024
Hi Doug. Will send you a pm. Very busy at the moment fielding calls from NASA asking me for advice.
Dougwe said
10:21 AM Jun 24, 2024
DMaxer wrote:
Hi Doug. Will send you a pm. Very busy at the moment fielding calls from NASA asking me for advice.
Mmmm, does that mean you are going to be an Astronaut. Actually, that should read Astronauty.
TimTim said
01:06 PM Jun 24, 2024
It could be, sometimes electronics can do all sorts of weird things these days. I have a feeling that your Electro charger may actually be a rebranded Voltech.
Hi Doug. Will send you a pm. Very busy at the moment fielding calls from NASA asking me for advice.
Mmmm, does that mean you are going to be an Astronaut. Actually, that should read Astronauty.
Probably advise not to reuse rubber connecting parts after first hand experience to avoid catastrophic repercussions.
DMaxer said
11:31 AM Jun 26, 2024
Just as a finale to this riveting story about my battery charger, I was having a chat to a bloke camped not far from me and telling him about what had happened and not understanding how it fixed itself. He mentioned to me that when ever he trips the power in his van he needs to reboot the electric hot water system as otherwise it just stays off, even though the power is switched back on almost immediately.
There you go, learned something new out of all of this.
I had a battery issue yesterday when the 12 month old battery went flat or shut down as it was only at 10.7 volts. I have been plugged into mains power for the past fortnight so it should have been charging and also the solar is going. The only issue I had was that I tripped the mains power a week ago and had to turn off some appliances and reset the shut off switch in the van.
My question is how to tell if the charger is cactus. Does it have a reset switch or fuse that could be the cause or is it a matter of replacing the unit itself. If the latter, is it just a matter of unplugging the old one and plugging in a new one or is it a job for NASA or at least someone who is qualified.
I will hook the car up to the van today and give it a ten minute burst which should fire up the battery. All the 240 volt things are working ok (touch wood) so I think it must just be charger related.
Hi DMaxer,
You also say the solar is going so the battery should of been charged by the solar as well even if the charger wasnt working.
What make and model of batter, solar controller and 240V charger?
Tim
Hi Tim, thanks for the quick response. The battery is an 120amp bought twelve months ago and has been going fine off grid with just the solar to charge it. It all went black last night whilst reading in the cot so decided to wait until morning to check it all out. I checked the charger first of all. It is an Electro 12 volt 30 amp that is the original one in the van so about 12 years old. The light on the charger shows it is charging and on and the light also shows it is on float. On the display screen it also shows the charger is on and is on float.
After I checked all of this I turned off the power at the trip switch, waited a couple of minutes and turned it back on. The battery was showing 10.7 volts and all the lights came back on showing it was charging and on float. I left it alone and went for a walk and now it shows 13.2 volts so charged up again. It is not from the solar as it is overcast and I am parked under a big tree cover.
When it went down last night the charger also showed it was on. I think the only one who might know what is happening left us 2000 years ago under not very pleasant circumstances.
There is nothing open today so maybe I just leave it and see what happens. Could a reboot have fixed it and if so, what did it fix?
There are lots of cheap tools these days to measure things. Once upon a time they used hammers. These days it's far more efficient with a nail gun.
Hi DMaxer,
This is may be your manual which covers a number of models of your make of controller.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1813926/Electro-Bc-1230.html#manual
You didnt say what type of battery you have but Im assuming that it is an AGM.
What are you measuring the voltage with as your Electro does not have a display.
If the battery was showing 10.7V and you went for a walk it would not be fully charged by the time you got back unless you went for a long walk. You say it was showing as being on float which I assume when it was at 10.7V and if this is the case I have concerns as it should not be on float at that voltage. If it was switched to power supply then according to the manual it would show that battery as being on float. Whether it is the charger or battery is hard to establish at this stage so we need to try and establish which it is. If it happens again switch the charger over to power supply and see if works because it should irrespective of whether or not you have a battery installed.
Is your switch set as battery charger or power supply as per Fig.4 and part G of the manual?
Reboots can do all sorts of things sometimes
After reading the manual again I have edited my post.
Tim
-- Edited by TimTim on Sunday 23rd of June 2024 02:23:52 PM
I had a look for a manual online first thing this morning Tim but could not find one. I didn't think it would be the battery as it is an AGM deep cycle one that is only twelve months old and has worked perfectly. The charger I have only has a power switch on the exterior and nothing else.
I gave it a reboot at about 7am and when I checked it again it was about two and a half hours later and showing over 12 volts with inclinations up to 13.2 volts.
Separate to the charger and in a little cupboard I have a monitor that displays the battery voltage as well as whether the charger is on and if there are any faults. The charger itself only has two lights to show charger is on and it is on float.
The latest check of the battery monitor now shows 13.2 with the voltage in the battery being 12.9,
Thanks for your help. I will check it out again tomorrow and see if there is any change. It just seemed so odd for the lights to go out and the battery showing 10.7 only for it all to return to normal after a reboot. Perhaps after I overloaded the circuits and the trip took place it may have needed rebooting, I don't know.
Will keep you posted and thanks again.
Ok I took a stab in the dark hoping that would be your manual but I guess you have an earlier model. Batteries do die as i found out with two calcium batteries just on less than 2 years old.Let us know how you go.
Good luck
Tim
Thanks Tim. In relation to the battery I have had two go to battery heaven since I owned the van. The first was the original and the second lasted about 4 years. What I found then was that they seemed ok whilst the van was plugged into mains but died when I was free camping with just solar to keep the charge,
This one stopped dead whilst still hooked up to mains. That is why I think something must have happened when I tripped the power and why it may have fixed itself with a reboot.
I will see how the patient copes overnight and let you know. Many thanks for your help.
Mate, it sounds like you are a bit of a bright spark, sorting that out. Well done.
Ok Maxer Im going to take a stab in the dark again seeing as we cant find your manual. I have a feeling that your charger may be a Voltech charger labelled under the name of Electro. Are you able to post a photo of the front of your charger?
Mmmm, does that mean you are going to be an Astronaut. Actually, that should read Astronauty.
It could be, sometimes electronics can do all sorts of weird things these days. I have a feeling that your Electro charger may actually be a rebranded Voltech.
Does it look anything like this?
https://catalogue.electroparts.com.au/manuals/BC-2430P_IM%20REV%207.pdf?_ga=2.52763114.331497142.1719117049-1874665503.1719117049
Just a stab in the dark
Tim
It's cranking out the Vs Tim. I think what I did solved it. Here is a photo of the charger and the meter;
Probably advise not to reuse rubber connecting parts after first hand experience to avoid catastrophic repercussions.
Just as a finale to this riveting story about my battery charger, I was having a chat to a bloke camped not far from me and telling him about what had happened and not understanding how it fixed itself. He mentioned to me that when ever he trips the power in his van he needs to reboot the electric hot water system as otherwise it just stays off, even though the power is switched back on almost immediately.
There you go, learned something new out of all of this.