Returned home from weekend away where we were plugged into the mains for duration. Ran small vacumn cleaner off the solar fuelled batteries during clean up. Part way through cleaning power cut out. Figured I had drained the batteries. Quick check showed the microwave, exterior lamp and hot water system had been left switched on at the wall, after we disconnected the mains power. Assumably this had contributed to draining the battery? Charge controller was showing a blinking red light. Several hours later red light remained indicating battery had not recharged. This morning wife heard what appeared to be an alarm sound from the unit that transfers power from the batteries to the power points. She switched off the unit. I come home to discover we have no battery power and no lights are showing on the battery charge controller - 24 hours after the power cut out. My initial suspicions are that (a) we have tripped a circuit breaker, (b) blown a fuse or (c) something has broken in between the solar panels and the battery. Any thoughts before I give the sparky a call?
-- Edited by chugger on Monday 19th of March 2018 10:29:43 PM
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I suspect the battery is either dead flat or you hopefully have a LOW voltage DISCONNECT to protect the battery from over discharge
Does the van have an inbuilt 240v battery charger? if so turn all 12V Loads "OFF" & connect van to mains power for a day or so to see if the battery will recharge
The charge controller should be Ok & start functioning when you get a decent charge into the battery .
If that does not work ,come back, best if some more details on type model number of solar reg ,if fitted battery charger Brand & Model #
Could that alarm be from a low voltage cut out on an inverter. Leaving 230v items switched on when park power is disconected should not discharge the batteries if no inverter.
How many volts on solar wires to regulator ?! Sounds like inverter low voltage alarm ? This was my issue after a few cloudy days . My 60 amp battery charger is NOT working ! Inverter - charger in one .
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 09:01:09 AM
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 09:01:39 AM
Could that alarm be from a low voltage cut out on an inverter. Leaving 230v items switched on when park power is disconected should not discharge the batteries if no inverter.
Alan
Hi Allan
As I read the op : he does have an inverter "the thing that supplies 240V to the outlets"
He left on the:
[1]Micro wave ,suggest only on standby so should not be a problem
[2]an exterior light Watts ?
[3]Hot water system ,Electrics??
[4] the inverter,size unknown ,standby current unknown.
Yes, It could be the inverter alarm , but all suggests the batteries are now below low voltage cutoff point
It could also be that the solar input is on the load side of the LVD ,now no charge from solar going into the battery .
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 05:07:35 PM
Reading the list of things left on, the only item which draws any significant power is the hot water (if it is electric). The microwave will only draw significant power if it is used (standby power is minimal. The exterior light would only be about 15 watts (if it is incandescent, less than 5 watts if it is LED), so the maximum power draw will be a bit over 1 amp for the light - not much at all. Electric hot water draws 15 amps @230 Volts. This is mean power. Hopefully the design did not allow the hot water to be heated from the vehicle house battery.
Reading the list of things left on, the only item which draws any significant power is the hot water (if it is electric). The microwave will only draw significant power if it is used (standby power is minimal. The exterior light would only be about 15 watts (if it is incandescent, less than 5 watts if it is LED), so the maximum power draw will be a bit over 1 amp for the light - not much at all. Electric hot water draws 15 amps @230 Volts. This is mean power. Hopefully the design did not allow the hot water to be heated from the vehicle house battery.
Yes ,Agree but we do not know how long any of them including the outside lights were on for, or battery capacity
Outside light around 30 Ahrs per day , how many days ?
Little vacuum cleaner perhaps 3A ,for how long?
Inverter Standby current ,how many days?
But still suggest low voltage cutout = flat battery /s
Solar watts /van in full sun?
Battery/s Amphr rating
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Wednesday 21st of March 2018 04:11:55 PM
Does this info help those that are kindly responding?
The LED lights on the solar power controller are no longer visible. Normally they flash red as rechage occurs and green when maximum levels are reached.
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2016 Ford Everest 3.2L Diesel.
2011 Blue Sky Fairhaven 21 ft caravan, "Betsy'
Selling hand carved jade jewellry as we travel. Check out jaycee_art on Ebay.
Does this info help those that are kindly responding? The LED lights on the solar power controller are no longer visible. Normally they flash red as rechage occurs and green when maximum levels are reached.
Not really
It only indicates that it is not getting any voltage/ power from the battery to activate it
Again suggest you have flat battery/s AND a low voltage cut that has isolated the battery/s
You need to connect to 240V power ASAP , & IF,as I would expect you have an inbuilt battery charger, let it RECHARGE the battery/s for a few days.
HAVE YOU DONE THAT???????
The LOW voltage cutout normally will automatically reset once the battery/s are recharged
The sooner you do that the better for the sake of the battery/s[not good to be left discharged]
May I suggest you purchase a small cheap multimeter , even from Supercheap ,& learn how to use it to at least check for 12V & Continuity [Ohms]
Do you know any one who can check the battery/s voltage right at the battery terminals.??
You could take the van to your local auto mechanic who would almost certainly be able to do that
THAT is the sure way to find if the battery/s are flat
IF you cannot connect to mains power,try charging the battery/s via the vehicle alternator, that will mean either a good long drive or running the engine somewhat above idling speed for quite a while. At least until the low voltage cut out resets & the solar is reactivated [IF they are in the sun]
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Wednesday 21st of March 2018 04:33:50 PM
thanks oldtrack123 i tried to recharge the battery by connecting an external battery charger directly to the house batteries on low power. After about 15 hours the amp meter displayed and the charge controller was blinking on red light. Thinking I had started the process I disconnected the battery charger to leave the solar to do the rest, however by the end of the day the battery appeared to have drained again, lights and radio not operable, turned on invertor and got the alarm sound. Will head down to auto shop in morning.
When you say connect to 240V are you suggesting that if I connect my 15amp mains (with adaptor) to my house, that will rechage the house batteries? How does that work?
Apologies if that sounds a bit dumb, still learning, appreciate yur advice
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We're all just travelers - going with the flow.
2016 Ford Everest 3.2L Diesel.
2011 Blue Sky Fairhaven 21 ft caravan, "Betsy'
Selling hand carved jade jewellry as we travel. Check out jaycee_art on Ebay.
Hi Chugger
I would expect that you have an inbuilt 240v battery charger somewhere in the van
usually close to the battery/s
So connecting to 240V & turning the van main switch on should start it
There is the chance though that the charger may be switched "Off"
You should be able to locate it
But if you cannot ,you need help to to explain & show what & where the important things are. When you first bought the van ,did they explain & show you where such things were??
regrettably previous operator had passed away and his other half knew very little about the technical aspects so its been a month of intensive learning, reading, researching, so far I have discovered the following -
We have two deep gel house batteries, both appear in good nick, one added within past 2 years
There appears to be two, 3-stage battery chargers assumably one for each battery.
On the outside of the battery cabinet, but within the MH is a circular voltage display. Beside that is a bright red pin inserted through the wall of the battery cabinet, that can be twisted and removed. I suspect its a form of battery isolator, but not sure. It is secured to the cabinet with a chain suggesting it is important to not lose this pin! Also on the outside of the cabinet is the charge controller connected to two solar panels on the roof.
Solar panels lay flat, unable to be raised, unimpeded by any other items that could cast a shadow. I have no info on these.
Also outside of the battery cabinet is a 155W pure sine inverter
Inside the battery cupboard there is also a box labelled 'booster', for which I have no information
If we were free camping, the house batteries would be required operate intermitently, a variety of interior flourescent lights, an exterior light, television, two small oscillating fans, stereo, microwave, hot water system, fridge, laptops, water pump. We have gas also which provides option for operating fridge and hot water.
__________________
We're all just travelers - going with the flow.
2016 Ford Everest 3.2L Diesel.
2011 Blue Sky Fairhaven 21 ft caravan, "Betsy'
Selling hand carved jade jewellry as we travel. Check out jaycee_art on Ebay.
Hi Chugger, Are you going to Stone The Crows at Wagga over the Easter week end? If you are, I'll be there and I could have a look at your set up and see what the problem is and try to explain the various parts of the system and how they tie in together.
T1 Terry
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"There appears to be two, 3-stage battery chargers assumably one for each battery."
Check that they are plugged in into a 240V outlet & are switched on, then connect 240V mains power to the vehicle
After about 30Mins check if both chargers are feeling warm[an indication that they are charging]
Leave power connected with chargers charging for at least 24Hrs .the longer the better at this stage or until the solar appears to reset & start charging
Make sure nothing is connected to the inverter 240V
& all 12V loads are switched OFF[ lights, fans ,fridge, etc]
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Saturday 24th of March 2018 10:44:42 PM
I posted this last night but cant see it anywhere so may have neglected to his the send button, so here goes again. Thank you to all those that provided advice on this issue. Have followed the advice of all in one form or another and am pleased to say all is well, after a boost with an external battery charger, I purchased a 15A adaptor and connected the MH to the house and that kicked the internal battery chargers into life and after 24 hours the charge controller is showing fully charged batteries. Lesson learned, don't take battery power for granted, once again, thank you to all and to the poster asking if I would be in Wagga over Easter, regrettably not however it was a generous offer. We may catch up someplace, one day.
__________________
We're all just travelers - going with the flow.
2016 Ford Everest 3.2L Diesel.
2011 Blue Sky Fairhaven 21 ft caravan, "Betsy'
Selling hand carved jade jewellry as we travel. Check out jaycee_art on Ebay.
You really should get some one to explain to you the various components & what they do & when ever requiring help give as many details [specs] as possible of the equipment that may be involved.
Does the van have a 12V meter showing the voltage [State of charge ]of the house battery/s
If not ,I strongly suggest you get one fitted in a easy to read location
It should be wired direct to the house battery ,but with a fuse in the pos line ,as close as practical to the house battery
You will then have ample warning ,if for any reason ,you are drawing more out of the battery/s than is going in.
