Mountains of electrical questions, please help!!

[Travelling Ken]

First time posting here. Recently purchased a 2014 Sprinter with a 2015 SS Agile build. Seem to have electrical problems, so I got a lot of questions: Has anyone been told by Roadtrek Headquarter experts that wet lead acid batteries will gas off fumes that will destroy the break lines that sit below the battery tray. Was told only AGM (OEM to my rig) or lithium is approved. So I bought two Trogan AGM 6 volt batteries. The solar controller posted batteries were up to snuff (12.8 v) but has always remained in the night mode and reports no amps being sent to the batteries. How to test. When volt meter applied to positive and negative post only 0.02 amps are being registered. Are the panel no good? When plugged into shore power after turning on 12-volt power and inverter and refig with coach batteries at full capacity, the following morning the coach batteries were depleted to 60%. Is my inverter shot as well? I also installed an Aili battery monitor to check volts so as not to destroy my new batteries., I am afraid to use the rig for fear of destroying my new batteries. Roadtrek in Canada is closed from today thru July 11th. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Travelling Ken]

Hello, Thank you for your inquiry. It's a Power Star LW3000-24-C It looks remarkable like SunGold 3000 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter. I believe it is original to the rig. It will run the AC and /or microwave and AC outlets but will not charge the agm batteries. I realize that it is 88% efficient so it uses up battery life but will not re-charge. There are no operating fault codes displayed either. It will operate in either AC mode (01)or battery invert mode(02). It will not charge when hooked up to shore power or generator and will not charge even with the engine idling. Today I purchased a agm battery charge to return the new agm to full charge. I think the inverter charger mode is shot. Once again, thanks, Ken

 

[AbdRahim]

POWERSTAR LW SERIES PRODUCT INFORMATION MANUAL Pdf Download

It may be faster to contact the manufacturer directly. Check all of the settings. Try a reset. If that does not work, give them a call.

 

[Travelling Ken]

Yes, I have sent an email out to hopefully the right people but being a hoilday weekend and now sit and wait. It beginning to appear to be the converter but I want to get a second opinion before I begin replacement. All good ideas. Thanks, Ken

 

[Just George]

Hello, Thank you for your inquiry. It's a Power Star LW3000-24-C It looks remarkable like SunGold 3000 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter. I believe it is original to the rig. It will run the AC and /or microwave and AC outlets but will not charge the agm batteries. I realize that it is 88% efficient so it uses up battery life but will not re-charge. There are no operating fault codes displayed either. It will operate in either AC mode (01)or battery invert mode(02). It will not charge when hooked up to shore power or generator and will not charge even with the engine idling. Today I purchased a agm battery charge to return the new agm to full charge. I think the inverter charger mode is shot. Once again, thanks, Ken

Traveling Ken

I do not know your rig or Inverter specifics but from your posts it sure sounds like the inverter is either not outputting any charge voltage or there is a wiring issue between the inverter and the batteries. In your initial post you stated "When volt meter applied to positive and negative post only 0.02 amps are being registered. " Just want to make sure you are aware that you cannot measure current (amps) by connecting across the positive and negative terminals. To measure current (amps) your meter needs to be in series i.e in the line between the inverter and the battery. The exception to this is if you have clamp style meter. Measuring across the terminals will give you voltage which can also be helpful in deterring if the batteries are being charged.

 

[Travelling Ken]

Thank you for picking that up. In my haste, I meant volts and not amps. Does anyone know if the solar charger is directly connected to the coach batteries? Regardless of the sky conditions, whether sunny without clouds or overcast, my solar charger does not indicate any voltage going into the coach batteries. I am always in the night mode saying if below a certain amount (0.5) it will not register the current flowing through. The solar controller does show the current-voltage in the coach batteries regardless of the coach batteries energizing the rig. In other words, it always reads the coach current Did I just answer my above question about the solar controller being directly hooked up to the coach batteries.??? I have also installed a aili battery monitor which has shown that the batteries are under load and drawing down power to the point of almost being 50% deplited. I thought the solar (300 watts) would keep the batteries toped off Thanks to everyone for their responses and suggestions. Ken

 

[B52Bombardier1]

I would measure the voltage coming out of your panels PRIOR to the wires entering any other device. You should typically see maybe 20-21 DC volts out of a panel on a sunny day with the panel NOT connected to anything except a multimeter. This = the "unloaded panel voltage".

Maybe you have one or more broken wires from the panels on the way to your charge controller.

Rick

 

[Travelling Ken]

Hey Rick, I think you hit the nail on the head!!! At the controller where the wires come in from the roof, I have zero volts. The last solar panel on the roof after separating the MC4 connector has 20-21 volts. I think you are right about the broken wire or loose MC4 connector. I'll keep you all posted Thanks, Ken

 

[Travelling Ken]

Hey Rick and etc., Checked all the solar panels on the rig roof and all three are putting out 21v (+/-) and combined getting 52+volts inside the rig. The funny thing is, with the red and black out of the solar controller, I'm reading 52v. Once I place the wires in the controller, I get no volts reading at all!! AND NO INDICATION ON THE CHARGER OF VOLTAGE I probe the set screws and 0.00 v reading. Is there a short inside the controller or could it be fried?

 

[TheLooks]

Look for a fuse. And Google the manual for that charger...