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Old 02-25-2010, 12:47 AM   #11
RodeWorthy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Woodstock, Ontario
Posts: 370
OVervoltage Problem

Thom,
I am having trouble understanding what your problem is. You have mentioned going through a lot of 12V fixtures and water pumps. I too have had water pump problems with the Shurflo Extreme 5.7 GPM variable speed pump. I am on 3rd pump. However, the symptoms of the failure were not related to voltage issues.

I also recall that you have gone through one or more Trombetta relays associated with the hydraulic pump. I too have had failures of those devices. I have never determined what caused those failures. I took them back to Trailair and they were going to open them up to determine what failed but I never heard back from them. I really suspect over current problems. The hydraulic circuit requires very high current level -- greater than 80A in some modes. If I could get a look at the terminals inside it would be easier to determine what is happening in there.

Are you having components "burn-out" or quit all together? Is there a symptom of the failed units that lead you to believe it is over voltage?

It is possible to have very high voltage spikes that cannot be detected by a meter attached to the circuit. Spikes of this nature are generally very short duration, in the order of milliseconds, and will not be detected by in-line meters. Sensitive electronic apparatus are usually more susceptible to this phenomenon than motors, relays or light fixtures. In our rigs the refrigerator circuit board can be affected.

I still maintain that voltages up to 15 volts or even higher should not be considered excessive for 12VDC rated components. All 12VDC charging systems exhibit voltage levels in that order. It is required in order for the battery to charge. The charging voltage has to be higher than the battery voltage in order to induce charging current into the battery bank. It is normal.

Only recently I was directed to an FAQ on Interstate's site that indicated they want the U2200 battery Absorption charge voltage to be 15.5V. The charge current is specified as C/10 where C is the AH rate of the battery system. In our 4 battery banks, wired in series-parallel and Interstates rating of 232AH per battery, this means 464AH. C/10 then means limiting charge rate to 46.4 Amps.

The RS3000 battery charger is rated at 150 Amps, not 100. The SCP (System Control Panel) provides for current limiting through the AH setting for your battery bank and through the Maximum Current Setting. Xantrex has fixed the current rate at C/5. So in order to achieve the C/10 specified by Interstate you would put in 464AH as the size of the battery bank and set the Maximum current rate to 50%. Xantrex fixes the Absorption charge rate at 14.4 volts - well below the specified voltage in the FAQ. Personally I think the 15.5V Absorption Voltage is too high. They specify the equalization voltage as 15.6V - only .1V higher. Generally we want to isolate loads (to protect them and to keep the load off the battery while overcharging) when we equalize the batteries but we can't do that when in absorption mode. This is the only place I have found these specs. Other batteries such as Trojan specify 14.8V as the absorption volltage and that is what I have been using.

I monitor voltage with a Tri-Metric 2020 battery monitor. Almost all my battery charging is done via my solar controller. I rarely enable charging from the Inverter. In the past 3 days my log shows I have had max volts of 14.7 to 15.3 Volts. Again I consider this normal and necessary to fully charge my batteries.

I hope this diatribe has not strayed too far from your issue. I would be interested to know what the nature of the failures are.
__________________
RodeWorthy

'07 Mobile Suites 36RS3 #3910
Mor/ryde IS, Trailersaver TS3 hitch
Level-Up with Remote Control
4 x 135W Solar Panels, Outback Controller, 4 x 6V batteries, Xantrex Inverter/Charger
'08 Chevy 3500 dually Duramax/Allison
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