Battry /Battery charger problem
Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 19:36
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Member - aussichef (SA)
I have a 23' Roadstar Voyager Saphire
I have 2 x 110 a/h batteries in the boot charged by a 40 a/h 240v battery charger.I also have 2 x 80w solar panels on the roof(soon to add 2 x 120w sitting in the annex) charged by a 20 amp Solarking regulator
Because for now we live in the one location full time its not possible to move the van to get it checked out
Now to my problem
For some reason my batteries aren't charging thru the battery charger
At the moment they are down to 73%
The battery charger goes straight to float and not to bulk charge
I did disconnect the 240v charger and connect my c-tek 25 a/h charger to see if that made a difference. It stayed on bulk but didnt charge the battery's at all
Another point is when i put a multi-meter on the terminals the multi-metre pins arced like there was a current going thru nearly melted the meter wires
any suggestions what could be the problem or what i should try next
im starting to get worried
warren aka aussichef
PS as a sparky i make a great chef lol
Reply By: Member - Jerry C (WA) - Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:14
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:14
Hi aussichef,
I am still thinking about your battery chargers, but it sounds like you have "Over Cooked" your multi "amp" meter, or even burnt it. An Amp meter across a battery is a short circuit.......sorry.
Jerry
AnswerID:
430989
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 09:57
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 09:57
I reckon aussiechef has the red multimeter lead in the wrong hole - bet he's got it in the 10AMP hole. Thats the only way he'll burn out the meter by touching the battery posts.
FollowupID:
701817
Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:33
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:33
If you put it on OHMs mode you will get a spectacualr short across two battery terminals. Amps wont hurt it.
FollowupID:
701827
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:47
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:47
Gday Graham,
If you put it on OHMs, you'll blow the small fuse in the meter and no other damage is done. Replace the fuse and all is
well.
If you put the red lead in the 10amps socket, it bypasses the fuse and you burn out that part of the circuitboard - smoke is not unusual. This is the only unfused part of the multimeter.
FollowupID:
701830
Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 13:15
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 13:15
Last time I did it it melted the end of the probe LOL
Perhaps I shouldnt use fencing wire for fuses.
FollowupID:
701831
Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:44
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:44
Hello aussiechef,
first you need to select VDC on your meter.
Then test it on the car battery just to see if it's still working ok.
Then disconnect all loads from the batteries and measure the voltage across their terminals.
If the voltage is above 12V, the batteries should be fine.
If voltage is below 12V, you need to separate the 2 batteries by disconnecting the positive wire between them.
Measure the voltages on both batteries, and watch the display for a few seconds.
If one battery's developed a fault you'll see its voltage dropping very slowly, while the other battery's voltage will rise a bit. But this is happening only for a a minute or two immediately after disconnecting them.
So be quick taking your measurements.
See how it goes and report back.
cheers, Peter
AnswerID:
430999