Dual Battery and Auto- Electricians in Broome
Submitted: Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 21:19
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Ligoland
Dear all,
We're currently on the road since October 2010 in a Nissan Patrol. We have an Engel Fridge running off the dual battery which has worked perfectly until last week. We unfortunately didn't turn the car over for 4 days at
Coral Bay, WA, and the dual battery went flat.
We thought that after a few hundred kilometers the dual battery would be fully charged, however, whenever we stop for a night the fridge is struggling the next morning and we can't charge anything off the cigarette socket in the back off the dual battery.
Is there a simple solution to getting this working properly, or does 9 months of a dual battery being used 24/7 for a fridge sound about right for having to get a new battery?
If so, can anyone recommend a good mechanic in
Broome for this kind of thing?
Thanks.
Ligoland.
Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 23:10
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 23:10
Hi Ligoland,
depending on a number of factors, foremost the alternator voltage, your second battery only gets charged to some percentage below 100% full.
In cyclic applications like yours, alternators aren't capable of fully charging the battery, unless their regulator can be temporarily adjusted up to around 14.4V.
Alternators (in connection with their regulators) are meant to keep an almost fully charged starter battery close to this level all the time.
Starting the vehicle's motor only takes less than 0.5Ah.
So this is the kind of charge the alternator is designed to replace, and not 20, 50 or 100Ah as is frequently the case in cyclic applications.
During the last 9 months your second battery was subject to operating under partial state of charge, so it has gradually lost a significant portion of its original capacity - most of which has gone forever.
Totally flattening the battery's just pushed it over the
cliff.
With some TLC by slow recharging/discharging/recharging, it may gain just enough capacity to power your fridge again for some time, but the moment you put it back into service in your vehicle it won't be long before it deteriorates further.
Time to look at your dual battery setup again to get the charging side of things right.
And get this low voltage cutout device wired in, so that the fridge can't fully discharge the battery.
cheers, Peter
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Reply By: Sapper - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 10:51
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 10:51
In
Broome I do not know what is good or bad but they charge heaps. I found that by going to a local I used Maui in
Gladstone street, they put me onto any number of locals.
Also I agree that the alternator will never charge to second battery to its capacity.
I would be looking at the whole sst up and ensuring thaat you have voltage regulators and possibly a DC to DC charger.
I also suggest a slow charge on the batteries, especially the auxilliary however it may be beyond redemption if what you describe is true
Regards
The Sapper
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Follow Up By: Muntoo - Wednesday, Jul 06, 2011 at 00:50
Wednesday, Jul 06, 2011 at 00:50
Mate they charge like wounded bulls here, and prey on travellers with no other options.
I reckon go and see the guys at All Volts on Blackman street and see if they can
test it and charge it for you.
If you take it to any of teh Auto Sparkies then expect to pay $120/hr and be charged for every minute. I was charged $400 3 years ago to simply connect a Redarc dual battery isolator by the most
well known business here.
Never been back to any since.
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