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Doryman
Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 3807 City/Region: Anacortes
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Lori Ann
Photos: Lori Ann
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:09 pm Post subject: Clicking problem with new electrics on shorepower |
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Over the winter I had EQ install a whole new house electrical system (2 starting Optima batteries completely independent of the house system, a 240 Amp/Hr battery with Xantrex inverter). While I was hooked up to shore power in Friday Harbor there was a constant, steady clicking and dimming of the house lights. A red LED to port of the switch was synchronized to the clicking/dimming. David McK. took a look at it and was able to briefly get it stopped, at which time the LED glowed steady and another LED to starboard of the switch also glowed steady. But the symptom returned so I ended up disconnecting from shore power and running on house battery overnight. The house battery seems to charge up fine when hooked to shore power at my slip. Any ideas for me to check out before I go back to EQ with this?
Thanks,
Warren _________________ Doryman
M/V Lori Ann
TomCat 255, Hull #55, 150 Yamahas
Anacortes, WA
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Notayot
Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 122
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Notayot (sold 2/2018)
Photos: Notayot
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:32 am Post subject: |
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Warren,
I'm not sure what brand of combiner relays you have, but the Honda unit I have will do the same thing during charging if the house battery is quite low on charge. If you watch the starting battery voltage while charging you will probably see a rising and falling voltage corresponding to the "clicking" sound. The issue is probably asking too much out of the shore power charger. As the charge is increased in the batteries the "clicking" should be less frequent and eventually the charger will be able to sustain the voltage as less charging is needed. This same issue can occur while charging from the engine alternator, which is when I notice the same issue. I don't use any electronics until the charging is stabilized just to avoid the spikes that occur on the house battery bus during the relay operation. It is the combining relay that you are hearing, and the LED's are showing which batteries are combined (or not combined when the LED's are off). Hope this helps. _________________
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flapbreaker
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 878 City/Region: Hillsboro
State or Province: OR
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 22 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Playin' Hooky
Photos: Playin' Hooky
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:34 am Post subject: |
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If the starting battery is isolated from the house what is the switch for? I assume you don't have a Voltage sensitive relay hooked up since that would be for charging between both battery banks but that's the only thing I can think of is a VSR constantly opening and closing the charging curcuit. Need more info about this switch and what it does. _________________ -----------------
Spencer |
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westward
Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 718 City/Region: Seattle
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 1985
C-Dory Model: 16 Angler
Vessel Name: TBD
Photos: Steady Eddy
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 9:51 am Post subject: |
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I have a similar battery/VSR system installed but without shorepower. Q: Is it safe to charge the respective batteries using a plug-in (automotive type) charger without first disconnecting the battery cables from the battery posts? Sorry if this question seems absurdly basic but I have almost no knowledge of 12V electrical systems and don't want to fry mine. Thanks, Mike. |
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tom&shan
Joined: 21 Sep 2006 Posts: 316
Photos: Dakota
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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I had a what sounds like a similar problem with my electrical system - two optimax batteries (House / Starter) with a VSR switch. The switch would "clack" back and forth at times - usually while running at low idle. Eventually the starter battery died but the house battery stayed charged. I replaced the switch ($150.) and the clacking stopped, but the abuse to the starter battery significantly shortened its life. Also once I replaced the switch the random extended bursts of static I was getting on my VHF radio went away.
For additional information see http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=6306&start=15&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight |
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