Forum Discussion

mrad's avatar
mrad
Explorer II
May 31, 2021

Bad Xantrex or bad batteries

Last week I got some help from you guys when I had an issue while trying to see how long my residential fridge would run on the two 6 volt golf cart batteries I had put in last fall. When I checked on it after 4-5 hours, I was getting an E05 code. After getting some help on how to reset it, normal readings came back.
Today I was going t try it again. I unplugged from shore power and by the time I got into the 5th wheel, it was showing an E02 code that would blink on, then show the voltage which was showing sporadic readings or 12.6, 11.8,10.1. WHen I prest the batterie indicator button on the control panel, it fluctuated from a full four-light down to one light.
I was also hearing noises from the fridge. I quickly plugged back into shore power and when I came back in, the Xantrex display was reading 14.4.
Does this sound like the Xantrex is bad, or the batteries may be bad?

I have a Xantrex XM 1000
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jun 02, 2021
    wolfe10 wrote:
    mrad wrote:
    Hmmmm....now I am questioning my decision to go with the golfcart batteries. Last fall before we picked up the coach I had asked on this forum if the golfcart batteries would be a better fit than two group 27 RV/Deepcycles. I thought th consensus was to go with the golfcart batteries


    Golf cart/6 VDC batteries wired in series ARE the lest expensive way to get deep cycle batteries.

    But, amp-hrs @12 VDC is what you're interested in.

    If you want to evaluate your decision (kind of late), compare amp-hrs @ 12 VDC. And difficult to find real group 27 deep cycle batteries. Most are deep cycle/start batteries.

    Another comparison is battery weight-- a good indicator of capacity/longevity.


    WE use Interstate SRM group 24 and 27 deep cycle batteries for all our trailers(New) and Motorhomes and replacement unless the customer requests another Brand or an AGM type. We have for almost 30 years and if you take care of them, they are the best for RV's and the Automotive models are also great. The biggest factor regardless of Battery brand is neglect/abuse by the customer. Doug

    PS, People forget or don't know but they buy starting batteries instead of true deep cycle batteries. Completely different animals and capacities. Also, I do not believe in "sealed/maintenance" free deep cycle batteries. They just don't last and do the job.
  • wolfe10's avatar
    wolfe10
    Explorer
    Jun 02, 2021
    mrad wrote:
    Hmmmm....now I am questioning my decision to go with the golfcart batteries. Last fall before we picked up the coach I had asked on this forum if the golfcart batteries would be a better fit than two group 27 RV/Deepcycles. I thought th consensus was to go with the golfcart batteries


    Golf cart/6 VDC batteries wired in series ARE the lest expensive way to get deep cycle batteries.

    But, amp-hrs @12 VDC is what you're interested in.

    If you want to evaluate your decision (kind of late), compare amp-hrs @ 12 VDC. And difficult to find real group 27 deep cycle batteries. Most are deep cycle/start batteries.

    Another comparison is battery weight-- a good indicator of capacity/longevity.
  • mrad's avatar
    mrad
    Explorer II
    Jun 01, 2021
    Hmmmm....now I am questioning my decision to go with the golfcart batteries. Last fall before we picked up the coach I had asked on this forum if the golfcart batteries would be a better fit than two group 27 RV/Deepcycles. I thought th consensus was to go with the golfcart batteries
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    May 31, 2021
    Remember, the residential refer does NOT--NOT run all the time. Once it reaches temp it shuts down. And it reaches and holds temp faster and better than a RV refer Doug
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    May 31, 2021
    Residential fridge draws likely 200-300 watts running

    About 5 times that (or more) starting

    a pair of 6V batteies holds about 120 amp hours or 1200 watts of usable energery
    So 4-6 horus is more than you can expect because at that high a draw the capacity of the batteries goes DOWN and of course there are other loads as well.

    So I'd guess 2-3 hours for a single 6Vpair and that's pushing it.

    Double the batteries and you get a bit more than double the run time
    A HIGH effiency (What I call Danfoss class) fridge, Both Dometic and norcold make 'em Draws about 40-50 watts.. Think about that.
  • mrad's avatar
    mrad
    Explorer II
    May 31, 2021
    dougrainer wrote:
    mrad wrote:
    In my earlier post, some commented the Xantrex 1000 might be too small. After thinking about it, I know it worked for a few hours last October. When we got ot our campsite, they had put us in a 30 amp, so I had to run around town looking for an adaptor. When none was to be found, I bought a gas can and put gas in the onboard tank so I could use the generator to give the batteries a good charge when needed. The batteries seemed to make it through the night.


    AS I stated earlier, a 1000 watt Inverter has more than twice the power to run a residential refer. BATTERIES and Capacity of Batteries is your limiting factor. You could have a 2500 watt Inverter and you would still have the same problem. Doug

    FYI, most class A Oems will state no more than 24 hours running a residential refer with just 2 deep cycle batteries. You CAN run longer, but they state 24 hours.


    That's good to know I would only need 8-10 hours of run time with my two golf cart batteries. I would like to add another pair, but I don't think I have the room
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    May 31, 2021
    mrad wrote:
    In my earlier post, some commented the Xantrex 1000 might be too small. After thinking about it, I know it worked for a few hours last October. When we got ot our campsite, they had put us in a 30 amp, so I had to run around town looking for an adaptor. When none was to be found, I bought a gas can and put gas in the onboard tank so I could use the generator to give the batteries a good charge when needed. The batteries seemed to make it through the night.


    AS I stated earlier, a 1000 watt Inverter has more than twice the power to run a residential refer. BATTERIES and Capacity of Batteries is your limiting factor. You could have a 2500 watt Inverter and you would still have the same problem. Doug

    FYI, most class A Oems will state no more than 24 hours running a residential refer with just 2 deep cycle batteries. You CAN run longer, but they state 24 hours.
  • mrad's avatar
    mrad
    Explorer II
    May 31, 2021
    In my earlier post, some commented the Xantrex 1000 might be too small. After thinking about it, I know it worked for a few hours last October. When we got ot our campsite, they had put us in a 30 amp, so I had to run around town looking for an adaptor. When none was to be found, I bought a gas can and put gas in the onboard tank so I could use the generator to give the batteries a good charge when needed. The batteries seemed to make it through the night.
  • Ranger_Smith's avatar
    Ranger_Smith
    Explorer
    May 31, 2021
    Sounds like the xantrrex is working. Take the batteries out and have them tested. You need to do a load test and not just check them with a volt meter.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    May 31, 2021
    Sounds more like a loose/bad connection making intermittent contact. Easy enough to check the batteries with a voltmeter and close inspection.

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