Dashboard Alternator light
Hi all, The MPPT controller on my coach will deliver 14.6 volts in bulk mode which is fine. In fact it’s exactly what the specs on my GC2 house batteries call for. But when I turn on the engine and...
Forum Discussion
I feel like I'm wasting everyone's time here with a problem that I haven't fully investigated on my own and you all are asking questions I don't have good answers to, so I'm sorry and I appreciate the help.
Here comes a wall of text.
This saga started last year when I replaced the 2 group 24 batteries in my motorhome with 4 GC2s. The stock batteries were connected in parallel and had 2 positive cables and 2 negative cables connected to them. One set was for an inverter powering the entertainment system. I put those cables on buss bars and added one more positive cable on the buss running to the new battery bank and a negative cable from the battery bank to a shunt and from the shunt to the negative buss. All pretty straight forward and it all worked for a season. Really, you couldn't tell anything was different either when driving or on shore power. The only issue was it took forever to replenish the batteries if I boondocked and used 150 Ah up.
So I put 400 watts of solar on the roof. 2 200 watt panels in series. The cables for that run directly to a Renogy Elite 40 amp controller (the positive goes through a circuit breaker) and from the controller, the cables run to the buss bars (again, the positive goes through a circuit breaker). Pretty straight forward. There is also a 2000 watt inverter that is hooked up to the buss bar that powers one half of one outlet in the kitchen for stuff.
What I know. With limited testing, I get 30+ volts from the panels and the controller makes 14+ volts and I've seen as high as 16 amps. The controller's charging profile for flooded batteries specs 14.6v on boost. The specs for the Interstate batteries I have also suggest 14.6 volts for boost. I should get more amps, but I'm parked in an odd place and can't get noon day sun. I'm happy with it.
I also know that everything works without the solar panels on. The last trip I took was 400 miles up and back and I left the panels off because I had shore power at every stop. Monitoring with the Victron showed both the chassis and house batteries being charged while we traveled and while we were parked. If I was to always leave the panels off when I travel and only turn them on when I park, everything would look normal. But I shouldn't have to do that.
What I don't know. I'm still not convinced that Ford didn't program the idiot light to show an over voltage condition. It would make sense to do so, but arguing against that is that more people would be having the same issue I'm having and not too many are. But, how many coaches have the Intellitec Battery Control Center installed? This thing will connect both battery banks when it senses either one of them getting a charge. So traveling without solar, the relay is open because the chassis battery is receiving voltage from the alternator and allowing juice to flow to the house batteries. That works. I'm positive. When the panels come on line, the juice from them is allowed to go forward to the house battery and perhaps Ford never anticipated 14.6 volts appearing at the starter battery in 2005. I don't think the alternator is allowed to output anything above 14.4, but I could be wrong.
What I also don't know is if changing the controller's charging profile to Lithium (14.4 boost-no float) or Gel (14.2 boost-13.8 float) will solve this. I hope so. I simple test would let me know.
Again, I need to do more testing but it's not convenient right now.
BFL13-->Does your solar system charge your chassis battery also?
Here comes a wall of text.
This saga started last year when I replaced the 2 group 24 batteries in my motorhome with 4 GC2s. The stock batteries were connected in parallel and had 2 positive cables and 2 negative cables connected to them. One set was for an inverter powering the entertainment system. I put those cables on buss bars and added one more positive cable on the buss running to the new battery bank and a negative cable from the battery bank to a shunt and from the shunt to the negative buss. All pretty straight forward and it all worked for a season. Really, you couldn't tell anything was different either when driving or on shore power. The only issue was it took forever to replenish the batteries if I boondocked and used 150 Ah up.
So I put 400 watts of solar on the roof. 2 200 watt panels in series. The cables for that run directly to a Renogy Elite 40 amp controller (the positive goes through a circuit breaker) and from the controller, the cables run to the buss bars (again, the positive goes through a circuit breaker). Pretty straight forward. There is also a 2000 watt inverter that is hooked up to the buss bar that powers one half of one outlet in the kitchen for stuff.
What I know. With limited testing, I get 30+ volts from the panels and the controller makes 14+ volts and I've seen as high as 16 amps. The controller's charging profile for flooded batteries specs 14.6v on boost. The specs for the Interstate batteries I have also suggest 14.6 volts for boost. I should get more amps, but I'm parked in an odd place and can't get noon day sun. I'm happy with it.
I also know that everything works without the solar panels on. The last trip I took was 400 miles up and back and I left the panels off because I had shore power at every stop. Monitoring with the Victron showed both the chassis and house batteries being charged while we traveled and while we were parked. If I was to always leave the panels off when I travel and only turn them on when I park, everything would look normal. But I shouldn't have to do that.
What I don't know. I'm still not convinced that Ford didn't program the idiot light to show an over voltage condition. It would make sense to do so, but arguing against that is that more people would be having the same issue I'm having and not too many are. But, how many coaches have the Intellitec Battery Control Center installed? This thing will connect both battery banks when it senses either one of them getting a charge. So traveling without solar, the relay is open because the chassis battery is receiving voltage from the alternator and allowing juice to flow to the house batteries. That works. I'm positive. When the panels come on line, the juice from them is allowed to go forward to the house battery and perhaps Ford never anticipated 14.6 volts appearing at the starter battery in 2005. I don't think the alternator is allowed to output anything above 14.4, but I could be wrong.
What I also don't know is if changing the controller's charging profile to Lithium (14.4 boost-no float) or Gel (14.2 boost-13.8 float) will solve this. I hope so. I simple test would let me know.
Again, I need to do more testing but it's not convenient right now.
BFL13-->Does your solar system charge your chassis battery also?
