Is my water pump going bad?
Howdy, I bought a 1989 18' Terry Resort TT a little over a year ago. Most of our camping so far has been with full hookups, but there's been a night or two of dry camping here and there. On our...
Forum Discussion
You're still withholding information in regards to your electrical system, i.e; batteries, converter, wiring, etc.
You also need a few things for trouble shooting... an ac/dc clamp meter with a 2 decimal place voltage readout, a kill-a-watt meter, a log book, etc.
You need to find out what is going on during charging, as well as during discharging. The inexpensive equipment I suggested will put you on the right path to doing so. Without facts, it's anyone's guess what's really going on.
I recommend taking a day to do some logging. Discharge the bank using various 120v loads (noting the draw of each load, using the kill-a-watt, for future reference). Also, use some 12v loads, and note the amp draw using either the clamp meter, or a battery meter, if you already have one installed. Obviously, a battery meter will be more accurate with small loads.
Let the bank rest a while, say 1/2 an hour. Then take a resting battery voltage reading, and log it. Should be down around 12.2-12.3v or so, to ensure bulk charging.
Then fire up the converter and keep track of what it does, throughout the entire charge cycle. Measure voltage at the charger's output terminals, as well as at the battery terminals. Keep track of both voltages (and their difference) every 10-15 minutes, as well as the amps going into the battery.
At some point, amps will begin to taper. This is the transition from bulk/constant current mode to abs/constant voltage mode. Note, if there is a sudden drop in both voltage and amps at this transition, then your converter has dropped to "normal" voltage (~13.6v) at this transition. This is normal for most converters, but it also causes charging amps to drop considerably, thus extending charge time considerably. If, on the other hand, it holds voltage at the setpoint, then amps will begin to taper down from where they were at the transition from cc to cv.
These simple observations will help you in determining the overall efficiency of your electrical system, and will help with troubleshooting in the future. After all, it's impossible to know when something's not right when what IS "right" has never been established.
If you plan on doing a fair amount off grid camping, it is absolutely necessary that you get a grip on things ahead of time, otherwise you will be spending your camping trips trying to deal with why you have no power.
You also need a few things for trouble shooting... an ac/dc clamp meter with a 2 decimal place voltage readout, a kill-a-watt meter, a log book, etc.
You need to find out what is going on during charging, as well as during discharging. The inexpensive equipment I suggested will put you on the right path to doing so. Without facts, it's anyone's guess what's really going on.
I recommend taking a day to do some logging. Discharge the bank using various 120v loads (noting the draw of each load, using the kill-a-watt, for future reference). Also, use some 12v loads, and note the amp draw using either the clamp meter, or a battery meter, if you already have one installed. Obviously, a battery meter will be more accurate with small loads.
Let the bank rest a while, say 1/2 an hour. Then take a resting battery voltage reading, and log it. Should be down around 12.2-12.3v or so, to ensure bulk charging.
Then fire up the converter and keep track of what it does, throughout the entire charge cycle. Measure voltage at the charger's output terminals, as well as at the battery terminals. Keep track of both voltages (and their difference) every 10-15 minutes, as well as the amps going into the battery.
At some point, amps will begin to taper. This is the transition from bulk/constant current mode to abs/constant voltage mode. Note, if there is a sudden drop in both voltage and amps at this transition, then your converter has dropped to "normal" voltage (~13.6v) at this transition. This is normal for most converters, but it also causes charging amps to drop considerably, thus extending charge time considerably. If, on the other hand, it holds voltage at the setpoint, then amps will begin to taper down from where they were at the transition from cc to cv.
These simple observations will help you in determining the overall efficiency of your electrical system, and will help with troubleshooting in the future. After all, it's impossible to know when something's not right when what IS "right" has never been established.
If you plan on doing a fair amount off grid camping, it is absolutely necessary that you get a grip on things ahead of time, otherwise you will be spending your camping trips trying to deal with why you have no power.
