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JimInMich's avatar
JimInMich
Explorer
Nov 27, 2016

PD9260c 13.48 volt charge instead of 13.6?

Just got my new PD9260c converter installed. Checked my battery voltage before plugging in, 12.67 volts at batteries. Plugged in the 9260 and got a reading of 13.48 volts at batteries. Manual states it should be 13.6 volts while charging.

One thing I noticed, my power cables are aluminum ( where I was attaching to the converter ). I know back in the day they used aluminum wire to save cost's. I'm wondering if, due to wire size, distance and/or it being aluminum, is getting me the lower charge rate? Do you think the .12 volts will make that much of a difference?

I can not upgrade the wiring, so no need to tell me to do that. :)
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Nov 28, 2016
    You are probably replacing a single stage converter that probably only charged at a less than 10A rate. The wires were sized with that charge rate in mind. Your PD9260 is capable of charging at a much higher rate, especially at the high voltage of 14.4v in the boost mode.

    I did the same replacement and I replaced the #8 wire with #4. I know you can't replace the old wire but could you run a larger wire in parallel with the old wire?
  • ktmrfs's avatar
    ktmrfs
    Explorer II
    Nov 28, 2016
    First the spec is voltage AT the converter output terminals, not at the battery.
    Second. How accurate is your voltmeter?? Unless you have a quality NIST traceable calibrated voltmeter you don't know the accuracy of the reading. you could see 0.1V error in the voltmeter.

    However I suspect the biggest culprit is not reading at the converter output. you could easily have 0.1 V or more drop in the wiring.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Nov 27, 2016
    All wires have some resistance. The voltage measured at the battery will be the converter voltage less the voltage drop in the wiring between the converter and the battery.

    This voltage drop depends on the current flowing in the wire. Ohms law can tell you what the voltage drop is. Ohms law --- voltage = current x resistance. So a current of 10 amps flowing in a wire with a resistance of 0.1 ohm will have a voltage drop of 1 volt.
  • Ed_Gee's avatar
    Ed_Gee
    Explorer II
    Nov 27, 2016
    Did you wait until your batteries reach full charge? Batteries under moderate to heavy charge may not read full voltage of charger until they approach the full charge state . . . .
    A charger floating wet cell batteries at 13.5 is probably not going to matter much in the long term ... but wet cells like 13.6 - 13.8 better.
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Nov 27, 2016
    You could have some voltage drop from 13.60 to 13.48, which would be normal, or your 120v input might be under 120v. Converters are sensitive to their 120v inputs for how much output they do

    Actually you did not state the voltage at the converter terminals, only its spec, so is it really 13.6 there?

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