Xanrex Inverter/Charger Over Charging
We had a solar panel and inverter installed when we bought our Jayco Whitehawk TT as well as converting the 12 volt to two six volt batteries. Expensive ones. The first time we used the inverter whil...
Forum Discussion
I think your dealer/installer took you to the cleaners. 1. By appearance the DC wire size on Inverter/Charger appears to be way too small. According to page 10 of your manual the wire size for 5 foot length should be #2 for the 1000 watt inverter and #2/0 for the 2000 watt inverter. I have read all the post and didn't see the size of your charger/inverter. In any case your wire size appears #4 at best. If it is as big as #4 it is still too small for either unit. 2. Where is your solar charge controller? For a 150 watt panel you must have one or you will overcharge your battery. Make your dealer show you the location if he installed it. In the meantime pull the access cover off of your fridge vent on the outside of your camper as these solar wires are often ran down the back side of the fridge. I think somewhere you said you were getting an over voltage error. Not having a charge controller would cause this. Even if your new equipment were all at their default, you would not be getting an overvoltage condition.
Doug, is a pretty smart guy but I do not agree with not having multiple charge sources connected at the same time. I typically have 4 sources connected and can have 3 turned on at once and I have never seen an over voltage condition. 1. 7 pin connector from truck. 2. OEM converter. 3. Solar charging system. 4. User installed Xantrex charger. All smart chargers except the truck. Which reminds me, have you checked the charging voltage of your truck? If your voltage regulator is faulty it could be the source of overvoltage. BLF13 is correct, the charge source with the highest voltage trumps all the others and they back off.
Punch list:
1. Determine and report model # of Xantrex.
2. Continue to trace wires from solar panel to find the charge controller or ask your dealer where it is located.
3. Check charging voltage of your truck. I use one of those cig. lighter plug in voltage meters.
4. Until you resolve this, get a beg borrow or steal a decent charger of 30-40 amps and get those batteries up to at least 13.4 volts. The longer they sit at below 12 volts the more they are being damaged.
5. Seriously consider connecting larger DC wires from your inverter/charger to your batteries.
Thanks for being patient with all the help coming to you from all different directions. Most of the guys here trying to help are OCD about battery charging and are giving good advice. Some guys get frustrated with all the help and give up. You'll figure this out. Also google 12 volt side of life and read part one and two. It will help you greatly understand your systems.
Doug, is a pretty smart guy but I do not agree with not having multiple charge sources connected at the same time. I typically have 4 sources connected and can have 3 turned on at once and I have never seen an over voltage condition. 1. 7 pin connector from truck. 2. OEM converter. 3. Solar charging system. 4. User installed Xantrex charger. All smart chargers except the truck. Which reminds me, have you checked the charging voltage of your truck? If your voltage regulator is faulty it could be the source of overvoltage. BLF13 is correct, the charge source with the highest voltage trumps all the others and they back off.
Punch list:
1. Determine and report model # of Xantrex.
2. Continue to trace wires from solar panel to find the charge controller or ask your dealer where it is located.
3. Check charging voltage of your truck. I use one of those cig. lighter plug in voltage meters.
4. Until you resolve this, get a beg borrow or steal a decent charger of 30-40 amps and get those batteries up to at least 13.4 volts. The longer they sit at below 12 volts the more they are being damaged.
5. Seriously consider connecting larger DC wires from your inverter/charger to your batteries.
Thanks for being patient with all the help coming to you from all different directions. Most of the guys here trying to help are OCD about battery charging and are giving good advice. Some guys get frustrated with all the help and give up. You'll figure this out. Also google 12 volt side of life and read part one and two. It will help you greatly understand your systems.
