PD9260c 13.48 volt charge instead of 13.6?

Also, I very highly doubt you have aluminum wiring. more than likely it is tinned copper. That is very common for low voltage wire. one way to tell is to cut off a short piece of wire. tinned copper will then show the copper core when you look closely.

Other than larger gauge wire used for house entry cable, aluminum wire is pretty hard to find. They are even going away from aluminum for things like stoves, dryers etc.

If it is aluminum smaller gauge wire, it is commonly copper plated aluminum. A very very big user of this wire is cheap auto jumper cable sets. look closely and many cheap sets look like copper but read carefully and they will often say copper clad aluminum.

I checked at the batteries. Yesterday I checked with a different meter, they both read the same.

But, no matter. I understand there might be a small resistance at the battery end.

Tried this yesterday and got the dreaded "Connection reset" error trying again.

Where are you measureing voltage:
At the batteries: Voltage is lowered by resistance loss in the wires if the batteries are drawing current (or if anything else is)
At the converter: If the batteries are drawing current,, the converter has two regulators in it, Current and voltage.. IF the current is high enough then it LOWERS the voltage to prevent overload.

I see someone also ask if the meter was calibrated.. Some of mine are, some not, but you need to have yours checked before you make any decisions.. In days of old I had the instructions for calibration, and still know where to find 'em (Manual for an RCA WV-77E or WV-77EK, same manual) This is a very old Voltmeter,,,, Used genuine Vacuum Tubes.

road-runner wrote:
I haven't seen any mention of the output voltage tolerance. It would be good to have it in the converters specs. I don't see it there. Offhand I'd consider anything between 13.50 and 13.70 acceptable, which is about +/- 7%. With the correct converter voltage being different for different batteries, different installation wiring, and with the battery temperature, I don't see any purpose for much concern over an exact output voltage. No matter what it is, it will be less than ideal almost all the time. If you want perfection, you need voltage and temperature sensing at the battery, and programmable voltages.

PD4600

No Load DC Output Voltage 13.6
No Load Voltage Tolerance +/- .3 VDC

Aluminum. Just peachy. I purchased aluminum duplex to run 1 amp at 36 volts. The wire arrived with a copper flash plating. I soldered terminals on and enclosed the otherwise bare Al beneath a wall of 63/37. Then adhesive lined heat shrink. I would not consider unsoldered aluminum because of abrasion of tin plating due to vibration. But that's me :D

I too don't see a problem. I got several from Best Converter including one of those and have no problems. Call them if you got it there. Mine was actually the 14.8 volt version for some Trojan batteries on a project and it's pretty darn accurate.

I haven't seen any mention of the output voltage tolerance. It would be good to have it in the converters specs. I don't see it there. Offhand I'd consider anything between 13.50 and 13.70 acceptable, which is about +/- 7%. With the correct converter voltage being different for different batteries, different installation wiring, and with the battery temperature, I don't see any purpose for much concern over an exact output voltage. No matter what it is, it will be less than ideal almost all the time. If you want perfection, you need voltage and temperature sensing at the battery, and programmable voltages.

The stated output voltage is the converter's setpoint, i.e. the voltage it tries to output at its terminals. As others have said, measuring it at the converter output terminals is important if there's an appreciable charge current flowing since there can be some voltage loss in the wiring.

If there's a significant charge current or DC usage in the RV, the converter also may not be able to put out enough power to reach its setpoint voltage. It would basically be operating in a current-limited state (or perhaps a power-limited state, which is rather similar). This is perfectly normal and expected. (Typically the house loads are not near the converter's output capability, so it would be mostly the charge current that enters in here. If the batteries are low, it could be substantial.)

If the wires are indeed aluminum, and not tinned copper which can look similar, I would suggest replacing them for that reason alone. Aluminum is more prone to fatigue, and tends to oxidize/corrode at connections particularly with dissimilar metals. Tinned copper wiring, on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable and arguably superior to plain copper wiring.

Jim,

Measure the voltage at the converter terminals. It is easy to loose that much on the way to the actual bank.

If you do want to get the full poke out of the 9260, you may have to:
Replace the cables with heavier and copper,
Run both positive and negative instead of trying to use the frame,
Relocate the converter closer to the bank so the run is shorter.

I had to do all three.

Matt in Michigan

return your "PD" for a replacement.

if not using a calibrated volt meter.. how do you know your unit is not working correctly...

aluminum wire was replaced for a reason.. FIRE. in the 120 volt world.
cars have not switched to aluminum wire. for a reason. my opinion.
as aluminum is not as flexible like copper in a moving house.