recharging while driving
I'm winding my way south and boondocking. Last power was in Regina, SK I used a heating pad and lots of computer time last night, powering them from a 400 watt MSW inverter. Batteries were at...
Forum Discussion
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Phil,
I have two solenoids, each with a 200 amp rating. It would seem doubtful to me that both had failed at the same time.
pnichols wrote:
Don,
Does you RV connect the alternator to the coach batteries with just a 12 V high current solenoid like in my Class C?
If so, you might want to measure the voltage on both the input and output side of the solenoid when the coach batteries are low and the engine is running?
Obviously those voltages should be identical. If not, the solenoid contacts have turned resistive, which could explain why your RV battery bank isn't getting charged as it should be with several hours of driving.
I've had this happen twice in the 10 1/2 years we have had our Class C.
Don,
I guess you mean that you have two 200 amp solenoids in parallel with each other ... so that the chance of both having resistive contacts at the same time is (near or at) zero? If that's the case, good for you, as redundancy is the ultimate way to achieve solenoid reliability over the long haul!
For what it's worth, the single Trombetta silver contact solenoid I'm using in our RV's system is rated at 225 amps continuous current and 600 amps peak inductive inrush current ... and still my first Trombetta developed contact voltage transfer loss after 7-8 years. So ... either I have to believe that the Trombetta I'm using is fluvey-dust spec'd ... or I have to believe that one can't assume that contact corrosion/erosion is not going to detrimentally occur in any solenoid regardless of how over-spec'd it is or how much it costs. ;)
