Help. Power loss

[nathanlee]

Hello folks,

This is particularly great timing, but I've lost power. It seems, for some as yet unknown reason, my new sterling battery charger has failed to keep the domestic battery topped up. Some power drain has dragged it down to 10.83 volts, and the sterling is locked in "fast charge" mode but doing nothing, according to the multimeter.

This is a brand new red flash 110ah deep cycle battery, so I'm worried it's dead. I've just started the engine of the red flash starter, and when I swapped the switch over to the domestic battery, the engine load went up noticeably. There's now 12.62v going in to the battery, and the charger has flipped to "absorption" mode.

The worry is I have no idea why the charger let the battery die. There was no problem with shore power last night as I was on the boat. The LED lights not working was the first I knew of a major voltage issue.

Anybody got any suggestions? Is the battery going to be dead? Such annoying timing.

 

[tinkicker0]

Hello folks,

This is particularly great timing, but I've lost power. It seems, for some as yet unknown reason, my new sterling battery charger has failed to keep the domestic battery topped up. Some power drain has dragged it down to 10.83 volts, and the sterling is locked in "fast charge" mode but doing nothing, according to the multimeter.

This is a brand new red flash 110ah deep cycle battery, so I'm worried it's dead. I've just started the engine of the red flash starter, and when I swapped the switch over to the domestic battery, the engine load went up noticeably. There's now 12.62v going in to the battery, and the charger has flipped to "absorption" mode.

The worry is I have no idea why the charger let the battery die. There was no problem with shore power last night as I was on the boat. The LED lights not working was the first I knew of a major voltage issue.

Anybody got any suggestions? Is the battery going to be dead? Such annoying timing.

Sometimes smart charges do silly things like that. Oxford motorcycles ones were renowned for it at one point.

You might have a chance to revive it depending on how long it has been so flat.

You don't mention whether it is flooded cell or a gel type, this has a bearing on how to proceed.


Edit:

You don't leave the charger connected in the hope that it will act as a power supply while you draw from the battery at the same time do you?

It will not work if so, they are not designed to work in that way. They will register a fault and shut down.

 

[ostell]

Looks like a cell has died, probably has an internal short. Dig out the guarantee papers!

 

[nathanlee]

The cell is two weeks old, as is the charger.

The sterling charger states that is can be used as a power supply, which is why I got it.

The battery is AGM. Well over £200's worth. So annoying.

 

[NB Willawaw]

Reset your charger by interrupting the shore supply to it.
Ensure that the suspect battery has no other load on it.

Start charging the battery on its own and see if the voltage steadily climbs. Charger should be in bulk mode.

If it still doesn't work, try the charger on another battery only to check the charger is working okay.

From this you can deduce if the battery has failed for some reason.

 

[tinkicker0]

The cell is two weeks old, as is the charger.

The sterling charger states that is can be used as a power supply, which is why I got it.

The battery is AGM. Well over £200's worth. So annoying.

Fairsnuff.

Take the battery back to the shop and get a replacement in that case.

 

[jdc]

Why suspect the battery instead of the charger?

The evidence is:
1. The charger is 'saying' fast charge but not delivering current
2. The battery went flat under (presumed moderate) load
3. Once the engine was started the alternator delivers charge just fine and the battery voltage starts to rise.

So why 'dig out the guarantee' for the battery? First suspicion seems to be the charger.

...You don't leave the charger connected in the hope that it will act as a power supply while you draw from the battery at the same time do you?

It will not work if so, they are not designed to work in that way. They will register a fault and shut down.

I never heard of this before - I always leave my Mastervolt charger on over the winter, even if taking quite considerable loads from the batteries (lots of halogen lighting, heater etc). Never had a problem. Is this issue restricted to Sterling?

 

[nathanlee]

Bah, looks like the charger has had it. There's nothing coming out, even when just hooked up to the (good) starter battery, even after a reset.

Just what a liveaboard needs as the shops are closed. Grumble.

Thanks for the replied folks.

 

[tinkicker0]

The evidence is:
1. The charger is 'saying' fast charge but not delivering current
2. The battery went flat under (presumed moderate) load
3. Once the engine was started the alternator delivers charge just fine and the battery voltage starts to rise.

So why 'dig out the guarantee' for the battery? First suspicion seems to be the charger.



I never heard of this before - I always leave my Mastervolt charger on over the winter, even if taking quite considerable loads from the batteries (lots of halogen lighting, heater etc). Never had a problem. Is this issue restricted to Sterling?

No mention of make or type when I made the post. Many smart chargers that are connect and forget; charge the battery, then shut down to take a volt drop test to acertain battery condition. If the drop is above their programming they will register this as a battery fault and shut down to prevent overheating /wasting leccy.

 

[lenseman]

Message via SMS to your mobile(s) Nathan.

 

[Mistroma]

I had a similar experience with a Red flash battery Voltage dropping. I'd checked it was getting a charge by looking at the meter on the panel everytime the engine was run. However, I didn't monitor the Voltage very often when not on charge. Seemed reasonable as it was new, AGM, getting little use (bow thruster) and def. charging. Wrong.

It didn't work one day and Voltage was way down around same level you mentioned. However, it did recover pretty well and is still in use as an engine start battery. I was on an extended cruise and didn't want to risk it failing so bought a new one and swapped it to engine start. Good chance it will recover if it wasn't flat for a long time, mine went flat over 2-3 days without me noticing and was fine.

My fault arose from arcing under the clamps on the battery posts. I'd removed, cleaned and put vaseline on terminals. But I didn't think to remove the clamps holding the quick release connectors to the posts. They must have been dirty when she was built and I couldn't see the arcs & sparks as they were inside the clamps. So good Voltage right up to the battery connections but big drop at the posts.

Hope it works out OK.