Sterling Charger remote temp senor question

[RobbieH]

Hi,

I have a Sterling ProCharge Digital 1230CED with remote monitor and temp sensor bought around 5 years ago. It has always performed very well but this year I replaced the shorepower socket on my boat and initially it appeared completely dead. No lights on the charger and no display on the remote.

I checked and I am getting 230V to the charger.

However - I also found out something else as part of troubleshooting this . If I remove the battery temp sensor from the negative terminal where it is attached the charger fires up immediately. However the charger then gives a high battery temperature alarm (+113C).

If I reconnect the temp sensor the remote display immediately blanks.

Does anyone on the forum know how the batt temp sensor works and why it might be causing problems to the unit? According to the install docs it is polarity insensitive and can be connected to either battery terminal.

Might it be possible to disable the temp sensor but still use the remote monitor?

 

[pvb]

According to the install docs it is polarity insensitive and can be connected to either battery terminal.

The instructions on Sterling's website say the sensor must only be connected to the negative terminal.

It sounds as if the sensor needs replacing.

 

[RobbieH]

The instructions on Sterling's website say the sensor must only be connected to the negative terminal.

It sounds as if the sensor needs replacing.

Yes, when I check the install instructions say -ve terminal only. The quick cheatsheet says "any battery terminal" -which is not quite the same. I presume they should have said any -ve battery terminal.

Mine was connected to the -ve anyway so that was/is not the issue.

Hoping I can just disconnect it on the charger for now ... going to the boat again tomorrow for another look.

 

[RobbieH]

The more I think about it the more I suspect the battery temp sensor. Does anyone know if these are standard items that can be replaced with aftermarket parts or if they are specialized?

http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/uploads/pdf/Battery_Temp_Sensor_datasheet.pdf

http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Ba...BTS_lnstall_English(975-0193-01-01_Rev-A).pdf

I have asked Mr Sterling to send me a replacement so I can test it but if it costs me less to source locally then I could do that.

 

[pvb]

The more I think about it the more I suspect the battery temp sensor. Does anyone know if these are standard items that can be replaced with aftermarket parts or if they are specialized?

The Sterling ones are only about a tenner, probably best to stick with theirs.
.

 

[VicMallows]

I'm fairly sure that the Sterling sensor is electrically isolated from the terminal it is clamped to. If so it doesn't functionally matter whether it is on the + or - terminal. It sounds as if your sensor has failed such that it is no longer isolated. It seems quite likely that the -ve terminal is recommended to avoid catastrophic failure in just such an event. It might we worth giving the sensor a good clean, in case there is some corrosion causing a short?

Edit: The sensor is a simple thermistor mounted on a ring terminal. With a new one in your hand it would be simple to identify a suitable replacement thermistor.....but as pvb suggests, not really worth the bother.

 

[RobbieH]

Disconnected the temp sensor at the charger today and the charger charged as normal (except batt temp was showing a constant 20°C on the monitor - I suppose that is the default). So a new sensor will be ordered.