121805eg c-charger 5000 out of commision

[cpoint]

Bud, thanks. Yes I will check. Unfortunately I can only get there on the weekends. I write here first to get all this valuable information from you guys, so when I get there I don't miss things. I agree with you on previous owners or their mechanics making some questionable changes. I been fortunate so far as to finding things original as possible, with the exception of bad fuel tank But you are right, wires are tucked in tight in most cases, and over time with things rusting, breaking down, etc. needs to be definitely checked over.

[kgarguilo]

I recently put in a new Victron Skylla IP65 Battery charger to replace my Charles 5000 charger. https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers/skylla-ip65
This was pretty close to a wire for wire replacement and as a bonus hooked up the NEMA2000 network to my Garmin and have really good info about voltage, amps (charging and draw), charging information. 3 banks of chargers but only one profile so batteries should be same type. You can also limit the amperage draw on the unit to be split up between the 3 banks of charger. Also has a heat sensor for a lessor battery in the banks for the profile to not overheat a battery. They also make a really cool interface https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-sys ... g/cerbo-gx that gives you access anywhere and the ability to add all kinds of accessories. I have not opted for this but will likely do it one day.

Best of luck!

[cpoint]

Well 2 weeks gone by, did not have time to check too much. but I was briefly there today and turned on the fan in engine room and forgot and went out for about an hour. Switch was on house battery. I noticed battery was drained and power on lights/fan etc was out. So I turned off fan and let it charge and in a while it was charged and all was good. Now I had forgotten the engine room fan for a day in the past and no issues on old charger. Am I missing something on this pronautic 1250? I am reading the manual and no reference to some of the functions I am looking for. I am attaching a picture of the unit as I left today, and there was power restored to battery. It shows AUTO MAINTAIN and 13.3 volts 0.6amps. Is this what I should be seeing? I have not quite figured out how to see the "Charger Output" 0% to 100% indicator either. How do I make that show up anyone with similar charger any pointers? Is it not charging fast enough that a single fan in the engine room took the battery down? or is it battery issue. Batteries are new, got them beginning of the season. Then house battery was drained completely when the old charger wend bad. Once I got this new charger it charged it and it was good for several hours with all cabin and deck lights on. You think battery draining completely is not holding charge properly or not charging fast enough to keep up with drain?

[km1125]

I'm a bit confused by this statement "I noticed battery was drained and power on lights/fan etc was out. " How did you notice it was drained? Does "light/fan etc was out" mean that none of those things worked at all?

Then "So I turned off fan and let it charge and in a while it was charged and all was good." All you did was turn off the and let it sit? I can assure you if the battery was drained it would take many hours (likely over TWELVE) to fully charge the battery if it was so low that things weren't working. Taking the load off temporarily would allow the battery itself to 'stabilize' and the voltage come up a bit where some of the things that weren't working might now work, but they won't work very long.

Sounds like you have some kind of connection problem between the charger and the house battery. You should be able to leave MANY things running (fan, lights, electronics) continuously as long as you don't exceed the charger output. The "amps" display should increase as you turn on more loads... if it doesn't then that means the charger output isn't flowing to those loads.

[cpoint]

KM Thanks. sorry was late at night when I was writing . Drained meant it was not powering anything. I assumed it was drained, not sure how much it drains. So when I switch to battery 1 or both, everything on battery was powered backup. And by reference drained before when original charger went out, I meant it was running lights (all led though) and they had gone out after several hours because old charger was not charging. Again back than maybe it was drained just enough so it would not turn anything on. But I don't know what happens when it gets to that stage where nothing comes on, if not charging does it still drain the battery because what ever that is on is still trying to get some juice battery? I have no idea. I will check the connections when I am back to it.

But after half hour or so power was restored enough for everything to come back on just using house battery. So you are most likely right it was not drained to last drop. I was wondering if I needed another battery or some thing wrong with charger, or my setting it up. It was pretty straight setup, so I am sure I got it setup allright. I made sure all wires were tight.
Also I never see the "Charging" indicator turn green. It is always on "Auto Maintain" mode. But reading manual I believe that is correct.

[cpoint]

Problems continue... I think about 3 weeks ago replaced house battery, fully charged. switch battery switches to OFF and left. Came back next week, battery is still fully charged. starting turning on things with switch #2 (house) but amps showing 0.0. switch to #1 (start) and put loads and amps are rising take load off amps fall, sounds normal. So bank 2 not charging. forgot to switch OFF and left on #2 when I left last week. go back this weekend battery dead, shows 0.6 amp. I did not have much time to work on this weekend and did not have my electrical tools, so to make my own test I switched the 2nd and 3rd post cables on the charger to see if that would work, assuming maybe problem on 2nd post. Anyway I don't think that worked, as the charger was displaying 0.6amps AUTO MAINTAIN. so it is not charging. I called their tech support explained the issue. Can't say that I got much information, as I am writing here. He said they do not recommend hooking up their charger through switches. said connect direct to battery. I read others who got same charger, saying they just replaced their old with new direct replacement. Also bank1 seems to be charging fine. I suppose I can switch the post 1 with house to test to make sure the 2nd and 3rd posts are not dead? I am thinking it is bad charger unit. Definitely not battery as I just purchased it. Any ideas, help on this latest issue? Thanks.

[km1125]

I doubt it's the charger. There should be fuses or breakers between the charger and the batteries, closer to the point where the charger is hooked to them... this could be at the batteries or at the switches.

Measure voltage at the charger on each port then measure at the battery. Those measurements should be nearly identical (might be off by 0.1 volts or so). If they're not then you need to find out what's disrupting the circuit in between them.

[Viper]

I believe I mentioned that there should be breakers under one of the stairs leading into the cabin. You need to ensure those breakers aren't faulty.

You don't connect charge lines through the switch, you use the switch as a connection point to the battery bank source side of the switch. That way, it won't matter what position the switch is, all banks will still get charged.

[cpoint]

Source of the post I doubt it's the charger. There should be fuses or breakers between the charger and the batteries, closer to the point where the charger is hooked to them... this could be at the batteries or at the switches.

Measure voltage at the charger on each port then measure at the battery. Those measurements should be nearly identical (might be off by 0.1 volts or so). If they're not then you need to find out what's disrupting the circuit in between them.

Km, thanks I thought about that as well as I was talking to a friend of mine and will check next time. Also I was thinking connecting direct to battery as the tech support mentioned to see if that works. But checking the fuse probably easier.

[cpoint]

Source of the post I believe I mentioned that there should be breakers under one of the stairs leading into the cabin. You need to ensure those breakers aren't faulty.

You don't connect charge lines through the switch, you use the switch as a connection point to the battery bank source side of the switch. That way, it won't matter what position the switch is, all banks will still get charged.

Viper,
Basically I removed old lines from original charger and plugged in to the new unit. Assumption was that the old original charger was going through same lines/switches. Basically there is a switch under stairs to shut off battery charger from batteries. the AC side is shutoff from another part of the boat, basically cuts off power the battery charger itself. So I never opened up the part that i am attaching picture of, but will do when I get back to it. I believe there should be fuse behind that as you guys mention. I will check to make sure that is functional. I will also check the power with voltmeter on the charges poles where battery lines are hooked up. And if necessary, I do have appropriate wire, that I can hook up positive from charger direct to batteries positive side.
Also in your comments about switch, I believe all 3 batteries are charged regardless of the switch selection, but is restricted by the 3 switches as I highlighted with red markings on the attached picture. The only reason I am making comment about the switch (1, BOTH, 2) is, when I have it's on #1, all is well and shows battery is being charged and discharged appropriately. but on #2 it is not charging, so either fuse, line is an issue most likely. I am hoping line is OK, because it's been fine all this time, but maybe fuse got blown when original charger stopped functioning.