Help me figure out my house battery system...
- Thread starter HoboJen
- Start date
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
That's perfect.
The electro-magnet in the solenoid only draws, as Diplo mentioned, about an amp when energized. (But even that, when wired to be constantly energized as yours was, will kill a pair of batteries in under a week - as you know.
)
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Uh...wait. Tapping the electric windows circuit? Um...maybe not so good.
That circuit is probably also energized when the key in on accessory, which is generally not recommended.
Of course, having said that, I'll also mention that mine is wired that way and I like it. First of all, I never sit around with the key on acc position listening to the radio or anything like that. What I do use it for, is when running the generator and charging the house battery, once the house battery is topped off I can turn the key to acc and make sure the engine battery gets a top off as well.
That circuit is probably also energized when the key in on accessory, which is generally not recommended.
Of course, having said that, I'll also mention that mine is wired that way and I like it. First of all, I never sit around with the key on acc position listening to the radio or anything like that. What I do use it for, is when running the generator and charging the house battery, once the house battery is topped off I can turn the key to acc and make sure the engine battery gets a top off as well.
Hey guys, remember this ole thing?
Well things were great for a long while. A solid three years at least... all thanks to you guys!
My house battery stopped taking a charge. But it would at least charge a tiny bit, as I noticed the lights would get brighter after driving around. It was tested, they said it was dead, and I replaced it. I’m fairly certain that I tested that it was at least receiving a charge before the new battery went in. (Higher voltage when van was running).
Well the new battery isn’t charging. I think it’s the solenoid. What causes these to fail and how can I test the solenoid to be sure that’s the issue? Can you buy these at stores and which one? Buying online isn’t a great option right now.
The person who installed the battery didn’t hook everything up the same but I’ve fixed that and I’m just at a loss. I’m wondering if something happened at this time that would have caused the relay to fail.
I also don’t quite understand how the lights perked up yet the battery wouldn’t fully charge, seemed odd to me.
Thanks for any help!
Well things were great for a long while. A solid three years at least... all thanks to you guys!
My house battery stopped taking a charge. But it would at least charge a tiny bit, as I noticed the lights would get brighter after driving around. It was tested, they said it was dead, and I replaced it. I’m fairly certain that I tested that it was at least receiving a charge before the new battery went in. (Higher voltage when van was running).
Well the new battery isn’t charging. I think it’s the solenoid. What causes these to fail and how can I test the solenoid to be sure that’s the issue? Can you buy these at stores and which one? Buying online isn’t a great option right now.
The person who installed the battery didn’t hook everything up the same but I’ve fixed that and I’m just at a loss. I’m wondering if something happened at this time that would have caused the relay to fail.
I also don’t quite understand how the lights perked up yet the battery wouldn’t fully charge, seemed odd to me.
Thanks for any help!
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
They can fail in a couple ways.
The electromagnet (coil) that pulls the contacts together can fail and the large battery terminals don't get connected to each other.
The spring that pulls the contacts apart can fail and the contacts don't separate and the large battery terminals are permanently connected to each other.
The contacts can get burnt which can cause a high resistance so even if everything else works right very little current flows through the large terminals.
The contacts can get welded together and the large battery terminals are permanently connected together.
First check that there is power to the small terminals with the key on.
If there is then disconnect the battery cables and check continuity across the large terminals with the coil energized and not energized.
The electromagnet (coil) that pulls the contacts together can fail and the large battery terminals don't get connected to each other.
The spring that pulls the contacts apart can fail and the contacts don't separate and the large battery terminals are permanently connected to each other.
The contacts can get burnt which can cause a high resistance so even if everything else works right very little current flows through the large terminals.
The contacts can get welded together and the large battery terminals are permanently connected together.
First check that there is power to the small terminals with the key on.
If there is then disconnect the battery cables and check continuity across the large terminals with the coil energized and not energized.
thanks, that was helpful.
i stopped at napa and picked up a new solenoid. i had already stopped at o'reilly's and harbor freight with no luck, but napa had it right there on the shelf.
i replaced it. voila, it's charging. awesome.
then i drove a bunch but my inverter wasn't showing an uptick for charging. so i tested again, and yep, not charging. the solenoid wasn't getting power because the fuse had blown. so i replaced that. now the solenoid is getting power but the battery still isn't charging.
what do you think is going on here? my next step is testing the new solenoid. i did recently replace my battery but it's an equivalent AGM.. no idea what is causing this issue though.
i stopped at napa and picked up a new solenoid. i had already stopped at o'reilly's and harbor freight with no luck, but napa had it right there on the shelf.
i replaced it. voila, it's charging. awesome.
then i drove a bunch but my inverter wasn't showing an uptick for charging. so i tested again, and yep, not charging. the solenoid wasn't getting power because the fuse had blown. so i replaced that. now the solenoid is getting power but the battery still isn't charging.
what do you think is going on here? my next step is testing the new solenoid. i did recently replace my battery but it's an equivalent AGM.. no idea what is causing this issue though.