National Luna Split-Charge System Charging Issues?
- Thread starter dstock
- Start date
TheJosh
Explorer
Hey I'm here, sorry havent been on here in a long time.
I'm so sick and tired of having dead batteries every single day with this stupid system. When I my truck is off during the night and I walk out to it I can hear the solenoid clicking.
Right now I disconnected all aux items and BOTH my batteries die! The second battery has nothing hooked up to it but the solenoid but it will die within two days
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I'm so sick and tired of having dead batteries every single day with this stupid system. When I my truck is off during the night and I walk out to it I can hear the solenoid clicking.
Right now I disconnected all aux items and BOTH my batteries die! The second battery has nothing hooked up to it but the solenoid but it will die within two days
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
dstock
Explorer
That sounds even stranger than my problem!
I decided to move on from the NL, and have installed a 500amp Blue Sea ACR instead. I've been swamped lately so haven't been monitoring it closely. Once I have everything in place I will give a better review.
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Hi TheJosh,
I am Paul May, owner of Equipt Expedition Outfitters. We are the US distributor for National Luna, and pretty much where the buck stops on this side of the planet. I am sorry to hear your NL system is not working. Forgive me, but I am not sure if you have contacted me, or if not me the company you purchased your NL system through, regarding the issues you are having. The NL system is a good system, but sometimes there are complications to it's working correctly. I am here to help make this right for you. My phone number and email are listed in my signature. Let start a dialogue, one on one, about what is going one and get this fixed up. I am more that happy to help, but I can't help if I don't know there is an issue. Please contact me directly.
Thanks,
dstock
Explorer
For the record, Paul has been very helpful in trying to sort out my NL issues. Mine seems to be an intermittent heat related issue, and or something maybe specific to my Jeep. I'm trying out the Blue Sea solution to see if the same issue crops up. For me, it's just come down to a matter of only having so much time to troubleshoot the problem, and with the cooler temps of winter, it makes it even more difficult to figure out.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Nice job of staying on it and jumping right in to help.
Good man. Mad props to you sir.
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
Thanks. We try our best to make sure folks know we're here for them. These systems are simple in concept, but can get complicated behind the pretty exterior. Lots of factors at play here, and often times it's the messenger that takes the fall. The NL system is not perfect all the time, and though it is rare to have a problem, sometimes there are issues. When they happen, we'll be here to help.
Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.
Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.
dstock
Explorer
Interesting info on the JK Alternator
Came across a thread in the Jeep section that indicates the 160 amp 2012+ JK alternator puts out 80 amps off idle. NL relay is 80 amps. Food for thought.
Thread is here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/138800-2012-JK-Alternator-Performance-Curve
Came across a thread in the Jeep section that indicates the 160 amp 2012+ JK alternator puts out 80 amps off idle. NL relay is 80 amps. Food for thought.
Thread is here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/138800-2012-JK-Alternator-Performance-Curve
Equipt
Supporting Sponsor Presenting Sponsor of Overland
The National Luna Intelligent Solenoid uses a Cole Hersee 85A continuous duty solenoid with a peak capacity of 400A. There is a replacement Cole Hersee 200A continuous duty solenoid with a peak of 800A available as a direct swap out. I have had dozens of folks ask for the 200A version. I suggest they try the 85A version first and see if they have an issue with it. I have yet to have a single customer come back for the 200A replacement. My Toyota 4Runner pushes 135A through the alternator. The NL system has managed it just fine for over 60K miles and the last 2 years. My 100 Series LC pushed more than that for 6 year before that. The amperage of the vehicle should not be a concern.
Thanks,
Thanks,
1Louder
Explorer
If I need to start another thread or reference one please let me know. I will do an additional search but saw this was active. I appear to be having an issue with what the gauge is reading and displaying. When I check the voltage at the battery it is vastly different than what the NL Gauge is showing. Here are some numbers below. The short story is after about 6 hours the NL gauge shows the batteries at 2 red lights or 11.6 when the voltage at the battery is 12.43. I ran the engine/drove around for about 15 minutes and the main battery showed 12.62 while the NL showed 12.5. I am tracking all of this in a spreadsheet. I need to get a better battery charger to see what it says and does but I don't think the batteries are the issue. My main battery is a PM-1 from Sears and is less than a year old. All accessories are on this because my 2nd battery is a bit old and seem to not like the draw from my ARB Fridge. It is a Yellow Top that is 4 years old. I plan to replace it with another Optima. I have a 2011 FJ Cruiser and have a mount specific for the Optima battery. Could it be replaced yes but that will take a lot effort and cost. So I am looking into why the NL Gauge is showing these low readings. Also will that effect how the ARB voltage protection works? Last weekend I noticed the red light was flashing on my fridge along with the corresponding low voltage readings on the NL Gauge. At the time I did not break out my voltage meter to see what the PM-1 was showing. I will check again in the morning to see what the voltages are, what the NL gauge reads, and if the ARB fridge is complaining. This is the 1st time in a year that I have had any issues. I can attach an image of my spreadsheet if it is more useful.
Thanks! Chris
Description Time Reading NL Gauge Shows
Post Charge 11:00 12.7
15 Min on alternator 12:00 12.97
Accessory bus on but nothing running
1 Hour Discharge 13:15 12.58 12.3
2 Hour Discharge 14:31 12.57 12.2
3 Hour Discharge 15:55 12.55 12.3
Fridge on at 16:00 16:00 12.41 12.0
Test 4 18:43 12.43 11.6
2nd Battery
Post Charge 11:00 12.47
15 Minutes on alt 12:00 12.62
1 Hour discharge 13:15 12.5 12.3
2 Hour Discharge 14:31 12.49 12.2
3 Hour Discharge 12.2
Test 4 12.45 11.5
Thanks! Chris
Description Time Reading NL Gauge Shows
Post Charge 11:00 12.7
15 Min on alternator 12:00 12.97
Accessory bus on but nothing running
1 Hour Discharge 13:15 12.58 12.3
2 Hour Discharge 14:31 12.57 12.2
3 Hour Discharge 15:55 12.55 12.3
Fridge on at 16:00 16:00 12.41 12.0
Test 4 18:43 12.43 11.6
2nd Battery
Post Charge 11:00 12.47
15 Minutes on alt 12:00 12.62
1 Hour discharge 13:15 12.5 12.3
2 Hour Discharge 14:31 12.49 12.2
3 Hour Discharge 12.2
Test 4 12.45 11.5
1Louder
Explorer
Thanks I will check that out.
dstock
Explorer
I wish it was that simple!
dstock
Explorer
Switched over to a 500amp Blue Sea ACR with the remote switch about a month or so ago and haven't had any issues with daily driving. Finally got out of town this past weekend in to the desert, with temps in the high 90's, pulling a trailer over a couple mountain passes and had zero issues with the system and it stayed connected the whole time. Yes the 500amp version is overkill but I after all the problems and time wasted dealing with this issue, I wasn't going to take any chances. Solar charging was great also, when the panel was putting out over 13.7 volts the system connected and charged both batteries and then disconnected when the output of the panel dropped.
Obviously, one weekend in the desert isn't a full test but I am already encouraged by the results. I went this route as I could not figure out any other way to test the NL unit after having replaced the solenoid once already. I will update this thread as time progresses.
Obviously, one weekend in the desert isn't a full test but I am already encouraged by the results. I went this route as I could not figure out any other way to test the NL unit after having replaced the solenoid once already. I will update this thread as time progresses.