Quote:
Originally Posted by Powderhound
Hi Bill
Its a little complicated because it has been converted to 240AC. This has been done by inserting a new NZ RCD between the mains power input cable and a 240/115 AC transformer which is then wired to the AE panel and charger/ converter. . The new 240AC plugs (originally 120V) now come off the new circuit breaker so any AC power at the AE panel is 115/120V. It would appear that the rest of the wiring at the AE panel seems to follow the diagram as provided by TM. In addition a 90w solar panel with Solara regulator was fitted professionally after we purchased it and is wired from the panel to regulator to the battery. The solar panel is producing 19+V on a sunny day. Any use of anything seems to run the battery down despite the fact that solar panel is clearly working during daytime and it would appear the charger / converter comes to life as evidenced by the fans starting to operate when there has been some demand on the system. The other anomaly is that thev 12v power circuits only work when the battery is hooked up with the 240V mains plugged in and if it is flat they do not work either with the 240V plugged in. With the battery disconnected however there is no voltage at the terminals on the wires between the battery and the charger / converter which would suggest it is not charging. But i was trying to locate the terminals on the charger /converter where i could test this. There is no combiner to regulate between the two charging systems which maybe there should be? I have checked for loose connections or any other potential short situation including the brake breakaway.
Hopefully that makes it a little clearer.
Cheers
Rob
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Thanks for that clarification.
Even when they were nearly new, the OEM "AE" power converters from years before 2006 ended to burn out batteries by pushing high DC charge voltage almost all the time, even after the "house" batteries were full and didn't want to take any more power. When abused this way, AGM and GEL batteries tend to be damaged more quickly than plate-type batteries, because many types of non-sealed "floating" battery cells can burn off a lot of damaging energy by energy by boiling the acid solution.
The WFCO units (from 2006 and later) had other issues, but not that one.
In your TM, your problematic AE Converter also has about 20 years age, with unkown wear and tear compouding its defective design. Your 230/50 --> 120/60 conversion might also have some issues regarding the quality of 120-VAC output on the "split phase" side (120V) which actually run power converter.
I recommend that you throw away the AE Converter, and instead purchase a replacement built to run directly from your grid connection - 230/50, maybe a Victron All-In-One (including solar charging as well). Much more costly, but really good.
Linear Mode
