Battery Charger constantly at 9 amps charge

[MV Mystery]

I have 1-1/2 year old batteries and a new Charles 40 Amp charger that was installed at the same time as the battery change.

All great so far, except that after a long weekend of use, I now notice that the charger has not returned to zero and there is no load on the batteries. The charger is at 9 amps constantly now.

Is this a sign of a bad cell?

My set up is 24V system and comprises two banks of Sear Die Hard batteries connected to a single charles 40 amp charger.

 

[fissioneng]

The charger is at 9 amps constantly now.

Is this a sign of a bad cell?

How long has it been at 9 amps? If there was a deep discharge, it will take awhile for them to be topped off depending on the charger circuitry.

Do you have a way of measuring the DC loads independently? Are you sure there's no load?

To test for a bad cell, use a hydrometer. It will be obvious.

 

[MV Mystery]

My ammeter on my panel shows no load and there are only two direct circuits and those are switched off. I double checked every device otherwise.

It has been on 9 Amps for two days now I believe. I only noticed today bit I did notice that when I was using the boat it was on 3 amps for long periods.

I'm going to check with hydrometer in the morning. 1-1/2 years battery life is deplorable!

 

[fissioneng]

It has been on 9 Amps for two days now I believe. I only noticed today bit I did notice that when I was using the boat it was on 3 amps for long periods.

I'm going to check with hydrometer in the morning. 1-1/2 years battery life is deplorable!

I don't have any experience with Charles chargers. Unless someone here knows if that is the normal time for an absorption phase, I'd call Charles and ask them about it. I've heard they're very helpful.

The hydrometer test will also tell you if they're fully charged. It's the only tool I use in such cases.

 

[saltshaker]

I'm going to check with hydrometer in the morning. 1-1/2 years battery life is deplorable!

More common than you'd think. I have a set of 8D that need replacing. Installed them 3/11. First signs there was an issue was this Sept. One bad cell in one and one weak cell in the other. Deplorable is a pretty accurate word.

 

[bobk]

More common than you'd think. I have a set of 8D that need replacing. Installed them 3/11. First signs there was an issue was this Sept. One bad cell in one and one weak cell in the other. Deplorable is a pretty accurate word.

Jack, Been there too. We ought to start posting manufactures ID who do not meet reasonable expectations.

Bobk

 

[lumina]

Hi All,

Bob, a great idea actually.

I had 2 pair of 8d's that lasted appx 2 1/2 years under light infrequent load. Certainly not the life span I had expected for $1,300.

 

[Boatsb]

Or we could see what the problem is before blaming a battery, charger or other device.


Did you pull the cables off and check for draw?

Did you check the water and SG?

I bet it took longer to post here than to check them out first.


FYI meters can be wrong. especially when they are showing power 24/7 on a multibank charger.

 

[Boatnut]

Or we could see what the problem is before blaming a battery, charger or other device.


Did you pull the cables off and check for draw?

Did you check the water and SG?

I bet it took longer to post here than to check them out first.


FYI meters can be wrong. especially when they are showing power 24/7 on a multibank charger.

X2

A better question would be to describe the problem, and ask what needs to be done to find the solution. With 50 years of trouble shooting electrical/electronics,both on site and as support, it always amazes me how people have situations and ask whats wrong with no information to aid in diagnosis. When you ask such an open ended question like this one, you rarely get really good answers, lots of guessers, so by the time you have read all the posts your so confused you have to idea where to start.

You have something causing the charger constantly charge at what appers to be a fixed rate. It's typically prudent to start with the simple things first. Here are a few things to try.

1. Check fluid levels in the batteries.

2. Using a voltmeter, check the voltage at the batteries. (If you count the cells in the battery divide the number of cells into the voltage. That will tell you how many volts per cell, doing the math y ou can calculate how many bad cells a battery may have).

3. Disconnect the leads going to the batteries, check the output of the charger with a voltmeter. (The owners manual will tell you what the vooltage should be).

4. If all the above fails, place an amp meter in the circuit, and start disconnecting all devices one at a time, do not rely on the switches and circuit breakers to turn off a device, as often times an ins taller will not go through a circuit breaker for power, (They seem to do this a lot). Note you can c ut down on the number of devices to check by turnig off circuit breakers and actually verify the de vice turns off.

Just a note from personal experience, if you have a 24 volts/ 120 volt refridgerator be sure to check it. Often the AC circuit is fused or goes through a circuit breaker, but the DC side does not.

When seeking help try to get as much information to describe your situation, before asking someone to determine what is wrong. It will save much time and frustration.

Good luck

 

[MV Mystery]

Checked the cells with a hydrometer today and one cell is on the RED zone while all others are fine.
the batteries are past their "one" year warranty.

Disconnected that battery and am now charging with a manual charger. I'm going to check on it this afternoon.Not much faith in positive results as i'm told that most people have had limited success when it comes to a borderline "dead" cell.

Once you lose confidence in a battery……

 

[fissioneng]

Disconnected that battery and am now charging with a manual charger. I'm going to check on it this afternoon.Not much faith in positive results as i'm told that most people have had limited success when it comes to a borderline "dead" cell.

Now that the suspect battery is out of the bank, is the charger output back down to where you expected it?

 

[Boatnut]

Checked the cells with a hydrometer today and one cell is on the RED zone while all others are fine.
the batteries are past their "one" year warranty.

Disconnected that battery and am now charging with a manual charger. I'm going to check on it this afternoon.Not much faith in positive results as i'm told that most people have had limited success when it comes to a borderline "dead" cell.

Once you lose confidence in a battery……

Toss it and get a new one. Even if it comes back it won't hold. One year warranty seems a bit short for todays batteries.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Disconnected that battery and am now charging with a manual charger. I'm going to check on it this afternoon.Not much faith in positive results as i'm told that most people have had limited success when it comes to a borderline "dead" cell.

Once you lose confidence in a battery……

Charging with a standard automotive charger can present stray current corrosion issues. marine chargers purposefully have the neutral and ground separated. chargers for automotive use do not. using it for sustained periods of time can waste zincs quickly even with galvanic isolators. not sure if isolation transformers offer 100% protection for this either.

 

[bobk]

This reminds me of losing a near new battery when I was a starving student with three kids. I turned the battery over and drained it into the baby's porcelain tub, blasted the cells with a hose, drained and refilled with the electrolyte. That worked as long as I had the car, maybe 1-2 years. Yess Scott, I was and still am cheap. My nearest competition on that score is Waltp.

Bob

PS, I wasn't strong enough to attempt that with the 8Ds plus it wouldn't take food from a mouth to buy new replacements like it would have back in '61.

 

[Boatsb]

Toss it and get a new one. Even if it comes back it won't hold. One year warranty seems a bit short for todays batteries.

Most of the batteries I sell have a 1 year replacement and 3 year prorated warranty. I have had a few g9 bad in a year or so but usually see 4 or 5 years on a good battery.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Bob, I have seen people "rebuilding" batteries with exactly the method you describe. Worked, too, once you got all the debris out of the bottom of the acid space.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Bob, I have seen people "rebuilding" batteries with exactly the method you describe. Worked, too, once you got all the debris out of the bottom of the acid space.

This is interesting. I recently searched for local battery distributors and manufacturers and one of them advertised battery repairs. I couldn't really put a finger on what repairs to batteries actually would be. I've poured out electrolyte and replaced it with new in an attempt to gain longevity but never thought to literally wash out the insides! I've always thought high quality batteries had sufficient room below the plates to 'store' shed material. I think I would be afraid of the shed material or what not getting caught between plates and causing a short. For that matter there are a few things I don't understand about batteries such as why, supposedly, if the top of plates dry out then the capacity in that section of plate is non recoverable. Why I don't understand it is because the plates are shipped dry and electrolyte added when the battery is put into service. So they start life I a dry state. Another is how identical model batteries in the same bank use water at different rates with allegedly identical plate construction.