Honda 2000 not charging my batteries

[montenido]

Thanks for the input and ideas everybody. Yes, I tried running the generator in high mode before plugging in the shore power cord. And yes, I was able to power my water heater, shop vac, etc., but not the battery charger. I played around with the settings for the charger and was able to change the input breaker size from 30A to 12A which solved the problem. Now the Honda powers the charger just fine, if at a slower rate.

BTW, I will try the Seafoam idea. Every little bit helps . I am happy to know that I can now charge my battery bank while at anchor.

Would it hurt anything to keep the charging rate at the lower setting (12 Amp breaker), as opposed to the higher 30 Amp Breaker setting? I have AGM batteries, with a house bank of about 500AH.

Thanks again, Bill

[skipmac]

Well one of the benefits to AGMs is they will take a higher charging rate. One of the problems with AGMs is they like to be fully charged pretty often. If you reduce the charge rate you will either chronically undercharge your batteries, probably shortening their life span, OR you will be running your generator for hours and hours every day to keep them charged.

[Zil]

How many 12 volt amps charging? At 12A/110? At 30A/110? You could put the charger on shore power regularly.

500 amp hour, 50% Discharge, 250 amp hour divided by charger amp out put = hours to charge. Very Simplified for illustration only!

[zeehag]

honda 2k generator puts out a lot less than does shore power. mebbe you need a second to run with the first so you have the same amount of electricity to use to charge your batteries....
there is a huge difference between 15 amps from honda and 30 amps from shore .....
have fun and good luck..

[Finistere]

I use a Honda at I'm in case of power failure, it will run my furnace and lights but will not run my TV which leaves me to believe that the power is not very clean, perhaps not a clean sine wave. Perhaps your charger is sensitive to that.

[smac999]

just wait until you have lower batteries. that thing will draw ~20-22amps when charging over 100amps. not sure if that one can be lowered. some definatly can. I use mostly magnums and they can be.


just read page 2. no, no problems running at 12a. that is what it is for. if you're at a dock with only a 15a plug. (which your genny is) just means it'll take longer to charge your batteries. put it back to 30 when on shore power for faster recharging.