Xantrex Battery Charger Overheating - Frigoboat Fridge

[adrac]

Sailorman, yes and it still does not work imo its not a matter of putting out to much amperage its a matter of putting out to little which still causes the charger to heat up but because of minimal amounts being put out and a glitch in the programming the fan will not turn on, as i stated on several other posts I can get the fan to turn as soon as
i either put it in equalization mode or manually set the temp of the batteries to cold I do this after I have overheat warnings flashing.
After about 1-2 minutes of the fan running the charger cools and no more overheating until you put it back in float mode on warm or hot temp settings.
IN MY CASE THE CHARGER HAS BEEN FAULTY 2x now AND NOT ANYTHING ELSE.

[Sailormannn]

Originally Posted by adrac

Sailorman, yes and it still does not work imo its not a matter of putting out to much amperage its a matter of putting out to little which still causes the charger to heat up but because of minimal amounts being put out and a glitch in the programming the fan will not turn on, as i stated on several other posts I can get the fan to turn as soon as
i either put it in equalization mode or manually set the temp of the batteries to cold I do this after I have overheat warnings flashing.
After about 1-2 minutes of the fan running the charger cools and no more overheating until you put it back in float mode on warm or hot temp settings.
IN MY CASE THE CHARGER HAS BEEN FAULTY 2x now AND NOT ANYTHING ELSE.

Yep. Same here. Go figure. Has to be something on our boats. Xantrex can't have everyone of these overheating on float.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Sailormannn

Xantrex can't have everyone of these overheating on float.

Oh yes they can ...


ciao!
Nick.

[Sailormannn]

If there's anyone left following this thread, here is the latest on this saga.

Left the boat plugged into shore power; the indicators on the remote panel were that the batteries were on "float" with one light displayed indicating less than 5a were being put out by the charger. The volt meters on the boat confirmed that charger was putting out only float voltage.

The house and engine power switch were turned off and all accessories, refrigerator, lights etc were off.

When I returned to the boat about 3 hours later, the charger was indicating a charger overheat warning. Fan on the charger of course was off. When I turned the house system on and powered up a few lights the fan came on and the warning was extinguished.

In my mind this rules out the refrigerator causing the problem given it was off and house power was off.

If you have been following, this is my 3rd Xantrex TrueCharge2 40A charger. Serial number indicates that it was built about 2 weeks or 1000 units later than the previous unit that it replaced.

The boat electrics are being inspected next week by a marine electrician. I should know soon if this is a Xantrex problem or if my boat is the problem. Hard to believe there are 1000's of defective Xantrex chargers out there. Wouldn't they all be overheating. Typically chargers don't sit out in open areas and need the fan on the unit eventually even if putting out a low load.

As usual ... All comments appreciated.

[senormechanico]

If it's still working, I'd go back to my previous "black tape option" post.

IOW, fuggedaboudit.

[bob_77903]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Oh yes they can ...


ciao!
Nick.

Mine works fine Nick...

Ciao

[btrayfors]

One hundred seventy-one posts so far on this dead-horse topic.

And the correct answer was in posts #11 and #13!

DumpTheDamnedXantrexAndDon'tLookBack!

Guess some folks are gluttons for punishment -- or boredom :-)

Bill

[downunder]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

One hundred seventy-one posts so far on this dead-horse topic.

And the correct answer was in posts #11 and #13!

DumpTheDamnedXantrexAndDon'tLookBack!

Guess some folks are gluttons for punishment -- or boredom :-)

Bill

[capn_billl]

Put a diode from the overheat light to the fan on circuit!

[Sailormannn]

Here's an update based on the electrician's advice. This is pretty consistent with the advice I've been getting here from several very knowledgeble sources, so will be going ahead with these changes.

1. Upgrade wiring from charger to batteries. Current factory wiring is considered undersized.

2. Rewire refrigerator direct to batteries with breaker inbetween to reduce long run to panel and back to batteries. Voltage drops were found at the refrigerator. The electrician bypassed the panel and connected the refrigerator direct to batteries with positive results.

I'll report back once work is completed and tested. Thanks to all.

[Clarkston]

Something to bear in mind is that Xantrex program does turn on the fan, however there is a parallel circuit that will turn it on as well and that's a relay on the temp sensor.
Equalize generally does not overheat on charge, so Xantrex has a temp sensor that parallels the program that will turn on the fan. The program is tied to a current sensor and if the charge current is below the threshold for equalize it will not come on, however, if the unit has an input signal from the temp sensor, it will turn on the fan.
More then likely, the equalize current program is correct and doesn't reach its threshold, so the temp sensor will over ride the program and turn on the fan as backup.
Go online and get the Xantrex manual for your particular model and you should have a circuit that outlines this operation.

Best of luck
Clarkston/ semi-retired engineer

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Yes, ProMariner are to be avoided. 14 years of C34 owner feedback. Not to be trusted. You already have good recommendations for Iota chargers. And Tripp Lite, although I know they make combined I/Cs, maybe not just chargers.

One ? - does your second or third Xantrex fan blow down or up into the unit. I don't think you said. If the "new" one is still blowing the wrong way, what do you think?

I've read your post on co.com and this whole one, and can't, for the life of me, figure out why you keep banging your head against the wall.

Xantrex has been recently proven to be less than useless. You have a relatively new boat with reasonably good wiring and you've worked hard to fix that. Xantrex has become the, if not one of the, worst manufacturers of marine equipment known to man. All in short order, over the course of less than three years. Disappointing, at best. Tragic...

Over 40 years of basic A/B refrigeration proves that Danfoss compressors work pretty much in all boats, even ones with old ferroresonant chargers. Lots of the suppositions about voltages, ripples and the like on this post have been truly fascinating, but not much real in the real world.

If I may? Dump that POS charger and stop wasting your time.

You've learned a lot about your boat and its wiring. Good for you. Time to move on...

What happened to Xantrex in the last three years to go downhill so fast? I have no issues with mine, but I believe it's about 5 years old.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

What happened to Xantrex in the last three years to go downhill so fast? I have no issues with mine, but I believe it's about 5 years old.

One could suppose that the country of manufacture had something to do with it. Just supposin'...

Haven't we seen this in many other things?

[Lancerbye]

I keep seeing a lot of negative posts about the Xantrex on this thread. I am not sure if the posts are legit, or if they come from someone with a vested interest. I still see a lot of these units being sold to a variety of boaters. Could it be that they get the most comment because they are the most sold. I have had one for five years which is used basically 24/7, I see and know a lot of other boaters that have them and have not had any problems. I have no loyalty to any manufacturer and will switch if I am convinced that a particular piece of equipment is faulty on a reoccuring basis. This thread has shown that even though everything pointed to the charger the fault was in fact the wiring. I have seen this similar problem with many pieces of equipment. If the OP had thrown out the charger and replaced it with something else the problem would have still been there. Bad connections and undersized wiring is a problem I have found in many boats while working as an ABYC certified electrician.(retired now). When in doubt call a professional. It could be a lot cheaper.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

This thread has shown that even though everything pointed to the charger the fault was in fact the wiring.

No it's not. When the charger overheats while in float charge, the fault is not in the wiring.

ciao!
Nick.