S/V Illusion-I think that you have the original TrueCharge 20/40+ which has been around for many years but was replaced by the TrueCharge 2 that was introduced last year. I have installed probably 20 TrueCharge 20's or 40's over the years and have never had one fail.
motion30-I have installed two TrueCharge2
Battery Chargers, one a 20 amp and one a 40 amp in the last year. Both have operated flawlessly.
Before blaming the
charger, you probably should consider your
batteries. First off, the generally accepted
rule of thumb for flooded lead acid (FLA)
battery charging is 15-25% of the total capacity of the bank. Is your bank FLA? If so your
charger is a bit on the light side for
charging capacity. Are you using the temperature sensor option? If not, what temperature setting do you have the charger set for? Are all battery connections clean and bright? Did you use AWG 8 conductors? A load or conductance testing of the
batteries would be appropriate. Etc., etc., etc.
If these questions make sense to you, then, coupled with the owner's manual, you need to go thru your system and ensure everything is installed correctly. Use a clamp on ammeter to see how much
current is being delivered down each conductor. Put a DMM on the battery bank during a charge cycle and observe the batterie's reaction to the charger.
If you are uncomfortable with the above, find a good
marine electrician (I would suggest the American
Boat and Yacht Councils listing of ABYC Certified Electricians
American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC)
as a good source) and have him walk you through the system.
Clearly, I am suggesting that the failure of the charging
system may be the charger itself but I would eliminate all other components first.