Tachometer cutting out with Xantrex regulator

[mikereed100]

I doubt there's a fix for this, but you never know. I have stock alternators on my engines with electronic tachometers that run off the alternators. I installed a couple of Xantrex smart regulators on my cat that I have had sitting around for about 6 years. They work great but, once the batteries are charged and the sun is out, bringing the solar panels online, the regulators switch off and, as a result, so do the tachometers. I have followed the manual precisely as far as wiring for electronic tachs but no love. Tech support informs me they no longer make the regulators and nobody there knows anything about them.

I could switch off the solar panels while motoring, but that is asking for trouble and not an option given my feeble memory. I don't mind going by ear and boat speed, but it is nice to have tachs, especially when running both engines. Anybody encountered a similar situation?

[DougR]

Happens all the time with so called " smart" regulators......

The regulator sees that the batteries are fully charged and the regulator turns off the alternator...and the tach goes off as well. Try turning on a few cabin lights to create a load on the batteries and see if the alternator comes back on. If the solar panels aren't pushing too hard this might work.

DougR

[smac999]

Common. Turn more stuff on. Or panels off.

Since you're full it doesn't mater.

[mikereed100]

Bugger. I suspected as much. The Xantrex regulator has a special connection for electronic regulators so I was hoping they might have developed a fix for this, but apparently not.

[nknowland]

We have the same issue with our Tach. However, putting load on the system does not cause the tach to come back on, nor does turning off the solar panel. And, while tach is offline, our batteries are not charging which is a real problem when traveling at night.

The tach runs when engine first turned on and then quits after 30-60 minutes and does not return.

We upgraded our solar panel (24v, 280w). But like I said, turning off panel did not help.

Wiring is good. Connections have been checked. Regulator checks out.

Could the alternator be the cause of such intermittent performance?

We have been working this problem for months. All ideas are welcone!

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by nknowland

We have the same issue with our Tach. However, putting load on the system does not cause the tach to come back on, nor does turning off the solar panel. And, while tach is offline, our batteries are not charging which is a real problem when traveling at night.

The tach runs when engine first turned on and then quits after 30-60 minutes and does not return.

We upgraded our solar panel (24v, 280w). But like I said, turning off panel did not help.

Wiring is good. Connections have been checked. Regulator checks out.

Could the alternator be the cause of such intermittent performance?

We have been working this problem for months. All ideas are welcone!

Measure your field voltage, if it's zero your regulator has turned off the alternator.

What is your battery voltage when this happens?

It's possible you either need to turn up the regulated float voltage, or use more electricity.

[CaptTom]

I added mechanical tach sending units to my engines and did away with the connection between the alternators and tachs. I was able to find a company that sold a bolt-on direct replacement designed specifically for my engines (Perkins T-6.254s).

[nknowland]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Measure your field voltage, if it's zero your regulator has turned off the alternator.

What is your battery voltage when this happens?

It's possible you either need to turn up the regulated float voltage, or use more electricity.

How do I turn up the regulated float voltage??

Using more electricity does nothing (everything with a switch was turned on and still no tach).

Not sure about battery voltage when this happens. However, yesterday, the batteries were at float, and we lost tach after 30min of motoring.

While it makes sense that the tach/alt kick off when not needed to charge, but what does it mean when they don't kick on when elec load increases???

Thanks...

[Sailmonkey]

Normally if the regulator senses a voltage above a certain point it will not turn the alternator back on.

If you check the battery voltage when it turns off, and it's not as high as it should be, there is a chance that your regulator is bad.

[Cheechako]

Yeah common annoyance. Once you are at your motoring speed you probably don't need your tach anyway. Most people go by how fast they want to go or find the nice smooth spot close to that anyway right?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yeah common annoyance. Once you are at your motoring speed you probably don't need your tach anyway. Most people go by how fast they want to go or find the nice smooth spot close to that anyway right?

Our tach is down below....it does go off when the batteries are full and the solar and wind boost voltage. But I never notice because I can't see if from the cockpit.

[nknowland]

Thanks. When the tach kicks off, the batteries are at about 13.0, so ok. And all diagnostics on regulator check out ok. I would like to think I don't have a problem, but, the batteries don't charge while motoring, and NO amount of additional load causes the Tach to come back on.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yeah common annoyance. Once you are at your motoring speed you probably don't need your tach anyway. Most people go by how fast they want to go or find the nice smooth spot close to that anyway right?

True. I sailed for 35 years without a tach and never missed it. Problem is, with the Xantrex regulators, when the regulator is not charging not only do you lose your tachometer but the engine hours stop counting. Also, with a cat, if you are running both motors it's nice to keep them at the same revs and this can be hard to hear with both engines running. I have just gotten into the habit of shutting off my solar panels when motoring. Sometimes I even remember to turn them back on when I shut down the engine.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by nknowland

We have the same issue with our Tach. However, putting load on the system does not cause the tach to come back on, nor does turning off the solar panel. And, while tach is offline, our batteries are not charging which is a real problem when traveling at night.

If your alternator is not charging when your batteries are low then you almost certainly have a problem with the regulator. What is your battery voltage when the regulator cuts out?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

>>>>>>>>>>>Problem is, with the Xantrex regulators, when the regulator is not charging not only do you lose your tachometer but the engine hours stop counting. >>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Why would that be? My tach has stopped because the wire fell off the back of the alternator, but the hour meter kept working. Two separate signals to one instrument (combined tach and hour counter).