Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 11:46:44 GMT
I canβt see a substantial earth cable on the alternator itself.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 11:49:02 GMT
It couldnt be a dodgy earth could it? Can you see a decent earth? I canβt, and that may well be the problem.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 12:05:21 GMT
Is the smartgauge wired directly to the batteries on its own dedicated feed? Something in the main supply is high resistance it could either be the master switch or an earth return. yep - SG goes straight to batteries (via a fuse like it said in the instructions) Reason I asked is that you said SG was reading low but batteries/alternator were reading as they should which should be an impossibility if wired correctly. So are all the meters inc smartgauge reading low and voltage on the battery terminals is as it should be when charging?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 12:14:55 GMT
This bit alarms me, my monitors jump up, may take 30 seconds or so but they do jump up when running engine. This morning - batteries at 12.3 v - turn engine on - volts remain low on all metres but on the alternator show 14.54 out... and circa 40 amps going in. At battery terminals 14.54 also but "internal meters " still only reading 12.3/4 - eventually after a couple of hours running, they increased to 12.5/6 . mine jump up when the inerter/charger is running connected to the genny or mains - but from engine running/alternator they don't ... despite the fact that at the terminal on the alternator, it shows 14.54 AND on the battery stumps of all the batteries. Has it always done this, or just since you started with the issues?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:08:32 GMT
yep - SG goes straight to batteries (via a fuse like it said in the instructions) Reason I asked is that you said SG was reading low but batteries/alternator were reading as they should which should be an impossibility if wired correctly. So are all the meters inc smartgauge reading low and voltage on the battery terminals is as it should be when charging? Yes. If it is 14.5 on the actual batteries then they are charging. A DC clamp meter would show what amps were going in. If it is the worry gauges which are playing up then maybe have less worry gauges. I often think the best option is to just have a quality digital volt meter and forget the rest. Never really understood the point of a Gibbo smartgauge but I suppose some people like them and there is a market. He did apparently do a LOT of testing on lead acid batteries and really knew his shit though to be fair. I used to quite enjoy the Chris W v Gibbo wars on canalworld years ago. They were good. I particularly found it funny when Chris W referred to the monkey puzzle trees he had and how they are worth 25 grand each. Some things stick in the memory for some reason. And I thought for a moment my memory was going ! www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/6911-piranhna-pine/2007. Post no.7 in a short thread about Parana pine.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:17:47 GMT
Agree, you can obsess way too much over batteries, and spend way too much.
I have a simple little thing where I push a button it says how many volts, it works, if I want to get anal then I turn everything off and sit in the dark for half hour, then push the little button, it cost less than a fiver on Ebay.
Managed just fine for near six years.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:41:34 GMT
Without solar smartguage works, and on discharge is the most accurate percentage meter there is. I've had one since they first came out. With solar it needs interpretation but there isn't a meter in existence that will give an accurate percent reading without interpretation.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:44:49 GMT
Agree, you can obsess way too much over batteries, and spend way too much. I have a simple little thing where I push a button it says how many volts, it works, if I want to get anal then I turn everything off and sit in the dark for half hour, then push the little button, it cost less than a fiver on Ebay. Managed just fine for near six years. Strangely that's exactly what I used to say before I had a smartgauge, however once I got one I was finding I was previously underestimating discharge and could get another 20% out of the batteries before they needed recharging.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:46:00 GMT
Without solar smartguage works, and on discharge is the most accurate percentage meter there is. I've had one since they first came out. With solar it needs interpretation but there isn't a meter in existence that will give an accurate percent reading without interpretation.And that is my point, better things to be doing IMO..
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 13:50:31 GMT
The old black and white tellies were good as the picture started getting narrower (vertically) when the batteries became overly discharged.
Not had a telly since about 2000 but I did like having a little black and white jobbie on the boat prior to that. Quite nice for doing horror films and a good volt meter.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 14:09:07 GMT
Without solar smartguage works, and on discharge is the most accurate percentage meter there is. I've had one since they first came out. With solar it needs interpretation but there isn't a meter in existence that will give an accurate percent reading without interpretation.And that is my point, better things to be doing IMO.. You have to interpret the readings on your volt meter so obviously you haven't got better things to doπ±
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 14:15:55 GMT
it says 12.5 i watch a bit more tv, it says 12.1 i turn the tv off and go the pub.
not that hard.
|
|
|
Post by peterboat on Oct 12, 2021 14:57:50 GMT
Reason I asked is that you said SG was reading low but batteries/alternator were reading as they should which should be an impossibility if wired correctly. So are all the meters inc smartgauge reading low and voltage on the battery terminals is as it should be when charging? Yes. If it is 14.5 on the actual batteries then they are charging. A DC clamp meter would show what amps were going in. If it is the worry gauges which are playing up then maybe have less worry gauges. I often think the best option is to just have a quality digital volt meter and forget the rest. Never really understood the point of a Gibbo smartgauge but I suppose some people like them and there is a market. He did apparently do a LOT of testing on lead acid batteries and really knew his shit though to be fair. I used to quite enjoy the Chris W v Gibbo wars on canalworld years ago. They were good. I particularly found it funny when Chris W referred to the monkey puzzle trees he had and how they are worth 25 grand each. Some things stick in the memory for some reason. And I thought for a moment my memory was going ! www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/6911-piranhna-pine/2007. Post no.7 in a short thread about Parana pine. I thought it was Chris pink?
|
|
|
Post by Telemachus on Oct 12, 2021 15:13:02 GMT
Right - I'm back... The ruddy thing appeared to be working fine every day whilst in the marina... and for 2 days whilst out... until, I put the washer on - (it was charging (showing 13.65v) and battereies at 90 % according to SG. Then mid load, it went off - engine revs increased showing no load from the alternator and then nothing. Using my bulb thingy however, I then dis-proved it to a point. Engine off - bulb connected and it lights. ignition on - lights on the panel lit Engine started, lights go out and bulb goes off Voltage at alternator AND battery shows 14.54 (no photo but honestly it does... clamp meter on cable shows a - maybe 10 amps going into the bank. but ALL volt meters in the boat show 12.6 or7 - (4 in total) - smartguage, solar charger, and 2 sttand alones on usb sockets further up the boat. When heavy load applied (ie toaster) 1200watts.... NOTHING happens to start with - volts drop right down to 11.5 ish and "then" engine dips and alternator increases output to 90amps ish... - turn toaster off and output remains at 40 ish for a bit then drops right back down but still the volts on the metres in the boat, still show only 12.6 ish.. This morning - batteries at 12.3 v - turn engine on - volts remain low on all metres but on the alternator show 14.54 out... and circa 40 amps going in. At battery terminals 14.54 also but "internal meters " still only reading 12.3/4 - eventually after a couple of hours running, they increased to 12.5/6 . IT's just not like it used to be... whenever the engine was running, all volt meters showed 13.7 ish when bulk charging - sometimes up to 14 as the day went on. When using the inverter to Charge from the genny however, the internal ones DO show the charging voltage of 13.7/8 ish - rising as the batteries get fuller. I'm going bonkers - its just not having faith in being able to GET a load of washing done without dragging the bank down to the 11/s. I even moved the cable onto a different "stump" on the battery incase it was fault... next idea is to make up a whole new set of connecting leads at 50mm2 between the batteriees AND a new master earth to the engine/hull. So it seems there is nothing wrong with the alternator. However there are some inconsistencies in your report which suggests you are not appreciating the difference between the various points you are measuring. eg Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that a battery connector is necessarily actually in good contact with the battery post it seems to be screwed tightly to. As I said earlier, when the problem is manifesting itself you should systematically check out the positive, and separately the negative, current paths. Start by checking for any significant voltage drop between the alternator B+ terminal, and the battery positive (actual battery positive posts, not the connectors) by putting red meter lead on B+ and black on battery post. Then repeat with B- terminal /alternator case, and battery negative post. Itβs not possible for the alternator voltage to be significant different from the battery voltage unless some voltage is being dropped along the way. If it transpires that the battery voltage is indeed up at the same voltage as the alternator, then you need to repeat the above process but look for a voltage drop in the positive line between battery positive post and the inverter positive connection, ditto for the negative line. At the moment you are just finding different voltages across different parts of the system, but that doesnβt help you locate the problem. Once you have determined which line is dropping excessive voltage, you can keep one meter probe in the same place and move the other meter probe towards it via every accessible point in between. This will locate the cause of the problem.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2021 15:19:08 GMT
Pretty sure Chris W and Chris pink were different people.
I did send something in the post to Chris Pink and he was in Bradford on Avon if I remember right. Chris W was Herts I think.
|
|