Isata 5 battery not charging on AC

[vrunner]

So while my coach sits waiting to see if Ram wants to fix it I have it plugged in to ensure the batteries stay charged. I noticed today that the batteries are no longer charging on AC. Solar shows it's charging but the batteries are draining, I think that is a battery issue since they don't hold a charge for long.

They will charge when I start the coach. I haven't tried the generator yet. I checked the Controller and have it set at 15a, I hear the controller kicking on when I plug in and everything electric works when plugged in, just no charging of the batteries. I also have had issues with the master cut off. Sometimes when I turned it off everything stays on, sometimes it goes off

[Whalenss]

My answers are based on my experience and what I know. Not an expert on electrical stuff.
- solar will charge even when battery cut off switch ( in the battery bay) is enabled as solar runs thru the solar controller directly to the batteries.
- when battery cut of switch used there is residual charge and in the system. When is residual charge is gone then the multiplex screen is off, xantrex is off, etc.
- when plugged into shore power and battery cutoff switch is not enabled, the xantrex controller should show AC power. If not, check that it is enabled in the xantrex settings. If the xantrex controller shows AC in then it will show battery charge level and coming amps to charge the battery and run anything else that is on. There are additional settings in the xantrex controller to allocate shore power to battery charge and running electrical items in the coach. Normally you never have to change this.
There are test you can run on the inverter / charger. Call the tech line for the manufacturer. I got good help when I had an issue. You will need a voltage tester if you do this.

Pat

[bclemens]

Also make sure that the inverter settings are proper.

The Xantrex has energy management systems on board. The charger for that system I think is 125 amps (12V). So if you only have a certain amperage coming in (plugged into an adaptor) it may not be enough juice to power the charger if you are running other devices.

Guide is for the 3012...but same thing for the other Freedom model. 2012? maybe

[vrunner]

I see the manual references soft breakers, I will check them out.

[vrunner]

So checked the breakers, don't appear tripped. Gen set doesn't charge batts either. AC will work with shore power and gen set, micro and frig do not, only on inverter, however the batteries are draining. They do charge when I run the coach... I checked all the settings and they are correct. really confused.

[bclemens]

Micro and fridge are on the inverter. The inverter is pass through, normally, unless it is disabled. Then the power does not pass through. So either something is wrong with the settings, or something is wrong with the inverter.

When you say "they do charge when I run the coach" you mean drive? IE the alternator is charging the batteries? If that is the case, then the BIRD and the Trombetta solenoid are running properly and it leads back to the inverter being the issue.

[vrunner]

Correct, everything charges when I am running the truck. I was in the phone with Zantrek this morning. They think there is a connection issues, bad breaker or bad unit. I am going to check the power coming in with a volt meter tonight.

[Whalenss]

Originally Posted by vrunner

Correct, everything charges when I am running the truck. I was in the phone with Zantrek this morning. They think there is a connection issues, bad breaker or bad unit. I am going to check the power coming in with a volt meter tonight.

They will must likely run you through the same test they did with me. Voltage in, voltage out, disconnect all power to inverter/charger and wait 5 minutes for it to reset then reconnect.

Review all settings on the controller.

Good luck.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by vrunner

Correct, everything charges when I am running the truck. I was in the phone with Zantrek this morning. They think there is a connection issues, bad breaker or bad unit. I am going to check the power coming in with a volt meter tonight.

Then I would agree, it has to be something related to the inverter. A reset might work too.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by vrunner

So while my coach sits waiting to see if Ram wants to fix it I have it plugged in to ensure the batteries stay charged. I noticed today that the batteries are no longer charging on AC. Solar shows it's charging but the batteries are draining, I think that is a battery issue since they don't hold a charge for long.

They will charge when I start the coach. I haven't tried the generator yet. I checked the Controller and have it set at 15a, I hear the controller kicking on when I plug in and everything electric works when plugged in, just no charging of the batteries. I also have had issues with the master cut off. Sometimes when I turned it off everything stays on, sometimes it goes off

My vote is with the master cut off switch.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by cavie

My vote is with the master cut off switch.

well, that would be the simple and obvious one that we sometimes overlook.

So have you checked the master disconnect in the battery compartment?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by bclemens

well, that would be the simple and obvious one that we sometimes overlook.

So have you checked the master disconnect in the battery compartment?

OP stated in post #10 that the switch was giving him trouble.

[vrunner]

I will check it out, I don't think that's the problem since I have DC power. There has been two occasions when I dropped the coach off for service where I turned the switch off and the power remained on... for days. Very strange. Right now it's working. My guess is bad contacts in the switch... not much else there...

[vrunner]

Fixed, one of the leads was a bit loose but they also had me reset it. Not sure if it was one or both but working now.

[bclemens]

Always nice to hear some good news.

[Whalenss]

Originally Posted by vrunner

Fixed, one of the leads was a bit loose but they also had me reset it. Not sure if it was one or both but working now.

[emoji106][emoji106] easy fix.