Chris Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 When we were away camping last week we had some sort of systems failure with the batteries/charger/and or monitor.(On mornings two and three of three days, the monitor flashed and then beeped, indicating that battry levels were dangerously low. The fridge then stopped working and the diesel heater would not start - all indicating no power available. Batteries were checked and found to actually be fine, as they indeed should have been. Re-setting of the monitor appears to have rectified the problem, at least for the time being. There are four GSM batteries in parallel).But we want to get this properly checked out. Who can we take the van to in or near Adelaide to have that done? And if anyone has further ideas about what may be going on here, I would be grateful for their thoughts.Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahame and Wendy Roberts Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 When we were away camping last week we had some sort of systems failure with the batteries/charger/and or monitor.(On mornings two and three of three days, the monitor flashed and then beeped, indicating that battry levels were dangerously low. The fridge then stopped working and the diesel heater would not start - all indicating no power available. Batteries were checked and found to actually be fine, as they indeed should have been. Re-setting of the monitor appears to have rectified the problem, at least for the time being. There are four GSM batteries in parallel).But we want to get this properly checked out. Who can we take the van to in or near Adelaide to have that done? And if anyone has further ideas about what may be going on here, I would be grateful for their thoughts.ChrisChris, Good morning.Not enough info here for any real diagnosis at a distance. Most solar regulators have a "low battery" disconnect feature which switches off the load terminal to protect against deep discharge and which re-connects when the voltage rises above a preset threshold. You say batteries were checked - how were they checked.When looking for problems of this nature think through what has changed, what has been worked on. It sounds like a loose battery cable connection would be a good place to start.Regards,Grahame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 Hi Grahame.Val had taken the batteries offline and quickly checked them each, but as we were "in the field" he couldn't really do any solid and proper testing. When we got home he disconnected them all and tested them individually under load. (I am not mechanically inclined really so am only relaying my limited understanding of what he did). He found them to be OK, but as he can't be 100% sure he has taken them over to an auto electrical firm in nearby Gawler and they will give a proper test with their equipment.As you say, you always need to consider what might be the issue. When we came home from a three month trip about a month ago, the system all worked just fine. On this trip the monitor was showing good amounts of sun coming in (we have four x 130 watt panels) and the voltage on day one was 12.9 when we got up and looked - before the sun came up!On Caravaners Forum it has been suggested the problem may be the the load terminal of the monitor. Whatever that is. But I have relayed this to Val.Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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