wdavi014
'05 2500 140 High Top
Hey folks,
I recently installed a Sterling Power BB1230 battery to battery charger in my Sprinter caravan and it doesn't seem to be working properly. For those who aren't familiar, it's supposed to use the alternator to charge my LiFePO4 house battery bank.
With the engine off:
- Starter battery voltage (SBV) is 12.65 V (so, fully charged)
- House battery voltage (HBV) is 13.15 V
- HBV current draw is 0.0 amps because I switched everything off (solar charger and 12V loads). This is according to a Victron battery monitor
When the engine is on and idling, the BB1230 automatically turns on, and I get:
- SBV is 14.1 (so, the 90 amp alternator is working)
- BB1230 input voltage is 13.8
- BB1230 output voltage is 13.5
- HBV current draw goes from 0 to NEGATIVE ~1 amp. Then it stays like that indefinitely (20 minutes is the longest I've checked). This is according to a Victron battery monitor
What's really strange is that if I disconnect the output wire to the house batteries, the measured input voltage immediately goes to 14V and the output goes to 14.4V. I thought, maybe, that there's a poor connection on the output side through the fuse and busbar, etc., so I bypassed all of it by wiring the output of the BB1230 directly to the batteries, but I got the same results as shown above.
The attached annotated graphics tell the story a little better:
This one shows how the BB1230 is wired.
This is a picture of the charger when it turns on. As soon as I disconnect the positive output wire to the battery, the input/output lights turn green at 14.2 V
This is house battery data from the Victron battery monitor during a test, different from the one that generated the voltages stated above. There's a small blip in current which indicates the engine start. Then, a short while later, the BB1230 turns on and the voltage increases to 13.3, but the current drops down to -1.1 amps. It does this every time and has never shown a different behavior since it was installed about a week ago.
Then, just to show that the battery monitor is working properly, I decided to switch on the 45 amp shore power charger, and the voltage and current increased to 13.5 V and +37.5 amps, which is exactly what it should do. I was expecting a similar response from the BB1230, except something less than +30 amps.
I'm using the battery monitor because I don't have an ammeter that's rated for 30 amps. This shows how the shore power charger is wired to the shunt/battery monitor. It's wired exactly the same way as the BB1230, so the monitor data should be reliable.
I've also measured resistances between various points and they've all been less than 500 milliohms. This includes between the battery and chassis ground.
Today, I installed a new 150 amp alternator and got the same results.
I've spoke with Adam (Sterling Power USA rep) and Jr. (UK Office), but they haven't been able to figure it out.
This might be an unrelated anomaly, but my 1500W inverter gives an alarm whenever the house bank reaches 100% SOC AND the solar charge controller (SCC) is charging. If I disable the SCC, the alarm turns off, and if I turn the SCC back, the alarm activates again. I replaced the SCC with a completely different make/model AND replaced the inverter with a new one and it still occurs. This makes me think something is wrong with my system, but I've checked everything I can think of and haven't found anything. Maybe this datapoint is a clue for the BB1230 issue I'm having?
Any ideas on what the culprit might be? Anyone know where I can borrow an ammeter rated for 30 amps? Would appreciate any help!!
Thanks!
Warren
Oh, and here's a peek at the inside build :
I recently installed a Sterling Power BB1230 battery to battery charger in my Sprinter caravan and it doesn't seem to be working properly. For those who aren't familiar, it's supposed to use the alternator to charge my LiFePO4 house battery bank.
With the engine off:
- Starter battery voltage (SBV) is 12.65 V (so, fully charged)
- House battery voltage (HBV) is 13.15 V
- HBV current draw is 0.0 amps because I switched everything off (solar charger and 12V loads). This is according to a Victron battery monitor
When the engine is on and idling, the BB1230 automatically turns on, and I get:
- SBV is 14.1 (so, the 90 amp alternator is working)
- BB1230 input voltage is 13.8
- BB1230 output voltage is 13.5
- HBV current draw goes from 0 to NEGATIVE ~1 amp. Then it stays like that indefinitely (20 minutes is the longest I've checked). This is according to a Victron battery monitor
What's really strange is that if I disconnect the output wire to the house batteries, the measured input voltage immediately goes to 14V and the output goes to 14.4V. I thought, maybe, that there's a poor connection on the output side through the fuse and busbar, etc., so I bypassed all of it by wiring the output of the BB1230 directly to the batteries, but I got the same results as shown above.
The attached annotated graphics tell the story a little better:
This one shows how the BB1230 is wired.
This is a picture of the charger when it turns on. As soon as I disconnect the positive output wire to the battery, the input/output lights turn green at 14.2 V
This is house battery data from the Victron battery monitor during a test, different from the one that generated the voltages stated above. There's a small blip in current which indicates the engine start. Then, a short while later, the BB1230 turns on and the voltage increases to 13.3, but the current drops down to -1.1 amps. It does this every time and has never shown a different behavior since it was installed about a week ago.
Then, just to show that the battery monitor is working properly, I decided to switch on the 45 amp shore power charger, and the voltage and current increased to 13.5 V and +37.5 amps, which is exactly what it should do. I was expecting a similar response from the BB1230, except something less than +30 amps.
I'm using the battery monitor because I don't have an ammeter that's rated for 30 amps. This shows how the shore power charger is wired to the shunt/battery monitor. It's wired exactly the same way as the BB1230, so the monitor data should be reliable.
I've also measured resistances between various points and they've all been less than 500 milliohms. This includes between the battery and chassis ground.
Today, I installed a new 150 amp alternator and got the same results.
I've spoke with Adam (Sterling Power USA rep) and Jr. (UK Office), but they haven't been able to figure it out.
This might be an unrelated anomaly, but my 1500W inverter gives an alarm whenever the house bank reaches 100% SOC AND the solar charge controller (SCC) is charging. If I disable the SCC, the alarm turns off, and if I turn the SCC back, the alarm activates again. I replaced the SCC with a completely different make/model AND replaced the inverter with a new one and it still occurs. This makes me think something is wrong with my system, but I've checked everything I can think of and haven't found anything. Maybe this datapoint is a clue for the BB1230 issue I'm having?
Any ideas on what the culprit might be? Anyone know where I can borrow an ammeter rated for 30 amps? Would appreciate any help!!
Thanks!
Warren
Oh, and here's a peek at the inside build :
Last edited: