Interesting Little Electrical Puzzle

[Glider]

Well, I decided this was a great excuse to install a 7622, so I ordered one.

Greg, thanks so much for your offer to loan me your 1315. I'm going to just install the 7622, and take it from there. If the issue goes away at that point, I'll conclude that either the 1315 was doing something very strange, or else it was an dash light anomaly. If it persists with the new ACR in place, then I'll hunt it with a vengeance until I solve it. Electrical issues of this nature are not to be tolerated.


Three cheers for my ScanGauge, BTW, which made it very simple to instantly check voltages and codes. (No codes thrown.)

I'm looking forward to having all of the functionality of the 7622. Can't wait for it to arrive.

I'll post with results after the Blue Sea is in place. It should be interesting to see where this one goes.

[MadScience]

I really don't understand why the battery light would have come on. Especially if the separator didn't connect. But, no matter what, you would have been at a healthy charge voltage, which is generally all the car wants to see.

I have a one way separator, but also solar. Anytime I'm driving around during the day I'm connected and feeding from both the alternator and the solar charger. The solar charger (as with your charger) should back off if it sees a healthy voltage, which it will with the alternator running. So that's really all there is to it.

I'm wondering if you don't have something else going on. Not sure what though....

[Glider]

Originally Posted by MadScience

I really don't understand why the battery light would have come on.

I'm wondering if you don't have something else going on. Not sure what though....

I agree. The data do not fit any analysis that I've come up with, or been offered, yet. The battery light came on only when the generator was running and the separator was wired into the system. With the separator out of the system and the generator running, or the separator in the system and the generator not running--no battery light.

The one thing I'm kicking myself for not trying was to have the generator running and the separator wired in, and unplug the converter. That would have been interesting.

In any event, the separator was warm enough that I am not going to wire it back in and play. I'm just not willing to risk a fire, regardless of how low the chances of such an occurrence are.

Bottom line: I do not have an explanation for what happened. My best guess is that it is more likely to be an issue with the dash light than anything else. Installing the 7622 will provide more data.

[Scalf77]

So the 1315 being warm/hot is somewhat normal, it is a continuous duty solenoid, meaning for it to be closed it take power to keep it that way. I would ask what converter you have, does your generator have a 12 volt output?

The separator is pretty much is a simple device, it should connect the two systems together or disconnect the two systems. Common failure modes are the relay gets stuck in the on position, and a build up on the internal contacts that causes a high resistance that for most purposes make it appear open, it will get much hotter in this case.

When connected, which it should have been, both house and chassis should have read the same voltage. You report 14.4 and 13.9 , not sure where you took these measurements, or if you are relying on different instruments for those values. If these were taken at the terminals of the 1315, I would suspect that you're having contact resistance issues, especially if you can hear the relay closing and opening as expected.

You can send your old 1315 to me and I would be happy to do some bench testing on it. I lost three PCM's in the first 6000 miles of owning my sportsmobile, and while it would not have happened without Surepower 1315 being in the circuit, it was not the reason why it happened. So I would be careful not to look at other culprits for the issue also.

In any event switching over to the Bluesea 7622 is pretty simple, you will have to change the lugs as the terminals on the Surepower are 5/16 and the Bluesea are 3/8.

-greg

[Glider]

Greg-
Converter is the common InteliPower 9000 with a Charge Wizard. The generator puts out 110v only; it powers the IP via a transfer switch, the 110v circuit breaker panel, and finally a 110v outlet. Original SMB installation.

Voltage measurements: chassis voltage was measured at the ScanGauge; house voltage was measured at a house 12v power outlet. If I had had my meter with me, it would have been instructive to have measured voltage at the terminals of the 1315; I didn't have the meter at the time, so that didn't happen.

I do not have any definitive information to tell me if the relay was open or closed at the time of the incident.

I'll be delighted to send you my 1315. It should be interesting to see what we can learn from your testing.

Thank you!

[MadScience]

I wouldn't be surprised of the separator was closed when you took those measurements.

This might be normal behavior:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/dash-...or-347613.html

Not seeing it with solar is no real indicator, since our 1-2 panels are never in the same order of magnitude as the shore power charger would be.

[Glider]

So, if I am reading those notes correctly:
1. The generator provides voltage to the system.
2. The regulator sees the voltage, and shuts down the alternator.
3. The dash light reflects what the alternator is putting out, which is nothing, so it comes on.

In other words, the dash light does not reflect system voltage, it reflects alternator output voltage.

That explanation fits the data. The only thing that doesn't fit is the half volt difference between the chassis voltage and the house voltage. However, I think that could easily be misleading data. I read the chassis voltage on my ScanGauge, then got out of the driver's seat and read house voltage at a 12v outlet with a plug-in gauge. Between the two different measurement instruments and the time difference, the half volt could very well be noise, not significant data.

[Scalf77]

Originally Posted by MadScience

I wouldn't be surprised of the separator was closed when you took those measurements.

This might be normal behavior:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/dash-...or-347613.html

Not seeing it with solar is no real indicator, since our 1-2 panels are never in the same order of magnitude as the shore power charger would be.

I agree the difference in readings could be chalked up difference in measuring devices and locations. The IntelliPower 9000, even with the charge wizard is anything but a smart charger. I would target it as the main culprit.

Looking at the troubleshooting guide for a 9100 series manual

Problem Intermittent or no Output on Generator, works on Shore Power
Possible Causes
Unit has shutdown due to over voltage. Some generators exhibit excessive
voltage spikes on the AC power output, this may cause the over voltage
protection to shut the unit down
Action
Add another load to the generator, this may reduce the “spikes” to an acceptable level. Some generators exhibit excessive voltage spikes on the AC power output, this may cause the over voltage protection to shut the unit down. Contact generator manufacturer for possible defect in the
generator.

-greg

[Glider]

Originally Posted by Scalf77

The IntelliPower 9000, even with the charge wizard is anything but a smart charger. I would target it as the main culprit.

-greg

Good thing I just finished making room for a new inverter/charger. Looks like there might be one in my future.

Funny thing is that I don't even want the generator. It came with the van, so I am taking care of it until I am ready to install solar. The generator is in great shape, so it is important to me to maintain it well until I am ready to sell it. So far, the only time I have run it is to exercise it.

[86Scotty]

You'll like the Blue Sea, and I knew you would like the Scangauge.

Box up that generator and send it my way when you're done with it.