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Old 10-25-2021, 01:38 PM   #1
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Battery Not Charging

Good afternoon! I'm new to this forum. Bought a 2007 Ford E350 Van from a guy who had Sportsmobile Fresno convert it in 2015. This spring I took it to Fresno and they replaced the AGM battery and added solar, along with some other repairs. Recently, I let the house battery discharge due to lack of use. I started the van and drove it to town and back (30-minutes each way), but it will not charge the house battery; neither will the solar. So I tried the shore power (110VAC); when I connect it, the inverter/charger controller indicates a "fault" with the "chg" light flashing green. The controller indicates battery voltage is 4.7V; the voltmeter on a power port indicates 8.1V. When shore power is connected, all the 110VAC outlets on the van are unpowered, indicating perhaps a fuse or circuit breaker has blown, but I have checked all breakers/fuses that I can find and they are all good.

Any suggestions?
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Old 10-25-2021, 05:38 PM   #2
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Good place to start is check the actual voltage on the house battery.



Are your 110 outlets powered by an inverter? Or from the shore power? Most likely a breaker or a GFI has popped if they are shore powered. If there is an inverter, might be some kind of low voltage protect.



Just some guesses to get you started.
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Old 10-25-2021, 05:50 PM   #3
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Thanks Flux. The 110VAC outlets are shore powered when it is available, otherwise only if I turn on the inverter. I checked the GFCI outlets, but cannot reset them because there is no power available. So, I agree a breaker may have popped, but cannot find one. Thanks again!
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Old 10-25-2021, 06:23 PM   #4
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Someone here may correct me, but I believe some inverter/chargers have a rest button (or have to be manually rest) if the voltage from the batteries dips below a specific threshold. I had read somewhere when the green light flashes, its because the unit went into a "protection" mode.
Lot of people on this Forum much more adept with Electrical issues than I am, just thought i'd throw this out there in the event its relevant.
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Old 10-25-2021, 06:51 PM   #5
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"Dead Battery Charge" is an indication that the battery voltage is below 9.0 volts. It will reset automatically if you remove AC power or if the voltage goes above 12.6 volts.

Unfortunately these chargers don't like to charge a "dead" battery. It is also possible (most likely) that the separator will not charge via the alternator because of a low voltage lock out. Not sure what solar charger you have, but it to could have a low voltage lock out.

You could try a jump boost charger and see if it could get your voltage high enough to accept a charge ( I would probably try alternator first).

You could also try to jump across the the ACR/separator to put the low battery in parallel with the starter. (To bring voltage up)

Drop battery and charge with a charger that can handle a very low battery.


There is a 30 amp input breaker on the side of the magnum inverter. I would expect that it is working because the charger appears to work enough to get the error. Could be transfer relays are stuck off because of low battery. I would take care of the low battery first.

-greg
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Old 10-26-2021, 06:34 AM   #6
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This is the info from the Magnum ME-RC manual regarding the fault indicator.
Figure 5-17, Dead Battery Charge Fault
• Dead Battery Charge – This fault has detected a very discharged battery bank or a battery bank that is disconnected from the inverter. The unit is attempting to enter the charge mode, but has detected less than 9 volts (12-volt models), 18 volts (for 24-volt models) or 36 volts (for 48-volt models) on the battery bank. This fault will continue until current is able to flow into the battery from the battery charger. Once this happens, the fault will automatically restart.

Remedy: Check the DC voltage on the inverter’s DC terminals and ensure it is the same as the battery bank, these two voltages should be very close (<0.5 VDC difference). If not, check to ensure all con- nections are tight and the fuse/circuit breaker between the inverter and battery bank is good.
This fault clears when the AC input is removed or when greater than 9 volts (12-volt models), 18 volts (for 24-volt models) or 36 volts (for 48-volt models) is detected by the inverter when charging.

I agree with @Scalf77 assessment. See if the battery will take a charge from a battery charger.
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Old 10-26-2021, 09:46 AM   #7
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The above problem with a battery too low, that charging is difficult is a common problem. This is where having the capability of using the manual override of the ACR.

The BlueSea 7622 has the yellow manual override switch on top. This would allow you to combine the start and house batteries together so that hopefully you could bring the voltage level up high enough so that shore charger could work.

-greg
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Old 10-26-2021, 04:09 PM   #8
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Thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately, my ACR is the BlueSea 7620, so no manual override. But, I figured out how to charge the battery without "dropping" it, so currently charging it up using an external charger. I'll let you know how it worked.

Thanks again!
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Old 10-31-2021, 01:01 PM   #9
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Do you have an update?

I have a Magnum Energy MS2000 so I am interested in this problem.

Side note:

The MS2000 will pass power through the transfer switch (ATS) even when the batteries are disconnected. That is the condition of mine right now, as I'm in the middle of a lithium (LiPo) battery installation. No 12Vdc input to the MS2000 but shore power is being passed through.

In our house we have two (2) older Trace inverters ("stacked" for 120/240V) and when they lose their 24Vdc battery input the ATS contacts open and we lose all utility power to the "critical loads" panel.

I mention the above because it is possible that the ATS in your ME inverter/charger works like the ones in the Trace inverters: No DC power = ATS contacts open.

I hope you got the problem solved. If not, you might call Magnum. I've spoken with them a couple times. The tech was not exactly "Mr. Personality" (kind of gruff) but he was helpful.
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Old 11-01-2021, 09:28 AM   #10
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Thanks to everyone for your replies and suggestions. I did manage to charge the house AGM battery using an external charger. Once it was charged, the inverter/charger once again was working correctly (charging the battery using "shore" AC power and inverting DC to AC if needed.). It also appears that the other two sources of DC power (alternator and solar) are also now working correctly.

Thanks for your help solving this problem!

- Collin
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