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Old 06-17-2021, 10:36 AM   #1
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SMB Sprinter house batteries do not charge on shore or solar power

I have a 2019 SportsMobile Sprinter van that's equipped with a Magnum ME-RC interter control & a Blue Sky Energy IPN ProRemote solar charging control. I keep my van pulled in 100% of the time into 30 amp shore power at my residence when it's not in use. It was purchased directly from SMB Texas in Austin. My electrical issues are so bad that the van is essentially unusable.....

The issue is this: the house batteries will not charge in ANY of the following scenarios: 1) when plugged into 30 amp shore power; 2) when solar panels are in full sun (i.e. the full sun never charges the house batteries); AND 3) after the vehicle has been running--even if it's been running for hours.

I have done multiple inverter resets using the small switch that SMB Texas placed at the bottom of the driver's seat. I have also pulled the fuses in the fuse panel that are related to the inverter etc--the fuses are all good. I use a 30 amp shore power hookup with a light that indicates that power is going into the van so I know that my shore power connection is providing power into the van. And I have checked the Magnum inverter control panel: it does have the shore power set at 30 amp (I know that a mismatch on that setting could cause issues providing charge to the house batteries).

I have attempted to read both user manuals for the Blue Sky Energy & Magnum ME-RC control unit plus I've done Internet searches & combed through the SMB binder that was provided to me at van pickup. Nothing is helpful and to be very the user manuals are confusing--what I really want is something simple & easy to understand like the control panel on my Goal Zero devices (!!!).

What I am looking for is some type of a check list to review settings on the Magnum ME-RC inverter controler and the Blue Sky Energy IPN ProRemote. My gut is that there is some setting that may have changed on either of these that is causing the van to no longer charge--it charged normally in the first couple of months of usage but I've been dealing with these electrical issues for several months & the van is essentially unusable.

Any insight or info on areas to check would be super helpful & very much appreciated. Has anyone else run into this issue? (I searched through a lot of posts & reviewed most of the electrical 'sticky' posts and I did not find anything that looked like my issue).

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Old 06-17-2021, 01:14 PM   #2
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So the first thing I would ask is what is the voltage of batteries now. It is not unusual to not be able to charge at completely discharged battery, although I would expect at least one of the three paths you articulated to work.

This would lead me to think possibly a main fuse, generally inverter manufactures like a class T fuse, but some times ANL fuse is used also. Both of these can the large currents of a inverter. In any event it is always difficult to trouble shoot this stuff over the internet, but if your willing to take some pictures and have a voltage meter and take some measurements, we could certainly try to come up with a plan.

I am not aware of any external reset switch for the magnum inverter other than what is on the unit, so I am not sure what you are talking about there. Of course I would say the fact that none of the other devices can charge it, that is a moot point at this moment. Walking you through the setup procedure for magnum could be done, but I don't expect that to be the issue at the moment.

So, what voltage are the batteries at? Can you read that on magnum remote?
Do any 12 volt devices work (lights, fridge)? And I would kindly ask you to take pictures of the electrical area and we can go from there.

If you want feel free to contact me with a PM if you would like.

-greg
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Old 08-19-2021, 06:42 PM   #3
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I think I am having the same issue on our SMB North build. We have had severe weather during the week, and did not have the van plugged into shore power; today when I checked the voltage meter was flashing. I hooked it up to shore power, and of course we had sunny skies today. But, it does not seem to take a charge.
was this issue resolved?


Mike
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Old 08-23-2021, 06:27 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joyeuse View Post
I have a 2019 SportsMobile Sprinter van that's equipped with a Magnum ME-RC interter control & a Blue Sky Energy IPN ProRemote solar charging control. I keep my van pulled in 100% of the time into 30 amp shore power at my residence when it's not in use. It was purchased directly from SMB Texas in Austin. My electrical issues are so bad that the van is essentially unusable.....

The issue is this: the house batteries will not charge in ANY of the following scenarios: 1) when plugged into 30 amp shore power; 2) when solar panels are in full sun (i.e. the full sun never charges the house batteries); AND 3) after the vehicle has been running--even if it's been running for hours.

I have done multiple inverter resets using the small switch that SMB Texas placed at the bottom of the driver's seat. I have also pulled the fuses in the fuse panel that are related to the inverter etc--the fuses are all good. I use a 30 amp shore power hookup with a light that indicates that power is going into the van so I know that my shore power connection is providing power into the van. And I have checked the Magnum inverter control panel: it does have the shore power set at 30 amp (I know that a mismatch on that setting could cause issues providing charge to the house batteries).

I have attempted to read both user manuals for the Blue Sky Energy & Magnum ME-RC control unit plus I've done Internet searches & combed through the SMB binder that was provided to me at van pickup. Nothing is helpful and to be very the user manuals are confusing--what I really want is something simple & easy to understand like the control panel on my Goal Zero devices (!!!).

What I am looking for is some type of a check list to review settings on the Magnum ME-RC inverter controler and the Blue Sky Energy IPN ProRemote. My gut is that there is some setting that may have changed on either of these that is causing the van to no longer charge--it charged normally in the first couple of months of usage but I've been dealing with these electrical issues for several months & the van is essentially unusable.

Any insight or info on areas to check would be super helpful & very much appreciated. Has anyone else run into this issue? (I searched through a lot of posts & reviewed most of the electrical 'sticky' posts and I did not find anything that looked like my issue).

We had something similar happen to us while parked in our driveway. We had our refrigerator running, and in a couple of days our house battery was run down. After being on shore power for several hours there was little change. We had the inverter on, but not the 30A breaker. We switched that on, and for good measure the 110 breaker. We noticed the light on the GFI had not come on, so we reset that. Then we started charging away. But solar panels were not charging. We also have that little silver push button on the base of the drivers seat, with no idea what it was for. I decided to go ahead and push it, and now the solar started charging.
The 3 days prior to this we have been having some thunder storms, with lightning close by; maybe some safeties were tripped?

We just picked up our 2020 4x4 MB Sprinter 2500 from SMB North, so we are still learning.


Mike
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Old 08-23-2021, 08:26 PM   #5
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Does your van have a single (original) alternator or is it equipped with dual alternators?

Scalf suggested a main fuse. If you are running a single alternator that charges both engine and house batteries have you checked the fuse that SMB connected to the MB electrical system with? It is located on the bus bar that is attached to the engine battery under the front driver's side floorboard. If this fuse is blown it will prevent the alternator from charging the house batteries, but it should not affect charging with shore power or solar. Just another thing to check...

Here is what it is and where it is, it is connected to the #4 terminal:



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Old 08-23-2021, 08:40 PM   #6
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Scalf also mentioned the class T fuse, here is a picture of it mounted next to the Magnum inverter/charger in my Sprinter. It is under the plastic cover on the left side.

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Old 08-23-2021, 10:14 PM   #7
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What type of house batteries do you have? I have LiFePO4 batteries. If the batteries go flat and lock out, they won’t charge. Our van has a “moment” fuse and a reset button in case this inability to charge happens after the Li batteries lock out. Peter Del Toro at Sportsmobile West => SMB West => now Field Van explained this to me. Here’s a picture of the fuse. The reset button is near our Magnum 2800 inverter. I hope this is helpful.
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