Blue Sea ACR Troubleshooting

[longwool]

Hey smart folks, having some trouble and would love some advice.

So I added the blue sea ACR, the 7622 specifically, and wired the main power input to come from the positive terminal of the frame rail battery. I have the 7.3 power stroke, so in theory, this terminal should be in parallel with the hood battery and thus connected to the alternator, right?

The problem I am having is that the ACR isn’t receiving enough power to work when set to AUTO. I can set it to ON, but even then I’m barely getting any charge...I’m talking an amp or less.

According to the hood battery voltage the alternator is definitely working fine, looks to jump from ~12.6v when off to ~15v when the van is running. I plan on checking the frame rail battery next, but was wondering if I was missing anything?

Annoyingly enough I’m currently on the road and will probably have to sort this accordingly so if anyone is in LA or knows a smart and preferably cheap van electrician down here let me know

[arctictraveller]

Have you checked the voltage at the frame battery with the engine running? If there is much corrosion on the battery terminals or the cable ends, you could be seeing a voltage drop there. The voltage at the under hood battery, and at the battery input terminal at the ACR shouldnt be more than a few tenth's of a volt less (due to resistance loss in the cable and the connections). If your seeing a drop of a volt or two, it's probably a bad / corroded connection or undersized wire. https://www.bluesea.com/support/refe...e_Sizing_Chart.

http://assets.bluesea.com/files/reso...ence/20010.pdf

If it's all good, a call to Blueseas would be my next move, they have great customer service. 800.222.7617

[longwool]

Hoping to check that today. I was thinking similarly but definitely wanted the reassurance. I’ll also double check my wire size from the battery to the ACR, I was wiring all kinds of things so hopefully I didn’t accidentally down size it.

[Scalf77]

First the batteries connect to terminal A & terminal B, these are interchangeable. Next you need to connect the ground cable, you should now have a working ACR, in auto-mode. It is always best to measure the voltages at the terminals of the ACR, as these are the voltages that it will be determining it's connect and disconnect state.

If you installed the SPDT Remote Control Contura Switch - ON-OFF-ON #2146 then you should have a LED indication of some possible issue, there are blink codes. It could be as simple as the the house battery is to low and you have an under-voltage lockout. The control line from the switch does not provide power to the ACR, it provides a reference level 12 volt - On, Float - Auto, Ground - Off

-greg

[longwool]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

Have you checked the voltage at the frame battery with the engine running? If there is much corrosion on the battery terminals or the cable ends, you could be seeing a voltage drop there. The voltage at the under hood battery, and at the battery input terminal at the ACR shouldnt be more than a few tenth's of a volt less (due to resistance loss in the cable and the connections). If your seeing a drop of a volt or two, it's probably a bad / corroded connection or undersized wire. https://www.bluesea.com/support/refe...e_Sizing_Chart.

http://assets.bluesea.com/files/reso...ence/20010.pdf

If it's all good, a call to Blueseas would be my next move, they have great customer service. 800.222.7617

Alright so here is what I've checked with the engine running:

- Hood Battery Voltage: ~15-16v with engine running
- Frame Rail Battery Voltage: ~13.3v with engine running
- Checked the terminal connections on both positive terminals and they both look good, not corroded (the batteries are newish too).
- Visual check of the positive wire running from battery to battery and it looks good.


I assume that both batteries should read the same voltage with the van running. So I have no idea where the power loss is between the two...any thoughts?

And as for solutions I'm thinking I could connect the ACR straight to the main battery, the disadvantage here is running more wire than I hoped and some power loss over the length. Otherwise I guess I could try to find and swap the positive harness that runs from battery to battery? Not positive this will fix the problem, and it seems like more work, so I'm leaning towards option A.

[Scalf77]

You need to address the main problem first, and that is the difference between the two starting batteries. I expect you have a loose, corroded or cracked connection. See this thread http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...tml#post255256


I would suspect that at the ACR, the voltage is not hitting the connect voltage threshold.


-greg

[arctictraveller]

You need to make sure you have a solid ground for whatever meter your using to measure the voltage. If your using the frame, make sure the ground straps are making good contact too. For the most accurate measurement, using a long enough ground wire to test both batteries without disconnecting the wire will remove any differences in ground connection resistance and voltage readings. Then measure voltage at both ends of the cable, it should be close to identical with the battery disconnected. With the battery connected, it's expected that the voltage will drop some due the load the battery presents as it is charging. The more discharged it is, the more the voltage will drop due to resistance in the battery, the connections and the wire. If the wire is sized properly to handle the load, the voltage drop should be minimal since the alternator output increases to meet demand. It's also possible your second battery is questionable, or highly discharged causing the voltage to drop. Try charging it with an outboard charger and once it's fully charged, see if the separator will close then.