[ron skeen]

Your Heart is the charger also

[pairodice]

I need help choosing an inverter to replace our Freedom 25. My battery bank is dead again after the charger found a dead battery (have to figure out which is dead) last night and stopped charging the rest.
Woke up to a very cold coach - luckily the portable 120v heater works pretty well and my wife has an electric blanket she is carrying around with her.
If someone could call me I am working remote today and would love some help! My number is 360-594-2814.

I have sent the following to Outback Sales and will do the same for Magnum:
Hi I have a 1998 45 foot Newell Motorcoach and our Freedom 25 inverter/charger (2500 watt) is dying and no longer charging our batteries correctly. I would like to know everything I would need to replace this unit along with the shunts, connections, wiring, and remote panel - I would also like auto Generator start options please. I do like the idea of using an iPad/computer to remotely control/manage the unit also so please let me know if your units have that capability.
Please give me a call at 360-594-2814 asap to discuss. I am on East Coast time and await your call.
Thank you,
Adrian Abshire

[Richard]

First, do some diagnostics to ensure that the inverter charger is the problem.

What are the voltages on the batteries with the charger turned off? and with the charger turned on? I cannot help you without those readings.

What does the charger panel show as output when the charger is enabled? I am curious if it shows any amps going out of the charger.

It would be a good investment of time to study the manual to ensure you know how the unit is supposed to function.

I appreciate the urgency because the Frau is cold, but you may be throwing money at situation that won't fix it because something else is amiss.

Stop merging the batteries while parked. Your Aquahot is using 12V power that is not going through the inverter. You have NO protection against the AH completely killing your batteries. I would expect to replace both the house and the chassis batteries after drawing them to low voltages twice.

I have the Magnum 2812, tons of adjustability, and capability to add auto gen start, solar. Installing a new inverter in place of the Heart is not a trivial task.

[pairodice]

Thanks Richard,
I will send the battery results asap.
I will disconnect all the batteries as they are currently and test each individually.
I’m trying to get the batteries charged back up using a standalone charger today while monitoring them - it does NOT have an AGM mode like Toms charger had and I will be returning it to get one that does for the future - I would like to find a smaller version that works well.
What should I use to load test the batteries? I was going to get a load tester from HF but not sure if they are reliable. I don’t mind spending $ on a load tester but don’t want to waste it if my volt meter can basically tell me the same thing.

[pairodice]

Battery tests - all batteries completely disconnected from each other and the coach
House bank 1 (4 batts center of coach): volts
1 upper right na
2 upper left na
3 lower left 13.53
4 lower right 13.53

House bank 2 (2 batts rear of coach): volts
3 upper 10.07
4 lower 10.07

Chassis batts: volts
1 left 10.86
2 right 10.85

[pairodice]

Richard by ‘charger’ do you mean the Heart inverter/charger or the HF charger?

[pairodice]

Pictures of how the two banks of house batteries are wired currently.
I only have ONE battery from each house bank connected. Chassis/Engine batteries are disconnected via switch in engine bay.
Currently the inverter panel (link 2000) shows the following:
With charge button ON:
Bank 1: e10 error and 9.5volts -5.5 amps (it showed a minus on the screen)
Bank 2 e13 error and .1 volts .0 amps

With Charge button OFF:
Bank 1: e13 error and 9.4 volts
Bank 2: e13 error and .1 volts

[bikestuff]

Are the disconnect switches turned off?

[Chester Stone]

I may be wrong, but I recall that the inverter should be turned OFF because the remote control panel turns it on. Your photo shows the switch ON. I would check your inverter manual to determine if I am correct. On my 2001, the house battery cables going to the inverter bypassed the battery disconnect switch.

[pairodice]

Bill, I turn the house disconnect switches OFF between tests (so as to not run the batteries down) but have them ON for each test.
notice there are TWO sets of battery disconnects in the bay with 4 batteries - one for the set of four batteries and then one for the other two house batteries in a rearward bay nearer the engine.
The engine/chassis batteries disconnect switch is OFF since I’m not testing it yet.