ProNautic 1250C3 Charger making ticking noise

[ddare0351]

Good morning all,

I haven't been to my boat in a couple weeks and just went by the marina yesterday and noticed that the switch to the remote panel for my TruePower 2500 QS charger/inverter was tripped. I'm thinking when the hull cleaners came by to clean the hull, they turned the breaker off to the shore power and my batteries ran down. I flipped the switch back on and I started to hear a ticking noise coming from my ProNautic 1250 C3 battery charger that is continuing even after the batteries are charged.

This morning I turned off the shore power, turned the battery selector switch to off, and tested all of my batteries. All 7 are showing between 12.47 to 12.53 volts. So I think the batteries are OK. But I'm not sure why the charger is making the clicking noise. I've noticed that the inverter/charger has an LED illuminated indicating that it is charging even though the batteries should be fully charged. Also, the 1250 charger has an LED illuminated indicating the batteries are 'high temp'.

I'm not really sure what's going on, if anyone has any pointers I would love to hear them.

Thanks TFers,
Doug

 

[ranger58sb]

This morning I turned off the shore power, turned the battery selector switch to off, and tested all of my batteries. All 7 are showing between 12.47 to 12.53 volts. So I think the batteries are OK. But I'm not sure why the charger is making the clicking noise. I've noticed that the inverter/charger has an LED illuminated indicating that it is charging even though the batteries should be fully charged. Also, the 1250 charger has an LED illuminated indicating the batteries are 'high temp'.

Heat is a bad thing. Maybe useful to check actual battery temps (as with a IR tester or whatever) after they've been resting for a while... then maybe check again while charging to see if you can locate bad cells. If these are flooded batteries, check your water levels, etc.

When you test for voltage, I've read it's better to leave your charger off for about 4 or more hours first... then test. Fully charged 12V batteries in good shape should be at 12.7-12.8V... so 12.5 isn't all that great.

The charger LEDs may or may not be telling you what "charge" stage is happening. It's not uncommon for chargers to be "charging" but in float mode which is at relatively weak voltage depending on your settings.

FWIW, that charger allows you to pick the correct bulk/absorption and float voltages so you can match whatever your battery manufacturer recommends. The manual will have all that info.

Can't speak to the ticking noise, but your charger manual may address that too.

-Chris

 

[ddare0351]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. My batteries are AGM type Optima D31Ms, so low water is not an issue. I have tested the temp with an IR gun previously but I don't recall what the temp reading was (I'm thinking 88F but I could be mistaken).

I've read the manual for the battery charger and the inverter/charger. Both are set to the correct profile for my battery (charger 14.6 absorption & 13.7 float, charger/inverter 14.6 absorption, 13.7 float). The battery charger manual doesn't address any ticking or clicking type noise.

I'll try your suggestion of waiting 4 hours after turning off the charger to test the batteries and post my results in the next couple days. And will shoot them with an IR gun for kicks.

One of the things that is not clear to me is desulfation mode. The charger manual puts in parentheses (Flooded Lead Acid Only). So I assume I can't desulfate my AGM type batteries with it.

 

[ranger58sb]

The only AGM batteries that I know that support equalization (desulfating) are Lifeline.

-Chris

 

[HopCar]

Ticking? In the movies that always means a bomb is going to go off.

 

[Lou_tribal]

If it is ticking like this it is not your battery charger but your boat

L

 

[kchace]

Good morning all,

I haven't been to my boat in a couple weeks and just went by the marina yesterday and noticed that the switch to the remote panel for my TruePower 2500 QS charger/inverter was tripped. I'm thinking when the hull cleaners came by to clean the hull, they turned the breaker off to the shore power and my batteries ran down. I flipped the switch back on and I started to hear a ticking noise coming from my ProNautic 1250 C3 battery charger that is continuing even after the batteries are charged.

This morning I turned off the shore power, turned the battery selector switch to off, and tested all of my batteries. All 7 are showing between 12.47 to 12.53 volts. So I think the batteries are OK. But I'm not sure why the charger is making the clicking noise. I've noticed that the inverter/charger has an LED illuminated indicating that it is charging even though the batteries should be fully charged. Also, the 1250 charger has an LED illuminated indicating the batteries are 'high temp'.

I'm not really sure what's going on, if anyone has any pointers I would love to hear them.

Thanks TFers,
Doug

I can't comment on the ticking but - If your charger was on and you turned it off and checked the battery voltage soon after and got the readings above - then the batteries are NOT fully charged at all. A fully charged battery should be about 12.6-12.7V after resting for several hours with no load. A battery that is near or at full charge should read easily in the 13's for a while after the charger has been turned off due to "surface charge". (This is why one must wait several hours minimum after charging to get an accurate "state of charge" voltage)

I didn't see any talk of a battery temp monitor. Does your charger have a battery temp monitor attached to a battery? If the charger is detecting that the batteries are at high temp it may be trying to charge, then immediately stopping due to the high temp. This *may* be released to the clicking noise.

Ken

 

[High Wire]

Good morning all,

Also, the 1250 charger has an LED illuminated indicating the batteries are 'high temp'.

Doug

Are all batteries powered from either inverter/charger or Pronautic charger?


Is there a temp sensor attached to a battery from the pronautic? They usually look like an odd looking terminal with a phone cord lead.


Do you have a manual for the PN and does it have a troubleshooting section dealing with battery overtemp?

 

[ddare0351]

OK, thanks all for the responses. I went to the boat yesterday, shut off the shore power and switched battery selector to off, and waited a tad over 4 hours. Then I shot each battery with an IR temp gun and took readings with my voltmeter.

Starting stern and going to bow I got these readings:
76 degrees F - 12.58v
78 degrees F - 12.58v
95 degrees F - 11.58v
100 degrees F - 11.57v
87 degrees F - 11.57v
89 degrees F - 11.51v
99 degrees F - 11.51v

I do have a temp sensor connected to the battery connected closest to bow (reading 99 degrees). I do have a manual for the PN charger but it doesn't mention anything about resolving high temp readings or addressing a clicking sound.

I think it's fair to say at least 5 of my batteries are toast based on the 11.5ish volts.

Not looking forward to replacing them at $250/per, but it is what it is. The paperwork I got from PO says they were purchased 1/2009, but all the batteries have a 7/13 date sticker. I'm thinking they were replaced then and he forgot to update the paperwork, but I would need to check serial numbers to confirm.

I did sketch a wiring diagram, I'm going to try to clean it up a bit and then will post. As far as I can tell, my last two batteries go to battery selector switch 1 (starting batteries), the last five go to battery selector switch 2 (house batteries).

This does explain why I typically have had to run my generator whenever I anchor overnight before heading out in the morning (I have a separate battery to start the generator which is not any of the above batteries listed).

 

[ddare0351]

OK here's my battery wiring diagram as best as I could sketch it in MS Paint. This is a 1st draft, I need to get a helper so I can trace all the wires. Hope to update it with a more accurate representation in next couple days.

https://imgur.com/Of8qGYA

 

[ranger58sb]

What's your battery layout? Are the five batteries that measure around 11.5V all in one bank? Are the other two batteries separate -- e.g., one for each engine, if you have twins, or maybe one for engine, one for a thruster, or whatever?

When you shop for replacements, you might want to know that the current Optima versions don't have a great on-line rep. That's not first-hand info, just from reading...

There are pros/cons for each battery type (flooded LA, AGMs, etc.) so you might want to review stuff about that, match the type (and cost) to your actual needs, before proceeding...

Using normal lead-acid chemistry (no matter whether flooded or AGM), there's good to be said for pairs of deep cycle 6V golf cart batteries in series/parallel for a house bank. You might be able to fit six GC2s (~660 Ah) into the same space five dual-purpose G31s (~500 Ah) need.

Edit: Ah, I see you posted a diagram while I was typing. Hmmm... seems a bit odd, at first glance...

-Chris

 

[ddare0351]

Please disregard my previous wiring diagram. I had a few things mislabeled. I think this one makes more sense.

https://imgur.com/D8gOeKI

 

[High Wire]

Before you condem your House bank, just compltely downpower the PN charger and let the inverter/charger (I/C) charge the House bank overnight then do a similar voltage/temp check.
The inverter/charger should bring the House bank up normally.
Also report the charging amps and volts of the I/C.
The Starting bank looks good enough for now.
One more thing: the battery voltage readings need to be taken with each battery disconnected from the other batteries with some time to stabilize (at least an hour).
My guess is one House battery is bad dragging down the other 4.
EDIT** OOOPPS, didnt see that they are all Optimas.

 

[ddare0351]

One more thing I forgot to add, I noticed the case ground is disconnected from the PN charger. It has been disconnected the entire time I've owned the boat (2.5 years). I started to connect it but then I noticed it was super loose - like it's not fastened well at all to the PN unit.

I'll power down the PN charger and let the inverter charge, and take new readings in a day or two.

The inverter/charger is a TruePower 2500QS - not sure how I measure the charging amps/volts? Manual has a lot of specifications, under charger specifications (nominal charge) says 50a-12vdc.

 

[ranger58sb]

Please disregard my previous wiring diagram. I had a few things mislabeled. I think this one makes more sense.

https://imgur.com/D8gOeKI

FWIW, I'm still sorta surprised to see house bank and start bank (banks?) all halfway (ground wires) connected together...

-Chris

 

[ddare0351]

I turned off the breaker to my PN charger and left the inverter charger running overnight. Shut it off, waited four hours, and tested house bank batteries at 10.96v. I'm boggled, I figured to see the same voltage or higher, but definitely not less.

As far as the grounds being connected together - I took another look and that's definitely how they are wired. The PN charger wiring diagram shows each bank going to a buss bar. My wiring has the two banks wired together and then to a buss bar.

 

[High Wire]

I turned off the breaker to my PN charger and left the inverter charger running overnight. Shut it off, waited four hours, and tested house bank batteries at 10.96v. I'm boggled, I figured to see the same voltage or higher, but definitely not less.

As far as the grounds being connected together - I took another look and that's definitely how they are wired. The PN charger wiring diagram shows each bank going to a buss bar. My wiring has the two banks wired together and then to a buss bar.

Was the yellow LED on saying it is charging?
All batteries when separated read the same voltage?
Ok IC is appearently not charging either. Turn off IC then set up a volt meter to continuously monitor house bank voltage. Set the charger up for charge and watch the voltage. It should come up. If nothing than the IC is not charging at all.
The IC should have a reset switch. Check the manual how to reset a fault.