Generator Not Charging Batteries

[ethanbarnett]

While on the hook and using the inverter generously I have found that not even running the generator will charge the house bank. The inverter charger switch would be on inverter mode. Now while underway in inverter mode the light on the remote panel will switch from inverter green to charging green. How do I charge the House bank when the charger/generator is evidently not triggering the ACRs? Only solution I have found is to run the boat around using my alternator to charge the batteries. Why doesn't running the generator charge my House batteries when they are low, say sub 12.5 when on the hook? Solution?

Thanks.

 

[iggy]

It sounds like you brought the house batteries down to low. If the house batteries are below 12.3 volts for 10 sec. the ARC will open. So the ARC/VSR will not close now. Have you tried using the parallel battery switch to bypass the ARC/VSR? What is the voltage at the house batteries without the engine running and the parallel switch open?

You could have a bad battery connection. I would check and clean the terminals too. This would cause a under voltage condition.

Just to add, you really don't want to bring your batteries below 12.1 - 11.9 volts. Not knowing your batteries, that just below 50% discharge.

 

[BB marine]

Based on the factory wiring schematic the house battery gets charged directly from the charger. The ACR then link the engine and thruster batteries when the house battery reaches 13.0 volts. If your generator is on and providing 120 Volts to the panel the transfer relay should switch and the charger should now be charging the house battery and once it is at 13.0 volts the ACR should be also liked to engine and thruster providing a charge to all banks.

I assume you have the rotary switch to generator and have 120V to the panel and all 120 volt accessories are working.

When the transfer switch senses 120 V it should auto switch to charging mode. There is an inline fuse that should be checked but if your inverter is working the fuse would be ok. It is a fuse between the battery bank and the inverter.

Does the charger work properly on shore power?

The charger should charge the batteries with the generator on, rotary switch selected to generator , and power (120V) to complete AC breaker panel.

 

[ethanbarnett]

Thanks for the timely replies. The battery showed 12.35 before I engaged the genie. How do I check the battery sequence to confirm House charges first? I will also recheck connections. These batteries are only 18 months old. And yes I did parallel the batteries without the engine on and saw the combined voltage was just under 12.6. How does one know whether the ACRs are working properly? I've replaced so much in other systems maybe it's time for these.

Thanks guys.

 

[iggy]

If its the smaller Blus Sea's ARC there should be a small red LED in the upper left hand of the ARC. That shows that its on/closed. You can hear them close too, a "click" sound.
https://www.bluesea.com/products/7601/m ... 24V_DC_65A