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Weird battery/solar gotcha FYI…
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Paulbeard
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Joined: July 10, 2015
Posts: 2604
Location: Seattle
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:52 pm    Post subject: Weird battery/solar gotcha FYI… Reply with quote

Now that the sun is high and strong enough to be useful, I thought I would turn on the 12V fridge and see if it could be maintained with this degraded battery. It's up to a 13V charge after a couple of weeks of strengthening sun but I know it has been run down.

The fridge didn't come on. The light worked but no compressor. Talked with Karl at WestyVentures and he suggested I check the power as well as look at my grounds. The fridge was getting 16V. I guess it combines battery and solar inflow for the load.

Some time ago, I decided to move the load connection from the battery to the charge controller's load terminal. That way, the battery would be protected from being run down below 10.5V. I reconnected the load cable to the battery+ and the fridge fired right up.

I know the TF49 can use 12/24V and I guess 16V was just not something it could deal with. When I rewired it just now, the load circuit was down to 14V but still no fridge. The charge controller is supposed to cut off at 15V as well.

Maybe I do need a different controller after all. I liked that Victron unit but I didn't think I needed it. I might have been wrong on that.
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Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

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