Blue Sea SI-ACR

[mestrezat]

Originally Posted by Wotname

And by checking, this means removing the connector, cleaning and refitting rather than looking and saying "yep, looks good and it's nice and tight".



FWIW, one of the best spray cleaners is DeOxit (5%). Expensive but but you only need the lightest spray rather than "hosing it on".

Somehow, I doubt I'd find it here in Bonaire.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

Somehow, I doubt I'd find it here in Bonaire.

Ah well, maybe next time you are back in the big smoke...

At a pinch, you can use petrol (gasoline) and I'm sure others have their favourites.

[Wainui]

Sometimes my ACR does not connect immediately but can take a few minutes. Not sure why. Similar problem.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Wainui

Sometimes my ACR does not connect immediately but can take a few minutes. Not sure why. Similar problem.

It should not connect immediately. If it is wired correctly, with all charging going to the house batteries, it can take a few minutes for the charge source to bring the bank to "combine" level and then there is a delay on top of that..

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Wainui

Sometimes my ACR does not connect immediately but can take a few minutes. Not sure why. Similar problem.

RTFM and read up on how batteries get charged.

[Wainui]

Maine Sail always makes sense!
Thanks

[mestrezat]

Here's the latest on what's been happening. I took all the connections apart and cleaned and reattached finding some corrosion here and there but nothing bad. Since then, were we are requires us to motor off shore to dump our black water tanks. Three times we have done so running the engine 3-4 hours at a time with no problems. The volt meter showed everything was charging just fine(start and house banks). Yesterday, we moved from Bonaire to Curacao and had to motor the 6+ hours or so. When we got into Curacao, we found the start bank had gotten over charged with battery acid spewing from the tops of the batteries and steam. It had been bad enough that it had fogged up the windows in a cabinet above the bank and the wooden floorboards were hot to the touch. I opened everything up and dried off everything. Battery charge still seems to be in the 12.5 range but I haven't checked it with my volt meter since it cooled off.
I disconnected the start batteries from the ACR and ran my generator late last night and it charged up the house batteries fine. They had shown none of the over charging that the start batteries did.
Now I'm at a total loss as to what the heck is happening. I would have thought the ACR would have kept it from doing what it did.
Need some help to figure this out.

[john61ct]

An ACR is just an automated On-Off "voltage following" switch, nothing to do with overcharging in the sense of making Voltage go too high, check that at the charge source, here the Alt VR.

If that is a 3-stage, it won't drop to Float V until **all** the connected banks are full.

To have a separate charge profile on each bank takes a DCDC charger.

Ideally Alt output is wired directly to House, then a lower-amp DCDC is sufficient to keep Starter topped up.

But I would check the Starter batt for replacement, a robust healthy FLA designed to handle a relatively high voltage.

And get the VR voltage tuned for the lower end of what the House bank is looking for, if AGM should be lower anyway.

The voltage sense from the VR should be on House, along with the Alt output, with fat enough wiring to minimize voltage drops, check output V on both banks, should be very close to each other.

[mestrezat]

I've disconnected the ACR from my system as I had no problems before I had it wired in. Generator is now just charging the "house" bank only. I have an alternator for the house bank(6six volt Trojan t-105) and one for the start bank(2 twelve volt batteries). The house alternator goes to an "Incharge Heart Interface" regulator. Everything runs through a Xantrex Link 2000 for turning on the "Heart Freedom 20"charger/inverter. With my Yamaha generator running, I turn on the charge with the Link 2000. The generator struggles for a few seconds as the draw is put on it and then it charges just fine. I turn it off after a couple of hours when the generator starts pulsing. In the past, I've run the engine for another 30 minutes of so to really slam in the extra volts the alternator puts out. At this point, I'm good for the next 24 hours.
I plan on checking both alternators tomorrow to see their voltage output and go from there. I've got three back ups(can never have to many spare parts when cruising)so if something is wrong, I can swap one out while the original is fixed.
Any suggestions as to my setup and plans would be appreciated. I know just enough to get myself in trouble.

[DeepFrz]

Your start batteries are toast.

[Scott Berg]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

It should not connect immediately. If it is wired correctly, with all charging going to the house batteries, it can take a few minutes for the charge source to bring the bank to "combine" level and then there is a delay on top of that..

One possibility; is it perhaps wired backwards? Note that often on Blue Sea ACRs Contact B is on the left and A on the right... I've seen folks assume A is on the Right and reverse them!

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

One possibility; is it perhaps wired backwards? Note that often on Blue Sea ACRs Contact B is on the left and A on the right... I've seen folks assume A is on the Right and reverse them!

The current ACR's are all dual sensing. The original model that offered single or dual sense was discontinued approx 10+/- years ago..

Sounds to me like he probably had a bad cell in the start batt...

[CharlieJ]

Concur with Maine Sail #27. Starting battery experienced a bad cell or was low on water. The Blue Sea ACR p/n 7610 is extremely reliable; I have installed them on long-line commercial fishing boats and if they can't kill a piece of equipment, nobody can!

IMHO, the Blue Sea ACR is FAR superior to any of the very old technology Xantrex equipment you mentioned to accomplish the task.

I turn it off after a couple of hours when the generator starts pulsing.

Can you explain more about the generator "pulsing"?

[Scott Berg]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

The current ACR's are all dual sensing. The original model that offered single or dual sense was discontinued approx 10+/- years ago..



Sounds to me like he probably had a bad cell in the start batt...

True, but I see a lot of old ones still in eBay and on boats...