Xantrex Does Not Recognize Shorepower

[newbiesailor]

het all, help.....please...
on the boat is a windgen,genset and shorepower.have a xantrex link 2000 charger/inverter controller. works fine with genset, alternator, windgen, that charges my batteries. when i connect to shorepower it does not recognize the power and does not charge my batteries. why not? did reset, checked cables, terminals, connections.....
any ideas?

[djmarchand]

Newbie:

Your question is rather confusing. Which Xantrex inverter charger do you have. If it is controlled by a Link 2000, then it is probably one of the Freedom types. Right?

When your genset is running, then all of the outlets are powered right and batteries are charging, right? When you plug into shorepower, how do you switch from genset power to shorepower- a transfer switch I presume? When you switch to shore power then these outlets are powered, right?

Is this a new problem or has it always been this way. If it has always been this way, then it is probably an AC wiring problem where the shorepower is not being applied to the inveter/charger's AC input. Measure the AC voltage at the inverter/chargers AC input while hooked to shorepower and the genset transfer switch is set to shorepower. If no voltage then it definitely is an original wiring problem.

David

[Jentine]

What is the voltage of the shorepower? Some chargers don't like voltage over 120. Last year we were in the Bahamas and the shorepower voltage was 135v and the charger wouldn't operate.

[dohenyboy]

first thing to check is your battery voltage
if its really low, the "smart" battery chargers will not charge the batteries. You will have to get them charged up over 12v or so (not sure where the cut off is) by some other means first.
second thing to do it buy Calder's boatowners mechanical and electrical manual. look at pages 151 et seq.

if your AC outlets work while you are on shorepower, then yes you have to narrow it down to the wiring to the inverter/charger or something internal to it. The Xantrex inverter chargers such as the Freedom use very old technology and they tend to go bad
Some shore power poles will trip if there is minor current leakage, eg, such as can be caused by improper grounding on your boat.
BE CAREFUL AC POWER IS DANGEROUS
So, if your AC outlets do not work either
procedure is
first verify that you have power at the pole with your AC setting on the multitester
the AC setting on the tester will either say AC volts or it will have V with two lines next to it, with the one on top being squiggly. (test it on your home outlet first)
then test the boat end of the shorepower cord.
if you have 120 volts between two set of the holes (if you have 4 holes on the cord, one will be 240 volts between them) you are getting power to the boat

then there is a main switch inside the boat that lets in the shorepower. make sure it is ON-it looks like a circuit breaker switch but with two switches tied together)
the other poster referred to the rotary switch where you change your AC input from genset to shorepower. you are going to have three sets of wires (three wires, white black and green if you have a 30 amp power cord, and a fourth, red wire if you have 240 v /50 amp power cord) hooked up to the rotary switch.
one set of wires to the switch goes to the panel
one to shorepower (thru that switch you just checked was ON) and one to the genset. it can be confusing which is which.
If you turn the switch to 'genset" and the genset is off, but shorepower is connected, you will have only set of one wires with power on the rotary switch. that will be your shore power line. take a marker and mark it shorepower.
If the genset is off, and your shorepower cord has power coming to it at the end you plug it in to the boat (never plug in while power is on) then you should have power coming to the rotary switch. (if you do not have power to the switch, there is a problem between your cord and the rotary switch
now take the multitester and check between the "shorepower" black and the green wires where they attach to the switch. you should have 120 v more or less.
likewise between the white and black, 120 v more or less
between the white and green, less than 5 volts
If you have 4 wires, you should get the same results, but red-black you get 240, red-green about 120v
if there is any variance from this, you have a problem with your shorepower circuit

if the previous step checks out okay, turn the switch to shorepower, you should get AC reading off of TWO sets of wires.
if you do so, then your rotary switch is good.
and your problem has to do with the wiring to your inverter charger or its internal wiring.