What's happening is the when I'm hooked up to city power, the interior lights will come on bright. Than after a while they will slowly dim to nothing.
When I listen to the Uni-volt it sounds as though something 'clicks' and than the lights come back on. As for the battery, I replaced it about 2 months ago and during a recent camping trip we used our generator.
It seems that the uni-volt will keep the lights on and operate everything when I take the battery out of the circuit, but once I put it back in we have the same problem. Could it be a bad battery already?
What's happening is the when I'm hooked up to city power, the interior lights will come on bright. Than after a while they will slowly dim to nothing.
When I listen to the Uni-volt it sounds as though something 'clicks' and than the lights come back on. As for the battery, I replaced it about 2 months ago and during a recent camping trip we used our generator.
It seems that the uni-volt will keep the lights on and operate everything when I take the battery out of the circuit, but once I put it back in we have the same problem. Could it be a bad battery already?
Mitch
I've been searching these threads for someone who described the issue I'm having with the electrical system in my 1970 Caravel. My lights dim and surge when I am hooked up to shore power and the battery is connected. I also hear the clicking in the univolt that you describe. If the battery is disconnected the power is full and consistent. If I am running solely on the battery, power is consistent as well.
What was the solution to your problem? I was prepared to pull out the univolt and take it to someone who said it was a bad converter, but I thought I would try the forum first. Any insight?
I need to have my '69 Ambassador plugged in full time. Has anyone figured out how to safely charge the battery while leaving the Univolt constantly plugged in?
Well, back to the original question. If you choose not to go with the Intellipower/Charge Wizard, another option would be to use a timer between shore power and your AS. Adapt your 30 amp AS cord to 20 amp (3 prong) and plug in the timer. Mine is set to let current through for one hour a day. I leave the timer and AS cord in the bumper storage and run an extension to power. You'll have to check your battery with a meter for a few days to determine how much daily charge your battery will need.
I can vouch for the 1 amp and 4 amp BatteryMinders. You can keep them attached year round without problems. My 2 Delco Voyager batteries were in excellent condition 4 1/2 years after I bought them when I sold my trailer. When away from home and boondocking, I used a 5 watt PulseTech Solargizer solar panel to keep the juices flowing. That worked fine when being conservative so I decided to add a 30 watt panel and splurged on fan use. Never a problem.
__________________ Craig
AIR #0078
'01 2500hd ext. cab, 8.1 litre gas, 5 sp. Allison auto
3.73 rear end
Mag-Hytec rear diff cover
Amsoil Dual by-pass oil filtration system
Amsoil synthetics all around
265 watt AM Solar, Inc. system
On this topic...does a functional univolt have the ability to recharge a discharged battery?
My reason for asking is when I checked the Univolt output (without the battery), it read 13.5 without any lights on. However, when I left the 'dead' battery hooked up to the univolt for 12 hours, it wouldn't recharge the battery.
I than attached the battery to a battery charger and it regained a full charge after a full night of charging and I no longer have dim/dead lights.
I looked at the Univolt to see if there is a voltage regulator attached to it, since I'm beginning to wonder why I have the right voltage output, but it won't recharge a discharged battery. Am I missing something?
So I've been following this thread all along and am closer to understanding the problem with the Univolt. Now I don't see anymore replies. Is this all there is? I may just decide to replace the univolt, switch to 6volt golf cart batteries like the Trojan T145 model replacing my dying Trojan 12 volt batteries, one of which seems to have been killed by the constant charging of the Univolt (see above). The bad one has been doing the boiling thing (see above) and leaking (see above). I think I need a better charging and converter system. I also have two 75watt solar panels that charge with a charge controller. And I carry a generator (actually two during summer: Honda EU3000 for running the aircon and a recently purchased used EU1000 for light use). We boondock all the time, almost never hooking to a power cord EXCEPT AT HOME. This is where the batteries get left on the Univolt (read: Magnatec) and do the dying routine. We hate the hummmmm so it may be gone by summer.
Enough.
(I just had to add some more words to this thread)
__________________
Gary & Susan Norgan
92 Excella 25
(The Silver Twinkie)
Hemet, CA
Our 2 college students graduate June 2008
We Retire June 2010
"The key to flexibility is indecision"
An older Univolt is a constant voltage current limited power source. If the battery is low, the voltage difference between the univolt and the battery is large and a lot of current will flow to charge the battery. As the battery is charged and its voltage rises, the current to the battery will drop because there is less of a voltage difference pushing it.
If the voltage on the Univolt was set close to 13.2v it probably won't overcharge your batteries but will take a long time to get them fully charged. Many Univolts were set at 13.6v or higher. These charge faster (bigger voltage difference between univolt and battery) but have too high a voltage to float maintain the battery without causing overcharging and electrolyte loss.
New three stage chargers change their voltage output for optimum battery charging current to the battery. That is how they control charging and maintenance charging. The go up to 14.4 volts to charge quickly and then drop to 13.2v for maintenance when the charge is done.
Congrat Leipper, You rate a 100 percent in your answers as far as I am concerned.
I am not sure if this was mentioned before but there is a fuse between the Univolt and the battery. If the univolt is reading 13 volts and the battery is not charging make sure that 40 amps fuse is ok before blaming the Univolt. This fuse is located in the Univolt distribution fuse panel.
In the instruction sheet that came with my Charge Wizard, they have a charging chart, based on a 55 amp Intellicharger, hooked to a 125 Amp-Hour battery. In the "Boost" mode, (14.4 Volts) it looks like it could take 18 hours to fully charge the battery. In the "Normal" mode (13.6 volts) it looks like about 78 hours. "Storage" mode, (13.2 Volts) about 105 hours! So much for running your generator for "a couple of hours" to recharge your batteries!! So it looks like a plain old dumb Univolt can recharge a dead battery in about 3 days.
__________________
CP 9 miles off Exit 399, I75.
2003 GMC 2500HD 4X4 D/A Ext. Cab
Propane Powered Honda EU2000i
Lots of Hot Sauce! Air # 283
I did some current measurments before and after my Univolt replacement. Before, the old Univolt required 5 to 6 amps at 120 volts, depending on battery condition. It never went below 5 amps.
With the new Intellicharger, it draws about .3 amps with a fully charged battery. Have not had a chance to draw the battery down, but now it looks like I'll save some coin on my electric bill, as well as generator fuel when boondocking!
__________________
CP 9 miles off Exit 399, I75.
2003 GMC 2500HD 4X4 D/A Ext. Cab
Propane Powered Honda EU2000i
Lots of Hot Sauce! Air # 283
While we're at it, Pick, when you use your gen when boondocking, do you attach the gen directly to the battery or just plug your coach into it and let the intellipower charge them as it runs.
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