Intellipower not charging?

[Stefrobrts]

I have an intellipower with charge wizard. The trailer has been plugged into shore power all winter. I came in tonight to get it ready to travel this weekend and find the lights very dim and the battery is not charged up. The intellipower is not turning on to charge the battery. It is plugged in, and I checked the voltage to it to confirm there's nothing wrong with where it is plugged in. I also checked the voltage coming out of it - it's about 9v. I checked the battery voltage, and it's also showing about 9v. The battery is an Odyssey AGM type sealed battery.

Is there some reset switch on the intellipower? Has the charge wizard put it in some mode that is not properly recharging the batteries. Any advice? For some reason the Intellipower seems to be the only appliance I didn't save a manual for when I did the big remodel a few years ago. I need to figure this out tonight, because without 12v power I'm not going to be a very happy camper this weekend!

[Stefrobrts]

Also, the charge wizard light is full on, which as I understand it, means it should be charging the battery back up to 14v, but there is only 9v on the line out to the battery. If that helps.

[azflycaster]

My 9245 has two fuses located near where the power cables (12 volt) attach to the unit. It does not have a reset switch that I know of, but pulling the power to it for a minute should be the same thing.

You may not have anything coming out of the unit and the voltage you are seeing might be a discharged battery.

[Stefrobrts]

I checked the fuses and they are good. I plugged and unplugged the thing. I disconnected the battery, and the charge wizard light went off - I assume it shuts off without a battery in the system. I hooked it all back up and plugged it in - still no charging.

[2airishuman]

see ewu's post here...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f449...ter-44372.html

depending on model they've got TS guides that may help...

Troubleshooting Marine Battery Chargers

http://www.progressivedyn.com/PD4045...LESHOOTING.pdf

PD also has the install manuals online.

i agree the 9V is probably baseline read from the now dead battery.

cheers
2air'

[Stefrobrts]

So with 120v AC available at the outlet, the converter plugged in, the fuses are good, and the battery is disconnected - the output on the converter is 0. From the troubleshooting guide, I'm guessing that's a bad sign for my converter.

[2airishuman]

yep.

doa it would appear.

leave it UNplugged over night and check it again in the am...

WACK it.

WACK it again.

turn it UP side down (no wait that's for the fridge...)
_________

is the AC POWER working in the trailer? there is ONE ac outlet at A33.

you could PULL the agm and recharge it by some other means (genset/van alternator)...

got an auto/trickle charger around somewhere ???

this would give you DC power, IF the battery will hold a charge.

then u could REcharge the battery as needed at A33.

cheers
2air'

[flyfshr]

I had the same problem with mine about a year ago. Uwe suggested I take it completely out of the trailer and bench test it. Bingo, it was putting out less than one volt. I found when I took the cover off, there were two places that had burned. Of course it was out of warranty so I purchased a Xantrax from Randy at Best Converter and haven't had any trouble. The IntelliPower lasted about five years and that was it.

Hope this doesn't screw up your camping weekend.

Brad
FF

[Stefrobrts]

I've got a trickle charger on it now. By morning I should know if it's holding a charge. If nothing else we can camp without 12v - nothing a flashlight and snuggling under extra blankets won't fix.

[Aage]

Those should be repairable. It may well be worth it to contact Intellipower...

[3Ms75Argosy]

Steph, I once had an issue where my screws on the 12v terminal backed out, allowing the wires to move... can you check those too?
See you tomorrow!
Marc

[pmclemore]

I hope your trickle charger will provide enough juice to charge a discharged battery. Perhaps, if you have one, a regular battery charger should be used.

Hope you're on the road and fixed. Pat

[rustyrivet]

Originally Posted by flyfshr

I had the same problem with mine about a year ago. Uwe suggested I take it completely out of the trailer and bench test it. Bingo, it was putting out less than one volt. I found when I took the cover off, there were two places that had burned. Of course it was out of warranty so I purchased a Xantrax from Randy at Best Converter and haven't had any trouble. The IntelliPower lasted about five years and that was it.

Hope this doesn't screw up your camping weekend.

Brad
FF

When I spoke to Randy about a month ago about getting a Xantrex, I believe he told me they were no longer in business. He recommended a PD4655 which I bought. It has the "charge wizard" and I hope it is reliable. I have kept it plugged in to shore power since it was installed. Perhaps I should have stuck with the one that Airstream put in as factory equipment but it didn't have a multi-stage charger. jc

[2airishuman]

yeah the Xan'x units have been dc/d.

i have one and it's nothing special.

i HOPE it lasts as long as the oem p-lax...

which was ~5 years.

imo the PD units are a better value, more widely available, have better warranty and service sides...

and are still made domestically.

cheers
2air'

[Stefrobrts]

The trickle charger has it charged most of the way up. We have a 2 hour drive, I assume the battery will get some charging from the van along the way.

[68 Overlander]

Let us know how it goes. The alternator will charge your batteries too. 9 volts is not going to cut it though while on shore power. Something is wrong with your converter for sure. Check and see if its in the 2 year warranty.

[Aage]

Stef,

From what I've read here on the forums, I really wouldn't expect the current through the umbilical to charge up a battery to any great extent on a two-hour drive...

IIRC it only gives a marginal charge to the TT.

I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong, though

[Stefrobrts]

The trickle charger had the battery charged up before we left. When we got there we were frugal with our lights and water pump usage, and only used the furnace at night, set very low, and threw an extra blanket on. We didn't run out of juice. I didn't think we could get three nights of running the furnace without being plugged in, so that was really good.

I've got a call in to see if I can get my converter serviced and how much that will cost. Otherwise I'm going to have to start shopping for a new one.

[wmarsha]

stef, I have the original A/S charger out of my 85-it was working fine when I replaced with what's in there now. if you are interested, drop me a pm
ol' bill

[Stefrobrts]

Thanks, Bill, but I think I'll go for something a little newer. I want to make sure whatever I get doesn't fry my expensive AGM battery.