Xantrex PathMaker making noise

[mz4wheeler]

Short story: I accidentally left the pathmaker in the "off" position for a few months. This essentially cuts off charging the house batteries on shore power.

There is longer version of this story where it starts with "Tried to start the boat and all I got was click click RRR click, followed by voltmeters, jumper cables, hitting the solenoid with a hammer, etc...".

Anyway when I turned the pathmaker "on" (lights went green) the engine immediately started, and the starting battery was now getting a charge.

New symptom: Now the pathmaker makes an "ehhhh" sound, and feels like it is vibrating. When I put my fingers on the solenoid, it almost feels like a 60 cycle hum. I turned it back "off" and went home. Maybe this is caused by lots of NEW current flowing through the contacts (charging the starting battery)... Not sure.

I fiddled with turning the three adjustments back and forth, but not of them seemed to change the status of the unit.

Is this normal? Should I just leave it "on" and will it magically turn back into the normal thumps and clumps vs "ehhhh"? Thanks!

 

[Bill Roosa]

Does it have a cooling fan? Before I replaced the unit I'd 1) set the controls back to their original settings (you made a mental note right?) and 2) wait for the batteries to get a full charge.

 

[mz4wheeler]

Does it have a cooling fan? Before I replaced the unit I'd 1) set the controls back to their original settings (you made a mental note right?) and 2) wait for the batteries to get a full charge.

There isn't a cooling fan in this unit. I'll probably just end up shorting the contacts together (places 2 house + start in parallel) to get all three in sync and try again later.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The Pathmaker is a simple battery combiner.

https://www.infinigi.com/xantrex-pathmaker-100-100a-with-2-battery-banks-p-1573.html

While these guys no longer stock it, there's a description. Info is also available on the Xantrex discontinued website.

It sounds like one of your banks was very low and the charging source is having trouble refilling the banks.

Are your charging sources going to the house bank first?

If the house bank was so low, it will take a long time for the voltage to rise to close the relays.

 

[mz4wheeler]

It sounds like one of your banks was very low and the charging source is having trouble refilling the banks.
Are your charging sources going to the house bank first?

Well, the shore charging was off for many months, but I did start the engine and ran it for a while. Not sure how long it would take to recharge. In my setup, (AFAICT) the pathmaker only isolates the starting battery. There is only a single relay. I will give it another try soon, but I'm probably just going to jumper the relay and bring all 3 batteries in parallel and let the charger charge all three.
I believe that the house batteries are directly connected to the charger, and charging of the starter battery is ONLY via the pathmaker. I have a weird setup inherited via the PO. I do have an 1/2/ALL switch, which is only for the two house batteries. It might be better to just ditch the pathmaker and add a second manual switch.. TBD

 

[glaufman]

Get a meter with a current probe so you can tell better what's going on...

 

[Maine Sail]

Well, the shore charging was off for many months, but I did start the engine and ran it for a while.

If charging is going to be off for many months the batteries should first be brought to 100% SOC and then 100% disconnected from the vessel (physically un-wired).. The vast majority of vessels have parasitic loads and the only way to leave batteries, that are not being charged, is to physically disconnect them or leave the system in float or forced float, providing you have a quality battery charger.

Not sure how long it would take to recharge.

With healthy batteries and a quality charger, one that does not prematurely drop to float, and sized at 20-25% of Ah capacity, it can take 7-12+ hours to attain 100% SOC. Running an engine for a short periods will not get you back to 100% SOC and the batteries will suffer from the effects of sulfation. The batteries now are likely suffering badly due to sulfation.

In my setup, (AFAICT) the pathmaker only isolates the starting battery. There is only a single relay.

The Pathmaker should isolate the start battery. Only one relay is needed to un-parallel the two banks.

I will give it another try soon, but I'm probably just going to jumper the relay and bring all 3 batteries in parallel and let the charger charge all three.

A Blue Sea ACR is pretty short money, unless your shore charger has dual outputs.

I believe that the house batteries are directly connected to the charger, and charging of the starter battery is ONLY via the pathmaker.

Again, this is good, but you need to track down the parasitic drain on the start battery. You should also have a quality charger, far too many suck donkey nads, that you can leave in float and that has on-battery temp compensation. Alternatively you 100% disconnect the batteries when you're away for extended periods.

I have a weird setup inherited via the PO.

It would be good to address these issues now so you don't continually chew through batteries.

I do have an 1/2/ALL switch, which is only for the two house batteries. It might be better to just ditch the pathmaker and add a second manual switch.. TBD

Yes ditch the Pathmaker and replace it with a current technology product such as the Blue Sea ACR. There is no need to have the two house batteries isolated by a switch. Alternating use of house batteries is antiquated thinking (actually not thinking) and leads to poor service life when compared to a single contiguously wired house bank. One large house bank, not multiple house banks, is best for numerous reasons.

The best course of action, and least expensive, is to wire the two house batteries contiguously (hard wired in parallel) and put them on switch position #1 and then put the start battery on switch position #2.

If your charger only has one output then add an ACR but before adding an ACR I would strongly advise a quality charger. There is a venerable boat-load of crappy chargers out there so do your homework. Stay far away from any charger that does not offer on-battery temp compensation & a custom user defined voltage profile. Just say not to "dip switch" chargers that offer only switches for GEL, AGM & FLOODED charging.

 

[mz4wheeler]

Thanks Maine (and others).

What I eventually found surprised me. It turns out that my main starter battery was severely depleted of water. No joke, it was literally down about 1/2 gallon. I added the distilled water, put it on charge (I used my trusty 6AMP car charger), and started shopping for a new group 31 battery. I returned today to what "appears" to be a fully charged battery. Engine started just fine. I turned on the pathmaker and it doesn't seem (yet) to make any buzzing noise.

I'll check it again in a couple of days. Still perplexed by the severity of water loss (equal, all cells). The battery was stamped as new in 2011. Seems ok... Should I still buy a new battery?

 

[Ron20324]

[QUOTE="mz4wheeler, ]... It turns out that my main starter battery was severely depleted of water. ...Still perplexed by the severity of water loss .The battery was stamped as new in 2011. ...[/QUOTE]

Are you saying you have not topped off the battery water since 2011? It should be done several times a season.

 

[mz4wheeler]

Are you saying you have not topped off the battery water since 2011?

Well, I've only owned the boat since Nov 2013.. But... Shamefully... Yes...
The battery is tucked in under the back quarter berth, under the plywood, in a plastic case, cells screws tight... Where the hell would the water go? Surely NOT a 1/2 gallon.

 

[SycloneDriver]

The water boils off during charging. It's nomal to lose some water, but over charging boils off more water.
Your start battery is probably ruined. Have it load tested.
Anytime the lead plates are exposed to air sulfation quickly sets in and distroys the exposed portion of the plate.

 

[mz4wheeler]

Just a followup to this thread. After I replenished the missing water from my starting battery, the system was left for a couple of weeks, charging as normal. I returned and all seemed normal. The engine started right up, and turned over fast. The original noise that the pathmaker was making also disappeared. So, all things appear normal. I may still replace the battery anyway.

Still the pathmaker noise (solenoid chattering, "ehhh") is still a mystery. It might be due to the charger trying to charge the battery, and its depleted state forced the charger to shut off, causing a perpetual cycling of charging events, causing the chatter. Just a theory.

So, it just goes to show that sometimes things are never what they appear to be.