Battery Charger Tripping Breaker

[nickroskam]

I have a 2 battery Guest battery charger wired directly to a breaker on my panel. The boat is currently on the hard and has good power going to it. Sometimes, when i turn the charger on, its instantly pops the breaker. That will go for a few weeks then ill try it again and it will work fine. I switched out the breaker and I am still getting the same problem. I checked all the wire connections and the only thing i found is that If i temporary remove the ground wire from the charger it stops tripping the breaker. Do I need a new charger or should i look else-ware for a problem?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

What happens when you put 20+ amps through a 15 amp breaker?

 

[Sailvayu]

Sounds like an issue with the charger, might be time for a new one.


Capt. Wayne Canning, AMS
www.projectboatzen.com

 

[onecoolair]

2 bank battery charger Which breaker is tripping?

I have a 2 battery Guest battery charger wired directly to a breaker on my panel. The boat is currently on the hard and has good power going to it. Sometimes, when i turn the charger on, its instantly pops the breaker. That will go for a few weeks then ill try it again and it will work fine. I switched out the breaker and I am still getting the same problem. I checked all the wire connections and the only thing i found is that If i temporary remove the ground wire from the charger it stops tripping the breaker. Do I need a new charger or should i look else-ware for a problem?

Okay things to look for......First question ..So which is it??? the 120 volt a/c breaker for the charger on the service panel??? Or is it the two 12 volt breakers on the 12 volt side of your service panel that connect the charger to the battery banks?... Next...How old is the charger?....... How is the ground to the circuit board both on the 12volt side and the 120 volt a/c side?......There could be a tinning issue on the main circuit board causing a short.... This probably is going to be with the 120 volt side of board .... Check the 120 volt connections on the main board look for any burnt wiring or lose connections....This would cause the 120 volt breaker to trip. NEXT...
If it was on the 12 volt side of main board then it should cause the 12 volt breaker to trip the chargers connections to the 12 volt batteries first.
Plus sometimes the main fuses on main board could also be going bad or have blown or fixing too go! which could cause breakers to trip......BTW..... You do know what tinning is on a circuit board ?? Right? Circuit boards that are not properly sealed in the marine environment will most always age at a rate faster then a properly sealed/moisture proof coated board.
Good Luck....

 

[nickroskam]

What happens when you put 20+ amps through a 15 amp breaker?

Its a 10amp AC charger on a 20amp AC breaker

 

[nickroskam]

Okay things to look for......First question ..So which is it??? the 120 volt a/c breaker for the charger on the service panel??? Or is it the two 12 volt breakers on the 12 volt side of your service panel that connect the charger to the battery banks?... Next...How old is the charger?....... How is the ground to the circuit board both on the 12volt side and the 120 volt a/c side?......There could be a tinning issue on the main circuit board causing a short.... This probably is going to be with the 120 volt side of board .... Check the 120 volt connections on the main board look for any burnt wiring or lose connections....This would cause the 120 volt breaker to trip. NEXT...
If it was on the 12 volt side of main board then it should cause the 12 volt breaker to trip the chargers connections to the 12 volt batteries first.
Plus sometimes the main fuses on main board could also be going bad or have blown or fixing too go! which could cause breakers to trip......BTW..... You do know what tinning is on a circuit board ?? Right? Circuit boards that are not properly sealed in the marine environment will most always age at a rate faster then a properly sealed/moisture proof coated board.
Good Luck....

First, its on the AC side. I dont know the age of the charger. This is the one though. http://www.marinco.com/product/10-amp-dual-battery-chargepro-charger The AC panel on the boat is original (1990). I do frequently run a ceramic heater and hair dryer through it with no issue. Its odd, the charger was working great until last week and the wiring wasn't touched.

 

[onecoolair]

First, its on the AC side. I dont know the age of the charger. This is the one though. http://www.marinco.com/product/10-amp-dual-battery-chargepro-charger The AC panel on the boat is original (1990). I do frequently run a ceramic heater and hair dryer through it with no issue. Its odd, the charger was working great until last week and the wiring wasn't touched.

Okay This what I would do... so lets try to narrow things down a bit...
#1..So it the 120v breaker tripping. Which is new. #2...Turn off the power. Remove the lower panel ...Check the 120volt connections. #3 Can you open up unit to check the main circuit board fuses? #4...Do you know if you are having a reverse polarity issues with your shore power?? #5 If you have reverse polarity issues then this will blow internal fuses... Internal fuses are meant to protect main board from reverse polarity. Or shorts from any electrical connection on the main board #6 Any other breakers tripping?
#7..Next maybe...Main board has just reached its life span do to tinning and it needs a new main board ...Time Contact factory...Strike up a good friendship with some at the factory asking can you please help me with repair or replacement. But First...
Get all the information you can off unit model #s serial #s most factories now keep a good record of each product produced off the line and with this information can tell you what year the unit was made and maybe even where it was shipped too. Along with if any warranty was ever registered after first new purchase.

 

[Maine Sail]

If the charger does not trip when you disconnect the green safety ground wire then your charger has an internal fault and needs to be replaced. I just replaced a Guest charger today that had no voltage limit. With no loads it was pushing the batteries to over 16V......

 

[onecoolair]

If the charger does not trip when you disconnect the green safety ground wire then your charger has an internal fault and needs to be replaced. I just replaced a Guest charger today that had no voltage limit. With no loads it was pushing the batteries to over 16V......

Mainesail ...that makes a good point on having a good reliable voltage monitoring system. Which is good if you are there all the time, But.....What if this happens while your away? So what does one do to to protect your batteries from being cooked ......
In regards to the quest ....Was it still under warranty and what did the factory say about making it good again?