Battery charger

Aug 8, 2006
340
Catalina 34 Naples FL
My 4 yr old xantrex 40 amp charger just quit working. .? Just does not power up. I had several pro mariners prior to this and they all failed in less than a year. I Have 2 group 27 WM glass matt as house and a 24 for starter battery. What is the recommended best smart charger these days? Like to,stay under $300
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
My 4 yr old xantrex 40 amp charger just quit working. .? Just does not power up. I had several pro mariners prior to this and they all failed in less than a year.
Perhaps the first thing to do is to determine what's eating up the previous chargers. Environmental or something else ? Next would be to ask why such a large charger for two group 27's. You must be lucky enough to have continuous wind and never use the engine.

Sorry, can't offer much info for current battery chargers as I've been out of the market for about 10 years since I installed a Xantrex 10TB. Don't know the present cost but more than keeps the batteries topped up with an overnight shore charge if and when required. Mind you, lots of motoring here in the coastal mountains.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,075
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Sorry for the next nresponsive comment but I have to ask since you are going through chargers so quickly - are/were they mounted close to the batteries?
 
Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
I suggest that Don is going the right direction on this. Your problem is probably not battery chargers. Chief
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Sorry for the next nresponsive comment but I have to ask since you are going through chargers so quickly - are/were they mounted close to the batteries?
Don, Terry kept using those crappy Promariner (old!!!) Flyback chargers and paid the price. He's not had a lot of luck.

Terry, you read this forum pretty regularly. Are you not aware of Maine Sail's great writeup and recommendations?

Wiring a new charger From Maine Sail: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=136765

Sorry to hear about your woes.
 
Aug 8, 2006
340
Catalina 34 Naples FL
I did find this series of posts after searching in here and am looking at the chargers he recommended. thank you
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Yes, check your a/c power source as that is not normal. If it does not power up check for an internal fuse that may have blown.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Quite a LOT of the TrueCharge 2 20's & 40's have failed for no apparent reason. I have a dead 40A on my bench right now. Sometimes it is the fan, sometimes it is the logic boards and sometimes the power supply. This one has a dead power supply.

No rhyme or reason other than these chargers fail at a rate higher than most other brands I see and install. Other than the older ProMariner "FryBack" chargers I've not seen a charger as unreliable as the TrueCharge 2 series in many years... Even the older Yellow and Black (when Xantrex bought out StatPower) TrueCharge chargers were not as bad as the newer off white TrueCharge 2 units. My guess, being only 4 years old, is that this is a TC2 unit. I am also starting to see quite a few Mastervolt chargers going ta-ta's up far too early....

The newer ProMariner ProNautic P and Sterling ProCharge Ultra chargers are nothing like the older ProMariner products. They also have a 5 year warranty so you would have been covered in this instance. Keep in mind that none of these new high efficiency switch-mode chargers are as reliable as the older ferroresonant chargers.

The difference is the newer chargers are much healthier for your batteries. Pick your poison have a charger that lasts 20 years & that eats batteries in 2 years or one that lasts 10-15 and gets your batteries charged in a healthy manner.

You charger should have lasted longer than 4 years but it is what it is with the "X" brand these days....
 
Aug 8, 2006
340
Catalina 34 Naples FL
I talked to the help line on the phone as I was troubleshooting in the boat. Checked power in.. Ok, checked connections, all good and unchanged. Checked internal fuses (2) both good. So how does it blow and fuses still in tact?
Regardless it will not power up. Next they said disconnect everything for 2 hours and it may reset. Did not work.

Then i told help desk i had charged batteries ( 1 month old) that day with high powered alternator set up on the way out to the gulf and again on the way in.
He said that probably cooked the charger. I then could order one from him using the old serial number and receive a discount. His price $330. So,i checked the net and found it for $269. Ordered another xantrex 40 amp, 3 phase charger. I Bought it in 2008 so guess it did not owe me much. It will be an easy switch out as it is same set up.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Then i told help desk i had charged batteries ( 1 month old) that day with high powered alternator set up on the way out to the gulf and again on the way in.
He said that probably cooked the charger. I then could order one from him using the old serial number and receive a discount. His price $330. So,i checked the net and found it for $269. Ordered another xantrex 40 amp, 3 phase charger. I Bought it in 2008 so guess it did not owe me much. It will be an easy switch out as it is same set up.
Typical Xantrex rubbish speak.:cussing::cussing: Course to anyone who does not understand electricity this "sounds" plausible. IT IS NOT!!!

Your alternator has no way to "kill your charger" Xantrex is just building one of the least reliable chargers on the market these days.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Dam.... Do u put the TC 60 in the same camp?
I don't see as many of those, less volume I guess, but the boards and such are all similar or the same. I see a lot of the 20's & 40's fail much sooner than they should....
 
Aug 8, 2006
340
Catalina 34 Naples FL
Got a duplicate replacement charger and installed it. All worked fine again. However, after i removed the old i found the screen over the little blower fan was clogged with dust. I wonder if this would cause the problem, ? Overheating? I re read the manual and found no mention to keep this clear. Regardless, mounted under the chart table there is no way to check it unless you take it off.