Guest Battery charger Drawing power OUT of the batteries when its unplugged???

[centerline]

I have a guest battery charger model 16102 (dual feed) and when its unplugged, it draws power out of my batteries... is this the way its suppose to work with these "smart" chargers?
all other chargers ive ever encountered, when they are unplugged, there is absolutely no power draw back to the charger...

I have replaced both batteries and they charge good when the charger is plugged in, but after the boat sets awhile, the batteries are found to be low on charge.... so after searching for the power draw, I found the charger wires to be drawing from the batts when its unplugged.... i can only assume its a faulty charger.... anyone experience something like this?

 

[jssailem]

Cenerline. That is just down right wrong. Who would build such a thing.
Could there be a monitor being trickle fed your precious juice?

Reading the following on page 6 of the manual:

" After you connect the DC cables of the charger to the batteries, the battery chemistry selection LED will illuminate (Safe Mode). At this point, you can toggle thru the different battery chemistry selections by pressing the pushbutton on the membrane panel for each specific output. Once AC is plugged in, this setting will be set by the micro into RAM and it will remember this setting until you interrupt both the battery power and AC power to the charger."​

gives me the thought that the charger is always trickle drawing on the batteries when AC is not connected. My guess is this maintains the "smart" features of the charger. If the AC and DC current is interrupted the manual says you have to reset the your chemistry selection. At least that is what I can deduce from the manual and your issue.

 

[centerline]

Cenerline. That is just down right wrong. Who would build such a thing.
Could there be a monitor being trickle fed your precious juice?

Reading the following on page 6 of the manual:

" After you connect the DC cables of the charger to the batteries, the battery chemistry selection LED will illuminate (Safe Mode). At this point, you can toggle thru the different battery chemistry selections by pressing the pushbutton on the membrane panel for each specific output. Once AC is plugged in, this setting will be set by the micro into RAM and it will remember this setting until you interrupt both the battery power and AC power to the charger."​

gives me the thought that the charger is always trickle drawing on the batteries when AC is not connected. My guess is this maintains the "smart" features of the charger. If the AC and DC current is interrupted the manual says you have to reset the your chemistry selection. At least that is what I can deduce from the manual and your issue.

John, I talked to tech support on the phone, and they said "with the shore power disconnected, the LED light will stay illuminated for about ten minutes after connecting charge leads to the battery (which would account for some very minor battery draw)... then if no shore power is plugged in, it will go out".
on this charger, after connecting the charge leads, (which sparks on connection, which indicates more than an LED draw), I canNOT get the algorithm button to change to flooded... it stays in safe mode, without a blink or falter when I press it. Neither does the other button work.
something isnt right with it...

 

[Maine Sail]

It should not back feed. How much current drain did you measure? I guess my real curiosity is more around the why and how you chose this particular charger?

 

[centerline]

It should not back feed. How much current drain did you measure? I guess my real curiosity is more around the why and how you chose this particular charger?

I didnt actually choose it, but it came with the boat. the PO said it was only a year old and assumed it was working correctly... but he did say the batteries were dead every time he wanted to use the boat, which was not often.
the drain is about .75 amp.
after talking with Marinco tech support and understanding a bit more about how the guest "smart" charger works and what we should expect when troubleshooting (which is NOT in the manual), the guy (Dave) said when the charger is disconnected from the batteries, then reconnected, it will have a draw for about ten minutes, and it will eventually go away ... and although the charger does have a problem with not being able to be adjusted, I think it may not be the basic problem... I found a solenoid that has the bakelite housing around the battery stud broken, and it seems the battery post was slightly pushed in and touching the contact bar inside the relay. when I pulled on it firmly it came apart... the draw dropped to about 20 milliamps, which is probably the memory in the stereo or some other electronic device., or an error in the my meter...
so I cant blame the entire problem on the charger but Marinco said they would replace the unit under warranty if there is any problem found with it.
but Im on a quest to get a replacement solenoid first....

 

[jssailem]

So there was a drain. Not one that is supposed to be there.

 

[Ron20324]

Hhmmm... what is the solenoid for???

 

[CrispyCringle]

You need to put an amp meter between the battery and the charger when the charger is unplugged and see if there is any draw. Are you sure the batteries are good. Sounds like they just dont hold a charge.

 

[centerline]

Hhmmm... what is the solenoid for???

Ron, I was afraid someone here would ask that
personally, Im not a purist when it comes to a particular type of boat.
Row boats, sailboats or stinkpotters, new, old and everything in between, they are my hobby.. or as Rochelle says, they're my obsession...
but the question is more about an electrical problem with a "marine" charger than it is what type of vessel the charger is in, so I thought I would slip it past a few others who may have had more experience with the guest chargers than I do.... to answer your question directly, its a tilt/trim solenoid that broke... shame on me?

 

[centerline]

You need to put an amp meter between the battery and the charger when the charger is unplugged and see if there is any draw. Are you sure the batteries are good. Sounds like they just dont hold a charge.

one of the original batts was bad, so I replaced both of them myself when I got the boat 2 months ago.... maybe the failed battery being used for so long in the boat by the PO, that it caused damage to the charger...