Link 1000

[John]

I've posted to this site before on this same issue. I'd thought it was resolved, but it wasn't. I have a Link 1000 battery monitor. Basically, at times when it's sitting at the dock with the shore power connected, it doesn't regiser when the battery is being charged. My own, uneducated feeling is that the monitor is faulty, but I could very easily be wrong. I also posted this to the C36ia list and there were several ideas there. You can see them on the "technical" forum. Basically, here is what the monitor showed on the dates indicated. The boat was not out of the dock in between those dates.

On 2/9 it showed:
-5.6 ah.
12.65 v
-0.2 a
At that time I turned on the AC main and it jumped to 12.6 amps and then started descending from there. It showed 14.25 volts while it was charging.

on 2/14 I went to the boat. I had left the AC main on, meaning the shore power should have been charging the batteries. It showed:
-51.3 AH
13.5 V
-0.1 A
I turned on the battery switch to "both" and turned on several switches (lights, fridge, etc.) It still showed 0 amps. I turned off the AC main switch and it showed -3.5 A and rising till it hit -6.1 A.
I turned on the AC main switch and it showed +12.3 A and started descending. It also showed 14.45 V.

When I first went onto the boat today, before I did anything I checked the charger/inverter. Its lights were on, so it was getting power.

So what I cannot figure out is why the Link 1000 should show steadily increasing amp hours lost when the AC main switch is on. Note: on my boat the AC main switch would control whether or not the charger gets power from the shore power. The charger/inverter is wired directly to the batteries, meaning that the position of the battery switch would not affect whether or not the charger can charge the batteries.

It seems to me that if the monitor is showing over 50 amp hours lost but 14.5 volts, then it seems there would possibly be something wrong with the monitor. Ideas?

 

[sailingdog]

Is there any possibility that the power went out for a while during the time in question.

 

[Ed Schenck]

My Link 2000 sometimes acts up. The fix is to go into the starboard locker and pop out the fuse for a couple of seconds. This always works for me. Kind of like this Vista PC, don't ask just reboot.

 

[John]

Definitely not the power going out; it happens too consistently.
Yes, I reset it exactly how Ed describes, but my problem is that it's not "occasionally" - it's almost always. I think the monitor is faulty.

 

[Jalepeno]

You probably have the charger negative connected directly to the battery. The charging current needs to go through the shunt.

 

[Tim R.]

I have gone through 3 Link 20s(under warranty) and finally gave up on the Link products. There was something different wrong with each one. Very buggy product.

 

[Blitz]

I have gone through 3 Link 20s(under warranty) and finally gave up on the Link products. There was something different wrong with each one. Very buggy product.

What did you end up with if you don't mind me asking and are you happy with it?

curious if anyone has the BEP monitor and are happy with it:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...do?pid=13202&familyName=BEP+Marine+DC+Monitor

or the Victron:http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...Name=Victron+BMV+602+Two+Bank+Battery+Monitor

I'm parial to the Victron

 

[Maine Sail]

What did you end up with if you don't mind me asking and are you happy with it?

curious if anyone has the BEP monitor and are happy with it:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...do?pid=13202&familyName=BEP+Marine+DC+Monitor

or the Victron:http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...Name=Victron+BMV+602+Two+Bank+Battery+Monitor

I'm parial to the Victron

Tim has the Victron. FWIW Xantrex dropped the supplier of the old style Link monitors (Link 10/20 Link 1000/2000. They are now using a company out of the Netherlands who made the very reliable Xantrex XBM and the Victron 501 (same units differnt name branding). Xantrex has never actually made a battery monitor, that I am aware of, just signed exclusive US rights contracts with vendors to supply them such as TBS Electronics.

Victron parted ways with this company, perhaps when Xantrex signed on with them for the full line of products and either now build their own or found another source. The new Link Pro and Link Lite are good units as are the Victron units like the BMV-601. The Victron is MUCH less expensive than the Link Lite or Link Pro however and simple plug & play..

I have had a Xantrex XBM now for about 5 years and had zero glitches or issues with it. Can't say the same for my old Link 10...

 

[John]

First: I seriously doubt I've wired it up incorrectly since sometimes it seems to work. When I talked with the tech at Xantrex the told me that it was a very good product but "quite sensitive" - which I took to mean buggy.

If I replaced it with another manufacturer, would the other be wired up the same way or would there be major differences in how it's wired up?

 

[sailingdog]

Most other battery monitors require the same shunt and power setup that the Link does, so you would probably be able to swap out the Link for another brand fairly easily.

First: I seriously doubt I've wired it up incorrectly since sometimes it seems to work. When I talked with the tech at Xantrex the told me that it was a very good product but "quite sensitive" - which I took to mean buggy.

If I replaced it with another manufacturer, would the other be wired up the same way or would there be major differences in how it's wired up?

 

[Maine Sail]

First: I seriously doubt I've wired it up incorrectly since sometimes it seems to work. When I talked with the tech at Xantrex the told me that it was a very good product but "quite sensitive" - which I took to mean buggy.

If I replaced it with another manufacturer, would the other be wired up the same way or would there be major differences in how it's wired up?

The Victron uses a special shunt with a Cat 5 type connection on it. The cable plugs into the shunt and the back of the display.

Your unit may never be resetting on full too. This can often be a set up issue in the F menus..

 

[Tim R.]

The Victron is very easy to wire up. Almost plug and play. As long as you get your batteries connected to the shut correctly you cannot mess up the monitor wiring. It is simply an RJ45 connector at both ends.

I remember wiring the Link and it was a real PITA to get the wires into the terminal block on the back of the unit. I redid it a couple of times because I thought that was causing my issues but I had the same experience where it worked fine and randomly failed.

 

[sailingdog]

Isn't the cat-5 cable connection just a simple way to simplify connecting a bunch of small wires quickly? If you had the proper pinouts on a cat 5 cable, you could probably wire them into the existing shunt.

The Victron uses a special shunt with a Cat 5 type connection on it. The cable plugs into the shunt and the back of the display.

Your unit may never be resetting on full. This can often be a set up issue in the F menus..

 

[Chuckbear]

I have installed the Victron BMV on several boats including our own. It is a very easy install and a great piece of equipment. All of the Xantrex units are very problematic. Chuck

 

[Stu Jackson]

Maine Sail: re - Resetting on full - I linked John to the Gotcha topic. I've discussed this offline with him for some time, and recommend that he investigate his AC system power supply continuity. I haven't had an opportunity to get down there and help him with that.

 

[Maine Sail]

I have installed the Victron BMV on several boats including our own. It is a very easy install and a great piece of equipment. All of the Xantrex units are very problematic. Chuck

Chuck,

I would tend to disagree that "ALL" Xantrex units are problematic. I would agree about the previous Link series though.

Prior to the Victron BMV 601/602's the Victron battery monitors were made by TBS electronics and were identical to the Xantrex XBM. The same company made them for Xantrex & Victron..

Victron BMV-501

Xantrex XBM

Xantrex's tech support has suffered recently but the new LINK PRO and LINK LITE are made by the same company that made the Victron units until just recently. I have found the XBM/Victron 501 to be a very, very reliable unit and would expect the Link Lite & Pro to be simila,r except for the poor Xantrex tech support. They should have dropped the "LINK" moniker and gone with XBM as it was a considerably more reliable unit...

As I said above though the Victron 601/602 is a FAR better value!

 

[seanshine]

Geez, $300 for a digital voltmeter. I purchased mine on ebay for $5. Has worked perfectly for over a year. You can monitor #1 or #2 or both by turning the 1-2 switch. The meter constantly changes as switches are turned off and on. Also shows the volts as the battery is charging. Just thought I'd offer up an alternative. I've been very happy using this unit. Only a two wire hookup to the master panel. http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-LCD-Digita...itu=UCI&otn=1&ps=63&clkid=7981690292652742352

 

[Tim R.]

Geez, $300 for a digital voltmeter. I purchased mine on ebay for $5. Has worked perfectly for over a year. You can monitor #1 or #2 or both by turning the 1-2 switch. The meter constantly changes as switches are turned off and on. Also shows the volts as the battery is charging. Just thought I'd offer up an alternative. I've been very happy using this unit. Only a two wire hookup to the master panel. http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-LCD-Digita...itu=UCI&otn=1&ps=63&clkid=7981690292652742352

And how do you monitor amps used, time left, amps charging and other load related statistics?

Voltage really doesn't tell you much.

 

[seanshine]

Do you really need all of that info. I don't and I cruise for months at a time. Keep it simple.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Battery Monitors

And how do you monitor amps used, time left, amps charging and other load related statistics? Voltage really doesn't tell you much.

This volts vs ah debate has been going on for so long it's silly. Ross recently posted a response to a thread using the phrase "deliberate ignorance" which can apply whenever someone uses just voltage to claim they know much about battery condition.

In our "Gotcha" algorithm link, with Rich Stidger's and Donalex's help, we summarized the issues with the default parameters on those battery monitors and made recommendations to easily avoid having the monitor prematurely declare batteries to be full until the KwHR counted to zero.

It's here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4922.0.html

See Reply #5. One of the more important issues is the limited literature provided with the new Links. I recommend that the Link 2000 manuals be downloaded, since they have the same algorithms and much more information regarding each of the function parameters and defaults.

Do you really need all of that info. I don't and I cruise for months at a time. Keep it simple.

Some don't but most folks with boats rarely know too much about electricity, as evidenced by many post we've had here where we try to help folks. I used two boats for over 15 years without these instruments. Millions have used their boats successfully without them before they were invented. I chose a Freedom combined inverter charger and the Link 2000 I bought with it controls the inverter and charger functions, so I got a monitor with the charger essentially for the boat we now have had since 1998.

While some, if not many, could easily run an electrical system without a monitor, we've found that it's one of the first things folks with new-to-them boats should buy: it gets them involved with developing an energy budget (which is simple math with published load data that seems to be beyond a lot of folks, not all skippers are engineers, remember!), and begins to teach them about battery acceptance (where what goes back IN as NOT as linear as what comes out!).

So, if it helps people run their boats better and safer, it can't hurt, and also good for you for doing without one.