Link 2000 acting strange

[Rodd]

I am again getting the "Float" green light while the unit is still clearly in the absorption stage, putting in approx 20 amps. Last season I had the problem of not getting into the float mode while I was in fact in the float mode. What is going on here? Is this the start of problems for the unit? Maine Sail referenced strange behavior before the units go into a fail mode??? . BTW, both of my banks consist of 2- 6v golf carts in series. One more thing, I did notice a ton of corrosion around all terminals of both 6v batteries on the bank where the power wire (with fuse holder) from the Link 2000 attaches. Does that mean anything? And I still can't get the Link 2000 to read how many amp hours are remaining. it just reads "CCC". Any suggestions here welcome as well.

Thanks, Maine Sail, for a great site!

Rodd

 

[Rich Stidger]

I have a Link 20 (without the inverter control) and it sounds to me like your unit needs to be re-sync-ed with the batteries for state of charge.

Also read reply #3 about the "gotcha" with the Link 20 algorithm. I suspect that the same issue applies to the Link 2000.

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=619213&highlight=gotcha

 

[Stu Jackson]

Rich is right. Clean the terminals, resynch the unit by charging the batteries. If you don't have the manual, Xantrex has them on their website under Discontinued Products. And reset the defaults, in fact reset to factory defaults and reprogram the whole unit.

The manual says: During charging, current is a positive (unsigned) number and the Time remaining display is CCC.

RTFM. The "Gotcha" that Rich refers to is very important.

This is in addition to Rich's link:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4922.0.html

 

[Rodd]

Thanks men. This is great info. I will check all this out next time at the boat.

Rodd

 

[Rodd]

On reading your links, I seem to get that I need to reset the voltage calculated to read full to 15v, not the 14.2v I am currently using. Am I correct with this? (I am dockside and plugged in all week). The second parameter I need to reset is the % of current needed to read full, from 2% down to 1%? I don't want to overcharge the batts!!

Thanks.

Rodd

 

[Stu Jackson]

Rodd, the issue is NOT overcharging your batteries, but rather avoiding the Link 2000 saying they are prematurely FULL. Two different things. Your charger will fill the batteries based on the acceptance of the batteries.

Yes, those are the two parameters you need to change, plus setting the CEF to 94%.

What charger do you have (Freedom I/C?)?

Rich and Donalex and I spent a lot of time figuring it out, so, please, re-read the Gotcha link a few times. As they say (somewhere) "It'll all become clear..."

You had the same problem with it that the first respondent did, hence the repeated discussion in the topic.

Any more questions, please come back.

 

[Rodd]

ok, Thanks Stu- I will re-read a few more times!! I have a Freedom10 unit connected to the Link via phone cable. I also have a Ample Power alternator and one of their next step smart regulators. The system has been great! Just not sure on this Link2000 --never could get it to do what it's supposed to ! Batteries are Trojan T105 one one bank, and now new this year, a set of Duracell 6v golf carts that I bought in Sam's club at the suggestion of Maine Sail. So I want everything to be good as I am starting out with one brand new bank. I use a 1-2-Both switch, and generally run one bank of 6v at a time (225 Ah) I know the new wisdom is to combine both banks and run them as one larger one, but I guess I'm just old fashioned. I also have an Optima Red Top as a starting battery that I manually bring into the charging circuit as I deem necessary (using a separate accurate analog voltmeter).

Rodd

 

[Stu Jackson]

Rodd, that's a nice alternator/regulator. We have an aftermarket Blue Circle alternator with a Balmar MC-612 external regulator. I'm in the process of replacing our alternator, most likely with one of the Leece-Nevilles and doing Maine Sail's swap to external regulation.

We also have a Freedom it's a 15.

I agree that making one big house bank would be better, but understand the old school of thought. Your boat, your choice, but you'll get longer life outta your same mess of lead with a larger bank.

 

[Rodd]

Yes Stu, that Ample Power combo has served me well now for 14 years without a hiccup! I have a Balmar 100 amp with choice of internal or external regulation as a spare, but have not had to use it! The best thing I could recommend with any alternator over 100 amps is to go to dual belts. I struggled for 2 years with single belts, until I finally broke down and bought the Westerbeke double sheave pulley I needed to mount that second belt. After that, no more belt problems, or alternator squeals!! Do you think I will have any problems with regulation given one of my banks is older than the other? That is one reason I feel it is best to keep them separate. Do you agree?
Thanks.

Rodd

 

[Maine Sail]

Rodd,

Great name by the way, especially with two D's.... The best advice I can give is this..

*When on shore power manually reset after floating for a few days. This will clear any "counting errors"

*When charging via alternator with NO LOADS on re-set manually when accepted current falls below 1.5% of the banks Ah capacity.

Read the "gotcha"

Get your Peukert number accurate for each bank and program it into the monitor. Many over look this important factor and simply accept the "default" which is often close but not always spot on. A boat I worked on today had a Link 2000 with Odyssey TPPL batteries that have a Peukert of 1.112 the monitor was set for 1.25... That's a pretty big difference and one that would result in some counting errors...

Make sure all loads pass through the shunt

I assume you are using bank 1 and bank 2 in the 2000 for each 6V bank? It is always better to combine banks into 1 but with two differnt battery brands, at differnt ages, I would leave it as is, but your bank life will be shorter

 

[Rodd]

Thanks Maine, I've always thanked my mom for choosing that name as well! (in fact she's 91 now and sharp as a tack!) When you say to reset every few days while on shore power, what type of reset do you mean? Unplug the power to the unit and reset the microprocessor, or a different reset? would this be every few days or only once?

And yes, I use each 6v bank as bank 1 and bank 2. Then I have another on-off switch for the Optima start batt., which is normally except to start the engine.

Rodd

 

[Stu Jackson]

Rodd, when you know your banks are fully charged, just reset the amp hour counter to zero. This is NOT a reset to factory defaults. You use the setup and reset amp hours buttons.

 

[Rodd]

Link 2000 or Freedom 10 unit malfunction?

After returning to dock from 2 day cruise I turned on the Link to charge my batteries which were down about 60Ah (on a 220Ah bank). All of a sudden the voltage started to surge to over 15 volts, and the Link showed an error of 01, voltage too high. I tried a reset and every time i turned the unit to charge the voltage started climbing again. Anyone know if this is a Link error or a Freedom problem? I have the old Freedom remote with dip switches that I will bring out next weekend to see if that changes anything.
Thanks.

 

[Jim Seamans]

So?

If I have 3 banks of the Duracell 6V in parallel, I'm looking at 675 Ahrs. I guess I set the Link 2000 to 680 Ahrs since that is the closest number?

And the Puckett number would be??????

I would rather just hold on to the terminal and get that tinkling feeling....