Battery monitoring system?

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Jul 12th, '10, 13:20

Has anyone installed a battery monitoring system they are happy with?

I just installed a new Xantrex TrueCharge 2 40 amp charger, and bought the remote monitor for it, but the monitor is a POS. The LEDs that are supposed to be seen through the small windows of the faceplate are located on a board set back from the front panel maybe a half inch or so.. and the board is not mounted in line with these windows, meaning the only way you can see the lighted LEDs through their respective windows is to tilt the panel top back about 15-20 degrees. This would be great if I was going to mount the panel at a height of 6 feet, but I want to mount it at about 28 inches off the floor. I returned the original panel to the supplier for a replacement, but the display is the same on the replacement.

Xantrex says they will look into what I say is either a crappy design or poor QC, and get back to me, but are not offering any hope that their design will change anytime in the near future.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a good free standing system?

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Jul 12th, '10, 14:17

OK, I'll bite....what's a "battery monitoring system"....I always figured that's what a voltmeter did????

UV, the dense

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Jul 12th, '10, 14:32

I have the same unit from them. My other gripe with it is it only works when the charger is plugged in. I want one that can display the status of each battery all the time.

UV: It is a combo remote voltmeter, charge status display that is hooked to the charger.

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/94/p/1/pt/7/product.asp

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Jul 12th, '10, 15:43

Rawleigh...

Actually, the unit in the pic you posted is the old unit, which is no longer available. The new unit works only with their TrueCharge 2 battery charger.

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/301/p/1/pt/5/product.asp

No matter, the panel seems to have been designed by someone who never had to use it.

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Jul 12th, '10, 17:59

Looks like one of those gadgets that would evoke the same response from my Bride that she uttered when she saw my Penn 80-Ws I had re-anodized platinum and a pix of AJ and her name and home port engraved on each of the 7 reels......"I thought I'd seen every way you could piss away money on that damn boat".......

UV

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Jul 12th, '10, 22:30

vicroy i am rolling on the floor with that one!!! how true

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Jul 12th, '10, 22:39

i also have the xantrex -40 amp charger . i install it under the salon bench closes to the bow with triple output thru three 30 surface mount breaker feeding three banks of agm batterys. charger been in place 10 years and batterys are 9 years old (odassey). every week or so i pick up bottom cushion of bench and check charger . lights on charger ( indicating amount of charge )and three position battery voltage meter switch on main panel tell all you need to know.

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Jul 13th, '10, 09:10

True Bob! My Exide Orbitals are going on 7 years old and still seem to function as normal. Any idea of the best way to test an AGM to see what its load capacity is? Do you use the same tester as I do for flooded batteries or will it damage them?

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Jul 13th, '10, 11:30

Vicroy wrote:Looks like one of those gadgets that would evoke the same response from my Bride that she uttered when she saw my Penn 80-Ws I had re-anodized platinum and a pix of AJ and her name and home port engraved on each of the 7 reels......"I thought I'd seen every way you could piss away money on that damn boat".......

UV

I don't get it...a little "Reel Sprucing" is pissing money away??

Actually its more of way to identify your Reels...you know if you happen to drop one on the way to the car...it may be a week or before you realize and head over to the Lost and Found. Well when you get in there you'll know which poles are yours because they will be the ones with the Platinum Reels with your Boat picture and name on it...eliminates all the confusion.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Jul 13th, '10, 16:00

rawleigh the charger as you know will sent amount of charge depending on percentage battery is below full charge. agm can be tested the same as gel/ flooded type.

Harry Babb · Post by **Harry Babb** » Jul 13th, '10, 16:47

Vic wrote:......"I thought I'd seen every way you could piss away money on that damn boat".......

Damn Vic......I think you must be married to my wife's sister......

hb

coolair · Post by **coolair** » Jul 13th, '10, 21:55

all i have to say, xantraxl customer service sucks, and I will never buy anything the make again. bough a brand new charger, installed it, didnt work, had a authorized service company check it, said it needed to be sent in, they informed me it was not under warranty because it had been opend. and offered to sell me a new one at a "discount" which was more than what i paid for it. piss pour
sorry

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Jul 14th, '10, 15:11

Having had a customer service group report to me during my career I know that they are given fairly strict guidelines as to how to deal with different customer issues. Today this is made even worse by the fact that so many companies outsource their customer service overseas, and often you get someone who has a strong accent, making then difficult to communicate with. Occasionally they aren't technically trained, which means they pretty much read from a script or are trained in handling most but not every situation they deal with. When I have a technical issue with a product I usually give CS one try to resolve my problem satisfactoraly. If I am not happy with them I go directly to the corporate headquarters and try to get someone in marketing who is responsible for the product.. occasionally I ask for an applications engineer. Usually they are more able to step away from the CS limitations.

My best example of CS being non-technically trained was given to me by an Indian girl who answered the CS number for my cable TV/internet provider. I complained that occasionally their internet signal dropped out and I needed to set my modem to restore it. She asked me what the weather was in NC when this happened. I asked her why she asked that.. her answer..

"When the wind blows hard enough it bends the signal from their towers so I can't receive it."

That led to me calling the CEO of Charter Communications. I never did reach him, but his secretary assured me she would handle my problem and someone technical would contact me very soon. Within two hours the head service technician for my area was on the phone making an appointment.

As the saying goes.. "S**t flows downhill!"

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Battery monitoring system?

Battery monitoring system?

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