T&T: Battery Monitor

[George Anastassiades]

John Wix wrote:

"...positive and negative cycle repeated all day with the net effect being
positive about 50% of the time. If I had high enough DC load, it was
theoretically possible to end the day worse off than I started!!
I decided to see what the regulator had to say about what it saw was going on.
The regulator is a Balmar ARS-5. It has an LED display that includes the
temperature being reported by the battery temperature sensor. It showed 60
degrees C (about 140 degrees F if my math is right). Another battery
temperature sensor attached to the inverter/charger showed 40 degrees C - a
huge difference. Using a simple thermometer, I verified that the
inverter/charger was correct. So, the regulator was doing what it should do in
the presence of high battery temperature. But the temperature being reported
was waaaay wrong on the high side..."
I've had similar trouble with the battery temperature sensor connected to a
Balmar MC-612 regulator. Symptoms were exactly as John describes. The
malfunction occured more than a year after installation -unfortunately during
a long passage. Troubleshooting took some time, partly my fault for not
checking the regulator error codes right away. Telephone assistance from
Balmar was easy to reach and friendly, but their tech suggested a faulty
regulator. A new temp sensor fixed the problem. Anybody else found a bad
sensor ?

George Anastassiades
boatless until the end of the month...