Smartgauge " stuck "' at 76

[chubby]

Hello ,

 

Im pretty reliant on my smartgauge for understanding the current state of my batteries ( 4 cabin batts 110 amp hours & 1 engine ) as i m not very technically gifted shall we say .

For the last 10 days it seems to have taken a liking to the number 76 and seems reluctant to change .

Yesterday i went cruising for 4 hours , almost entirely at 1100 - 1200 revs . Today i cruised for 5 hours again mostly at the same speeds with perhaps 30 minutes of a faster rate of 1600 - 1800 .

When i moored up yesterday & this afternoon i immediately checked the smartgauge as i m a bit concerned . SOC - 76 still . On both occasions immediately after stopping the cabin batteries voltage ( on smartgauge ) was 12.9 & the engine 13.4 v

This morning before setting off i checked the voltage on the cabin batteries & it was 12.8 .

Whilst underway i often checked the voltmeter reading & it was consistently just past 14 v

Has anyone any idea why it should appear " stuck " at 76 despite around 8-9 hours of running ?

Any further checks i can make as to why this is happening ?

if any further info is required please let me know & thanks in advance for any advice

 

cheers

[ditchcrawler]

Duff cell

[bottle]

Domestic battery problem.

 

For info:

 

The Smartgauge can give erroneous readings if the batteries are not capable of being charged to 50% of their original capacity.

 

In your case original = 440 amp.hrs but now their capacity is = or < 220 amp.hrs.

[DaveC]

Maybe the SG is cream crackered.

 

Dave

[chubby]

Cheers guys

 

Please forgive my stupidity but i cannot interpret what these replies mean .

My batteries were fitted in september 13 & have been charged by solar all summer to 100 % SOC .

Are they on thier way out just over 1 year later despite my best efforts to look after them .?

If there is one duff cell is there a way of finding out which one , so i can remove it from the bank & just run on 3 cabin batts ?

 

cheers again

 

eta : one curious thing that i failed to add at the beginning is that if i press the button 1 to show voltage on the cabin voltage it reads 12.8 / 12.7 ( flickering ) & 76 SOC .

If i press button 2 for engine batt it shows 13 v & SOC 76

i don t understand why / how SOC is the same on seperate banks ??

 

cheers again

Edited December 14, 2014 by chubby

[Boat&Bikes]

Bet the guage has a fault.

 

Ian.

[BargeeSpud]

A quick phone call or email to Merlin should get you sorted, they're very helpful.

 

01202 697979

 

sales@merlinequipment.com

[chubby]

Another thing to mention possibly , is that i recently checked smartgauge & found it said EO3 error code .

this means , as i understand it , that there had been a temporary period of excessive voltage charge going in .

The only thing charging my batts would be the solar panels - 400 w .

 

Is this relevant ? i ve no idea how much time the excessive voltage went on for .

 

cheers

 

ETA : cheers Bargee spud . I did consider this but thought twice incase they get pestered by the technically inept regularly , but i think i will give them a call tomorrow . I look after my batteries , or i thought i did so im a bit concerned . I thought 12.7 v & over was fully charged & so don t understand why it reads 76 % . If the SOC went up to 100 after charging but fell rapidly to 76 then there would be a definate problem that would need addressing but despite at least 8 hours cruising the SOC hasn t budged .

 

cheers

Edited December 14, 2014 by chubby

[ditchcrawler]

Bet the guage has a fault.

 

Ian.

Following your second post with both batteries at different voltage but same SOC I am going that way as well

[GUMPY]

Cheers guys

 

Please forgive my stupidity but i cannot interpret what these replies mean .

My batteries were fitted in september 13 & have been charged by solar all summer to 100 % SOC .

Are they on thier way out just over 1 year later despite my best efforts to look after them .?

If there is one duff cell is there a way of finding out which one , so i can remove it from the bank & just run on 3 cabin batts ?

 

cheers again

 

eta : one curious thing that i failed to add at the beginning is that if i press the button 1 to show voltage on the cabin voltage it reads 12.8 / 12.7 ( flickering ) & 76 SOC .

If i press button 2 for engine batt it shows 13 v & SOC 76

i don t understand why / how SOC is the same on seperate banks ??

 

cheers again

SG only reads state of charge on one bank. On the engine battery it just reads voltage whilst still displaying SoC for the domestics.

[RichLech]

My understanding is that the Smartgauge measures the voltage across either the leisure or starter batt but only measures the SOC of the leisure batts, not the starter batt.

 

Hence it always reads 76 in your case.

[Phil.]

I think I can answer the EO3 error code for you. This is an over voltage code and mine is also doing this almost daily now. It kick in at about 15.15/15.20 volts and is down to the solar charge controller increasing the voltage to compensate for the low temp I believe.

[chubby]

Cheers again folks ,

 

So if the 76 refers to the cabin bank only & this is normal that smartgauge only gives voltage info as opposed to SOC info on the engine battery then thats ok & explains that conundrum .

 

Phil . Is the regularity of your EO3 error code readings any cause for concern ?

[smileypete]

How's your Eberspacher BTW, doing it's thing OK, or have you given up on it?

 

Not having the best luck with this sort of stuff are you? Have you tried disconnecting the SG so it gets a proper reset? Also it should be wired direct to the batt bank, if not that won't help.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited December 14, 2014 by smileypete

[chubby]

Alright Smileypete .

 

No not too much luck but no grumbles . I ve stated im concerned about my smartgauge readings but its more that im baffled by it . Its read 100 % all summer & thru autumn until now . I usually check it each day & it slowly drops its SOC as i use power . Then i go for a cruise & afterwards it reads 100 % . This is the first time its done otherwise & im stumped .

The eber is running perfectly & has done since. all that messing around with it earlier in the year . Not sure i should be using it just now tho seeing as i cannot ascertain the state of my batteries! I m reluctant to think that theres a prob with the gauge but cannot explain how it or why it has become stuck at 76

cheers

 

ETA : the gauge is wired direct to the batts as you say & i had thought of disconnecting it & re connecting it but i think i ll call Merlin first

 

cheers again

Edited December 14, 2014 by chubby

[Phil.]

Cheers again folks ,

So if the 76 refers to the cabin bank only & this is normal that smartgauge only gives voltage info as opposed to SOC info on the engine battery then thats ok & explains that conundrum .

Phil . Is the regularity of your EO3 error code readings any cause for concern ?

I don't believe so. The recommended absorption voltage for my batts is 14.8 volts. As they are sitting in a cold engine bay the temperature compensation takes this up to 15.15/15.25 max which I worked out to be roughly about right for batts being charged at between 5 and 10 degrees c. They do not stay at this level of voltage long because they go into float which down at about 13.5 but it is long enough for the smartgauge to register the over voltage. Having said all that if one of the forum electrical wizards may have a different view and I look forward to reading it as I am still a novice at all this.

[chubby]

Thats good to hear Phil . When i first saw the EO3 code i thought that the only thing charging my batts are the solar panels so they must have been working very well indeed to put excessive voltages into the battery tho it may well have only been charging at the excessive voltage for a very short time . I m not aware of how long is too long is for smartgauge .

At no point all summer was EO3 displayed & i interpreted this sudden error code being due to the theory / fact that solar panels are most effective when it is bright & COLD & therefore the temporary excessive voltage was perhaps down to the fact that the conditions were perfect for the panels & this led to a short period when they were effectively TOO efficient & smartgauge recorded this & displayed the error code .

This suggests that the solar has continued to charge , even if for shorter periods of time , during the winter .

If true then the reading of 76 makes even less sense as the batts are receiving charge from panels & alternators & yet it won t budge beyond 76 .

Strange

 

cheers

[Phil Ambrose]

Just a thought, doesn't your solar charger cut out at a pre set voltage? Mine does and the voltage is among the adjustable parameters.

Phil

[chubby]

Hi Phil

 

Not sure to be honest about that , i struggle with technical stuff . I ll dig out the tracer control box manual .

I think i ll call Merlin to see what they say & if they have any suggestions about whats going on as i m stumped .

 

cheers again

 

Edited due to replying to the wrong Phil .

Edited December 14, 2014 by chubby

[J R]

Good idea to speak to the people at merlin, but you could try disconnecting the wires to the Smartguage for a few minutes and then recoonnecting. Think that there is something in the instructions about this. It will take a day or more for the correct reading to get up to speed. Hope that you get it cured as they are a valuable asset for battery management.

[chubby]

Cheers J R

 

I was thinking about doing exactly that & disconnecting it , reconnecting it & then waiting a day or two for it to re adjust & see what happened .

I will now re read the manual & if it does say to try this then i definately will .

I think i ll call them anyway to see if they can shed any light on the situation .

 

Just checked the voltages again having last checked at 2.45 ish .

Cabin bank : 12.75 / 80

engine : 12.8

 

cheers again

[bargebird]

Hi

I also have solar and get the 03 error code from my Smartgauge but only since the colder weather has arrived so I think what Phil has suggested maybe right.

My batteries use temperature compensated charging also and I have been told that solar works better at colder temps so this I hope seems to fit with Chubby's error code too.

 

Jules

[nicknorman]

Cheers J R

I was thinking about doing exactly that & disconnecting it , reconnecting it & then waiting a day or two for it to re adjust & see what happened .

I will now re read the manual & if it does say to try this then i definately will .

I think i ll call them anyway to see if they can shed any light on the situation .

Just checked the voltages again having last checked at 2.45 ish .

Cabin bank : 12.75 / 80

engine : 12.8

cheers again

So are you saying the SoC is now reading 80%? ie no longer stuck at 76%?

 

Anyway, if the voltage as indicated on the Smartgauge is up above 14v ie whilst you are cruising, the SoC reading should slowly increase. It will not matter if the batteries are a bit duff, all the SG sees is the voltage. If the SoC is frozen at 76% during a long charge, there is something wrong with the SG. Obviously it is mostly working since it is measuring voltage and responding to your button presses, but something in the SoC algorithm has come unstuck. As suggested, it is possible that just disconnecting it (easiest by removing the fuse) and reconnecting it after a few seconds, will is it. Bear in mind that when you do this, the SoC defaults to 75%, but should settle on the right value when the actual SoC goes through 75% or following a long charge.

 

If that doesn't work, I am pretty sure there is a "restore to factory defaults" function described in the manual, although I don't have the manual with me. I would try this.

[cariad]

The following guide taken from the manual. Hope it helps. You will need another pair of hands to hold the buttons while you disconnect and then reconnect.

To do a full reset to SMARTGAUGE.

1. disconnect power or pull out fuse

2. press both volts and status buttons and keep them pressed

3. reapply power, still keeping the buttons pressed

4.Smartgauge will display the software revision. keep the buttons pressed.

5. Smartgauge will display the battery model revision as usual. keep the buttons pressed.

6. the display will go blank

7. remove your fingers from the button.

8.Smartgauge will flash "fr" ( factory reset)

9.Smartgauge will completely reset it's internals to the factory defaults.

Smartgauge will now operate exactly like a new unit on first power up beginning by displaying the software revision.

you may have to repeat this procedure if the set up menu lock was set before attempting this action.

[chubby]

Thankyou Nick ,

 

Just to clarify - the readings i referred to as 12.75 / 80 are the voltage . It was flickering between the two .

Very well , what i shall tomorrow before setting off is to disconnect it by removing both fuses & then replace them . As you say , once reconnected , the gauge should read 75 and i remember this is what happened when i originally installed it . This was explained as its " default " reading whilst it synchronises itself over several discharge / recharge cycles .

So , when i set off it will read 75 & then i ll cruise back to my mooring . This will take around 3 hours .

I expect that it will read 75 for several days .

You are correct to say that there are instructions for resetting the factory settings & i will try that afterwards if necessary .

 

Thanks again to you all for your assistance . I 'll report back here with the results - good or bad ,

 

cheers

 

eta : apologies Cariad , i was typing when you posted . The second pair of hands may be a prob ! I 'll disconnect it & reconnect firstly to see what happens & as i say i ' ll try resetting if that fails .

cheers again

Edited December 14, 2014 by chubby