Re: Firelite Power problems (in general)

[Nomen Nescio <nobody@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Sokoly said:

>Agree with the Max Charging data 27.6V /1.5A But the Troubleshooting
>Guide on page 48 states 17-19V at charger output! What the H is with
>that? I agree with the assumption and logic about 25-27 will keep the
>batts charged but not too hot - guess Firelite will have to answer this one!

Most of the panels we work with show a reasonable charging voltage when the
battery is disconnected, but not all panels do.  As I understand it, that's
because a battery looks like a capacitor to the charging circuit.  So, when
the battery is removed, the charging circuit gets confused and does not put
out the 13.8 or so volts we expect for a 12 volt battery, or the 27.6 or so
we expect for a 24 volt battery.

I think what FireLite is giving you is the reading you can expect to see on
your meter with a healthy charging circuit and no battery connected.  If
you happen to have a 10,000 microfarad capacitor around :-) and put it
across the battery leads, I think you'll see a more reasonable charging
voltage.  I'm not defending FireLite, but I think this is what's going on.
In real life, connect  some new batteries and monitor the charging voltage
with your DVM.  If it's 24 volts and increasing, it's probably okay.  If it
stays the same or drops, the charger is bad.  Of course, put it under load
as well.

- badenov