Ongoing 12v System Issues

[Ian28]

My LiFOS battery charges fine via the CTEK when driving but on hook up it won’t charge - that’s with the Sargent on/off button in the on position & illuminated red. Was going to troubleshoot things today but my LiFOS app has stopped working (despite re-installing) and now the on/off button on the Sargent isn’t illuminating. Was going to try charging the battery with a figure 8 cable attached to 240V mains and the charging unit that is linked to the battery but there’s no way of viewing the SOC now! The SOC was reading 58% this morning before the app stopped working.
The battery has never accepted charge via the Sargent - even when the fed light was illuminated.
Any ideas please as my converter is 500 miles away....!
Cheers,
Ian

 

[Dellmassive]

The Sargent isn't a battery charger, it's just a power supply.

You can get yourself a proper smart charger with lithium profile to use with EHU etc

 

[Dellmassive]

Battery Chargers - How I Did It -

 

[Ian28]

Thanks Dellmassive (again!). I thought the Sargent provided a very low level charge to the leisure battery when hooked up? The LiFOS has a ‘black box’ attached to it which I can connect to a mains supply - assuming is a charger. Will post a photo next. I’ll give that a go tomorrow.
Any ideas why the EC155 should suddenly stop working?

 

[Ian28]

 

[Dellmassive]

yes the LIFOS blackbox above is the wall charger......

its rated at 14.6V @ 3A . . . . . (so a slow charger)

but the thing is the voltage, . . . . . that battery needs the 14.6v (14v - 15v) to charge.

The sargent maybe putting out 12.6v or less . . . . . . . . which is why the battery wont charge. (The internal BMS will not let it start charging)

Not sure about the sargent not working . . . . first thing id do is get the meter out and start checking fuses etc.

 

[Ian28]

Excellent thank you, makes perfect sense. I’ll do some fuse checking tomorrow. Final question regarding my LiFOS charger please - can I use the mains socket in my VW when on EHU to charge the battery or would it need to be from an external 240v mains socket?

 

[Dellmassive]

If the mains socket in the van is a direct conection to the EHU, then yes..


But no if the socket is fed from an inverter that is powered from the battery you are trying to charge....


If it's just EHU and Sargent then it's most likely a direct conection so should be fine.

 

[Ian28]

It is a direct connection, yes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge - much appreciated.