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Post by rxc on Jul 28, 2013 12:18:39 GMT
This is not a battery isolater. It is a battery combiner that uses a mosfet electonic relay instead of a hardware relay. The battery isolators installed on the older Jeanneaus use simple diodes to prevent current from flowing backwards, and these diodes impose a voltage drop of about 1V. If you have an external voltage regulator for the alternator that has a separate sensing line, you can attach it to the battery itself, and it will regulate the alternator to provide the right voltage at the battery. An alternator with a simple internal regulator does not know about the 1.0 V drop thru the isolator, and therefore never gets the batteries charged.
These combiners are new, and they have their advantages and disadvantages. I personally prefer a mechanical relay, but I am an old guy who has seen too many solid-state power electrical equipment fail. I just believe that relays are more robust, but I don't have anything other than experience to back that up. They are certainly better than the isolators.
In any case, it is importance to monitor the voltage of the batteries AT THE BATTERIES, not at the input to the isolator, or anywhere else. The sense lines should go directly to the battery terminals, with only one wire, if possible, no fuse in that line (if you can accept this),and with good solid connections at both ends. Otherwise you don't know what the battery voltage actually is.
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