Voltage regulator

[davidbrady]

(09-08-2015 21:23)K Sarich Wrote:  As we needed a regulator that would play nice with our battery/ alternator set-up we bought the Balmar MC-614H. It is programmable if needed and has worked well for us the last year. There is some wiring work needed, but nothing too complicated. We ordered ours from Baltimore Battery and it was about $370. Seems to be used in boating so if your near a port/yachting area someone may stock it.

Just a thought
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

I always thought I'd take the Balmar replacement approach when the time comes. Can you share a little more about the install and the programming or any pics you have? Thanks!

[davidbrady]

Al brings up this LXi voltage regulator wiring mod: Document Library->Models->LXi->VoltageRegulatorWiringModification.pdf. This was a fix for a mildly pulsating 50DN ammeter gauge.

[al perna]

I am here a t Parliament, and may have found a source for the regulator . I will call in the morning and check it out . I spent some time today reaching out to Delco Remy and , as luck would have it, I was not the first . so soon this issue will be a thing of the past, and we will once again be able to source this part .

[davidbrady]

(09-09-2015 10:35)cvaughn Wrote:  I have had a bad chassis battery cause overcharge issues. Also the solenoid that connects the battery banks together can fail causing overcharge issue. Some folks call the solenoid " The Big Boy". FWIW BB wired my coach to charge the house batteries but the pickup for the regulator is connected to the chassis side. When the big boy fails the chassis batteries are not charged causing the alt to overcharge the house batteries. I have had one regulator and two big boys fail in less than a year.

Charlie, the VoltageRegulatorWiringModification.pdf doc I posted above and dated August 2002 shows the sense wire connected to the house (coach as opposed to chassis) batteries. Swapping this over may mitigate some of your problems.

(09-09-2015 18:53)al perna Wrote:  I am here a t Parliament, and may have found a source for the regulator . I will call in the morning and check it out . I spent some time today reaching out to Delco Remy and , as luck would have it, I was not the first . so soon this issue will be a thing of the past, and we will once again be able to source this part .

Good deal Al. I also put a phone call in to my local shop to see if they can dig up some new old stock. I'll let the group know tomorrow.

[al perna]

good stuff David, as we know this is a issue that all S60 owners will need to deal with , one time or another .

[K Sarich]

Attached is a pict of the Balmar 614 installed on the firewall and a quick schematic showing the wiring.

Installation was straight forward once we determined which wires in the existing loom provided switched power and which wire was the sense wire. As shown on the included wiring schematic we simply cut those wires at the existing regulator and connected them to the appropriate Balmar wires. We left the original regulator in place as a spare.

Programming the Balmar is a bit archaic given our touch screen world, but is manageable and once programmed to your satisfaction there is no need to re-program.

For more info you can download the 614 manual here:

http://www.balmar.net/pdf/mc-614-manual.pdf

[davidbrady]

Thanks Kevin,

Do you have the Alternator high amperage output connected to the coach or the chassis batteries? Do you have the regulator sense wire connected to the corresponding battery bank? In my Prevost I have two alternators. The 24V 50DN is dedicated to the house batteries. Then I have a Bosch 24V dedicated to the chassis batteries. Each has their own regulator and a sense wire respectively. Were you able to use one of the user selectable preset programs or did it require further customization? Is there any in-house monitoring of the Balmer charging stages?

[K Sarich]

Do you have the Alternator high amperage output connected to the coach or the chassis batteries?

It is connected to the a chassis lug, but both systems charge/combine when the ignition is on. When doing the install our thinking was program for the house Lithium batteries and if the chassis AGM batteries suffer then just replace them with Lithium. So far no problems, which is good, as the price of Balqon's batteries jumped up soon after our purchase. I believe there might be more of a problem if our chassis batteries were wet cell, but since the charge profiles between Lithiums and AGM's are similar they seem to get along fine.

Do you have the regulator sense wire connected to the corresponding battery bank?

Sense wire is hooked to the chassis battery lug. We placed it there thinking that there may be times I'd run the engine and not wish to charge the house battery. We then discovered if the house battery is off the bus no start. Don't know why BB designed it that way, must be a reason. I guess I could switch the sense to the house battery, but it would still be combined when the Ignition is on.

In my Prevost I have two alternators. The 24V 50DN is dedicated to the house batteries. Then I have a Bosch 24V dedicated to the chassis batteries. Each has their own regulator and a sense wire respectively.

Having dual alternators feeding each system independently would be nice given the different battery technologies, but no such luck for us. If one of your alternators failed are you able to combine or switch the charge to each battery bank?

Were you able to use one of the user selectable preset programs or did it require further customization?

No. There is no "Lithium, Lifepo4" setting so we did customize.

Page 9 of the manual lists all the different pre-programmed settings. They are all there plus a few I din't know about.

Is there any in-house monitoring of the Balmer charging stages?

No, but I didn't look into whether that option might exist.

[davidbrady]

Thanks Kevin,

I appreciate your answers. I think the Balmar VR setup is the bomb!

(09-11-2015 12:28)K Sarich Wrote:  Sense wire is hooked to the chassis battery lug. We placed it there thinking that there may be times I'd run the engine and not wish to charge the house battery. We then discovered if the house battery is off the bus no start. Don't know why BB designed it that way, must be a reason. I guess I could switch the sense to the house battery, but it would still be combined when the Ignition is on.

I have no idea why BB did that and haven't heard of it before. Maybe a WB owner will chime in.

I only bring up the idea of having the alternator high amperage output on one bank and the sense wire on a different bank because failure of interconnecting constant use solenoids could mean trouble; some birds are wired this way. I think it's best the way you have it.

(09-11-2015 12:28)K Sarich Wrote:  Having dual alternators feeding each system independently would be nice given the different battery technologies, but no such luck for us. If one of your alternators failed are you able to combine or switch the charge to each battery bank?

Yes I can. I have a 24V 270A 50DN charging the house and a 24V 140A Bosch alternator charging the chassis, but they are switchable in case one fails; i.e., the 50DN can charge the chassis and the Bosch can charge the house battery banks.