Xantrex Truecharge 10 battery charger (repair?) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2018, 06:42:32 am
content: Hello, I have an Xantrex Truecharge 10 battery charger that failed.There was a blown 4 amp slow blow fuse which I replaced, but the charger doesn't seem to want to charge anymore. Rated for a maximum of 10 amp it's a three stage charger where it will trickle / float charge lower than 1 amp.But seems something must have gone wrong after loaning to a friend who was trying to revive a starting battery.I've been using it for approx. 10 years. Great charger but I guess I'm going to look for a replacement and see if I'm able to diagnose what went wrong. I don't have any sort of service manual for the Truecharge.

author: t1d
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2018, 11:43:39 pm
content: What is your level of expertise and what repair equipment do you have? Do you have a multimeter?Have you done a visual inspection, of the circuit board? Please post pictures, of the board, and especially of anything that looks suspect. Scorch marks, swollen/leaking capacitors, burn smell, etc.We would be glad to help you, but you are going to have to give us more information.If your friend's battery was shorted, that is likely what blew the fuse. But, obviously, there is something else wrong... It could be some several simple things, so be encouraged.

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2018, 01:24:52 am
content: The blown 4 amp fuse is probably on the 120 VAC input, but there may be protection on the 12 VDC output. If the replacement 4 amp fuse isn’t blowing, you have a fair chance of repairing the unit. Xantrex makes some pretty good stuff making it worth repairing if it hasn’t turned into a lump of charcoal. The Xantrex manual states that it has reverse polarity protection, so your friend may be off the hook for destroying it through stupidity (which has happened to me on several occasions). Don’t ever lend out your good stuff if you value it.As t1d states, please post some pictures and other requested data.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2018, 02:43:45 pm
content: The replacement 4 amp slow blow hasn't yet blown. When connected to a battery the indicator lights didn't function as they should.I took a couple of pics of a crusty area, with what appears to be burnt resistors?I suppose I can try to de-solder the burn't components and try to find replacements after identifying.The rest of the pcb, components appears to be ok.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2018, 02:22:27 pm
content: A few more photos of the damaged area. I'm still trying to find a parts list for the pcb as I'm not certain if all the damage components can be identified.I did pickup the same, (never used), Truecharge 10 off eBay for $75.00 (w/shipping) so possibly can partially dismantle to identify burnt parts.I think what may have happened is a trickle charger was put on the battery to get the truecharge to start charging. Having two chargers on the same battery may have heated and burnt up the Truecharge.Truecharge2 chargers are able to attempt to charge completely dead batteries that read zero volts, which I don't believe the older Truecharge is capable.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 13, 2018, 02:26:05 pm
content: The corrosion nearly looks like he dumped some battery acid into it... causing shorts, and a whole bunch of components burnt and blew as a result.Looks like a very involved cleanup and repair to go for.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2018, 02:50:54 pm
content: yeah i don't have any idea what happened, I'll need to be more careful lending out my chargers. As stated previously there was a trickle charger (Battery Tender) connected to the battery for a while at the same time. So I think having two chargers on one battery at the same time is asking for trouble. (Especially processor controlled chargers)I picked up another (unused) Truecharge 10 and also have a Truecharge 10TB (TC10TB) which is capable of charging two batteries at the same time.I've been looking at a used Truecharge2 20 amp however I'm trying to find more about it as it's being sold as-is, for parts, untested. Pics show it lights up when powered on. I'm uncertain why the seller didn't attempt to test the Xantrex Truecharge2? The seller has 100 percent feedback and sells alot of electrical equipment. For whatever reason didn't want to test the Xantrex Truecharge2 battery charger and has it up for buy-it-now for ~$100.00 with shipping.It has special charging cables with plug-in ends that can't be connected directly to a battery. The charging cables connected to the charger would either need to be replaced or cut off and install with clamps to connect to directly to a battery for testing.Might have been installed on a boat, rv, etc. where you plug in a charger to an existing battery cable system.Most RVs are wired this way. If the power center has no built-in charger usually need to connect an external 3-4 stage battery charger to wiring system that consists of a power center with an AC/DC converter, ac breakers and dc fuses.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2018, 12:08:56 am
content: The replacement TrueCharge 10 arrived today and it's brand new never removed from it's original packaging. For $75.00 I think it's worth the price. Many of the automobile chargers available on the market aren't all that well made, many aren't 3 stage and designed for AGM/GEL. I've had a few of the ~$50.00 ones and none lasted very long. I've use to have an older standard, iirc Sears, 6/2 charger not processor controlled, putting a non modified current and it last nearly 25 years. However they're designed for flooded batts and single stage going as low as 2 amps and don't shut down or produce a proper float charge. The Xantrex Chargers are capable of floating batteries under 1 amp (~.5 amps) processor controlled using PWM (pulse width modulation, imo does a better job charging a battery)The only other battery charger I've owned in league with the Xantrex Truecharge are RV converter/chargers such as Intellipower, Parallax, etc. and solar chargers such as a Morningstar Tri-star that can be controlled from a connection to a PC through a software app.Solar chargers are usually more advanced than other battery chargers partially because of cost of maintaining a battery bank(s). Spending thousands of dollars on batteries one needs a good battery charger to get the most life out of them. Charging e.g. a battery correctly such as a RV/Marine and deep cycle batteries last much longer. A Trojan Deep cycle open cell battery is capable of lasting up to ~20 years if properly maintained, A RV/Marine up to ~15 years. Starting batteries on an average are replaced every 3-5 years. Statistically nation wide flooded are replaced nearly twice as often as AGMs. I think partially due to AGMs don't require maintenance. Flooded batteries are often neglected.I purchased an AGM Optima Yellow Top over 10 years ago ($150.00) and it's still working fine after more than 10 years of regular use. I did make certain the car's alternator was charging ok, regularly cleaned battery terminals and if the AGM every became depleted put it on the Xantrex Truecharge overnight. AGM's I found behave a bit different from flooded when they become depleted, needing a jump, etc. Imo, its better to put them on a AGM charger overnight when they become near depletion.________At one time I was maintaining four vehicle starting batteries and three RV/Boat batteries and found the Tri-Star solar charger (which requires sun) to be a better design than any of the ac/dc chargers including any of the RV chargers. Which are good but imo not as good as a solar charger, such as tri-star, etc. the main draw-back is solar chargers aren't normally able to convert AC to a DC, and require sunlight.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2018, 02:22:01 pm
content: What about those universal R/C type chargers that work with many different battery types including lead acid?

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2018, 06:32:49 pm
content: Your referring to balance chargers designed to charge small battery banks? Most are capable of charging a vehicles starting battery, however most are limited to charging rate up to 5 amps maximum.They seem to work ok, I've used them before to charge a car battery. They are usually slower than an automobile battery charger and have problems getting too hot when connected to batteries and a large lead acid battery for extended lengths of time.You need to be careful when making connections as they might not have features such as reverse polarity protection. The cables and plug-ins can become vulnerable and require some additional care. You would need to build you own cables to connect to a car battery. There ok but not as easy to use and durable as battery chargers designed to charge vehicle lead acid batteries and the charging rate would be limited to a max. of 5 amps.The menu system which is mostly the same for all the different brands, can become difficult understand and use.There design mainly is for small batteries and battery banks used in remote controlled devices such as drones, small planes, boats, etc. not used all that often to charge large lead acid batteries.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 09:33:46 am
content: Quote from: albert001 on December 15, 2018, 06:32:49 pmThat's complete BS, they're designed for charging anything that's on their spec sheet just the same.Mine can charge a lead battery (or any other) up to 30A for example.You won't ever find one that gets "too hot when connected to batteries and a large lead acid battery for extended lengths of time" unless it's defective or total junk...All half decent RC chargers have reverse polarity, short, overload and any kind of protection you'd want, more than any other charger type actually.But it's OK, reading your posts and seeing the uncanny way you're always quoting the whole brand and model of your chargers, the amount of them you seem to deal with and how awesome you tout them to be above all else it is obvious that the only reason you're here is to advertise that brand, aka spam.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 09:57:45 am
content: I don't have anything to do with the manufacturing and selling of any of these products. I'm more into building things with my hands and mind. Having worked in the shipyards for many years never have had anything to do with advertising, spam and selling of products. So I think you misread and have a misconception of what I wrote. That happens quite often on the Internet, perhaps typical, as many people misconstrue and/or don't understand things written by other people.Anyway, I use to have a Tenergy balance charger, compact version, that overheated and burnt up.It was the same as the Tenergy TB6-B, only the compact version.Specs for Tenergy TB6-B shows its a 50 watt charger. The working electric current is less than 5A when it is charged in full load.Multi-chemistry balance charger are usually 50 watts.50 watts @ 12 volts is approx. ~5 amps.if your charger is rated to charge up to 30 amps means it's a 360 watt balance? charger?Perhaps it's not a balance charger for smaller battery banks? The idea behind balance chargers is they are able to balance the charge of a small battery bank, so each battery of the bank is charged nearly the same.I've owned other multi chemistry chargers for cylindrical batteries such as the SkyRc MC3000, but it too is only a 50 watt charger.What 30 amp battery charger are you referring to? It's a multi chemistry charger?

author: cs.dk
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 10:28:15 am
content: I have one of these;https://hyperion-world.com/en/p1005438-hp-eos0720isduo3- It can easily handle a car lead acid battery.. I did make a bummer though. While charging my floor washing machine, that uses 2xAGM in series. I connected them to each port of the charger, and I think it blow an output transistor as ch2 is dead now. So the channels are not isolated from each other, or what went wrong?Now i've got one of these, expensive, but worth it all. Really recommended;https://www.ctek.com/products/professional/pro60

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 11:07:11 am
content: I've heard of Hyperion chargers, didn't realize they have a 500w x2 version.I'm not really into charging smaller batteries, except for devices that use 18650's such as flashlights, etc.I have a couple dozen of 18650's salvaged from laptops and a few rechargeable AA's and AAA's. Currently I have a USB multi-chem charger and an Opus multi-chem charger.The only other chargers I have are designed for RVs and cars.I still have an old 35 amp Parallax and use to have an Intellicharger that eventually failed. I still have a PowerMax RV charger / converter which hasn't every been installed.I have a smaller motorhome that use to have three RV batteries, until I removed them and installed a 20 amp power supply as the RV rarely travels anymore, stays connected to the PUD. RVs require 12 volts to run their absorption refrigerators and RV furnaces which require a working 12 volt fan to operate.If your boondocking with an absorption gas refrigerator and furnace, requires 12 volts. The RV furnace fans usually draw at least 7 amps. A fan is required for safety purposes and to distribute heat. A fan is required when the furnace is first started and stopped to expel any gas fumes. For boondocking it's better to go with a catalytic heater that doesn't require any electricity. Or if you have a wood stove they make a great heat source for RVs, Boats, small cabins, etc. They manufacture small wood stove designed for small spaces such as in boats and rvs.If there's enough sunlight you can go solar other wise requires a geny to keep batteries charged.I think most people are use to having AC available, but many places such up in the mountains, off-grid,etc. there's no readily available AC to maintain batteries.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 11:13:03 am
content: Quote from: albert001 on December 16, 2018, 09:57:45 amYup, Tenergy thing was a knockoff of the Imax B6.Standard for multi chargers is 300W nowadays, nobody buys a 50W one anymore. Mine is a 1000W model that charges up to 45V batteries (iCharger 3010B), was pretty high end and pricy but I've had it for nearly a decade now and it's still going strong.That's a pretty good offering (out of stock right now it seems though)https://hobbyking.com/en_us/0620ac-eu-plug-20a-300w-synchronous-balance-charger-discharger-built-in-ac-version-2.htmlQuote from: cs.dk on December 16, 2018, 10:28:15 amNO, channels are not isolated on any of these. Always got to separate the batteries.

author: cs.dk
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 11:20:53 am
content: Quote from: albert001 on December 16, 2018, 11:07:11 amIt's actually quite a good charger IMO.. It can also discharge and datalog to PC, so you can test batteries for capacity, etc.IIRC 40W is max discharge power. Set current and cutoff voltage, and it will make a nice graph.For my 18650's i use Nitecore Digicharger D4Quote from: Kilrah on December 16, 2018, 11:13:03 amLesson learned the hard way.. Anyway, it is not very clear in the specs/datasheets.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 11:57:15 am
content: Yeah, I just currently don't have any real need for a balance charger.The little chargers for cylindrical cells is all I really require to charge 18650's.I can remember one charger I use to own, a SkyRC MC3000 made in China by a Chinese company, that broke down and the manu. warr had expired. I happened to purchase a 3 year Square Trade extended warranty. After calling up Square Trade they said to take the MC3000 into a repair shop and have it repaired. Send them the bill and they would reimburse me. I called several repair shops, all of them gave me a repair estimate without looking at the MC3000 with a repair cost more than a new one. After calling square trade back they told me they wanted some sort of estimate in writing. To get a repair estimate in writing usually requires you bring the product into a repair shop so they can inspect and take a look at it. However there weren't any repair shops within 150 mile. After calling and e-mailing Square Trade several times, explaining there weren't any repair shop near my location they finally agreed to re-immerse me the cost of a new one without a written repair estimate.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2018, 06:56:15 pm
content: I found a used Truecharge2 20 amp on ebay As-is untested for a $100.00 (including shipping).It's capable of charging three batteries simultaneously at different rates depending on the state of charge of each battery. Battery types AGM, Flooded, GEL and Lead Calc (calcium)It was listed as "For parts or not working "Seller Notes: “There are some signs of wear/scratches. The battery charger remains untested for working condition, which is why it is AS IS for parts or repair. The item is being sold as is, no returns, for parts or repair.”After purchasing using buy-it-now I thought why in the heck did I do that? As-Is untested, I began thinking it probably has something wrong with it or doesn't work at all.So waited ~10 days for it to arrive, unwrapped connected to AC and the indicator lights came on. Then connected to a flooded car starting battery and it showed it was charging but in GEL mode, after figuring you need to hold the buttons down at least 3-5 seconds I was able to set it to flooded battery mode.Seems to be charging the flooded battery ok currently at 13.25 volts. The charge indicator went from around 40 percent to 10 percent.Will leave it connected overnight to see if anything goes wrong. It's a three/four stage charger and if working ok should eventually go into a float mode.I also have some AGMs to connect to and will need to test the charger for approx. week or so. Determine it's charging ok, doesn't overheat, etc.I'm not promoting Xantrex, It's just one charger I'm sort of familiar with. I can't say one charger with similar features is better than another. Some people such as boaters have needed to replace Xantrex2 within it's two year manufacture warranty. So probably like most equipment these days a certain percentage fails.Update: went out today to checked on the Xantrex Truecharge2 20amp charging a vehicle flooded battery and found a fan error, (blinking light) but the charger was still charging. (float mode). After removing leads from battery and unplugging AC, > then replugging AC and connecting battery leads there was no fan error.After reading in the boat forums I'm seeing Xantrex owners without any complaints and others with complaints about their Xantrex chargers and products failing and needing replacement. Some business have even dropped Xantrex products switching to another manufacture.The problem with some Xantrex products may be due to Xantrex was bought out a number years ago by a private equity firm? Today Xantrex is owned by Schneider Group and I've read that may have lead to a better quality control and more reliable Xantrex products?Anyway there's probably as good and better battery chargers out there. I think Xantrex products may have improved since the Schneider acquisition.At this point I don't really need a balance charger as I don't need to balance charge battery packs and already have have two car chargers and two trickle chargers.

author: albert001
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2018, 09:34:16 am
content: I'm not really certain what to do about the Truecharge2 where everytime I observed it the fan has been running. I need to find out for certain about the fans normal behavior and if it's controlled or not. (perhaps try to call Xantrex as they have no e-mail or online tech support that I'm aware of)I did come across an Xantrex Truecharge 20+ for $75.00. Described as" Never installed. Comes in original box with manual."It's the old version of Truecharge that was replaced by the Truecharge2. Instead of using a fan appears to use large heat sinks.http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/DataSheet/DS20060712JS_Truecharge2040.pdfhttps://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/xQkAAOSw~sJcJmgW/s-l1600.jpghttps://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bxMAAOSwYTtcJmh2/s-l1600.jpg