Date:         Thu, 23 Mar 2000 11:35:10 -0500
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Subject:      Re: Optima Batteries
Comments: To: wb6otg <wb6otg@INTREX.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <200003231128.AA3307733226@intrex.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

The camper manual details the voltages that the lights are supposed to
trigger at.  On the panel circuit board there is a tweak that you can use
to set the highest trigger level -- the others are fixed ratios below the
set point.  Their general intention was similar to the water level
indication, i.e. practically full - not practically full - practically
empty.  Also note that interpreting state of charge in a lead-acid battery
by voltage is quite tricky.  For accurate results, the battery must have no
load at all on it, and also either a) not been charged for 24 hours or b)
had a brief (?1-2 minutes?) discharge of something like 10 amps to "remove
the surface charge."

david

At 11:28 3/23/2000, wb6otg wrote:
> >For some reason, perhaps a bad ground, or
> >short somewhere, the LED will show in the yellow unless the engine is
> >running, charging the system.
>
>That's what my owner's manual describes as normal.
>
>Bill

David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"