Sterling BB1230 Battery to Battery Charger losing its settings

[John H.]

I have been trying to use a Sterling Power BB1230 B2B charger to charge my Lithium batteries, but it keeps losing its settings.

Three times now the unit has started trying to charge the Lithium leisure batteries when the motorhome is parked up. On thge first two occaisions, I di not realise what was going on and the low engine battery voltage caused my Fiat Airg Bag ECU to trip out when I started the engine. (needing it to be reset).

This time, I was in the Motohome, and I heard the fan come on in the Sterling B2B charger. The charger had been set to only charge when the D+ signal was present. When I checked the engine battery voltage, it was very low again. probably low enough to cause problems with the Aig Bag ECU again.

Has anyone else seen the Sterling B2B lose its settings like this?

 

[Robert Clark]

I’d suggest giving Stirling a call, they’re quite good at phone support

 

[andy63]

Hi.. you may find that even though you are using a d+ signal or an ignition signal that the unit will still default to a voltage threshold setting... and if you have solar or a battery type maintainer attached to the system the unit will switch on regardless.. how long it stays on could depend on the regeneration timer setting..or the low voltage cut out..
I certainly found my 60amp unit had a habit of turning on when I didnt expect it to ..not sure if it has all worked OK for you in past or its a new install..if the latter it is quite likely a settings issue..
Andy

 

[John H.]

Hi.. you may find that even though you are using a D+ signal or an ignition signal that the unit will still default to a voltage threshold setting... and if you have solar or a battery type maintainer attached to the system the unit will switch on regardless.. how long it stays on could depend on the regeneration timer setting..or the low voltage cut out..
I certainly found my 60amp unit had a habit of turning on when I didnt expect it to ..not sure if it has all worked OK for you in past or its a new install..if the latter it is quite likely a settings issue..

Yes, it was supposed to be set use the D+ signal only, but I do have a battery maintainer on the engine battery. I am now confident that the B2B was turning on regardless of the D+ only setting.

It did work correctly for a few weeks, but then went silly all by itself.

It was a new install. It is now in a bag ready to be recycled. I have no confidence with it. It has cost me to have the Air Bag ECU reset twice because of a depleted engine battery. The settings are just too fiddly to have to keep doing it. (Press a button 10 times to do one setting or 20 times for another setting and then count the lit LEDs to see where you are at. Life is too short for all that)

I am now waiting for the Votronic VCC 1212-30 to be available again. (Later this month, I understand). The Votronic has switchable settings.

 

[John H.]

I have now fitted a Votronic VCC 1212-45 which so far is behaving itself. All settings done with switches.

The unit sits idle (no LEDs lit, no sign of any power) until the D+ signal from the engine running wakes it up. It wakes up giving 10% of the normal output and then slowly builds up to the full 45amp charge.

When the engine is switched off, the unit then completely powers down and stays that way regardles of the presence (or not) of the solar panels.

Nice. Just a shame it is another German import.

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[autorouter]

I have been trying to use a Sterling Power BB1230 B2B charger to charge my Lithium batteries, but it keeps losing its settings.

Three times now the unit has started trying to charge the Lithium leisure batteries when the motorhome is parked up. On thge first two occaisions, I di not realise what was going on and the low engine battery voltage caused my Fiat Airg Bag ECU to trip out when I started the engine. (needing it to be reset).

This time, I was in the Motohome, and I heard the fan come on in the Sterling B2B charger. The charger had been set to only charge when the D+ signal was present. When I checked the engine battery voltage, it was very low again. probably low enough to cause problems with the Aig Bag ECU again.

Has anyone else seen the Sterling B2B lose its settings like this?

Only just seen this thread. The Sterling B2B has Mode 1 (voltage threshold controlled) and Mode 2 (voltage threshold controlled plus D+ control). The D+ control ensures it turns on even if it's a smart alternator that stops charging the starter battery and doesn't raise the voltage above the turn-on threshold. What you might expect is it stops turn-on unless the D+ is active, but it definitely doesn't do that.

In the later software versions (from v69) there is a third mode called Ignition-Only Mode, which ignores any voltage settings and turns on if and only if the D+ is active. For earlier software versions I think you can put it in Mode 2 and set the thresholds to the maximum so the voltage never turns the B2B on.

 

[John H.]

Only just seen this thread. The Sterling B2B has Mode 1 (voltage threshold controlled) and Mode 2 (voltage threshold controlled plus D+ control). The D+ control ensures it turns on even if it's a smart alternator that stops charging the starter battery and doesn't raise the voltage above the turn-on threshold. What you might expect is it stops turn-on unless the D+ is active, but it definitely doesn't do that.

In the later software versions (from v69) there is a third mode called Ignition-Only Mode, which ignores any voltage settings and turns on if and only if the D+ is active. For earlier software versions I think you can put it in Mode 2 and set the thresholds to the maximum so the voltage never turns the B2B on.

Many Thanks for the reply.

My Users Manual (December 2020 V4) for my Blue Stripe BB1230 describes a number of activation modes:-
- Automatic Activation (default mode - no ignition feed required)
- Ignition Feed Modes
- - Ignition mode 1 (default when ignition feed is applied)
- - Ignition feed mode 2 (Pure ignition)

I have no idea what version the software is. The manual talks about the software version being displayed in binary format. I understand binary, but where is the display.

I had the charger set to Pure Ignition (by pressing SETUP for 20 flashes), but I still heard the fan - presumably, when it noticed the solar panel applying a charge to the engine battery - the engine was not running.. So, either the unit lost its settings or ignored them.

Changing the operational on/off voltages is something I have only read about after reading your post. (Press SETUP button for 25 flashes, then press more buttons to column to the required voltage. What does that mean?

I find all this button pressing quite rediculous really. I would never had bought it, had I read the full manual before hand. In any case, it assumes that the thing is mounted where you can see the buttons.