Sterling b2b problems

[PeterE1947]

I have a Sterling B2B which is not charging the habitation battery. Recently on a short break in Scotland the habitation battery a 200 Ah LifePoO4 failed completely. It did charge up on the way home but only very slowly. Has anyone had problems with these units?

 

[Speve]

I have a Sterling B2B which is not charging the habitation battery. Recently on a short break in Scotland the habitation battery a 200 Ah LifePoO4 failed completely. It did charge up on the way home but only very slowly. Has anyone had problems with these units?

Do you have a DC to DC charger or solar panels to charge your leisure battery as I think your B2B will be topping up your starter battery from your leisure and if you are not replacing that it will flatten your leisure battery

 

[Two on Tour]

I have a Sterling B2B which is not charging the habitation battery. Recently on a short break in Scotland the habitation battery a 200 Ah LifePoO4 failed completely. It did charge up on the way home but only very slowly. Has anyone had problems with these units?

My Sterling BB1260 has worked faultlessly for the past 6 years.

Which Sterling B2B do you have?

 

[TinaLes]

Can you see how many amps are being sent to the battery, do you have a battery monitor to show what the state of charge is, i.e Bulk, Absorption etc.
You could always stick a clamp meter over the pos lead to the hab battery with the engine running to check out charging current.
Maybe try a proper reset, by disconnecting the B2B, then restart by connecting it back up. I think there may be some instructions in The Sterling B2B manual, just follow set up from the start.
Apologies if you have done these things, other than that a call to Stirling may also be useful in finding out the problem.
LES

 

[MichaelT]

Do you have a DC to DC charger or solar panels to charge your leisure battery as I think your B2B will be topping up your starter battery from your leisure and if you are not replacing that it will flatten your leisure battery

The B2B should charge the leisure battery nit starter battery

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[Speve]

The B2B should charge the leisure battery nit starter battery

I was thinking of the Battery master obviously not the same as sterling B2B I have a 300a lithium with victron dc-dc charger and solar with a battery master to top up starter battery when not travelling or parked up for long periods which does the job without needing EHU

 

[Two on Tour]

I was thinking of the Battery master obviously not the same as sterling B2B

Correct.

 

[PaulW2]

I have a Sterling B2B which is not charging the habitation battery. Recently on a short break in Scotland the habitation battery a 200 Ah LifePoO4 failed completely. It did charge up on the way home but only very slowly. Has anyone had problems with these units?

Does the complete failure of the leisure battery not raise the possibility that it may be at fault?

 

[Speve]

Does the complete failure of the leisure battery not raise the possibility that it may be at fault?

Or the B2B not on correct setting for Lithium

 

[Two on Tour]

Or the B2B not on correct setting for Lithium

It will still charge even if it is not the correct charge profile, something is more afoot, but at present we do not know which Sterling B2B the OP has and how it has been cable and fused.

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[PeterE1947]

Does the complete failure of the leisure battery not raise the possibility that it may be at fault?

Hopefully not!! Stirling have been very good but so far still no charging. Stirling have aske me to move the ignition wire to term 1 (I was told it should be on Term 3. Will do it to-morrow.

 

[PeterE1947]

Do you have a DC to DC charger or solar panels to charge your leisure battery as I think your B2B will be topping up your starter battery from your leisure and if you are not replacing that it will flatten your leisure battery

The solar controller is charging the hab battery bit not enough!!

 

[PeterE1947]

Or the B2B not on correct setting for Lithium

When it last worked it was set correctly but now I don't know as it will not allow me to check it!!

 

[Speve]

The solar controller is charging the hab battery bit not enough!!

Yes the sun probably not giving much this time of year I have 400w on the roof and that seems to be keeping my lithium fully charged

 

[PeterE1947]

It will still charge even if it is not the correct charge profile, something is more afoot, but at present we do not know which Sterling B2B the OP has and how it has been cable and fused.

It used to work just fine with the thick cabling and fuses. Its the same as yours a B2B 1260. I personally think something like the firmware has failed. It has been reset and made no difference at all. It is in constant "stand by" mode. The cabling is very short, no more than 2 meters from the starter battery to the hab battery. As I have said it used to work just fine but even the fan does not spin but works on a reset.

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[PeterE1947]

If this fault cannot be resolved I shall replace it. I am gutted because Stirling support has been very good but none of their suggestion have worked.

 

[Speve]

If this fault cannot be resolved I shall replace it. I am gutted because Stirling support has been very good but none of their suggestion have worked.

Good luck I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction quickly

 

[JockandRita]

My Sterling BB1260 has worked faultlessly for the past 6 years.

As does ours, and also the BB1250 model I fitted in the Hymer.

It used to work just fine with the thick cabling and fuses. Its the same as yours a B2B 1260. I personally think something like the firmware has failed. It has been reset and made no difference at all. It is in constant "stand by" mode.

Have you checked the 2 x heavy 80A input/output fuses.
Have you checked there is input from the cab battery?

Maybe disconnect the input cable, then reconnect, then go through the re calibration sequence to get to the Lithium setting.

TBH, I can't thinks of anything else to suggest, if all the protective fuses are good.

Good luck sorting it out.

Jock.

 

[PeterE1947]

The B2B is getting the starter battery voltage (14.2v) but the hab. battery stays at 13.6v. If I put the mains charger on the hab battery reaches 14+volts quite quickly.

 

[PeterE1947]

Can you see how many amps are being sent to the battery, do you have a battery monitor to show what the state of charge is, i.e Bulk, Absorption etc.
You could always stick a clamp meter over the pos lead to the hab battery with the engine running to check out charging current.
Maybe try a proper reset, by disconnecting the B2B, then restart by connecting it back up. I think there may be some instructions in The Sterling B2B manual, just follow set up from the start.
Apologies if you have done these things, other than that a call to Stirling may also be useful in finding out the problem.
LES

I don't have a clamp meter but I do have 2 Victron Bluetooth battery monitors and zilch happens when the engine is running. Anyway TinaLes many thanks for your help.

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thank you for your help.

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[Nyvern]

Mine failed 2 weeks ago and it turned out to be a loose earth connection

 

[Jays2]

When I checked ours (sterling power 120A ) as it was running at a lower ampage than I was expecting , on checking whilst on the phone to technical help, using a voltmeter and the engine running found a voltage drop from the charger via the busbar to the battery.
the terminals were hot to touch, loose connections.
This did sort the problem out temporarily.
on our last test the whole busbar system got hot quite quickly.
I have decided to replace the current system with a Beefed up system.
The parts have arrived, just needs modifications and then fitting.
The ampage that could go through the busbar is high, and hopefully this will fix it.

 

[DBK]

It sounds like the B2B has failed if all was working perfectly before and no fuses have blown - but then if they have blown that indicates something has gone wrong.

You could ask Stirling if they could check it out if you return it. They are not cheap so I wouldn't rush to buy a replacement before having confirmation of a fault and only Stirling can do that.

I'm assuming you've checked the LEDs on the front in case they give a clue.

 

[Jays2]

It can also be the signal wire if it’s a euro 6 engine?

 

[PeterE1947]

The fault was traced to a wrongly connected ignition wire. Awhile back I was doing my usual checks and found the engine battery was down to 10.9volts. Oops, that's not right.Both batteries are charged overnight (Hab& engine) but by 0800 the engine battery had discharged down to 10.9v. I took it to an auto electrician and he found that the radio was running the battery down. I had fitted it last year an Android based radio with it wired from the hab. battery. I deliberately left the permanent 12v supply from the vehicle electrics to maintain the memory. The thing to remember (I hadn't!) is that the radio does not power down (just like your Android tablet) it just switches screen off!! Oh dear! but why was it discharging the vehicle battery?? Nobody knows! However, I had fitted an isolation switch just in case I needed to reboot the radio and once I started switching this off, the current draw from the vehicle battery reduced to just a "normal" drain (a few milliamps apparently) What you might ask has this to do with the B2B? Well, I contacted Stirling just in case current was being drawn from the vehicle battery. (prior to visiting the electrician) and Stirling advised me to put the ignition wire in the 2nd.connector. I did this as instructed. This was incorrect! The B2B did not charge the hab.battery. I only found this out when all the lights went out. Such a simple thing but annoying. As noted above its works just fine now and pumps in 14.5 volts to the hab. battery.