Battery warning

[Vangelis]

You may just have a knackered battery. With the battery connected up to Comfort, measure the volts across the terminals of the battery - this should indicate if there is a problem if this is well below 12volts

Next, measure the current being drawn from the battery, by removing the +ve fly lead from the battery, and placing a multimeter in between the +ve terminal on the battery and the +ve fly lead

If your worried about doing the above, just have someone test the battery for you or buy another one and replace it.

[ident]

Also, check the voltage at the Comfort battery connectors without the battery connected. There should be about 13.5 to 14V to charge the battery. If this is not there then the charger circuit is not working and the PCB must be sent for repair

[davids]

I have done some measurements:
The voltage at the battery terminals not connected to Comfort = 13.5 V
The current from +ve lead to the +ve terminal of the battery = 0.05 mA
The voltage detected at the output of Battery Protection module = 13.5 V

:?

[ident]

It looks like the Comfort charger is working OK since it is supplying 13.5V to the battery

The next test is to switch off mains, leaving the battery connected
Can  the battery power up comfort or does Comfort get switched off?

[davids]

Comfort gets switched off when I turn off the mains power.
:?

[Vangelis]

Ok - I guess there are three possibilities here...

1) Battery is knackered. Although is shows good volts, there could be no load across it with previous test. Re-Measure the volts across the battery terminals when you turn off the main power.

2) A fuse - Not sure if there is a protection fuse (discrete or re-settable) for the Battery Backup. Ident will know, but worth a visual check of the board. Check also for a break in the battery wiring or dodgy connection

3) Problem with the main panel / charging circuit - This will mean a warranty fix or new board

[ident]

No warranty ,I am afraid, Comfort I is at least 7 years old
But it looks like a bad battery or wiring
Yes check the battery voltage when AC is off but with battery connected to Comfort

[davids]

Thanks for all your support.
This morning I went to check the battery voltage after I turned off the mains power. To my surprise the Comfort system held sway.
Battery test also now comes up OK.
Can\'t understand though why suddenly all is good.

[Howser]

[user=113]davids[/user] wrote:

Battery test also now comes up OK.
Can\'t understand though why suddenly all is good.

I had cases while I was still using Comfort I where I had to do a system reset to clear the battery warning, mainly after an extended power failure.