Hi there,
You all helped clear up the gauges readings and battery charge level in my last post. I understand that the go power and "4 lights" gauges are not very accurate. For the time being I am using the suggested plug in meter into one of my 12v sockets. My question now is this - when I first got my trailer the go power showed 100% max reading. I noticed on my last camping trip (earlier this month) that it only maxed at 90% which motivated my last post. So, now when I take a voltage reading with the "plug in meter" it shows 12.74 while the go power only registers 90%. I'm wondering - does the go power showing only 90% mean my batteries are aging??
Thanks!
As far as I can tell, the latest model of the GoPower percent display shows 90% when the battery is fully charged. It only shows 100% when the trailer's converter is charging the trailer. I often see 90% on the GoPower readout while my Trimetric monitor shows 100%. It also often shows 90% when my Trimetric shows 80%. Again, not the most reliable measure of battery state of charge.
The volt meter will be fairly accurate when there is no charging source, no or minimal load, and after the surface charge is burned off (after about an hour with a 1 amp hour load)
Plug in volt meters are just as inaccurate as your monitor panel readout, because they operate using the exact same technology, relying only on instantaneous system voltage, which fluctuates wildly during normal system usage. With the possible exception of the Balmar Smartgauge, the only accurate battery meters are those that count actual amps in and out of your battery, eg a Trimetric or a Victron.
My question now is this - when I first got my trailer the go power showed 100% max reading. I noticed on my last camping trip (earlier this month) that it only maxed at 90% which motivated my last post. So, now when I take a voltage reading with the "plug in meter" it shows 12.74 while the go power only registers 90%. I'm wondering - does the go power showing only 90% mean my batteries are aging??!
No, it doesn't indicate any problem.
As explained in the thread Slow Solar Charging and Go Power Display Questions, in post #26 and post #28, the GoPower State of Charge calculation results in 90% for any voltage equal to or greater than 12.8 volts... until a full boost or equalization cycle is complete. This controller will never display a value between 90% and 100%.
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