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Old 10-26-2021, 08:01 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 Siesta 24ST
State: Ohio
Posts: 99
THOR #15089
Upgrading to Lithium? Don't forget to do this!

I've spent over a week now trying to solve a problem of my lithium batteries not charging after they have been shut down by their internal BMS. But Dennis at Progressive Dynamics has worked through the problem with me, and it might save someone similarly situated a lot of grief.

I have 2-100ah Battleborn lithium batteries. This week when the batteries were very discharged (their internal BMS had turned them off), I followed Battleborn's recommendation of recharging them, "re-awakening" them by a direct automotive jump. Then when the PD4655LIV converter charger was turned on, a series of "clicks" was heard every few seconds, and after a minute or so, the clicks stopped, and no further charging occurred. I went through the troubleshooting guide for the Progressive Dynamics 4655LIV charger, to no avail.

Finally, Dennis, the head technician at Progressive Dynamics, worked through the problem with me. Although the shortstop breaker at the battery box was ok and did not trip/reset, Thor apparently installs a SECOND breaker back behind the power center (which Dennis said is completely unnecessary). Because the coach was originally sold with lead acid batteries, he theorized that a low amperage breaker, perhaps 40 amps, was used because that was all lead acid requires. If the lithium batteries are low, or have shut down, they will suck up the full 55 amps coming from the charger, causing the second breaker to repeatedly break/reset with an audible "click". This repeated surge, after several minutes, caused the 2 30-amp reverse polarity fuses on the charger's control board to blow. The fuses were replaced, and the charger began charging the batteries properly. However, because the batteries were low (about 12.4v), the breaker again started breaking/resetting, but fortunately, because the batteries were partially charged at that point, the surge must have been low enough not to have blown the fuses again. He recommended that the offending second breaker be removed entirely, and the two cable ends joined and insulated, and that the breaker at the battery box be upgraded to 80 amp.

Don't leave out a critical step for upgrading from lead acid to lithium: It's required that any shortstop breaker less than 150% of the new charger's output must be upgraded to a higher amperage one.

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2018 Thor Siesta 24ST Mercedes Sprinter
Flat towing 2016 Ford Focus
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