Greetings. I read here some were having issues with their Isolators. I have a Xantrex Pathfinder 100/3-12/24 100 amp auto switch. I believe one of these isolators are going out. I can hold the remote switch at the board and the green light will come on. However, when I let it go it will go back to the Red and Amber lights. The Inverter battery bank is at 13.6 volts and my house battery bank is at 12.4 at times. It started to keep a charge a week ago and now started to do this again. I there any replacement for this system? Can anyone help? Thanks. Greg Conner
Battery Isolator
- Thread starter GLConner1
- Start date
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Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
I don't have experience with the Pathfinder, but the red light would seem to indicate a high voltage is present. What is the charging source, and what value have you set for the Pathfinder's High Voltage Disconnect? According to the Pathfinder manual, the default is 15.0v.
http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/Pathmaker(975-0119-01-01_Rev-B).pdf
I think this type of problem can be caused by a bad battery in one of the banks. That can make the auto disconnect/reconnect function act in odd ways. How many battery banks are connected? You implied you have separate banks for house DC and an inverter - it that it?
I'm not aware of another product that attempts to automatically manage multiple battery banks quite like Pathfinder, but you can charge separate (isolated) batteries with Xantrex Echo Charge or Magnum Smart Battery Combiner. However, those have relatively low amp capacity. Depending on your needs, you might be able to connect the primary charger to the inverter bank and let the Echo or Smart device divert a moderate charge amperage to the house bank. That's assuming the house bank has only moderate loads and doesn't need a lot of charging amps to recover.
http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/Pathmaker(975-0119-01-01_Rev-B).pdf
I think this type of problem can be caused by a bad battery in one of the banks. That can make the auto disconnect/reconnect function act in odd ways. How many battery banks are connected? You implied you have separate banks for house DC and an inverter - it that it?
I'm not aware of another product that attempts to automatically manage multiple battery banks quite like Pathfinder, but you can charge separate (isolated) batteries with Xantrex Echo Charge or Magnum Smart Battery Combiner. However, those have relatively low amp capacity. Depending on your needs, you might be able to connect the primary charger to the inverter bank and let the Echo or Smart device divert a moderate charge amperage to the house bank. That's assuming the house bank has only moderate loads and doesn't need a lot of charging amps to recover.
I have a total of 6 batteries. 3 for the house and 3 for the inverter. I misspelled the item. It is a Pathmaker 100/3=12/24. The red light indicates high battery temp. What is going on is if you make the remote switch the green light comes on and charges the house battery. It clicks as it closes but will stay in for only 2 seconds. I have not messed with any of these settings you have mentioned. How can I know if one battery is bad causing this issue?
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The manual I referenced above covers all variations of the Pathfinder. 100/3 is the 100A, 3 bank version and it can do 12v or 24v. Do you have a different manual for it?
The way I read it, the red light says the High Voltage Disconnect threshold has been reached and charging is discontinued. I don't see any mention of a high battery temperature, or any means for the Pathfinder to determine battery temperature.
From what you describe, the problem is in the inverter battery bank, i.e. the red light comes on almost immediately when that bank comes online. Are they flooded cell batteries? If so, remove the caps on the cells and make sure each has electrolyte 1/4" over the tops of the plates. Add distilled water if needed to bring the level up. If some were low, give it another try after adding the water. What happens when you turn the inverter on - does the battery bank power it ok? Or does the inverter cut out on low voltage?
Beyond the above, you could probably take the batteries out to a shop that sells batteries and ask them to do a load test for you on each. It's free in most places. One or more batteries may fail the test.
The way I read it, the red light says the High Voltage Disconnect threshold has been reached and charging is discontinued. I don't see any mention of a high battery temperature, or any means for the Pathfinder to determine battery temperature.
From what you describe, the problem is in the inverter battery bank, i.e. the red light comes on almost immediately when that bank comes online. Are they flooded cell batteries? If so, remove the caps on the cells and make sure each has electrolyte 1/4" over the tops of the plates. Add distilled water if needed to bring the level up. If some were low, give it another try after adding the water. What happens when you turn the inverter on - does the battery bank power it ok? Or does the inverter cut out on low voltage?
Beyond the above, you could probably take the batteries out to a shop that sells batteries and ask them to do a load test for you on each. It's free in most places. One or more batteries may fail the test.
