New LiFePO4 Battery Shows 50% and Won’t Charge

[DonTom]

Now I'm thinking, like you guys, that it's a charger issue.

It's acting like a L-A charger that is built into the LifePo4 battery case. And I think that is very possible that is the case.

That sounds like a good idea to charge it up with your solar. It will take a while but as soon as it gets above 13.4 VDC or so, you will know for sure it was a charger issue.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[John From Detroit]

It's acting like a L-A charger that is built into the LifePo4 battery case. And I think that is very possible that is the case.

Joe Fraud buys some new LiFePO3's and a charger a lot like the one he has for his LA (Same size case)

So he "Guts" it. puts the "Guts" into the LA case, Guts it and puts those in the LiFePO4 charger's case

Returns ...

 

[DonTom]

Joe Fraud buys some new LiFePO3's and a charger a lot like the one he has for his LA (Same size case)

So he "Guts" it. puts the "Guts" into the LA case, Guts it and puts those in the LiFePO4 charger's case

Returns ...

At this point, the only thing that will surprise me is if it is NOT a charger issue.

I assume the next message from the OP is that he is getting his Lifep04 battery well charged from his solar.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

A running car puts out a nominal 14.2V. You could do a quick test with some jumper cables.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

UPDATE
Got interrupted installing the battery this morning, didn't get it done until about 5:00, so not much sun left for solar charging.
I did plug the trailer in to see what the converter would do.
After two hours the battery app shows SOC has gone from 51% to 58% and the voltage has gone from 13.2 to 13.4, so appears to be charging.
It is estimating charge time at 14 hrs 32 min.
I will leave it overnight and see what it says in the morning.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

Above is what is showing today after 19 hours of charging.

 

[DonTom]

Above is what is showing today after 19 hours of charging.

That proves it was a charger problem and your battery is fine.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

That proves it was a charger problem and your battery is fine.

-Don- Reno, NV

Agreed! Thanks for the replies!

 

[garyb1st]

May not be applicable at all but, I recently needed to charge one of my Lion Energy batteries. I used a Battery Tender 4.5 amp charger with a lithium profile. It started fine with the red light showing. Half an hour later the green light (charge complete indicator) was illuminated. I knew that could not be. The battery had been totally depleted and none of the 5 indicator lights illuminated. I tried it again. Same thing. After 4 or 5 attempts it finally charged the battery fully. The issue in my case turned out to be the alligator clips. They apparently were not make a solid connection.

 

[DonTom]

May not be applicable at all but, I recently needed to charge one of my Lion Energy batteries. I used a Battery Tender 4.5 amp charger with a lithium profile. It started fine with the red light showing. Half an hour later the green light (charge complete indicator) was illuminated. I knew that could not be. The battery had been totally depleted and none of the 5 indicator lights illuminated. I tried it again. Same thing. After 4 or 5 attempts it finally charged the battery fully. The issue in my case turned out to be the alligator clips. They apparently were not make a solid connection.

My message number 15 (shown here) covered that when I asked:

"For an experiment, connect the charger to NOTHING at all from being off. Then turn it on, see if you still get red going to green in less than a minute when it is not connected to anything at all."

After a couple of more questions, I could not see how it could be the cause of anything other than the charger.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[garyb1st]

Don't get the connection. In my case, the charger was working as designed. The only reason it didn't charge, that makes any sense, is the clip was not fully on the battery post.

---

 

[DonTom]

Don't get the connection. In my case, the charger was working as designed. The only reason it didn't charge, that makes any sense, is the clip was not fully on the battery post.

I knew what you meant. Yes, it makes sense.

Many chargers will show a green LED when the battery is fully charged, but also shows the green LED when on but not connected to anything.

IOW, the green led shows two possible conditions, fully charged or no connection.

In the case of the OP, the green light was showing fully charged for the incorrect type of battery. It was acting much like a L/A charger trying to charge a Lifepo4 battery.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

UPDATE:
After a couple days plugged in, I unplugged the trailer leaving only my 200w of solar for charging and turned an electric ice chest running off an inverter. After a day battery was only down to 97%, so turned on a TV and a light. Next day SOC was down to 60%. It had been partly cloudy most of the time, so was not unexpected.
Plugged the trailer back in and noticed the converter did not come on.
Watching the battery app i noticed solar would only charge for a minute or so, go into standby, and after a few minutes repeat that. I left it that way for a day and still found the same thing.
I've now reinstalled the LA batteries and the converter has been charging for over an hour.
Not sure what my next step will be.
Going out with the trailer to a nearby state park for a week so probably won't do anything except try to stay in touch with Vartrer customer support.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Weird! Please continue to update us on this saga.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

Email received from Vartrer this morning. I'll let you know when i receive the replacement charger.

"Based on the data shown in your APP, the battery itself is functioning normally. We’d like to arrange a replacement charger for you first.

Could you please take a photo of the code on the charger casing, and peel off all labels on the charger shell before taking another picture for us? We will send out the new charger right away once we receive these photos. Thank you so much!"