Electricians: Inverter question

hattrick58 · 05-23-2009, 12:57 PM

I have an '07 FJ w/ a stock inverter (115v 100/400w). I purchased a Goodyear 1/2" dr cordless impact which works well. When I plug in the the charger to the inverter outlet (engine running. 400w w/ vehicle in park), the charger power indicator glows. When I put the battery into the charger, the indicator briefly turns to red (battery req charging) then goes out. No lights I'm assuming means the battery is not charging. Typically in a household outlet, red means it's charging, green means it's charged.
I contacted the company and they said "this charger takes about 60 watts to operate".
Can anybody tell me why the battery won't charge using the stock FJ inverter?

Carsrcool100 · 05-23-2009, 01:00 PM

I do not know the answer to this but i know my dad will he is a mechanic/electrician

hattrick58 · 05-23-2009, 01:03 PM

Thanks, Carsrcool100. I appreciate the help!

Carsrcool100 · 05-23-2009, 01:05 PM

No prob man! I am going to drive over to my dads in 10 minutes anyway so i can talk to him about it.

toddman67 · 05-23-2009, 01:08 PM

My guess is that the invertor is not sensing the load. Plug a lamp or something that will cause a draw and see if it excites the invertor. Perhaps Rpm's may play into as well. See if the charger reacts differently at higher rpm's and with additional load.

Carsrcool100 · 05-23-2009, 01:41 PM

I a going to be leaving in my NEW TRANS AM!!!!!!!! I will get you the info.

hattrick58 · 05-23-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddman67

My guess is that the invertor is not sensing the load. Plug a lamp or something that will cause a draw and see if it excites the invertor. Perhaps Rpm's may play into as well. See if the charger reacts differently at higher rpm's and with additional load.

Lamp and computer both work. Tried the charger and brought the rpm's up to 2500 or so, no luck. Would the output of the charger change when the battery is put in the charger? I'm wondering if that's what's happening and it exceeds 400w.

toddman67 · 05-23-2009, 03:07 PM

I looked at my Dewalt battery charger and it only draws 2amps. That's why I thought that if you could draw a load with a lamp and the charger at the same time you might see the difference.
Perhaps you could go to the manufacturers website of the invertor and get some info there?
I dought very much that the charger is drawing more than 400w.

hattrick58 · 05-23-2009, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddman67

I looked at my Dewalt battery charger and it only draws 2amps. That's why I thought that if you could draw a load with a lamp and the charger at the same time you might see the difference.
Perhaps you could go to the manufacturers website of the invertor and get some info there?
I dought very much that the charger is drawing more than 400w.

You're right, it's not. I plugged the lamp & charger in. Lamp lights up, green light on the charger. But once I put the battery in the charger, I have no lights on the charger. The lamp stays lit, w/ no noticeable difference in luminance. This is kind of strange.

toddman67 · 05-23-2009, 04:05 PM

Check this website out www.all-battery.com click on dc-ac converters. I skimmed through this site breifly and it may be that the inverter that you are using sends a different wave pattern than conventional AC. Your battery charger may not work with this.
You would think that the inverter would work, however something is causing this unusual behavior.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Sorry I could'nt help

hattrick58 · 05-23-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddman67

Check this website out www.all-battery.com click on dc-ac converters. I skimmed through this site breifly and it may be that the inverter that you are using sends a different wave pattern than conventional AC. Your battery charger may not work with this.
You would think that the inverter would work, however something is causing this unusual behavior.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Sorry I could'nt help

Thanks! I appreciate the help!

serge_saati · 05-30-2009, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddman67

it may be that the inverter that you are using sends a different wave pattern than conventional AC. Your battery charger may not work with this.

I agree with that. You may need to filter the inverter output with a coil and a capacitor. The coil between the inverter and the charger, the cap between the inverter and the ground. A low pass filter.

Or, you can simply buy a 75W inverter and see if this one work.

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