Re: Xantrex Link 20

Gerald Atkin <gatkin@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:hagqc4h90lis61qjsp8plmb9ui4h8ildd8@xxxxxxx:

What has been your experience with the Link 20?



I would try to replace the cable between the Link20 and the battery box,
first. I had one that was "flaky" and there was a leak caused by water
intrusion into the cable. There was a leak between the shunt wires and the
power wires fooling the link into thinking there was current in the shunt
when there wasn't.

As we are replacing the cable, let's make sure we shine up the shunt
connections which get pretty corroded if the bilge is wet. The voltage
output of the shunt is MILLIVOLTS when there are a lot of amps flowing
through the shunt. Millivolts can also be created by the tiniest little
bi-metal battery across a tiny bit of connection corrosion. The millivolt
difference between one side of the shunt small screw wires and the other is
all there is for the Link20 to measure. Imagine adding a corrosion battery
in series with the 50mv from the heavily loaded shunt. The reading that
results is really crap!

Please use RING TERMINALS on all the connections to the shunt, new fuses
and fuse holders (radio shack's work great), and never just wrap wires
around screws to get it hooked up. After you crimp the terminal to the
small guage wire up to the link (really small wire works fine), seal up the
crimp with a tiny bit of sealer to keep the crimp from corroding.

Leave plenty of wire so we can go back in a couple of years, cut off these
terminals and put new terminals on without stretching the wires because you
tried to get too cutesy....

The LED display blanks when the reading makes no sense to the Link. That's
normal. I think we have some stray millivolts being fed to the current
sensing of the link. New wires and terminals and cleaning the shunt's
screws will cure it. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT SCRAPE AWAY ANY OF THE METAL
FROM THE SHUNT! We trim shunts with a file to make them calbrate. You'll
see file marks. More filing will make current readings too high...not
good.


.

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