[C320-list] Link 20 High Consumption Rate

[Mike Ott]

Hello all,
Since Amanda Lu swings from a mooring ball most of the time she is in the water, 
we track our electrical consumption religiously.  We only have the alternator 
and a small solar panel to provide input juice and since we like to sail instead 
of motor; I have been called the 'Amp Nazis' by my first mate if the consumption 
starts to climb and draw her attention to it.
 
We use a Link 20 to track our usage it seems to work OK, with one annoying 
point; it appears to draw too much juice.  

 
Since we are on the Hard for the winter I have been doing some detailed 
testing.  The Link 20 manual says the meter in 'sleep' mode (only green bars 
showing) draws 25 mA, which translates to a consumption of 4.2 amps per week.  
Over the last few weeks I am averaging a draw of over 14 amps per week.  The 
usage does jump when the Full Display is on ( 170 mA) but during my tests, I 
only use Full Display to obtain my figures.  I have used external meters to 
confirm nothing else is running and I have moved the Link 20 power lead from one 
battery to the other and get the same results.  The other battery typically only 
loses about 2 to 3 amps per week.
 
The other interesting thing is that the green light bars still show full charge 
on both batteries, even if the battery running the Link shows a power 
consumption of 50 amps (we have 200 amp hour batteries).  I know that the green 
light bar function uses a different method (Peukert's Equation) to display 
battery capacity, but if the amps are being consumed shouldn't I see a less 
green bars on the bank powering the Link ?
 
Any thoughts on a solution ?
 
Mike
'Amanda Lu'
# 508