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BugSlayer · 10-26-2005, 04:31 PM

I realize there have been numerous posts on trouble with batteries in Winnebago coaches. I have been there and done that. Specifically I have a 2005 Winnebago Journey K floorplan on a Freightliner w/C7 CAT. That being said I store in a yard where I cannot plug in. Habitually I was going out every three weeks to run generator to recharge and check up on things. Over the past four months this has gone to each week. Thats because over a period of six days my coach batteries have been dropping from a charge of 12.8 to 8.7 and my chassis batteries (engine) are dropping from 13.2 to 11.7. Before the last 'in warrenty' service appointment I called Winnebago and described the situation. They advised letting the dealer test the batteries. That was done and the dealer informs me that Interstate has replaced either the house or chassis batteries under warrenty (talked to two different people and got two stories about what was replaced, still have not picked coach up so do not know). No matter, dealer tells me one battery had bad cell and this was dragging all down. I asked dealer why all batteries were not replaced. They tell me there are two sepreate systems. The question: "is this reasonable?' given that the two systems are connected since they are all charged when running and they all showed degradation? I am not a specialist by any means but this does not seem reasonable? I am planning to call the factory tomorrow the clarify this but, does the answer that they are two seperate systems so we only replace one of them make sense?

Am I being unreasonable when I ask for all (both coach and chassis) to be replaced?

Give it to me straight, doctor! I can take it!

BugSlayer · 10-26-2005, 04:31 PM

I realize there have been numerous posts on trouble with batteries in Winnebago coaches. I have been there and done that. Specifically I have a 2005 Winnebago Journey K floorplan on a Freightliner w/C7 CAT. That being said I store in a yard where I cannot plug in. Habitually I was going out every three weeks to run generator to recharge and check up on things. Over the past four months this has gone to each week. Thats because over a period of six days my coach batteries have been dropping from a charge of 12.8 to 8.7 and my chassis batteries (engine) are dropping from 13.2 to 11.7. Before the last 'in warrenty' service appointment I called Winnebago and described the situation. They advised letting the dealer test the batteries. That was done and the dealer informs me that Interstate has replaced either the house or chassis batteries under warrenty (talked to two different people and got two stories about what was replaced, still have not picked coach up so do not know). No matter, dealer tells me one battery had bad cell and this was dragging all down. I asked dealer why all batteries were not replaced. They tell me there are two sepreate systems. The question: "is this reasonable?' given that the two systems are connected since they are all charged when running and they all showed degradation? I am not a specialist by any means but this does not seem reasonable? I am planning to call the factory tomorrow the clarify this but, does the answer that they are two seperate systems so we only replace one of them make sense?

Am I being unreasonable when I ask for all (both coach and chassis) to be replaced?

Give it to me straight, doctor! I can take it!

kenbt · 10-26-2005, 05:40 PM

The chassis battery going dead after two weeks is a normal problem with Winnebago and Freighliner....Get a Trick L Start system for approx $50 to $60 and your problems will go away as far as your chassis batteries going dead

limandlin · 10-26-2005, 07:41 PM

Although they are "inter-connected" in the sense that they both get charged by the alternator, they interact as separate systems - that is, the house batteries interact with one another, but not with the engine batteries and vice versa. I don't believe a bad house battery will have an impact on good engine batteries. But I'm certainly no expert in this.

John_Canfield · 10-27-2005, 04:09 AM

The two sets of batteries (engine & house) are only directly connected togther as one large bank when you activitate the "battery boost" switch.

The house and chassis (or engine) batteries are two different types; the house batteries have thicker lead plates and are designed for deep discharge whereas the engine battery is designed for maximum current output for only a few seconds at a time.

There is a battery isolator (large high-current diodes mounted in a heat sink) that permits battery charging of the two banks simultaneously without the issue of the banks being able to discharge into its neighbor.

While outfitting my coach, I chose to only replace the house batteries (with AGM) and leave the engine starting batteries alone since they seem to work okay.

I think it is unreasonable to ask for all batteries to be replaced if only one bank is testing bad. At any rate, my protocol is to replace all lead-acid batteries after four years of use regardless of how they test. It is my experience that four or five years is all you get out of conventional bateries; when they fail it is uaually without much warning.