Community Forums

46490 · 01-20-2018, 11:23 AM

Is there a battery charger out there that could be hardwired into the coach and chassis batteries that would allow charging when hooked up to shore power. My thought would be to keeps the batteries topped off and charged to prevent the batteries from going bad over time.

vsheetz · 01-20-2018, 11:34 AM

You coach doesn't already have thus? Should at least for the house batteries.

FIRE UP · 01-20-2018, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 46490

Is there a battery charger out there that could be hardwired into the coach and chassis batteries that would allow charging when hooked up to shore power. My thought would be to keeps the batteries topped off and charged to prevent the batteries from going bad over time.

46490,
Well, first off, you don't say if there's actually a problem or not. At the very least, a 2014 coach, should have at a minimum, some form of charging the house batteries when on shore power. I'm not familiar with your model, whether or not it's a gas or diesel. Most gas units come with some sort of "Converter/Charger" and, most diesel coaches come with some sort of Inverter/charger.

In either case, those units should charge your house batteries. Now, you'll have to find out what you have and, whether or not it's working or not. Then, you can attack the chassis battery charging situation. And that can be done with the simple addition of what's called either the Trik-L-Start or, the Amp-L-Start. Both will keep your chassis batteries up to snuff. But, as stated, a bit more info is needed.
Scott

l1v3fr33ord1 · 01-20-2018, 12:01 PM

46490-

You should not need a battery charger.

Per sheet 4 of this Winnebago drawing, your coach has a Battery Isolation Manager, whose job it is to provide chassis <---> house bidirectional charging.

Here is a link to a Google search of iRV2 posts with the terms "Winnebago" and "BIM" in them. This recent post is a great place to start reading about it, including its troubleshooting.

Winnebago offers product information online at this link. One of the choices is wiring diagrams, at this link.

bobmac · 01-20-2018, 05:10 PM

Consider adding 100 or 200 or more watts of solar. Will charge your coach without a shore power connection and keep both batteries charged. You can survive several days without sun before you will see a drop in battery voltage assuming that your batteries are disconnected at the switch and in decent condition.

Pusherman · 01-20-2018, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 46490

Is there a battery charger out there that could be hardwired into the coach and chassis batteries that would allow charging when hooked up to shore power. My thought would be to keeps the batteries topped off and charged to prevent the batteries from going bad over time.

You already have both house battery charging and chassis battery charging when plugged into shore power. Check your sales brochure.

No need for anything else when plugged into shore power.

Yellowboat · 01-21-2018, 08:45 PM

If you are asking if there is a battery charger that will keep your chassis battery charged when your coach is connected to shore power then the answer is yes.

Winnebago adds a product called Trik-L-Start to some of their coaches. Trik-L-Start connects the coach batteries to the chassis battery. When your coach is plugged into shore power Trik-L-Start will keep your chassis battery charged. When your coach is not on shore power Trik-L-Start does not make a connection so your coach batteries will not be drained.

My coach did not come with a Trik-L-Start so I installed one. Installation was easy.

Safe travels. JD

46490 · 01-22-2018, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellowboat

If you are asking if there is a battery charger that will keep your chassis battery charged when your coach is connected to shore power then the answer is yes.

Winnebago adds a product called Trik-L-Start to some of their coaches. Trik-L-Start connects the coach batteries to the chassis battery. When your coach is plugged into shore power Trik-L-Start will keep your chassis battery charged. When your coach is not on shore power Trik-L-Start does not make a connection so your coach batteries will not be drained.

My coach did not come with a Trik-L-Start so I installed one. Installation was easy.

Safe travels. JD

How do I tell if I have one or not? and how do you install one?

l1v3fr33ord1 · 01-22-2018, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 46490

How do I tell if I have one or not? and how do you install one?

Per my post #4, your coach does not have a Trik-L-Start, and does not need one.

The Battery Isolation Manager, which your coach does have, may not be working correctly if your chassis batteries are not staying charged while on shore power. (I note you have not said if you have a problem with that or not.) This Web page contains links to the product brochure and a brief troubleshooting guide:

http://www.precisioncircuitsinc.com/...mp-continuous/

Mudfrog · 01-22-2018, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 46490

How do I tell if I have one or not? and how do you install one?

To tell if the batteries are getting a charge, get a voltmeter and check the voltage at each battery while unplugged from shore power. Write those voltages down. Then plug your coach into shore power and measure voltage again. You're getting some charge if the voltage readings increase (> 13 volts) when plugged in.