Which battery is which

[jmccrack]

This is really going to sound like a newbe but here goes. The snow is starting to go here now and today was a very nice day , so I thought I would go and start my unit (which I have just bought and have not had time to drive it yet). Well the chassis battery is dead. No problem I thought I would use the aux switch and the aux battery it still would not start maybe to cold. I started the gen and turned the block heater on waited a while and tried again it would turn over for a while and then start to slow down so I stopped. Now comes the newbe part I thought I would go out and charge the chassis battery . which is which ? I think the 2 battery tray is the chassis and the 3 battery tray is the coach battery ?? Now how do I charge them the book sayes disconnect the + on one battery and hook the charger to the + and the - to ground on the coach when I do this the charger does not move any thoughts?

[jmccrack]

This is really going to sound like a newbe but here goes. The snow is starting to go here now and today was a very nice day , so I thought I would go and start my unit (which I have just bought and have not had time to drive it yet). Well the chassis battery is dead. No problem I thought I would use the aux switch and the aux battery it still would not start maybe to cold. I started the gen and turned the block heater on waited a while and tried again it would turn over for a while and then start to slow down so I stopped. Now comes the newbe part I thought I would go out and charge the chassis battery . which is which ? I think the 2 battery tray is the chassis and the 3 battery tray is the coach battery ?? Now how do I charge them the book sayes disconnect the + on one battery and hook the charger to the + and the - to ground on the coach when I do this the charger does not move any thoughts?

[Joe-K]

On the Journey, the two battery tray is your chassis battery bank as you suspected. The three deep cycle batteries are your coach batteries.

You can start your engine if the starting batteries are dead using the Auc switch, but it is a good idea to start the generator which provides a large charging current to the coach batteries. After they are charging, hold the Aux Start switch down for a minute or two to allow the starting batteries to take a little bit of a charge from the Coach batteries.

While continuing to hold the Aux Start switch down, turn your key to the on position to run the intake grid heaters. These heaters preheat the air that is going to enter the engine and allow it to start in cold weather. You will allow the key to stay in the on position without cranking the engine until the "Wait to Start" lamp goes off. Since these two heaters draw nearly 100 amps each, it is very helpful to have the generator running if those engine batteries are dead. Again, you holding the aux start switch to allow the battery charger to put power into the engine batteries as well as the coach batteries while heating those heaters.

In extrememly cold weather, it can even to be helpful to cycle the ignition switch off then back on to cycle the heaters a second time before cranking the engine.

By this time, the engine batteries will have taken a small charge so they, along with the coach batteries should start your engine.

You do seem to have your external charger connected properly, however your batteries may be so drained, they are not drawing power from the charger. Try leaving it connected for a little while to see if the batteries begin to accept a charge.

After you've gone through Joe-K's procedure, you need to check the water in your batteries. To have a dead battery situation as you described, something is not right.
Be sure to read your owner manuals thourghly. If you can connect an Smart Charger(2amp) to the 2 engine batteries and leave it on when parked, this will help.
You may not have your ONE PLACE Power Management Panel set-up properly, also.

Tomcat F15

[Kiwi]

Question:
When driving down the road with the generator not running, does the engine alternator charge the coach batteries or only the chassis batteries?

Walt

[SunflyerA]

Kiwi,
I asked this question not too long aqo and was told that the engine charges all the batteries.

[jmccrack]

You may not have your ONE PLACE Power Management Panel set-up properly,

TomCat
Help me here. I thought I did

[Stan Kohagen]

When the engine is running, both coach and house batteries are charged. I have an Itasca Merdian '05
stan Kohagen

[JD Allen]

I read a post the other day about shore power and the potential of evaporating water off the batteries from constant charging so I unplugged shore power until I could check the batteries. I checked the batteries this evening and I found two low on water and one dry. My motor home is new; we have only made two trips in it. Tomorrow I'm getting water and filling the batteries.

Lesson learned is even thought the motor home is new check everything, including battery water.

[troth]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I found two low on water and one dry </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jim, keep a close eye on those batteries for the next several weeks. Batteries having low water can generally recover, but "dry" cells cannot. Recommend you get or borrow a load tester and check battery performance after overnight charging and "resting" 4 hours. Keep in mind, it's also recommended to replace both batteries at the same time (i.e.- one "old" and one new causes your converter to charger at the higher rate for the "old" battery, so new battery gets excessive charging). Just my 2 cents.

[Mike Lutz]

Do you also have the engine heater ? While you are plugged in, you can preheat the engine which aides in starting in colder weather. Batteries need to be checked every month. Constant charging/using, does use the water up. I use 1 battery tender for each of the two banks. They work well and I have not had any battery problems using them now for 2 years.