Wiring Gremlins

[Moder2]

Derek and I just bought (2 months ago) a Winnie Ult. Adj 40J. It's a 2001, so we are in the process of slowly fixing the little "problems" the last owner left...


One of these problems is my chassis batteries. About 2 weeks ago, I woke up and since it is right in the bathroom, part of my morning ritual is to check the battery voltage. The chassis batts were down to 6 volts overnight... Hmm. I couldn't find any draws then, and pulled the batteries, had them load tested. One was marginal, and the other was showing voltage on the case (bad cell). So I replaced them, which they were due, since they were made in 10 of 2000.

So now, we made it to sunny FLA, and all has been well. Today, I check my voltages, and Zippo... Doesn't even register. Now we haven't moved the coach since last Thursday (when we arrived) and really haven't done anything with the chassis electrical system since then. Every morning I check and the batts are around 12.8 volts holding pretty steady, and this AM Nothing. So to confrim I ran up front and tried to start it... Nothing.

I checked the batts with a multimeter, and they were completly dead.

So I jumped them and got the coach running, and let it charge for a good hour, and now they are holding pretty steady at 12 volts.

I checked again for any draws, and come up with the same .5 volts I had when I checked two weeks ago... which cold easily be the PCM or radio memories, and cerrtainly wouldn't kill two group 31 1015 CCA bats overnight.

I am baffled. Any insight would help. In thinking back to my evening activitied last night, I was sitting in the Co-pilot chair reading, and did turn on that map light for about an hour, which at first I did hit the stepcover switch. The Air to the cover is turned off, so I am wondering if that switch would have forced a seloid open which tried to close the step cover all night with no airpressure to do it? I did put air to it this AM while I was tring to figure it out, and it did slam shut, so the switch was pushed, but I wouldn't think an open air selenoid would kill my batts either?

On a second semi-related problem I have been tring to figure out why my little solar panel light wasn't ever coming on. Pulled the One Place apart and found in voltage from the SIN line, and voltage in the cicuit. The LED was burnt out, so a trip to Radio Shack (man they really have gone downhill-- I had to go to three differnt ones to find a darn LED!) and it now seems to be working fine.

Any insight would be helpful!

Thanks,

John

[Moder2]

Derek and I just bought (2 months ago) a Winnie Ult. Adj 40J. It's a 2001, so we are in the process of slowly fixing the little "problems" the last owner left...


One of these problems is my chassis batteries. About 2 weeks ago, I woke up and since it is right in the bathroom, part of my morning ritual is to check the battery voltage. The chassis batts were down to 6 volts overnight... Hmm. I couldn't find any draws then, and pulled the batteries, had them load tested. One was marginal, and the other was showing voltage on the case (bad cell). So I replaced them, which they were due, since they were made in 10 of 2000.

So now, we made it to sunny FLA, and all has been well. Today, I check my voltages, and Zippo... Doesn't even register. Now we haven't moved the coach since last Thursday (when we arrived) and really haven't done anything with the chassis electrical system since then. Every morning I check and the batts are around 12.8 volts holding pretty steady, and this AM Nothing. So to confrim I ran up front and tried to start it... Nothing.

I checked the batts with a multimeter, and they were completly dead.

So I jumped them and got the coach running, and let it charge for a good hour, and now they are holding pretty steady at 12 volts.

I checked again for any draws, and come up with the same .5 volts I had when I checked two weeks ago... which cold easily be the PCM or radio memories, and cerrtainly wouldn't kill two group 31 1015 CCA bats overnight.

I am baffled. Any insight would help. In thinking back to my evening activitied last night, I was sitting in the Co-pilot chair reading, and did turn on that map light for about an hour, which at first I did hit the stepcover switch. The Air to the cover is turned off, so I am wondering if that switch would have forced a seloid open which tried to close the step cover all night with no airpressure to do it? I did put air to it this AM while I was tring to figure it out, and it did slam shut, so the switch was pushed, but I wouldn't think an open air selenoid would kill my batts either?

On a second semi-related problem I have been tring to figure out why my little solar panel light wasn't ever coming on. Pulled the One Place apart and found in voltage from the SIN line, and voltage in the cicuit. The LED was burnt out, so a trip to Radio Shack (man they really have gone downhill-- I had to go to three differnt ones to find a darn LED!) and it now seems to be working fine.

Any insight would be helpful!

Thanks,

John

[Moder2]

A second "trouble" I have a concern about, when the coach is running, about every two mins or so there is a noise from in front of the dash. It sounds like a BRRRRRRR and last for about a seocnd and a half, and then quits. You don't notice it while driving, but it is there, but very faint.

It isn't the two relays in the electronic bay under the driver seat. I can't isolate it. I don't think it is a problem, but just an annoyance, and mostly just want to know what it is and if it is a problem.

Thanks!

John

[RKL2]

The BRRRRRR noise could be your vacuum pump recharging....Turn the key to the ignition on position and listen for the noise without the engine running..Have some one stand in front of the hood and listen also.....RKL

[John_Canfield]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Moder2:
--snip--
I checked again for any draws, and come up with the same .5 volts I had when I checked two weeks ago... which cold easily be the PCM or radio memories, and cerrtainly wouldn't kill two group 31 1015 CCA bats overnight.--snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>John - are you saying you measured the current by either a DC current probe or by inserting the multimeter leads in series with the negative or positive battery leads? I am puzzled why you are reporting ".5 volts" - do you mean .5 amps?

If you have indeed measured the current drain at half an amp, you batteries are not going to go flat overnight - period. By the way - CCA has nothing to do with rating the battery for a discharge particular to time. That would be ampre-hour rating.

What's the deal?

[Moder2]

Yes, I meant .5 amp.

I tested it both ways. By putting the Multimeter in series, I came up with .3 amps, and the amp probe I borrowed from a neighbor at the park came up with .5 amps. Sorry for the confusion.

I understand CCA and AH ratings, I don't know the AH's off the top of my head, but they are fairly large group 31 bats, and I wanted to illistrate that there is little chance that /5 amp could have discharged them overnight.

Now today they seem to be fine, so I am still leaning on my theroy that the Step Cover switch was the culprit.

RKL, Yes, I think you are correct about the vac pump. I didn't realize it was electric, and in the front... All my past diesels have been driven off the engine in some fashion. Thanks!

John