Low batteries / inverter lights / charging

[Aircraftace2]

Greetings. We have a 2014 Canyon Star 3911. Both house batteries were replaced in August and the chassis battery was replaced earlier this year. When we went to the coach today to prepare for our upcoming trip, we found all the batteries to be quite low. Chassis battery was below 11V and the house batteries were around 12V. We last used our coach about a month ago and we always manually disconnect the chassis battery and use the battery disconnect switch to disconnect the house batteries.

We immediately turned on the generator, as we needed to have power inside the coach and wanted to charge the batteries. At one point, we noticed that although the “invert“ light was on on our Magnum inverter, the “AC in” light was not on. Even after having the generator run for more than an hour, the voltage did not significantly increase. The voltage only increased after we turned on the engine and sat there for about 15 minutes. At one point, the voltage was so low in the house batteries that we were not able to retract one of our slides. After turning off the engine and generator, The chassis battery showed a 12.2V and the house batteries showed a 12.4V charge. We were finally able to retract the slide.

My questions are these:

Should the “AC in“ light be illuminated on the inverter when the generator is running? If that light is not on, what’s going on? Any help from anybody would be very much appreciated. We admit to not being very knowledgeable about our electrical system and would like to know more.

[Aircraftace2]

I also should note that after we turned the generator on, we wanted to check the operation of our satellite system. However, we didn’t have any power to the satellite system until we turned the inverter on. This was WITH the generator running.

[twinboat]

You need to check the circuit breakers on the generator. It seems that the generator power is not getting to the system.

[vsheetz]

Circuit breaker on genny. Check if genny voltage getting to transfer switch. Transfer switch.

[GaryKD]

Hi Aircraftace2,
There are quite a few components that need to work so the batteries charge. Since there are two power sources (generator or engine) this complicates matters. Strange things happen when the batteries are low. Consider doing nothing, at this time. For me, I work on battery problems only when the batteries are fully charged. It is amazing how many problems go away when the batteries are fully charged.

As to the satellite question, the dome/dish will not operate when battery power is low. This is not just volts but also AMPS.

Get the batteries fully charged (generator or shore power). Then see when you have.

[C.Martin]

The inverter will power the Satellite system with or without the Generator. It will use 12v to run the inverter until you turn he inverter off or it reaches it's LBCO and faults.....the inverter powers the Satellite. (At least ours is configured that way)

If there isn't no AC in...then there will be no battery charging...Generator, Shore Power...they need to get to the Inverter. The advanced remotes allow you to program the AC in...Always ON, voltage, SOC, time of day, etc... It's only useful to avoid using utilities during peak rate hours, etc... I use it occasionally to allow my solar to run things during the day as opposed to my home electric bill.

You can look at a NON-Inverter appliance to see if the generator is putting out. Turn on an air conditioner...if it's running the Generator isn't tripped. If the Air Conditioner won't run...Then you may have to reset the generator breaker.



My MS2812 doesn't have an AC IN light on the inverter or remote. Newmar has a page stuck inside one of our cabinets with all the model numbers. I would get the Model Number of your Inverter and google the manual. It will describe what the light means...all the settings...where circuit breakers are located on the Inverter. They have a troubleshooting guide in the back. The manual should be in your "black bag" if you have that handy. I would venture a guess. If the AC light is green...then that's good...if it's red, it's probably the opposite of good.

The engine charging both sets of batteries is a good sign. The bi-directional relay is working.

[Quincy]

Originally Posted by Aircraftace2

Greetings. We have a 2014 Canyon Star 3911. Both house batteries were replaced in August and the chassis battery was replaced earlier this year. When we went to the coach today to prepare for our upcoming trip, we found all the batteries to be quite low. Chassis battery was below 11V and the house batteries were around 12V. We last used our coach about a month ago and we always manually disconnect the chassis battery and use the battery disconnect switch to disconnect the house batteries.

We immediately turned on the generator, as we needed to have power inside the coach and wanted to charge the batteries. At one point, we noticed that although the “invert“ light was on on our Magnum inverter, the “AC in” light was not on. Even after having the generator run for more than an hour, the voltage did not significantly increase. The voltage only increased after we turned on the engine and sat there for about 15 minutes. At one point, the voltage was so low in the house batteries that we were not able to retract one of our slides. After turning off the engine and generator, The chassis battery showed a 12.2V and the house batteries showed a 12.4V charge. We were finally able to retract the slide.

My questions are these:

Should the “AC in“ light be illuminated on the inverter when the generator is running? If that light is not on, what’s going on? Any help from anybody would be very much appreciated. We admit to not being very knowledgeable about our electrical system and would like to know more.

Anything below 11.8 volts is a dead battery for all general purposes. If you could not get the generator to charge and then started the engine to bring the batteries up did the generator take over once there was a charge in the batteries? Some, if not all generators need a small charge to be in the battery before they will start charging and if they charged on Gen, after the motor gave them a boost then that is normal.

Hope this helps-Q

["007"]

Your inverter needs fully charged house batteries to supply the 110 for converter to operate to charge your house batteries.
Running your GEN if transfer- switch operates will give 110 to converter, batteries will take some time to get to full charge with also the battery cut off switch on when ever the coach is in use.
Slides should only be operated on shore power or GEN supplied 110 for good 12v from converter even with low batteries.
The batteries need to be fully charged to supply the 110 volts out of your converter to your outlets.
You will find battery charging and battery operation in this link.

HERE IS A FIX BY CS OWNER FOR LOW BATTERIES found in the CANYON STAR Section of QT's # 3.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Aircraftace2-

Does your Canyon Star have the

-Whirlpool 19.8 cu. ft Refrigerator with Icemaker, Water Dispenser, 2000 Watt Pure Sine Inverter and six-6 Volt Batteries, or the
- Frigidaire 10 cu. ft Refrigerator with Dedicated 1000 Watt Pure Sine Inverter and Two Extra 12V Batteries

or, something else entirely? I ask because there are threads on iRV2 that says some Canyon Stars came with an inverter that supplies just the residential refrigerator.

Can you tell us the make and model of the inverter? Also, the converter, if your coach has one?

I refer to these two Web pages for RV 12V system questions. The first covers batteries and converters, the second inverters and solar.

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)
The 12volt Side of Life Part 2

[Aircraftace2]

Thank you, everyone, for your excellent suggestions. It was, in fact, the circuit breaker on the generator. Once flipped, everything went back to normal. Thanks again!

[GaryKD]

Thanks for letting us know the solution. It helps all of us.