No power to ignition switch or other dashboard switches

[Robsons]

OK, i'm probably just being dumb but i can't figure out why my brand new rig has no electricity to the ignition or anything else on the dashboard. I don't get any of the ignition lights to even turn on... it is completely dead. My battery boost button is dead, i can't turn on the generator and the lights and other things associated with the front drivers panel are also deal. The radio turns on though.

House power seems OK. Lights turn on, water pump works, furnace is on. I'm hooked to shore power and all the AC outlets seem ok.

I know it must be a fuse but would love a hint as to where to look considering how many fuses there are in this thing.

Any ideas or advice out there??

[Knot-Flyn']

Have you checked the off >>on switch chasis battery switch in the engine compt. I have a 2005 DSDP and it has a chassis battery switch in the engine compt.
Keith
2005 DSDP

[Robsons]

will have to check. i have a midengine so there really isn't an engine compartment. but i can look for something like that up in the front where the generator is and in the main compartment where the power panel is.

thanks.

[stubeje]

Check your negative cable on the battery...mine did same thing in upper New York this fall. Felt tight but was a little loose. Everything was new including the battery.

[Robsons]

how do you know which is your engine battery versus the house batteries? I have 4 all in a row up in the front of the rig which i assumed were the house batteries.

going to look at the owners manual now...

[Norm4015]

There will be four 6-volt batteries connected in series / parallel for the house. There will be two 12-volt batteries connected in parallel for the engine. In your motorhome I'm sure Newmar installed the battery disconnect in a side compartment near the engine and it will be a big rotary switch.

One other question. Have you measured the voltage on the engine batteries (when you find them)? Make sure they are 12.7 volts or higher.

[MikeandClaudia]

You might also look on the negative post. There is a 14 or 16 ga. wire that comes from the transmission. If it has broken loose, you on't be able to start. A clue on this is that your Tranny panel won't light up when you tur the key on.

Good Luck!

[Robsons]

Update...

I went back into the coach this morning and discovered that now the instrument lights on the dashboard do light up and the motor tried to turn over but didn't have enough juice. So, it seems to be a battery issue.

The confusing part is that I just drove the thing last weekend and didn't have any problems at all. One of the bathroom lights was left on for several days but I thought that the house batteries are separated from the motor battery.

I'm presuming that if I leave the plug in long enough that the batteries will recharge. I've just changed to another 120V outlet on our home to make sure that the outlet wasn't somehow underpowered and causing the recharging problems.

[EngineerMike]

Sounds like two problems, at least one of which is intermittent.

Zero response @ ignition & instruments then undervoltage type response could be cable connection problem, or connection problem plus battery drain. Cables are still highly suspect even if it charges.

["007"]

All good answers Rob just have to follow through. You need a voltmeter and a battery charger to really get them batteries to full charge.
As someone has mentioned a loose ground cable connection to engine battery or ground strap between engine and chassis frame maybe what you will find.
It seems the positive side of batteries are always OK but the tightness of grounds are always a problem.

[Robsons]

Hi all,

After having the coach plugged in to another outlet on our house for 34 hours or so, I was able to fire up the engine. I'm surprised that it takes so long to recharge the batts from shore power but I'm only plugging into a 15A outlet I think so there's just not much current available I suppose.

I haven't been able to go check all the ground wires to make sure they are tight but will do that someday this week when I'm home during light hours - too much trouble to do it with a flashlight...

Here is my summary of the problem that I posted on another thread a few minutes ago. How do I check to make sure that my chassis batt can't be drawn down by the rest of the "house" electricals? I am under the impression that the house batts are separated but this recent problem has me wondering.

- I had my coach hooked to shore power from my garage - 15 or 20A circuit
- My coach power panel showed that it was charging
- Someone left the bathroom lights on for 3 or 4 days before I noticed them.
- When I went to start the engine, I had a completely chassis dead battery - wouldn't even light up the instrument panel although my 12V lights everywhere else seemed fine although my battery boost button didn't give any real juice to help start the engine so the house batts must have been way low too
- While trying to figure it out, I noticed that my hard wired surge protector kept clipping out every time my garage lights went on (they turn on due to motion)

So, I know why my house batteries ran down: light was left on and I only had intermittent shore power which is probably very low current capable since it's from such a small source.

What I don't know is why my chassis battery went dead. I always thought that the chassis batt is electrically separated from the house batts so that you can run them all the way down and still be able to drive away the next morning.

My hypothesis is that because the RV's power panel saw that it was getting 120V from the garage that it opens a path to both sets of batts in order to charge them. This path allows the charges of all batts to be accessed by the bathroom lights that were left on AND the 120V source from the garage was not supplying enough energy to make up for the drain. Is this possible??

I'm most concerned that I don't run down my chassis batt and get stuck somewhere.

Dave

["007"]

Here is a thread that maybe of interest to you. The BIRD should help keep your chassis batteries up to full charge.
More info on Bird.
Also your surge protector is telling you you have a voltage problem, the circuit 110-15amp has a problem and is experiencing voltage drops, therefor cutting off and on.

[Robsons]

oy! there's a lot to know in owning av rv i guess! thanks 007! if i run into this prob again, i now have some ideas for how to deal w it.

[Robsons]

[IMG]C:\Users\davidr\Desktop\IMG_0082[/IMG]Final Update:

OK, mystery solved. see attached photo. The dealership must have detached the power cable that connects the chassis batteries to the battery manager module. this is why I couldn't get any boost power from the house batteries and is probably a contributor to why my chassis batts ran down in the first place.

I'll spare you the saga of finding this dead simple problem. Suffice it to say that it took 3 calls to Newmar, 1 to Spartan, and a road service guy coming to my house who didn't know what to do either.

We're off to family visit on Saturday and looks like my battery problems are solved. Prayer works!!