Community Forums

FredV · 10-04-2016, 09:49 AM

We have been running our water heater on gas instead of 110 in our 2000 Trop-i-cal. Found that the chassis battery has been going dead. Has anybody run into this? Apparently the water heater is wired to the chassis instead of the house batteries. Is this normal or has a previous owner been rewiring things?

Rook · 10-04-2016, 09:57 AM

Your water heater draws very little power from your batteries, either when on 120VAC or on Propane Gas. Only enough to operate the valve solenoid. Something else must be causing your problem. How old are your chassis batteries? Rook

FredV · 10-04-2016, 10:58 AM

Chassis battery is 3 months old, I have checked for parasitic draws and found none. The only other accesory connected to the 1 chassis battery that we have been using ia the in-dash radio. We had been running the radio for several hours over many days and found that the engine cranked normally. The water heater is only run for 1 cycle 3 times a week. I know that the battery is charging via the alternator based on 14.3 volts output. I dont have an effective means to test the battery other than to return to place of purchase.

Rook · 10-04-2016, 12:25 PM

Sounds like you might need to invest in an inexpensive DVM (Digital Volt Meter), less than $20, on-line or at HD, Lowes, etc. It accurately measures AC/DC voltage, resistance, continuity, current, etc. Spend some time learning how to use it. It will save you HOURS of wasted time GUESSING and mucho $$$. With the DVM you could measure the chassis battery voltage under load, like bright headlights "on", engine "off"......it it is less than 12 volts, then your battery is not fully charged, or it's defective. Rook

FredV · 10-05-2016, 08:51 AM

I have measured chassis voltage both under load and not. Voltage did not drop below 12v .I have studied the schematics from National but can't find any reference as to where the water heater connects to a 12 volt source. Other motorhomes I have owned had the water heater connected to the coach batteries not the chassis. I am going to connect an ammeter in line with the chassis battery to see if any ford chassis module is waking up and causing an excessive draw. I will also test to see what the water heater draws Thanks for the help.

Dustinwaste · 10-30-2016, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredV

We have been running our water heater on gas instead of 110 in our 2000 Trop-i-cal. Found that the chassis battery has been going dead. Has anybody run into this? Apparently the water heater is wired to the chassis instead of the house batteries. Is this normal or has a previous owner been rewiring things?

something isn't right, I have stayed in mine for 14 weeks with the gas water heater fired (98 tradewinds 7370) and NEVER had an issue with the chassis batteries dead, but my radio runs off the house batteries as well.

good luck, this is my first post on this forum I am constantly reading but have never posted.