Low Battery light/HWH Jacks

[Mdhcols]

Hi all. First time in Tiffin specific forum. Have a 2000, 37 ft Allegro Bus w/ 300HP Cat 3126B & Freightliner with 2000 Inverter. Have developed issue of batteries being too low when I go to put jacks down. Had 4 Duracells, installed 15 mo ago. One was corroding on both terminals so replaced recently thinking that was problem. Did not fix. All sprayed good with protectant. Tested all batteries with hydrometer and all strong.

My remote panel shows DC amps at <10 much of time. Sometimes it will jump up to normal (10-12) and then fall back even if no new 12v function turned on.

No other 12v issues including 3 slides. It's like something is constantly drawing it down. Once i put slides out, it can take 24 hours before it climbs back to normal.

Electrical problems are tough for me and I will take any thoughts guys!

Thank you very much,
Mike

FT since April, 2014

[Mdhcols]

Not sure what happened to rest of info. DC amps at <10 much of time. Will climb to normal (10-12) but drops back down without obvious 12v use. . Sorry, Mike.

[Winemaker2]

Confused
Are battys testing good...charged or low
If battys good but getting lo V msg check for good grounds ...batty to chassis...charger....jacks.

[Mdhcols]

All cells show very good on hydrometer. Idiot lights on panel show battery state as good and charged. Is there a way to determine how much voltage specifically is coming from a battery?

[luvlabs]

Putting down levelers and moving slides take lots of amps and are best done with the engine running. Try pulling into the site, leveling first, extending the slides, and then shut off the engine.

You also should start checking some connections around the coach. On the hydraulic pump for the slides/levelers check the ground connection from the motor to the frame. Check your ground from the house batteries as well.

[Mdhcols]

If it ever quits raining I will do so. Thank you.

[azpete]

sorry, but 10 volts on an auto or rv battery show either poor charging, or bad batteries. the best way to check a battery is a load test. a recently charged battery should show 12 volts or more. even after a load test. my inside battery meter isnt that accurate. but thats just mine i guess.
is the hwh system hooked to the house batteries or the engine battery? in most cases, hwh recommends for jacks, that the engine be running, to supply the extra amps need to start and run the pump motor.
i would look again at the cables. has the corrosion swelled the covering on the cables? also tighten the two bolts that anchor the pump motor to the mounting bracket. thats the ground for the whole assembly.
if the low battery light still comes on. i would suspect the engine battery, if our system is hooked to it.

[Skip426]

It would seem; from you post; that you're relying on your, on board control panel, for you read outs . Do you have a hand held voltmeter?
When you are on shore power, or have the gen set running , your converter charger should be supplying 13.1 volts MINIMUM; continuous charge , ramping up to 14.1 volts after a major draw.
I'm also noticing a little problem with your use of the terms volts and amps .
To simplify.
Volts is the power available , example a 12 volt battery .
Amps is the rate of draw a system puts on the battery , example the HWH pump draws 40 amps when running .
More info here .
The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

I had thought that your HWH system would be the same as mine , with the coach being a similar vintage , but my HWH 310 series doesn't have a low volts light.
However a component that will be the same , is a master 40 amp fuse for the system, this in line fuse is within a foot of the pump solenoid ; mounted on the pump its self and supplies all the power to the control box and panel.
My master fuse was corroded , and although it passed voltage and enough amps to light up the control pad , it wouldn't pass enough amps to allow the levelers to operate.
Here's what to look for.

[Mdhcols]

Thank everyone. It has stopped raining in central Ohio so I can get serious now. Will report back.

[ProjectPro]

Question for you more experienced folks - I always shut off the engine before leveling because the first thing autolevel does is dump the air bags. Seems to me that the coach would want to air up the bags if the engine is still running. No?

[azpete]

read your operators manual first. that will explain how the leveling system works on your coach. questions like having the engine running or not, key in the run or acc position, dump air and extend rooms or not. on and on.
download a service manual for your system. that has wiring diagrams, led identification and location, methods of operation, and how to diagnose a problem. its very difficult to do a good diagnosis without it.
generally, the leveling system takes over when you set the park brake and turn the system on. the park brake provides a ground to the control box. however, thats not the only ground to the system.
the only function on hwh systems that will work without the park brake being set is the retract function.
on jack leveling systems, the dump valve opens for 45 seconds to dump the air bags. it then closes on some systems. the freightliner chassis dump valve has to be activated to either open or close. thats where you need both the operators manual and service manual.
sorry to run on, but as you see, there isnt one answer that would fit your question.
if you want, please call me at 1-602-549-3638 paul maddox
i do work for hwh, i do not sell parts or solicit service work on this forum.