Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Gulf Stream Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-25-2018, 04:02 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
No 12V to house side; help!

I brought home my new-to-me 1997 Gulfstream diesel pusher a couple days ago and parked it. No issues that I knew of; everything was working as it should yesterday.

I went out today to start it and realized none of the 12 volt house side stuff was working; nothing, nada, not a glimmer. My first assumption was batteries, so I plugged the coach in.

Still nothing 12v DC, although the AC side was working. The Intellec battery disconnect switch in the stairwell hadn't been touched; the chassis battery light was still "on" but the house battery light next to it was dark. Clicking the switch did nothing.

Looking at the inverter (Heart Freedom, I think it is) I see 2 little breakers/buttons on the front which are not popped. Main breakers in the power center inside are not popped.

Put my little meter on the house batteries to see what's what and I get... nothing. Zero voltage. I assumed my meter had gone bad, but it measures DC from a 9 volt battery ok.

I'm feeling like a moron.
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 10-25-2018, 04:36 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Moving out of Connecticut
Posts: 656
Well Honeybadger,

You might be a moron, but at least you are asking the right questions.....
I have no direct experience with your unit, but I can get you started with a diagnosis.

You are now on shore power.
A meter at the house battery reports Zero.
Right so far?

This is not easy to do.
Did you use the meter directly on the battery terminals? A bad connection could do this.

Go back to all the breakers and fuses you can find and trip/reset every one. Push those on the Heart again.
Take your meter and switch it to a scale that covers 120VAC. Test an outlet that you think is good. Good Reading? Most of the larger than tiny Heart/Freedom unit are converter/chargers. Test the place that the Heart is plugged in. Is that as good as what you tested first?

Go back to a DC scale and poke into the terminals on the Heart. If there is not 13~15VDC there, then disconnect the battery and switch the Heart off and back on and try again. DC there now? If there is, then the Heart unit had done a "crowbar" (the shape of the curve) and shut itself down to protect itself. If not, the Heart may have died on you. You will have to call them.

Now test the disconnected battery. You have to evaluate what you have.
Does it show any life at all?
Yes? Get a stand alone small charger and leave it on there for days (no Joke!) The bank may come back to life.
No? The bank may well be toast, but give it a charge anyway and keep everything crossed. If after two days, there is still nothing, what you have is the core deposit.

Whether the bank came back to life or not, put either the Heart on the house circuit without the battery bank, or that stand alone charger and look for the hidden light that got left on. I hate to tell you how common this is.

Good Luck

Frank - did this to lots of people's boats for lots of years.
F76Marion is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 04:52 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 8,055
One thing - if you go the small charger route a really low battery will draw too much current and either fault the charger or kill it. Put a low value resistance in the line that will limit the short circuit current to around 2-3 Amps. An old sealed beam headlamp works. As the cells in the battery re form chemically their voltage will go up and the current twill drop. Once the battery gets to around 10-11 Volts DC remove the resistor.
nothermark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 05:13 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
I have checked and rechecked the house batteries; with the needle probes directly in the lead posts, it reads nothing at all. Doing it the same way on the chassis battery gives me voltage, but low. I accept that the meter may be bad, so I'll drive to town tomorrow and get another.

The inverter appears to be hard wired and not a plug in model.

When I come back with the new meter in the morning I'll check the AC voltage, but how can I check the inverter sans plug in?

What is the likelihood that this is the battery disconnect switch failed in the Store position?
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 06:48 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 35,349
Your inverter/charger will not charge a completely dead battery.

Hold the boost switch or start the engine while on shore power. Either thing will send some voltage to the house batteries.

If that don't work, jump a good 12 volt battery to the house batteries to bring the volts up to 7 or 8 volts and the inverter/charger will take over.

Converter/chargers will output 12 volts without a battery.

Inverter/chargers are not converters, and will only re-charge run down batteries.
twinboat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:03 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat View Post
Your inverter/charger will not charge a completely dead battery.

Hold the boost switch or start the engine while on shore power. Either thing will send some voltage to the house batteries.

If that don't work, jump a good 12 volt battery to the house batteries to bring the volts up to 7 or 8 volts and the inverter/charger will take over.

Converter/chargers will output 12 volts without a battery.

Inverter/chargers are not converters, and will only re-charge run down batteries.
So, shouldn't there be a converter somewhere in this 12 volt system? Because I'm getting no 12 volt power when plugged into shore power either, and I thought that was the function of the converter.

I tried the boost switch in order to start the gennie, and that didn't work either. Neither did running the engine; no 12 volt power anywhere.
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:22 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Rkesselus's Avatar
 
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bastrop Texas
Posts: 1,343
i would make it simple so I would check the chassis battery(s) engine off and then with engine started If you get a voltage increase you know the engine generator is working. Jump from the engine battery to the house battery and see what you get. Does the unit have a converter as well as the inverter? if so go to the converter and look for multi-breakers from the 12 volt solenoid. Sounds like a switch or complet open somewhere. You should have something to trace if you have jumped the chassis battery to the house.
__________________
2000 Allegro Bus 35R 3126 Cat 300 Allison 3060MD 6 speed
Rkesselus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:32 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 35,349
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger View Post
So, shouldn't there be a converter somewhere in this 12 volt system? Because I'm getting no 12 volt power when plugged into shore power either, and I thought that was the function of the converter.

I tried the boost switch in order to start the gennie, and that didn't work either. Neither did running the engine; no 12 volt power anywhere.
Your inverter/charger replaces the converter.

You may have a bad boost solenoid, a common problem. The boost solenoid also doubles as the isolation/charge solenoid.

If the solenoid is bad, the chassis charging system will not charge the house batteries while the engine is running.

Use jumper cables from the chassis to the house batteries or use your car battery to the house battery to get the inverter/charger going.
twinboat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:36 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
lnicols's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Indio, CA
Posts: 121
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger View Post
I brought home my new-to-me 1997 Gulfstream diesel pusher a couple days ago and parked it. No issues that I knew of; everything was working as it should yesterday.

I went out today to start it and realized none of the 12 volt house side stuff was working; nothing, nada, not a glimmer. My first assumption was batteries, so I plugged the coach in.

Still nothing 12v DC, although the AC side was working. The Intellec battery disconnect switch in the stairwell hadn't been touched; the chassis battery light was still "on" but the house battery light next to it was dark. Clicking the switch did nothing.

Looking at the inverter (Heart Freedom, I think it is) I see 2 little breakers/buttons on the front which are not popped. Main breakers in the power center inside are not popped.

Put my little meter on the house batteries to see what's what and I get... nothing. Zero voltage. I assumed my meter had gone bad, but it measures DC from a 9 volt battery ok.

I'm feeling like a moron.
My buddy had the same problem with his new to him 2005 Monaco. It turned out to be the 50 amp 12 volt relay switch that had a reset button on the back of the switch.
lnicols is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 10:07 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat View Post
Your inverter/charger replaces the converter.

You may have a bad boost solenoid, a common problem. The boost solenoid also doubles as the isolation/charge solenoid.

If the solenoid is bad, the chassis charging system will not charge the house batteries while the engine is running.

Use jumper cables from the chassis to the house batteries or use your car battery to the house battery to get the inverter/charger going.
Any idea how I can identify the boost solenoid?
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 10:09 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
Quote:
Originally Posted by lnicols View Post
My buddy had the same problem with his new to him 2005 Monaco. It turned out to be the 50 amp 12 volt relay switch that had a reset button on the back of the switch.
I don't know what switch you're referring to?

Help a girl out here...
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 10:13 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
HoneyBadger's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Pacific Coast, Washington State
Posts: 469
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rkesselus View Post
i would make it simple so I would check the chassis battery(s) engine off and then with engine started If you get a voltage increase you know the engine generator is working. Jump from the engine battery to the house battery and see what you get. Does the unit have a converter as well as the inverter? if so go to the converter and look for multi-breakers from the 12 volt solenoid. Sounds like a switch or complet open somewhere. You should have something to trace if you have jumped the chassis battery to the house.
Engine batteries are on the other side of the coach from the house batteries; awkward to jump. Any reason why a 50 amp battery charger won't work?
HoneyBadger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 10:25 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger View Post
Engine batteries are on the other side of the coach from the house batteries; awkward to jump. Any reason why a 50 amp battery charger won't work?


This is probably too simple but the same thing happened to me except I got .09v. Turned out someone at the yard where I picked it up had turned on the cargo lights ( a lot of them ) and ran the batteries down. Put a charger on it for 2days and all is well.
Blueharp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 11:14 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
lnicols's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Indio, CA
Posts: 121
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger View Post
I don't know what switch you're referring to?

Help a girl out here...
This is what the relay looks like. It's between the incoming shore power and the outgoing 12 volt. What's not pictured is the reset switch located at the rear of the switch. Click image for larger version

Name:	414WMXyy-yL._SX425_.jpeg
Views:	91
Size:	12.8 KB
ID:	223839
lnicols is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
HELP.. Icing/Frost Build-up in 02' Dometic side/side ed mulvaney National RV Owner's Forum 34 07-30-2015 07:42 PM
Help - Lost all 12V in house! BVThunder Monaco Owner's Forum 16 04-18-2015 07:43 AM
12V Power Supply for 12V Systems JJH3rd Class A Motorhome Discussions 22 08-15-2014 08:56 PM
Need help in removing dometic side by side refrig M&EM National RV Owner's Forum 10 11-02-2010 07:14 PM
Loss of 12v power to radio, 12v plugs, etc redeldo Monaco Owner's Forum 9 05-21-2008 04:34 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.