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Old 07-03-2012, 09:37 PM   #1
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Country Coach 2005 Inspire chassie battery won't stay charged

We replaced our chassie battery less than 6 months ago because the old one was 6 years old and wouldn't hold a charge. Now the new one won't either. It will not even hold a chargefor 5 days. We are parked and plugged into shore power most of the time.
If any one has suggestion we would appreciate them. We know you can put a trickle charger on these things but we never had this problem the first three years we owned this unit.
It seems Country Coach units have many strange things other units don't.
We have been told to leave the inverter off when plugged into shore power.
Help, going crazy
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Old 07-03-2012, 09:49 PM   #2
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There is most likely a battery echo charger that has failed or blown a fuse.

This device sends the charge voltage to the other bank as required.

When we had our CC (06 Allure) we had this fail. Initially replacing the inline fuse would get it to start agsin but that didn't last long.

Also, once the voltagr differential between the banks exceeds 2v it will not charge the other bank.

I have details on my blog site (see signatute).
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Old 07-03-2012, 10:05 PM   #3
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There is a Echo Charger mounted in the chassis battery bay that should function as a charger for the chassis batteries when you are on shore or generator power and charge the house batteries from the alternator while driving. If the Echo Charger is functioning the green LED will be on while charging. The Echo Charger is located to the right near the back of the compartment as you are looking in the chassis battery compartment.

There are a couple of things to check right away if the Echo Charger LED is not on while plugged in. First there are in-line 20 Amp fuse on the two wires going to the Echo Charger, check to be sure the fuses are good. The terminals that those two wires are connected to are on each side of the boost solenoid. So, on one of the solenoid terminals you should read chassis battery voltage and on the other terminal you should read house battery voltage. I have found the house battery side voltage to be essentially zero on more than on occasion. The culprit I've found when this occurs is a tripped breaker in the inverter bay.

The Echo Chargers seem to have a reputation for having problems but, at least so far, there has been a fairly simple solution to my problems.

Hope this helps a little.
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Old 07-04-2012, 11:07 AM   #4
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I do not see the need to have the inverter on when plugged to shore power, but it certainly should not harm anything.

Having it on will provide a seamless transition for your DVR settings when unplugging the shore power.

When not on a 120v power source, having the inverter turned on may draw down your batteries faster even though you are not using a 120v device. For that reason, mine is usually off when boon docking.
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Old 07-04-2012, 11:27 AM   #5
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FYI -- when we did replace our Xantrex Echo charger we went with the Magnum equivalent which was better (more settings, better visual indicators) and cheaper.
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Old 07-04-2012, 01:40 PM   #6
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I actually ordered the Magnum SBC (Smart Battery Combiner) before I figured out my problems. Have not installed it yet but probably will even though the Echo Charger is working now. The Magnum offers additional control functionality and increased charging capacity.

I found the SBC for just over $100 delivered last month.
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Old 07-13-2012, 08:44 AM   #7
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We also have an 05 Inspire. Pretty new to this. But, from what I read in the manuals, it is okay to leave the inverter/charger on when plugged into 110V shore power. The inverter light at the remote panel slowly blinks, indicating that the Inverter is on standby and ready to take over if shore power of generator stops.

Using the system this way assures good battery charging while using 110V shore or generator power.

Seems like much use of DC power would be a big job for that itty-bitty echo charger to keep up with.

Am I off base here?
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Old 07-17-2012, 10:20 AM   #8
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You need to have the combo unit on to charge the batteries from shore power.

But, you do not need the inverter function on to charge the batteries. The inverter draws power from the batteries to power 110v outlets. It is counter productive to battery charging, except when shore power is available. But there is no power loss from the inverter function if shorepower is available.
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Old 07-19-2012, 01:31 PM   #9
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Thanks to all of you that sent suggestions and helpful hints. We had the dealer that sold us our battery take it out and charge it overnight. When he came to replace it I told him the problem. He tested everything but the led was still not lit on the Echo charger. I told him there were some push button fuses on the other side of the battery bay just below where you turn the on and off switch. The 200 volt that is marked jacks would not push in. He was able to tap it and reset it. Then a miracle occured, the Echoncharger started working. Now not sure just why that would happen but hopefully the problem is fixed.
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Old 07-22-2012, 08:45 AM   #10
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The inverter can be on when plugged in and charging BUT if in storage and something happens that causes loss of shore power the inverter will continue to draw power until the batteries are dead (or at least to the low power shutoff). Not good for extended time away from RV.
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