Community Forums

gpete1961 · 02-11-2015, 12:52 PM

I have been parked at a campground with 50 amp shore power since December. Every two weeks I start my coach engine and generator to make sure everything is in working condition. 2 weeks I had to use the battery boost switch to start the engine. Today that is not working, and the needles on the dash are clicking and moving radically. 2 weeks ago I used the battery boost switch while turning the key to crank the engine. This worked two weeks ago but today that is not working. I got the manual out and read what it says about jumping the engine from the house battery, and it says to hold the switch in for 30 seconds and let off of the switch before cranking the engine. This did not work so I went to the next phase which says to start the generator and let it charge for 2 minutes. This also did not help. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so how did you finally get your engine to crank?

IASM · 02-11-2015, 03:00 PM

I would check both the chassis battery and the house battery's. It sounds like the house may be dead also so you would have to confirm the inverter/charger is working correctly.

BarneyM · 02-11-2015, 04:23 PM

Greg,

Your Echo Charger is not working (not unusual). You need to replace it with a Magnum Battery Combiner. Much better product. It should be located in with the chassis battery up high. It's connected to both sides of the boost solenoid. I've attached a picture of mine. The white thing with the large red cables attached is the boost solenoid.

http://moenracing.com/images/batt_boost.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Energy-.../dp/B0074TS05C

IASM · 02-11-2015, 04:45 PM

I too would be suspect of the echo but he indicated the boost also did not start the engine. Its my understanding the echo charger only charges the chassis after the house is fully charged. I had a friends coach I was checking and it was not charging and it turned out the inverter needed to be reset. I pushed the reset and it started charging again. Keep us posted.

deandec · 02-11-2015, 06:10 PM

House battery is likely dead.

Charger not working?

Test the voltage at the house battery with your multi-meter.

2 Stroker · 02-11-2015, 08:49 PM

My echo charger went bad and did the same thing and I installed the Magnum Combiner, put the battery charger on the chassis battery for about 8hrs all good now. Last year when I had the RR frig installed I also had the Magnum 2812 installed.
2 stroker

gpete1961 · 02-18-2015, 01:55 PM

I finally got around to checking on my battery problem. My chassis battery read 10.5 volts, which is not near enough to crank the engine. I checked my 6 volt batteries, and they all (4 total) had 6.7 volts. I assume the Echo charger may be bad, so I am replacing it with Magnum Energy ME-SBC Two Bank Smart Battery Combiner 12/24VDC. I should have it in a few days from Amazon and will install as soon as I have it. I am also not sure if I have another problem as the boost solenoid doesn't seem to be kicking in. I changed one of the 20 amp fuses that looked bad, but that didn't seem to help.

I will know more once I install the charger. Thanks everyone for your help, and I will keep everyone abreast to my repair.

IASM · 02-18-2015, 05:44 PM

The boost solenoid also is the combiner for charging the house battery's when the engine is running. You should hear it click. Mine has a 12 volt circuit with two grounds. A ground goes to the dash switch and the other to an oil pressure switch on the engine so when the engine starts it activates the relay and charges everything off the engine.

gpete1961 · 02-19-2015, 05:11 AM

When I tried the boost switch before I would hear it click- now I don't.

1.Does the Echo Charger have to be working in order for the boost solenoid to work?
2. Does the engine run key have to be in the on position for the boost solenoid to work?

Thanks,

deandec · 02-19-2015, 09:44 AM

On my old rig, the boost switch is a deadman toggle switch.

It will combine the house and engine battery just by holding the switch on. Ignition switch does not affect the boost.

After doing that for a minute or two with a dead chassis battery, some charge will be taken from the house battery and moved to the chassis battery. That helps the chassis battery to crank the starter.

Then still holding the boost switch on, I turn the key and hopefully crank the engine.

Works even better if your generator is running and charging the house battery at the same time.

deandec · 02-20-2015, 10:34 AM

Direct Answers to some of OP's questions:

1. On my rig the ignition switch is independent of the boost switch. It does not need to be on to activate the boost switch.

2. On my rig, the boost switch make no sound when activated.

3. On my rig, the boost switch needs to be held in the on position when cranking the engine.

4. Generally, shore power and generator power will charge the house battery. Some times, problems with one or the other power source get a different result. It is worth trying both sources to see if your problem is corrected.

5. The Echo Charger should not need to be working for the boost switch to work.

Several folks have speculated that your house battery is not being charged!

Have you measured the voltage at the terminals of your house battery? If plugged to shore power, you should have between 13.2 dcv and 14.4 dcv at the terminals if they are being charged.

If not being charged, you have a battery charger problem. Perhaps your inverter breakers need to be reset.

If you have no voltmeter, then:

Since you are plugged to shore power, all your systems should work fine even if the house battery is low.

Unplug the shore power and try to operate your 12v lights and turn on your inverter function to see if you can run your video equipment. If not, the house battery is low and your charger is not working.

Medico · 02-20-2015, 06:50 PM

On a similar subject, you start your coach every 2 weeks??? Most experts will tell you this is VERY bad for the engine. A diesel engine has to get to normal operating temps to ensure everything gets lubricated properly. A diesel engine does not get to normal operating temps until it is driven down the road 10 to 15 miles. It will never get to normal operating temps while sitting at idle. You are causing premature wear on the engine by doing this. If you wish to do this, take it for a drive once per month.

Most experts also agree that a once a month run of the generator "under load" is sufficient. Run it for 1/2 hour or so under a good load to get it to normal operating temps as this is also a diesel engine.

The only time my engine would not turn over, it was a connection problem. The battery terminals were dirty and corroded. Several needed to be replaced, the remainder cleaned up.

gpete1961 · 02-21-2015, 09:28 AM

I want to thank everyone for their help on this problem. This is what I did to fix the problem:

- I replaced the echo charger with the ME-SBC Smart Battery Combiner as recommended on here
-My boost was not working because the breaker that is tied inline with boost was tripped from the last time I tried to use it. I had tried to reset it before, but found out I had to push hard on the red trip button to reset it
-The coach battery charged overnight, and I was able to start the coach this morning without any problems and without the boost.

Again, thanks to everyone for your help!

Greg