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Old 02-04-2014, 11:00 AM   #1
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Waiting For a Tow...

Sitting here on I-10 west bound about 130 miles out of El Paso, TX... ABS comm failure, Trans comm failure, engine comm failure... Thank my lucky starts for Coach Net. I am being told it is probably an alternator problem. We will be towed 130 miles to a Cummins shop for repairs. Started the generator. Nothing working inside. Talked to an old friend who said check the breaker in the gen compartment. That worked. Now none of the 12v items are working inside the coach. The 110 are. How come? Also, if I'm plugged into shore power you would think the batteries are being charged. I'm not sure. The generator is charging at 14.6v right now but how the batteries got that low is beyond me. My old friend also said have them rebuild the alternator if that's the problem because the ones today are probably made in China and are junk. Good advice. Never thought of that. Thanks Steve!! Now, any ideas why the 12v system isn't working, and why or so it seems the batteries are not being charged when plugged into shore power?
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:10 AM   #2
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Battery cut-off switch got pressed somehow. Reset and 12v system working. It's been over 2 hours now so hopefully they show up soon. Never a dull day around here...
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:21 AM   #3
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Does your gen charge your chassis battery?

If yes. You should be able to drive with a faulty alternator by running the gen. At least it would tell you if your fault indicators are low voltage related.
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:29 AM   #4
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Does your gen charge your chassis battery?

If yes. You should be able to drive with a faulty alternator by running the gen. At least it would tell you if your fault indicators are low voltage related.
My understanding is the house batteries take priority over the chassis batteries. If so it will take a long time to charge the house batteries. No doubt the tow will show up before that...
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:32 AM   #5
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My understanding is the house batteries take priority over the chassis batteries. If so it will take a long time to charge the house batteries. No doubt the tow will show up before that...
If you select your emergency start button and leave it selected, your chassis and house batt will charge at the same time. That should tell you if low voltage is causing the fault indicators. Or you could just use a voltmeter to determine the chassis batt status.

Good luck.

Edit: if you can latch that relay that connects or bypass the relay and connect all batteries together, and if the alternater is the culprit, you can drive anywhere as long as your gen is on. I did that once when I had a bad Alternator. Drove the entire day until I got to a convenient repair facility.
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:48 AM   #6
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If you select your emergency start button and leave it selected, your chassis and house batt will charge at the same time. That should tell you if low voltage is causing the fault indicators. Or you could just use a voltmeter to determine the chassis batt status.

Good luck.
No idea what a emergency start button is. I have a battery boost button on the dash. Nothing in the owner's manual I can find telling me what it is for. Funny, been here more than 2 hours and have not seen a Highway Patrol or anyone. Things could be worse...
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:49 AM   #7
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I had a bad alternator last year the day before a planned trip to Florida.

Couldn't get it repaired in time so drove the whole 1,000+ mile trip with the generator running and the battery boost switch held in the on position.

No problems at all. Got the Alternator replaced by Cummins shop on return. Covered by Good Sam warranty.
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:52 AM   #8
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No idea what a emergency start button is. I have a battery boost button on the dash. Nothing in the owner's manual I can find telling me what it is for. Funny, been here more than 2 hours and have not seen a Highway Patrol or anyone. Things could be worse...
Battery boost is the "emergency start" (different words) that switch activates a relay that puts all batteries together.

You should be able to find that relay and bypass it if the alternator is the issue.
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Old 02-04-2014, 11:53 AM   #9
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No idea what a emergency start button is. I have a battery boost button on the dash. Nothing in the owner's manual I can find telling me what it is for. Funny, been here more than 2 hours and have not seen a Highway Patrol or anyone. Things could be worse...
The battery boost button connects the house and chassis batteries together to provide starting power from house batteries if the chassis batteries are dead.

The generator doesn't normally charge the chassis batteries so I used the boost switch so that the genny was charging the chassis batteries.
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:03 PM   #10
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My boost switch is not a on/off switch. You have to hold it down to boost the start (I'm guessing) what happens after that is only a guess. When I turn the key to start I get comm failure warnings for ABS, Trans, engine. The tow company should be here within the hour. Guess I'm going to get towed and let Cummins figure it out. Thanks for all the input...
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:08 PM   #11
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I totally agree that if you can get the 14V from the genny to the chassis batteries,, drive on... No real difference between that and your alt... Although we don't own a DP, the basics in this case are the same. I use a short pair of jumper cables to keep my chassis battery charged while plugged into shore power. Same would happen running the genny... I simply go from one side of the "emergency start/battery boost" solonoid to the other... Recon, I understand wanting it fixed correctly and waiting for the tow truck,,, but you might keep these responses filed away for emergencies... Monkey
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:09 PM   #12
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Yes. you have to hold it down. I just wedged something under the switch so I didn't have to keep my finger on it.
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:18 PM   #13
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My boost switch is not a on/off switch. You have to hold it down to boost the start (I'm guessing) what happens after that is only a guess. When I turn the key to start I get comm failure warnings for ABS, Trans, engine. The tow company should be here within the hour. Guess I'm going to get towed and let Cummins figure it out. Thanks for all the input...
Good luck. Most "boost switches" are spring loaded temp switches. That will engage a heavy duty relay that connects the batteries together. Some people put an object under one side/end of the switch to hold it on, or in my case, I just went to the relay and moved one of the heavy wires to a common post and bypassed the relay. This worked fine for the remainder of my journey to the repair shop.

Whatever works for you -again good luck
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Old 02-04-2014, 12:24 PM   #14
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Yes. you have to hold it down. I just wedged something under the switch so I didn't have to keep my finger on it.
I'm glad that worked for you,,, but for information sake,, temporary contact solonoids are not meant to be "continuous duty"... They have a good posibility of over heating... Better to jumper around it if needed.... Monkey
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