Batt. boost

[pk42]

i tried to start mt 03 travel supreme on the batt. boost switch and nothing happend i can t, seem to find the realy does anyone know tue location of the boost relay on that spartan chassis thanks pk42

[GaryKD]

Hi pk42,

The relay for my coach is located in the electrical bay where the shore power cord is located. There is also a 7.5 AMP fuse in a separate 12 VDC fuse block. Consider checking the coach batteries. If they are not fully charged, the battery boost will do nothing.

Where the relay and fuse are located is a coach builder decision.

[tkcas01]

For what it is worth, the first and only time I needed to use my battery boost nothing happened for me either. However, I found that if I held the boost switch down for a minute or so before trying to start, then it got the job done.

[pk42]

thanks for the answers guys i called jayco who now own t.s.and thay told me that the ignition realay is also the batt. boost realay and you have to leave it on for 5 to10 minutes to fully charge the house batt.witch does not make any sense to me again thanks pk.

[Lobstah]

Just an FYI...
5-10 minutes is no where near enough time to charge your house batt. Might pick it up some, but would take much longer to fully charge a discharged batt.

Jim

[Old Bounder]

Originally Posted by pk42

thanks for the answers guys i called jayco who now own t.s.and thay told me that the ignition realay is also the batt. boost realay and you have to leave it on for 5 to10 minutes to fully charge the house batt.witch does not make any sense to me again thanks pk.

You do have to hold the boost switch depressed while cranking the engine. The switch simply picks the isolator relay which bridges the house and chassis batteries together while it's depressed. Holding it depressed for a "few" minutes prior to trying to crank the engine is usually necessary if the chassis battery is really low.

[Tobias7000]

And I recently learned on my Country Coach Inspire 360 that if the house batteries are too low in voltage, then the battery boost relay/solenoid will not energize. So I had to jumper the house batteries from my pickup in order to get enough power to turn on the house batteries to start the generator to charge the house batteries. Would be nice to have a switch that selects between house and chassis batteries to energize the solenoid. That way if either battery bank is low I can use the other to activate the bridging solenoid.

[GA Navigator]

I have read many threads on this subject and there is still one thing that I do not understand.
How/why are the starting/chassis batteries so weak to require using the boost switch?
I have never had to use the boost switch. If I did, I would replace the starting batteries so I wouldn't have to again.
Is there something I am missing?

[TBS-POPS]

GA Navigater you are not missing a thing. You are correct in your thinking. If you need to use your boost switch there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

[deandec]

Originally Posted by pk42

thanks for the answers guys i called jayco who now own t.s.and thay told me that the ignition realay is also the batt. boost realay and you have to leave it on for 5 to10 minutes to fully charge the house batt.witch does not make any sense to me again thanks pk.

I have found that holding the boost switch in the on position (mine is a dead man toggle switch) for a few minutes will transfer some power from the House Battery to the Chassis Battery.

Once that is done, the House Battery will then aid the Chassis Battery in starting the engine.

In no way, does the boost switch charge the House Battery.

Personally, I would First start the Generator with the House Battery and once the genset is running and providing a charge to the House battery attempt to use the boost switch to start the engine.

This process may avoid having all batteries dead.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by GA Navigator

I have read many threads on this subject and there is still one thing that I do not understand.
How/why are the starting/chassis batteries so weak to require using the boost switch?
I have never had to use the boost switch. If I did, I would replace the starting batteries so I wouldn't have to again.
Is there something I am missing?

Well ... there is something you are missing. It's the parasitic current draw that is far more common in later model coaches. Assuming you are still driving your '94 ... like my '97 ... chassis bats stay charged for months without starting the coach.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by Tobias7000

And I recently learned on my Country Coach Inspire 360 that if the house batteries are too low in voltage, then the battery boost relay/solenoid will not energize. So I had to jumper the house batteries from my pickup in order to get enough power to turn on the house batteries to start the generator to charge the house batteries. Would be nice to have a switch that selects between house and chassis batteries to energize the solenoid. That way if either battery bank is low I can use the other to activate the bridging solenoid.

Assuming the chassis battery is fully charged, and you can start the engine, it's not likely you have a need to bridge the batteries. Normally, there is a BIRD or similar device that will eventually supply alternator charging to the House bats. Not always a feature in every RV, but pretty common.

[johnnyreno]

Does it possibly start bleeding into the start batteries when holding down the switch.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by johnnyreno

Does it possibly start bleeding into the start batteries when holding down the switch.

Well ... sort of ... they will attempt to equalize ... not necessarily a good thing ... as in the good batteries will begin to drain toward the not-so-good ones.