Electrical wiring for whole rv

[MarkusW]

I'm actually throwing in the towel on the chassis electrical as far as the batteries are concerned. The schematics they sent work wonderfully. Everything seems to be operational!

The only downside is that the schematics they sent me is using 2 6v batteries for the coach power. The previous owners had 2 12v batteries in it. The schematic shows to run the coach in a series to get the 12v. I tried running my 12v in a parallel and nothing works. If I run it in the series, the engine turns over without a problem. Now the bigger problem with that is now I have 2 12v in a series making it a 24v system. I have asked a question about what to do in the technical systems part of this website and someone suggested that I ground the chassis battery to the frame and find my starter positive and then worry about the rest later. I have come across a bigger problem in doing that. None of the visible positive terminals start the engine. I get the same "click" as I did with the old batteries. I've tried several different ways of hooking up the batteries and the only method that seems to work is the one that overloads my 12v system. I am at a loss for what to do since I'm not seeing the starter motor positive go anywhere except to a junction box that is wired to the alternator and that in turn seems to go nowhere. I'm completely at a loss on what to do. I have been trying to figure it out over the weekend until the sun goes down.

[1mainiac]

Put the 12v batteries back in parallel. The starter system in that coach is simple but you need the chassis diagrams for it not Fleetwood. Most of them have a small solenoid on the alternator that sends power to the starter solenoid. If this solenoid is there and you connect the 2 large terminals together it should crank if not then your problem is at the starter itself. If it cranks then work back from there to the chassis fuse panel and look for the crank relay powering the crank relay will power the solenoid on the alternator and make it crank. Control ground to the crank relay comes from the neutral safety switch and control power comes from the ignition switch in crank mode.

[MarkusW]

Originally Posted by 1mainiac

Put the 12v batteries back in parallel. The starter system in that coach is simple but you need the chassis diagrams for it not Fleetwood. Most of them have a small solenoid on the alternator that sends power to the starter solenoid. If this solenoid is there and you connect the 2 large terminals together it should crank if not then your problem is at the starter itself. If it cranks then work back from there to the chassis fuse panel and look for the crank relay powering the crank relay will power the solenoid on the alternator and make it crank. Control ground to the crank relay comes from the neutral safety switch and control power comes from the ignition switch in crank mode.

I'll give that a shot in the morning. If I'm still stumped I'm just going to take it down the road after a phone call and see if the rv sales/service center down the road from me will swap me my 12v for a pair of 6's or just have him fix it for me while I watch because I would still like to learn the how's and why's of the system so I have a better understanding of it.

I wish i could upload the pdf file from the phone for you to look at sure from this post but i can't, i have the pdf in another section of the website. If you check my posts on my profile you'll find it. Maybe it'll better to help me if you can explain it to me. I feel so stupid righr now.

[MarkusW]

Because i can't edit my last post.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/im-not-sure-what-to-do-any-suggestions-252299.html

There's the link to my post with the pdf file for the full chassis schematics. There's only one difference in the junction box housing on the bracket from the schematic to what im seeinf on mine. There is a middle wire that has a split connection on it. Im not sure i do need it thouhj since my engine will turn ocer and start as lomh as the wirea are setup exactly like that schematic. Is there any specific reason for that?

["007"]

You need to look at this link and 12v battery systems you do not need 24v's coming from your two 12v batteries or your going to be in more of a mess with your control boards.
I had two 6v batteries when I bought my coach and replaced them with 12v AGM's you wire them in paralle and keep the 12v's, not in series for 24v.

CLICK ON THAT POST NUMBER AND COPY IT AND ADD TO A NEW POST SO I CAN SEE YOUR WIRING DIAGRAM THEY SENT YOU, CAN NOT FIND IT.

[MarkusW]

Originally Posted by 007";2623950]You need to look [B][URL="http://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/technical-info-links-28855.html

at this link[/URL][/B] and 12v battery systems you do not need 24v's coming from your two 12v batteries or your going to be in more of a mess with your control boards.
I had two 6v batteries when I bought my coach and replaced them with 12v AGM's you wire them in paralle and keep the 12v's, not in series for 24v.

CLICK ON THAT POST NUMBER AND COPY IT AND ADD TO A NEW POST SO I CAN SEE YOUR WIRING DIAGRAM THEY SENT YOU, CAN NOT FIND IT.

It isn't letting me post the attachment from any mobile device. I'll try to make it to the library tomorrow so I can get the PDF posted there for you. Or I could just email it to your email address. Other than for that, until I'm able to do either of those all I can say for now is to copy/paste the URL in my previous reply and click the attachment PDF that I posted. It should still be there. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be.

Edit: disregard what I said. I figured out how to add it. Here is the PDF they sent me.

[MarkusW]

The only way I can get the engine to turn over is if I have the batteries hooked up exaxtly what that schematic shows running the batteries in parallel gives me the same results as my old dead batteries. I'm not sure why either. I just know I can't be having a 24v system running anything.

["007"]

Your main battery is your starter battery as diagram shows lead to starter.
The two AUX batteries are 6v batteries in diagram not 12v.,
The two house batteries wiring should be OK if they are 6v not 12v batteries.
The wiring shown in this link shows the wiring as 6v not 12v in series.
That's why your getting 24v's.
Wire your two 12v in parallel than hook the positive and negative leads to the respective connections, positive B lead to solenoid and negative to chassis frame, all your grounds from battery's use frame as return to the batteries negative post.

[MarkusW]

Originally Posted by 007";2630275]Your main battery is your starter battery as diagram shows lead to starter.
The two AUX batteries are 6v batteries in diagram not 12v.,
The two house batteries wiring should be OK if they are 6v not 12v batteries.
The wiring shown in [B][URL="http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

this link[/URL][/B] shows the wiring as 6v not 12v in series.
That's why your getting 24v's.
Wire your two 12v in parallel than hook the positive and negative leads to the respective connections, positive B lead to solenoid and negative to chassis frame, all your grounds from battery's use frame as return to the batteries negative post.

I'll double check my grounds again just to make sure but when I wire them up in a parallel my engine will not turn over. Any ideas why that would be? That is the main problem I'm having. When I go out the the hood and link a wire across in a series on the coach batteries and have my girlfriend turn the ignition, it fires right up. Another thing I just noticed today when I was messing with it, when I do that and then take the series link off, all my coach DC outlets are still producing 24v even out of series. My DC plug on the dash uses the chassis battery so that outputs 12.6v I'm not sure what's going on with my electrical system. I'm hoping that someone can help me pinpoint the problem so that I can correct it.

[deandec]

Have you tried to jump start your engine using a car battery or similar through the chassis battery?

Have you tried to start your engine with a jumper cable from the chassis battery positive terminal to the starter positive terminal?

Those two steps would eliminate the starter to battery cable and battery charge as the culprits to the non-start problem.

[MarkusW]

Originally Posted by deandec

Have you tried to jump start your engine using a car battery or similar through the chassis battery?

Have you tried to start your engine with a jumper cable from the chassis battery positive terminal to the starter positive terminal?

Those two steps would eliminate the starter to battery cable and battery charge as the culprits to the non-start problem.

I have not tried that since I bought the new batteries. That is a good idea and will try that out as soon as I'm able to. I'll let you know what the results of that test will be when I'm able to do that.

["007"]

The house batteries are the AUX batteries on your diagram and diagram shows two 6v batteries wired in series.
You tell me you have now placed two 12v batteries in the AUX positions and they should be wired in parallel not in series.
The coach starter battery has nothing to do with the house batteries it should be a 12v starter battery wired as shown in your wiring diagram.

[ChasA]

Markus,
I don't think you understand that you have 2 separate battery systems. One system is for your chassis ( that is the engine starter and headlights, etc). The second system is your coach (house) batteries. These are primarily for lights, etc inside the coach
Both systems are 12 volt, not 6 or 24. Chassis batteries are usually 12 batteries and often are paired in parallel with another battery of the same size and type.
Coach batteries can be 12 volt or six volt. If using six volt batteries, think of each of them as 1/2 of a single 12volt battery. Two six volt batteries wired in series makes one large 12 volt battery.
Next you need to determine which batteries are coach and which are chassis. Then troubleshoot the two systems separately. I would start with the chassis ( starter).
Do you have a volt meter?
I'll check back tomorrow to see if I can help you.

["007"]

He has a wiring diagram of his coach here.