Community Forums

larryj41 · 10-23-2015, 07:48 AM

Hi All,
I am sorry this is so long, but I am so frustrated and I wanted to give all the facts.
We are fulltiming in our 02 TS and have had battery problems since July. We were parked this summer in Colorado for a month plugged into 30 amp and when it was time to leave the chassis batteries were dead. I was able to use the battery boost button to start the coach.
We then went to New Mexico for 3 weeks. Same situation, the lights in the house that run off the chassis batteries went dead and we could not start the coach without the battery boost.
After that we were in Texas and had the same problem. I bought 2 new Volvo truck batteries and hoped that would work. Since then, the batterries have gone dead twice and now the battery boost wont even turn the enfine.
We got to Crater of Diamonds State Park on Tuesday and last night the light started going dim. I tried the ignition and the engine wouldn't turn over.
I am waiting now for someone from Coach Net to come give us a boost. We are plugged into 50 amp here.We do have a 3000w inverter/charger and 600 watts of solar panels on the roof. There is a 15w panel that is only supposed to charge the chassis batteries.
Any ideas? I have had no one can seem to find the problem.
Thanks for your help!

The Driver · 10-23-2015, 08:03 AM

None of my interior lights run off my chassis batteries, so if any of my lights were dim, it would be because the coach batteries were running down.

Is your inverter's charge function turned on?

When you first plug in at a campground, do you show a progression of bulk charge, then absorb, then float for your house batteries? Does running the engine charge the chassis batteries for any length of time?

hal1phx · 10-23-2015, 09:37 AM

I too am surprised that your house lights are effecting the chassis batteries ... should be totally separate system. Maybe some wiring issues ???

BatteryPro · 10-23-2015, 10:06 AM

Hi Larry and Debbie,

If you are plugged in to shore power, the inverter/charger will provide all power other than engine starting. If you use the boost button and crank your engine, the charger will be providing up to the current maximum of the charger. The charger will also fully charge your house battery and you may have a bi-directional relay that keeps the starting battery charged.

I don't think any motorhome uses the chassis battery for interior loads other than a dash radio.

Since you have shore power, an inverter/charger and PV solar, your house battery should be full. Somewhere you have lost the connection to the battery from all charge sources.

I'll need more information to help. But first, look around the house battery for any corrosion or wiring thatmay be loose. A poor DC connection can produce the things you are saying.

Larry

dennis45 · 10-23-2015, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larryj41

Hi All,
I am sorry this is so long, but I am so frustrated and I wanted to give all the facts.
We are fulltiming in our 02 TS and have had battery problems since July. We were parked this summer in Colorado for a month plugged into 30 amp and when it was time to leave the chassis batteries were dead. I was able to use the battery boost button to start the coach.
We then went to New Mexico for 3 weeks. Same situation, the lights in the house that run off the chassis batteries went dead and we could not start the coach without the battery boost.
After that we were in Texas and had the same problem. I bought 2 new Volvo truck batteries and hoped that would work. Since then, the batterries have gone dead twice and now the battery boost wont even turn the enfine.
We got to Crater of Diamonds State Park on Tuesday and last night the light started going dim. I tried the ignition and the engine wouldn't turn over.
I am waiting now for someone from Coach Net to come give us a boost. We are plugged into 50 amp here.We do have a 3000w inverter/charger and 600 watts of solar panels on the roof. There is a 15w panel that is only supposed to charge the chassis batteries.
Any ideas? I have had no one can seem to find the problem.
Thanks for your help!

I am not familiar with the exact components or locations of your system, but I am quite sure you have an energy management system that switches the charging current from the house batteries to the chassis batteries based on the input voltage it sees from either bank of batteries.
The system will consist of a sensing device, a HD Solenoid (controlled by the sensing device) to switch power from one bank to the other and another HD Solenoid to connect the two banks when you use the Boost Switch.
The trick now is to locate these components and test them to see which one has failed. Time to get out your trusty voltmeter or call your nearest RV Tech.
Attached is a link to Intellitec who supply components and systems to most of the coach manufacturers. There is some tech info in there that may help you diagnose your problem. Hope this helps, don't be afraid to ask more questions.

Speciality vehicle power distribution, charging, switching and controlling electrical systems from Intellitec

nothermark · 10-23-2015, 10:31 AM

Unplug the coach and measure the chassis (starting) battery. Plug in the unit. Measure the battery again. If the voltage did not go up you are not charging the chassis battery when plugged in. From there it depends whether or not you have a BIRD type system. Many (most?) units do not. When you are parked the chassis battery runs down from internal loads like computers that control the engine and chassis functions as well as add on bits like a GPS. Most systems will sit for a week or two but not months without some kind of chassis battery maintainer. If you run the battery flat enough you will have a problem trying to recharge it. Even if you recharge it the life will be degraded. You need to figure out whether you have a broken BIRD or just need a maintainer for the chassis battery.

dennis45 · 10-23-2015, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

Unplug the coach and measure the chassis (starting) battery. Plug in the unit. Measure the battery again. If the voltage did not go up you are not charging the chassis battery when plugged in. From there it depends whether or not you have a BIRD type system. Many (most?) units do not. When you are parked the chassis battery runs down from internal loads like computers that control the engine and chassis functions as well as add on bits like a GPS. Most systems will sit for a week or two but not months without some kind of chassis battery maintainer. If you run the battery flat enough you will have a problem trying to recharge it. Even if you recharge it the life will be degraded. You need to figure out whether you have a broken BIRD or just need a maintainer for the chassis battery.

All good advice with the exception of adding a battery maintainer. This coach has been in service since 2002 and has, I assume, worked well without a bat maintainer. Please don't confuse the OP. I suggest sticking to the idea of finding and fixing the problem without reinventing the wheel.

larryj41 · 10-24-2015, 05:47 AM

Thanks so much for all of your replies. This forum is great. When the gerleman came to jump the battery, he found that a cable had been attached wrong and thinks it was draining the batteries.
Everything is charged up and running now and we are hoping that the cable was the problem.
Again, thank you!

rag_ftw · 10-24-2015, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BatteryPro

..... But first, look around the house battery for any corrosion or wiring thatmay be loose. A poor DC connection can produce the things you are saying.

Always the FIRST place to start looking for elec problems is connection problems. Question I always ask myself. What have I touched/changed since everything was working correctly. If I have not touched anything I immediately start looking for corrosion or loose connections.

Keep us advised if you have additional problems. There are more gremlins to play with!!

YC1 · 10-24-2015, 05:09 PM

You said no one can seem to find the problem? Have you had an RV tech look at it?

You probably have more than one problem which is not uncommon. Your first step beside a good cleaning of the battery terminals and tightening the posts and following the negative wires to the frame grounds and doing the same is to measure the voltage on each bank of batteries and post those results.