Community Forums

RV Wizard · 10-15-2005, 01:01 AM

Sorry guys, I have been so busy with the dealership that I don't get much time but to eat and get ready to go back to work. This week I put in 68 hours so far and will probably have a 12 hour day, today. I want to help out and can only offer that a stuck realy is usually caused by arcing and heat as a result of the arcing. With 10 batteries and if drained you will have one heck of a current load from a large inverter/charger when it go back on line to recharge. If the relay that is used is not of sufficient amperage rating then it wil have a short life. If you leave the inverter/charger on then when you do get power back on it can top of the battery bank and not get down so far as to draw all of the amperage the charging section can produce. If your inverter can be programmed to recharge at a lower maximum amperage this may fix your problem but will take longer to recharge the bank. Hope this is of some help and if I can find the time to do more research I will let you know the findings.

RV Wizard · 10-16-2005, 12:04 AM

Was able to get a little time and so I wanted to ask you about the fact of Battery Cable Induction. How far apart and how long are the battery cables from the inverter to the battery bank? It is very important to keep them as short and as CLOSE together as possible, otherwise you can set up an induction senario. A self induction of ableing can cause premature failure of the unit as the capacitors are having to absorb the induced voltage when the batteries are suddenly disconnected. A little hard to explain but the secret is to keep the battery cables tied to each other for the entire distance from the battery bank to the inverter and as short as possible. Keeping them the exact same length would not be a bad idea either. Please let me know about the way the cable as run now and if the are already installed in this manner then I may have to do some more reseach into the reason you have had so many fail in the past.

ajbjrvers · 10-20-2005, 03:02 AM

to all who own motorhomes with high windshields;

on most of today's motorhomes the windshields are so high; toward roof of coach that the sun visors are useless. on my present dp and my 2000 gas mh i installed the darkest window tint available from the top of windshield to approx, 5 inches below the top of wiper blades, before installing film ,sit in drivers seat and make sure the film does not hinder your vision.the visors on most mh are so high you almost have to stand up to put them down and they don't come low enough to block sun. i also put tint film on all other mindows in the cab area, it blocks the bright sun and also adds insulation against heat and cold. after driving west at sunset to the noreasters rally in verona ,ny, i have decided to install new film on windshield approx. 3 inches lower. this film allows you to see the colors of traffic lights and does not interfere with driving.

hope this info is helpful-- thanks,, ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 10-20-2005, 03:14 AM

to rv wizard
hi mike and amy,

re; inverter and solonoid/relay problems;
batteries still run down too fast.ie, frige deplees battreies, 1100 amp hours, in 5 hours, with nothing else turned on, i haven't checked batteries with a hydrometer yet but they are only a year old and i have 3 120 volt solar panels with 21.5 amp charging rate that bring batteries up to 13.8 volts with nothing on but they run down awfully fast. i just changed the inverter low voltage shut-off from 10.4 volts to 11 volts to see if that helps.

what are your thoughts? thanks.. ajbjrers

RV Wizard · 10-20-2005, 11:47 PM

Check the condition of the batteries and don't let them get below 11.5 volts. Let me know the findings.

ajbjrvers · 10-24-2005, 02:07 PM

to; rv wizard

i replied to a question re; fuse location in a newmar diesel pusher and saw the reply and the search is on.. i also posted an idea that worked for me re; putting window tint film on top portion of windshield,, alot more effective than the visors.
i do not know where posting ended up or who to ask... thought you may know.

thanks ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 10-24-2005, 02:19 PM

rv wizard;

just found your postingsre; cable closeness and the 11.5 low point.

my 2 , 4 battery banks are about 4 feet apart and i was told to run 1 cable to 1 bank and the other to the other bank, the same applies to inverter. i don't remember if it was interstate or the solar panel techs that told me to separate + and - cables one to each bank. as i mentioned before all cables are 4/0 welding cable. should i re-arrange so + and - are on same battery bank??

awaiting your reply.. thanks.....ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 10-24-2005, 03:00 PM

to fatdog
on 10/20/05 at 8:20 pm i posted an article re; putting tint film on high windshields in motorhomes. is there a more appropriate catagory other than rv systems and appliances that this should be posted??

thanks ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 10-24-2005, 03:11 PM

to rv wizard;

thanks for the info re; programming charge rate lower rate, charger is adjustable from 30 amp down to 5 amp and it has lowest priority of
shore or generator power, it takes longer to bring batteries up but i now leave charger on

RV Wizard · 10-24-2005, 08:49 PM

ajbjrvers, please check out the post I placed on this topic as regarding the cable induction potential. This may be the culprit you have been looking for.

ajbjrvers · 10-27-2005, 02:37 AM

ajbjrvers · 10-27-2005, 02:42 AM

to ; rv wizard or/and anyone else who has solved this problem.

i have a 1991 onan , 4,000 watt generator that runs fine if you hold the start button down, it quits when start button released. is it the $150.00 p c board? i have to get this thing out of my friends garage.

thanks ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 10-30-2005, 02:41 AM

hasn't anyone else had this same problem with an onan generator? i'd like to get this thing running . why does it only run when start button held down?

thanks.. ajbjrvers