Starting battery not being charged from shore power.

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

I have figured out the shore power is not charging the coach start battery and I have to do the Battery boost to start it. The house batteries are being over charged to 13 volts.

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

I'm at a loss as to why it will not charge when plugged into shore power.

[awarnes]

I'm not sure that the system is set up to charge the coach starting battery. In most RV's that battery is not charged by the converter. Since your rig is so new check with your owners manual or call the manufactor and ask.

Good Luck
Arnold

[Dave from MN]

I don't believe Winnebago is set up to charge the starting battery from the converter. At least the 2 Adventurers I had didn't. I had to have a small maintance charger on the starting battery for long stays. But the Forester River Lexington I have now does.

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave from MN I don't believe Winnebago is set up to charge the starting battery from the converter. At least the 2 Adventurers I had didn't. I had to have a small maintance charger on the starting battery for long stays. But the Forester River Lexington I have now does.

I found the battery to be bad, but how did it go bad?, was it the laptop plugged into the cigarette lighter or was it just defective?. Shore power is suposed to charge all the batteries right?

[YC1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JK Jeeper I found the battery to be bad, but how did it go bad?, was it the laptop plugged into the cigarette lighter or was it just defective?. Shore power is suposed to charge all the batteries right?

In some cases but not all. My last three MH's did not charge the engine batteries. I installed a Trik-l-start on the last mh and that resolved the issue.

Since you changed the battery, and over discharging it could have killed it by using the laptop, plug the rv into shoreline or start generator and measure the engine battery voltage. If it is the same as the house batteries it is getting charged and you just had a bad battery. In recent posts I have been led to believe that Winnebago is installing the device mentioned as stock now. Check your manual or call the dealer to find out for sure. Look up the device so you can find a picture of it for reference.

Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer

[Davinger]

Your engine battery is a different kind of battery than your coach batteries are. Your engine battery is charged strictly by your alternator as it takes a different kind of charge. This also keeps the coach and engine batteries separate so that one doesn't cause the other to go down. You may want to take your engine battery to your local mega mart or favorite automotive store and check to see if it will take a charge. If it is dead replace it if it dies again quickly have your alternator checked. Hope this helps.

If you were using the cigarette lighter power adapter in the dash that is generally strictly hooked to the engine battery and yes that could after long use cause the battery to lose charge. I would recommend getting a 12v adapter installed that is attached to your coach battery or if you are hooked to shore power just use the power adapter. Since you are using a computer in your coach I would also recommend getting an inline surge protector that hooks into the box and then you hook your shore power into it. No one wants to replace every electronic device because of a surge.

["007"]

Some people have added this system with good results but most with your coach type have used the Trik-L-Start as YC1 pointed out.

[Triker56]

If yours is not charging both battery's House/Chassis at the same time.

Then you can always install A B.I.R.D that will fix that problem.
Most Fleetwoods have had one for many years. My 99 came with one.

[YC1]

One other note. Thirteen volts is not unusual to see across a battery while it is being charged. I would expect even higher at the onset of the charge. It is not unusual to see 14.5 volts with the alternator running.

It is also totally normal for the alternator to charge all batteries and most high end rv's are designed to charge the engine battery as well as the house batteries. Even though they are different types. That is deep cycly versus a starting battery. My system is programmed for the total amp hour battery rating I have in my banks and it will not overcharge or damage the engine batteries.

[The Shadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JK Jeeper I found the battery to be bad, but how did it go bad?, was it the laptop plugged into the cigarette lighter or was it just defective?. Shore power is suposed to charge all the batteries right?

No, it is not supposed to charge the chassis battery (wish it did). On my Impulse I've installed a kill switch on the battery and when we stop for more than a couple of nights I raise the hood and turn the disconnect nob. Last year in Florida for the winter the battery stayed up very well when disconnected. The PITA is that the radio will not operate from 12V house batteries which was a foolish decision by Winnie. That feature was on all four of our previous MHs.

None of our previous 4 mh's (2 were DPs) charged the chassis battery when connected to shore power.

[puttin]

I vote for trickle start as well....great product! It is a small uncomplicated unit and does it's job without any maint!

[AKwanderer]

Rather than install a kill switch/knob on the battery I ran lines inside the cab that goes to a toggle switch that isolates my chassis battery from my house. I only use my cigarette lighter plug to charge my phone when driving so I've never had problems with it dying. It saves me from having to get out, pop the hood, and flip the switch. Now I used to have one until my hood latch started wearing out. They're just not meant to be used that often.

[The Shadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKwanderer Rather than install a kill switch/knob on the battery I ran lines inside the cab that goes to a toggle switch that isolates my chassis battery from my house. I only use my cigarette lighter plug to charge my phone when driving so I've never had problems with it dying. It saves me from having to get out, pop the hood, and flip the switch. Now I used to have one until my hood latch started wearing out. They're just not meant to be used that often.

Don't share that view at all. If you don't disconnect the battery some items still work - like the power to the steps for example )and often propane detectors). Then you better make sure that switch is turned off. There are all kinds of drains on different MHs and popping the hood a few times a year doesn't wear anything out. My last DP was an HR and it had kill switches for both the house and chassis batteries. The one prior to that (04 Journey 39W) only had a kill switch for the house batteries and the chassis batteries could be dead in no time. Prior to the Impulse we had a Kodiak and the chassis battery was outside - under the co-pilot. That made it very difficult and inconvenient to put a kill switch on. There was a positive post under the hood and I "carefully" disconnected it and covered it when not in use. If I didn't do this the battery would be flat within a month. There were other connections to that battery and one was the steps.

When we head to FLA we tow the Escape. The Flex goes into the garage AND THE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED as recommended by Ford. If not, after a two month sit the battery will be flat. Same thing happened with our Tahoe and one can find these issues discussed on vehicle forums (non-RV type). The kill switch I put on the Flex just would not fit properly so I now just disconnect the negative cable and carefully wrap it to make sure it never touches metal.