Strange Electrical Issue
 

Hi Folks:

We are new to the RV lifestyle and love it. We are, however, having a strange electrical issue with our motorhome.

We have a 2010 Majestic Leisure Tourer. It is a Class B on the lines of a Roadtrek or PleasureWay. The problem is this:

When we are plugged in at a park, and do not drive our vehicle, we find after a few days, the engine battery is dead. This has been a recurring problem. Granted, we remedy it by always carrying a portable jumpstarter. But it seems this shouldn't be necessary for this new a vehicle. The manufacturer was kind enough to point us to the service provider they use here in California. We took it in, and they determined the issue was that a non-sealed battery had been installed in the house location, which is really not accessible by the user. They installed an Optima; that seemed to solve our problem.

But we just took it out again this past week, and had the same thing happen. We are very careful not to leave anything plugged in to the aux or accessory plugs so as not to run the car battery down. This is a very perplexing issue, as it only occurs when plugged in and not driving vehicle during our stay. If we drive the vehicle regularly, no issues. Also, it can sit in our driveway not plugged in, and start right up.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar issue. Many thanks!

baldtat
In many. (most?), RVs the chassis/staring battery only charges from the engine alternator..... while the house batteries charge from both the alternator, and, (when on shore power), from a built in inverter/charger as well.

I don't know if that is the case with your 2010 Majestic Leisure Tourer, however, it would not hurt to check, (or have someone check), to see if:

1.) That is the case.
(if so adding a Trik-L-Start:
Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer
or a Echo~Charger:
http://www.xantrex.com/power-product...y-charger.aspx
should solve your problem).

2.) There is an un-nesseasry draw or a "phantom draw" from your starting battery that can be eliminated.

Mel
'96 Safari

I am not at all familiar with your system so technical advice from me is out of the question.
However, if this were mine, the first thing I would do before making any modifications, would be to call the OEM Service Department and ask if the Chassis Battery should in fact charge while plugged in to Shore Power.
If it is designed to do that, take the next step to find out why it's not.
Explain to the Service Dept that you have already had one of their "Qualified" dealers check it out and the problem still exists.

Hope this helps,,,,,

Hi baldtat,
I do not know your coach so making specific suggestions would be shooting in the dark. However consider,
1. contacting the manufacturer and asking them if the chassis battery is charged when connected to shore power.
2. If the answer is yes, then that feature is what needs to be repaired by the servicing tech (RVIA certified not auto certified).
3. If the answer is no, then the servicing tech needs to determine where the drain is coming from. This is going to take a certified RVIA tech. A certified auto tech may not understand how the coach and the chassis are blended together.
4. There are features that can be installed to ensure shore power charges the coach and chassis batteries. I hesitate to advise installing this feature if the drain on the chassis battery has not been found. The source of the drain is the root cause. An example of this feature is a bi-directional isolator relay delay (BIRD). Go to http://www.flemingsalesoem.com/intel...300362.000.pdf to read about the feature.

Something is drawing from the chassis battery. Trick L Start. Yup. Will likely resolve the issues.

Hi:

Thanks to all who offered suggestions. I did in fact, ask the manufacturer if the two systems (house and chassis) were supposed to be connected, or if one charged the other. He didn't have a satisfactory answer; something to the effect of they weren't supposed to be connected. The service provider I was directed to is a very highly regarded RV shop, with the appropriate certifications. There are no specs/schematics available. To complicate matters, when taken in for service, the issue would not duplicate. So all in all, very frustrating as I've asked the suggested questions and no one seems to have an answer. The Trikl-Start looks interesting, but requires a connection between house and chassis battery, which is physically impossible since they are in two separate locations, with the house battery not being accessible at all.

I guess we'll just have to live with it until we can find someone who really knows how to troubleshoot this issue. I'm going to try emailing the original manufacturer and see if I can raise a response? Does anyone know of a good shop here in Southern California? Thanks again to all!

This is fairly common but instead of the porta-jumper you should have an Emergency or aux start switch on the dash.. Press, hold for like 10 seconds then start while holding.

(it is a built in jumper cable from your house batteries).

There is a device: Trick-L-Start

Many modern motor homes have a bi-direcitonal isolator, (BIRD) with this device the house can charge the chassis, as well as the other way around.

However some still have the older one-way devices (Chassis (engine) Charges house only)

The Trick-L-Start adds the reverse path.

baldtat
1.) Since both batteries are in the same RV, it may be difficult, (but it certainly is not "impossible"), to run a wire from one battery to the other.
2.) I doubt that the house battery in any RV is "not accessible at all".
3.) IMO, any RV tech with any mechanical/electrical knowledge at all can properly install a Trik-L-Start in your RV.
4.) Only you can determine if fixing you RV is worth what it will cost, or if you can live with it as it is.
Good luck.
Mel
'96 Safari

the op states "when plugged in" is where the battery goes dead. Otherwise it can sit for long time with no problem. Sounds like the "plug in" is causing the drain. Did the tech check this when you had it in?

the internet says this model has a 12 volt tv and dvd so you can watch tv without a generator. Is it possible someone has wired this to the chassis battery instead of the house battery, and being plugged in does not charge the chassis battery only the house battery.

Sorry about your problem, we own a 34' class A and we have a trickle charger to charge the car battery when we are plugged in. It has worked for us for 4 yrs on this coach.

.

Once again, thanks to all who responded. When this problem initially reared it's head, I contacted the dealer, who also seemed to think there should be some sort of aux connection to "jump-start" from the house. However, on ours, this switch doesn't exist. What we do have is a bank of toggle switches marked AUX 1-4, which don't seem to do anything.

When I said it was physically impossible, I meant for me. I'm retired on a disability from the electrical trade, so I know some sort of "jumper" between the two batteries should exist. I just can't get to it, and without the proper tools/drawings, etc., I'm not going to attempt it, which isn't to say I won't hire a professional to address this. The RV shop I took it to did have it plugged in, and as mentioned earlier, the problem did not duplicate.

At any rate, before we take our cross-country vacation this year, I'm going to get a trickle charger installed. It seems to me one of our salesman said something about a 'Battery Tender', which I'm sure works on a similar principle. I will get this problem addressed, as we are both disabled females, so it becomes a safety issue.

Thanks again to all who responded.

I used to have a class b Safari, both the house and chassis battery would get a charge from the shore power, and from the alternator. I checked with a volt meter so I knew it did. Also my new toy hauler does the same, my trailer and truck battery (if connected with plug) get a charge from shore power and from my truck alternator when driving. I had a jump switch in the class b that would give a boost if needed to chassis battery to start engine.

I would assume yours would do the same, sounds like it is not wired correctly.

Yup, understand the principle. I know what's supposed to happen, and yes, went looking for this 'jump switch' everyone is talking about. Took it back to the dealer purchased from and had them try to locate it...no luck. The bank of toggles marked AUX 1-4 are for add-ons, as I understand it. I'm going to take a closer look, and see if there is some switch I've not noticed before. Otherwise, I think I'll go with the trickle starter idea. I hate those phantom electrical problems; about drove me crazy on a guitar I was building!