Community Forums

AllanK · 06-02-2021, 01:54 PM

When plugged into 50 amp power both house and chassis batteries seem to charge. We also have solar that charges the house batteries, I think.

When plugged into 30 amp power house batteries still appear to charge however chassis batteries drain.

Is this the way it is suppose to work?

wolfe10 · 06-02-2021, 01:56 PM

In a word, NO.

Whatever charging devices you have (120 VAC to 12 VDC) should be exactly the same on shore power (30 amp or 50) or generator.

Said another way, from the ATS onward there is zero difference in wiring.

Have you confirmed that all other 120 VAC devices work on 30 amp?

AllanK · 06-02-2021, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfe10

In a word, NO.

Whatever charging devices you have (120 VAC to 12 VDC) should be exactly the same on shore power (30 amp or 50) or generator.

Said another way, from the ATS onward there is zero difference in wiring.

Have you confirmed that all other 120 VAC devices work on 30 amp?

Yes, all other 120v devices are working. Fridge, washer, dryer, coffee maker.

twinboat · 06-02-2021, 02:07 PM

As mentioned, no, even 15 amp will run the charger the same way as 50 amp.

It may be time to pick up a simple mult meter and do some measuring, so you know if it does or doesn't

It may be you have a failing isolation solenoid that is randomly not making connection between the 2 battery banks.

You can test it with a multi meter.

Wild Card · 06-02-2021, 06:29 PM

Find your house isolation and boost relay. My Horizon is 09' and had a Tric L Start unit that went bad.

I just replaced both my boost relay and House isolation relay along with a new Amp L Start. Figured it was all 12yrs old.

I also had intermittent house batt charging when engine was running as well. The boost relay pulls in when engine is running and charges house/chassis off alternator.

That's mine yours may be different.

mjeffrey · 06-03-2021, 09:18 PM

If you're on a 30 amp and you're using more than 30 amps, the inverter will kick in the extra amps from the batteries. So you could be on 30 amps and using 32 or more amps and slowly draining your batteries because they will not be charging if you are pulling from the batteries to kick in those extra amps.

I just reread your post and my comments apply to the house batteries and not the chassis batteries. Never mind.

Wbwimer · 06-15-2021, 04:42 PM

On both my 2007 Itasca Ellipse and my 2016 Tour there is a small trickle charge for the chassis batteries. So the chassis charger might not be on the leg when plugged into 30 amps.

jerichorick · 06-17-2021, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllanK

When plugged into 50 amp power both house and chassis batteries seem to charge. We also have solar that charges the house batteries, I think.

When plugged into 30 amp power house batteries still appear to charge however chassis batteries drain.

Is this the way it is suppose to work?

This may sound a bit bazaar I admit. I was having a charging problem back a couple of years ago. Just for the heck of it I operated the salesman switches on and off a couple of times. That fixed my problem.
When on 30A service make certain to set your inverter shore power to 5A. I replaced my original controller with the full scale controller. https://smile.amazon.com/Magnum-ME-R...s%2C195&sr=8-5. You may get a better price if you look around. This model is what you need. Not the ARC50.

You will need to make the mounting hole larger of course.

twinboat · 06-17-2021, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wbwimer

On both my 2007 Itasca Ellipse and my 2016 Tour there is a small trickle charge for the chassis batteries. So the chassis charger might not be on the leg when plugged into 30 amps.

A proper 30 to 50 amp adaptor powers both legs.

jerichorick · 06-18-2021, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

A proper 30 to 50 amp adaptor powers both legs.

Not being argumentative here. I am simply pointing out the mechanical makeup of the 50/30A systems.

The ATS sees the 50A power cord from the pedestal first with L1, L2, N and ground. If a 30A adapter is used, L1 & L2 are married together at the plug and G & N are kept isolated. The coach service panel see 220V without the adapter and 120V with the adapter. That is, with the adapter both L1 & L2 have the same 120V source from the pedestal or a max of 30A available for L1+L2 combined in the coach.

This explanation is not aimed at you, twinboat. You seem to have a good handle on RV systems. I'm just trying to expand this topic for those who don't understand the mechanics of these types of systems.