Community Forums

rcatter · 04-11-2011, 02:03 PM

Okay so it appears I may have created a small problem for myself.. Long story that I will make very short for you..

2003 Dutch Star - Have had almost two weeks. Have made 1 350 mile round trip as a test / shaedown.

Needed to replace House batteries. Tray had some rust. Decided to pull all 6 batteries and clean / re-paint tray. Also some of the wires needed attention / replacing due to corrosion. PRIOR to starting said project I grabbed pencil and paper and made note of all connections to batteries... Evidently, all but one that is. When putting the chassis batteries back in I had / have one red wire that I cannot account for on my drawing. Not sure if it was stacked with others towards the back and I just missed it or what. Bottom line - It was a positive / red cable. Due to it's length there seemed no way it could reach the front positive battery terminal battery so I connected it to the rear (closest to coach).

Following getting the remaining batteries all connected I have tested everything with the exception of the battery boost which I am not sure how to test at this time. All seems okay except for one item that is puzzling me.

On the black panel where you check your tank levels there is also a button to check battery level. If I look at the Inverter remote and it says the batteries are at 100% so does the black panel if I push the button. However, when the inverter remote reads 98% the black panel is giving me a reading of 1/4 for battery level.

Now being the obsessive, paranoid type I am, I am now concerned that I have an issue that I may have created myself that will show up on my next road trip. On the other hand only having the coach for such a short time maybe it is a quirk that it has always had.

Thoughts?

"007" · 04-11-2011, 05:08 PM

As long as you put red cable to positive that should be OK.
As to the readings on the over head panel for battery read with your coach plugged in to shore power do the led's show full charge all led's lite.
Did you charge all new batteries with a separate 12 V charger?
You may get crazed readings until all batteries are fully charged.

GaryKD · 04-11-2011, 06:07 PM

Hi rcatter,
Welcome to the Newmar family. Without knowing the readings before the battery upgrade it is not possible to say if anything is different or incorrect. Like 007 posted, let the batteries get a good full charge (may take a couple of days). Then take your readings. The baseline reading is with a meter to the battery posts.

rcatter · 04-11-2011, 07:39 PM

Thanks for the replies. I haven't had it plugged into shore power yet. We generally are boondocking or traveling when it is getting charged by the generator.

"007" · 04-12-2011, 04:54 AM

With Gen running plug 12V charger in electric outlet in power bay and charge batteries they will charge faster than using converter.

rcatter · 04-12-2011, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by "007"

With Gen running plug 12V charger in electric outlet in power bay and charge batteries they will charge faster than using converter.

That's good to know. I have never connected a charger to a bank of 4 - 6volt batteries like this so I need to make sure I understand where to connect it.

Thanks for the information