Dead house batteries after service…

[willwoods]

House batteries are dead. Engine is running and generator is running. No power to coach interior. Need some help. 2022 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Any help would be amazing!!!

[wolfe10]

That is two charging sources not working.


The generator-- inverter/charger not charging them is understandable if battery voltage is very low. A smart inverter/charger will not attempt to charge a deeply discharged battery-- a safety measure.


But, the alternator should be charging both battery banks.


Try using the boost switch long enough to get house bank voltage up to where the inverter/charger will take over.


And, get the alternator/battery isolator or whatever method of keeping batteries separate for discharge and combined for charging you have diagnosed.

[Country Road]

Originally Posted by willwoods

House batteries are dead. Engine is running and generator is running. No power to coach interior. Need some help. 2022 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Any help would be amazing!!!

You have a new coach. So I think something is cut off or you’ve drawn to long on your batteries. Your title says after service? What doesn’t work? Are you sure your house batteries are dead? How do you know that? Have you been drawing for a good while on your house batteries?

[BBelanger]

Originally Posted by willwoods

House batteries are dead. Engine is running and generator is running. No power to coach interior. Need some help. 2022 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Any help would be amazing!!!

Check the load switch on your generator. If it's running and not producing power, sometimes that switch is off.

BB

[BobGed]

Can you go into a bit more detail regarding your statement "after service"?

Specifically, when you dropped off the coach did you make sure:

• Inverter was off
• House battery switch (usually located at the entrance door) was off

And lastly, how long was the coach in for service?

The reason I ask is I learned a hard lesson when I 'thought' I had done those two steps, but when I picked the coach up after six weeks in the shop the AGM house batteries were toast and had to be replaced.

Now whenever I drop the coach off for service I have the service writer enter the following two statements:

Inverter is OFF
House battery switch is OFF

If they don't believe me and want to check it themselves that's fine they're welcome to do so. However I do not leave the coach without those two statements on the work order.

[capt fast]

Is the 'house batter isolation switch' turned on? I've done that and forgot to turn it on because the panel was not open. some small matter of hair pulling ensued until I had a short moment to actually think the problem thru.

[BBelanger]

Originally Posted by BobGed

Can you go into a bit more detail regarding your statement "after service"?

Specifically, when you dropped off the coach did you make sure:

• Inverter was off
• House battery switch (usually located at the entrance door) was off

And lastly, how long was the coach in for service?

The reason I ask is I learned a hard lesson when I 'thought' I had done those two steps, but when I picked the coach up after six weeks in the shop the AGM house batteries were toast and had to be replaced.

Now whenever I drop the coach off for service I have the service writer enter the following two statements:

Inverter is OFF
House battery switch is OFF

If they don't believe me and want to check it themselves that's fine they're welcome to do so. However I do not leave the coach without those two statements on the work order.

Bob,
Your inverter should have a low voltage shutoff? Your inverter should not drain your batteries.

BB

[DtchStar4054]

Check battery switch by entry, the shop may have turned off for service.
Good Luck

[mtflybox]

Originally Posted by BobGed

The reason I ask is I learned a hard lesson when I 'thought' I had done those two steps, but when I picked the coach up after six weeks in the shop the AGM house batteries were toast and had to be replaced.

Now whenever I drop the coach off for service I have the service writer enter the following two statements:

Inverter is OFF
House battery switch is OFF

Made the same mistake. Left the inverter on when I dropped it off for service. I now do the exact same thing. Unless on shore power, or I'm there, inverter and house switch off, chassis batteries off.

Low voltage cutoff on Silverleaf is set too low IMO. Losing what's in the fridge is a lot less expensive than replacing the AGM's. We tried to adjust cutoff to 12V when I was in Nappanee last month but wont stick. For some reason the inverter wont allow it and I've yet to hear how to resolve. Apparently this is something with the inverter since Silverleaf is just a comm bus.

Be curious what OP says.

[Persistent]

Are you sure absolutely no appliances are working? This is possible, but not likely.

House batteries are dead.

Did you measure the voltage on the house battery terminals? Do this to eliminate lots of other possible issues. Above 11.0 volts means they should still power 12 volt lights.

Below 12.4 volts means they are sulfating and need to be charged soon. However, 12 volt lights should still work.

Engine is running and generator is running.

Battery terminal voltage should be above 13 volts if they are being charged. No charge means batteries are not connected to either charger.

No power to coach interior.

There are multiple power systems available that power different coach interior appliances. If there are no 12 volt lights, and the microwave does not work, and the air conditioning does not work, then there are multiple issues. They do not all work from the same power sources.

It is not likely they all failed due to one cause.

Different RV's are wired differently. Typically air conditioners run directly from the generator. If the A/C do not work, then circuit breakers or fuses on the generator or on the main service entry panel are the prime suspect.

Loose connections between the generator and the main service panel are possible. The automatic transfer switch may be not working.

Some appliances work from battery power. Often a TV or microwave will work through and inverter. With the generator working, the inverter should be passing 120 volt through from the generator.

If there is no generator power getting through, the inverter should convert 12 volts to 120 volts and supply those appliance. The air conditioners typically will not work unless the generator power is getting through.

In any case, the 12 volt lights should still work even if the generator power is not working and the inverter is not working.

Do you have solar power?

It is unlikely that all power sources have failed at the same time.

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by BBelanger

Bob,
Your inverter should have a low voltage shutoff? Your inverter should not drain your batteries.

BB

Bill,

I agree the inverter should not drain the batteries by itself with a LBCO value set correctly, but it will draw the batteries down to that point faster than not having the inverter on, and then parasitic draw takes over.

In my case the real culprit was because the shop turned the house battery switch on in order to open a rear slide to work on the top side of the engine, and then did not turn it off and/or connect the coach to shore power. As I mentioned they had the coach for six weeks.

What was interesting was when this issue came up and the service manager checked with his shop techs, he was told for the past few weeks they had to connect a charger to the coach so they could open the slide.....Duh

It actually all worked out pretty well in the end. The AGM batteries were a few years old and when I contacted Lifeline they sold me replacements at wholesale cost which the shop split with me.

Since then even if I'm only leaving the coach for a few days I turn both off as a precautionary measure.

[Winger2]

If the battery voltage is too low, you will need to charge with a charger, the rv system will not bring back deeply drained batteries.