HWH-auto leveller, low battery light

[Jim&MaryJo]

Yeah, yeah Walt.

I keep your number handy if I need a jump!

We gotta hook up again soon, maybe a rally? Quartzsite?

Good to hear from ya.

[gary85]

Did Gary85's '99 have just one 12v house battery when it came from WRV? That just doesn't sound right.

Norm[/QUOTE]

Hi Norm,
Your question was interesting (and, as we are the 2d owners) so I called WRV and asked about stock battery configuration. In '99, Alpines came with 2 8D batteries.

Gary

[Oregon Coyote]

Interesting!! Hopefully, others will chime in here, but one 12v house battery seems woefully inadequate. If you have the room in the battery bay, my recommendation is to switch to the much higher reserve capacity in a 6v paired configuration. Do read EngMike's suggested link above.

Norm

[gary85]

Fixed it! Seems the low voltage problems were caused by a loose, rusted house battey ground strap mounting bolt. Cleaned the paint off the frame, coated everything with NO OX, and replaced it with a 3/8" stainless bolt. HWH now works better than when we bought the rig. Thanks to all of you for your help.

[bpe1]

Well I've got a 98 Alpine Coach and it has two 8D batteries. To make matters worse, I think both are starting batteries. They were put in in March 04. I did not buy until November 04. I've got the low batt warning on the jacks, and I've had an on and off problem with the generator not starting unless the coach engine is running. I think the (but not sure) gen starts from the house battery. I've cut off the engine disconect and the gen will still crank. There are so manny wires it's pretty hard to tell until I pull the batteries out. I know I need to buy new batteries and do a lot of cleaning up of connections. I can only get 3 batteries in the space(22.3x12x12) for the 8D and there is no more room, so that lets out the 6 Volt option. I can find an Interstate deep cycle 8D, but I also need at least 450 CCA for the Gen. The only deep cyce/start 8D I can find are AGM's but they are $350 to $500 in a 8D. And yes, I only have limited dry time. However, an 8D Trojan AGM has 230 AH at 20 hr rate.

I need some help from you experts:

1. Anyone know for sure which 8D an early Alpine uses to start the gen?
2. What is NO-OX and where do you get it?
3. Anyone with battery advise?
4. I've never equalized, I think it would be a waste on these batteries.
5. Will a regular starting battery be ok for the engine? I can get an 8d 1350 CCA from Sam's club for $131.
6. The 3 stage charger from the Heart 10 inverter only charges the house battery. I have an echo charger to keep the engine battery up while hooked up. I notice the house battery is always about .3 volts higher. If I get a AGM for the house and adjust the inverter for the AGM the house battery may suffer. I'm thinking of adding a Battery Tender to the house battery for storage. The BT works great on other vehicle's I have. Advise?

[swansnest]

bpe1 - If you were in CA you could go directly to Lifeline in Azusa and buy AGM Batteries at cost (www.lifelinebatteries.com ) The Owner is also an ACA Member! That might get you more power in your limited space.
Swans

[gary85]

Thought I had it fixed but the problem resurfaced. This time I called HWH (great people!) and a tech suggested I try all plug connections to the various control boxes. Seems a loose plug (or wire in a plug) will cause strange problems. In my case I had most of the HWH panel lights on, including the low battery light and excess slope light in various configurations and various times. Sure enough, when the plug behind the HWH control panel was made, the wires were not fully pressed into the slots. This resulted in intermittant contact. I pushed them in with a very small screwdriver and all the HWH functions work, including the auto leveler function, which hadn't worked right since we bought the coach 1-1/2 years ago. Life is good.

[rmmpe]

Gary85,

Where in NJ do you live and if I were to bring my 99 to you, could you escort me through the operating systems? The Dealer I bought it from is not all that knowledgable on Alpines.

[Jim A]

Bob

We are on the west coast, but you may want to check with the Alpine Coach East group. They have rallies where you can meet fellow Alpine Coach owners and get lots of information on your coach. I don't know where their rallies are scheduled, but if they are anything like the Alpine Socal rallies, they are well worth the time to attend. A great bunch of people and a wealth of knowledge on our coaches.

http://www.ace-rv.com/

[hrhuggie]

Gary,
glad to hear your problem is fixed!!!

Its amazing how many times corrosion at battery terminals, ground straps/posts or loose connectors cause us sooooooo many problems.

[rmmpe]

Thanks Jim.

They've been added to my address book and I will contact them after I pick up my Alpine.

[gary85]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rmmpe:
Gary85,

Where in NJ do you live and if I were to bring my 99 to you, could you escort me through the operating systems? The Dealer I bought it from is not all that knowledgable on Alpines. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi Bob & Peg,
Welcome to the Alpine family! I sent you a PM with my contact information. Feel free to contact me as I will be happy to help you.

Gary

[rmmpe]

Hey Gary,

I responded to your PM.
Thanks.