Community Forums

rscott1445 · 02-02-2014, 09:00 AM

We have a 2014 Bounder 35K and I pretty much have everything figured out except for the solar battery charger operation. The instruction manual states that the house battery disconnect switch has to be ON in order to trickle charge the house battery but nothing is stated for the chassis battery. Can someone let me know if the chassis battery disconnect has to be ON in order to trickle charge that battery? Is there a problem with leaving the disconnects ON if the coach is stored for 30 days or less with everything shut off? This is our first class A motorhome.

We have had it for a couple months now but are still in the learning mode. This is so much nicer than the pop-up camper we had in the past.

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-02-2014, 09:07 AM

Welcome to irv2. I can't answer your disconnect questions. I'm not even sure if it charges the chassis battery. I do know that the solar charge was useless to me and I never relied upon it. Hopefully others will chime in here. Cliff

pcurt23 · 02-02-2014, 09:39 AM

I have that solar charger in my 2007 fleetwood. It is only a 5w solar panel and if the sun is out every day it may maintain your battery. If you are in long term storage you are better off shutting the batteries off (I assume you have a mechanical disconnect). During Winter storage I shut down both battery banks and the house hard disconnect. In the Summer I shut down the house batteries with the electric disconnect and leave the engine batteries on. (that leaves the door lock and the steps working) My solar "charges" the engine batteries. If I am going to be gone for 30 days I shut everything down.

chuckftboy · 02-02-2014, 08:23 PM

If its like mine, Fleetwood wired the solar panel to the chassis battery through the battery control center. doesn't matter if the engine battery is on or off, still charges. If the house switch left on, it will share the charge. Like Clifftall said, not much wattage to do much good.

mojoracing · 02-03-2014, 01:39 AM

I have the same unit and have never seen the light go on in the ac grill to tell me its working. How about yours?

rscott1445 · 02-03-2014, 04:55 AM

Thank you all for the information. I am still learning about our coach and have found this forum and its members very helpful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojoracing

I have the same unit and have never seen the light go on in the ac grill to tell me its working. How about yours?

Is there an charge indicator light? I've never noticed one anywhere but I will look on the AC grill that has the solar panel mounted. Thanks again for the assistance.

SarahW · 02-03-2014, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojoracing

I have the same unit and have never seen the light go on in the ac grill to tell me its working. How about yours?

Yes, we do see the red indicator light when charging.

rscott1445 · 02-04-2014, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojoracing

I have the same unit and have never seen the light go on in the ac grill to tell me its working. How about yours?

I looked everywhere on the front AC unit grill and found no LED. I called Fleetwood and customer service said they no longer install a LED charge indicator on the 2014 Bounders.

Guess they needed to drop the cost down another dime or two. Since I don't have a LED indicator can someone tell me when the charger is active? Here is what the instruction manual states: "If your motor home is equipped with a solar battery charger, it will trickle charge the house battery. The battery disconnect switch must be ON for the solar charger to charge the batteries." So... does that mean the house battery needs to be in the disconnected mode to charge?

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-04-2014, 10:33 AM

That "on " is sure a tricky play on words. I never shut off my batteries and frequently saw the red indicator light on ( before I disconnected it and threw it away ). Therefore I would say don't shut off the batteries. FW might have a better answer. Thanks for the update and please update us again when you get a definitive answer.

mojoracing · 02-04-2014, 10:08 PM

That is tricky. I would think it would charge when they are disconnected. If it was left on, I would think phantom voltage would be more than the 5amp panel was putting back in. If someone gets an answer please let us know.