Community Forums

adj · 12-21-2006, 12:50 AM

Occasionally, I lose DC as though I had hit the batter cut-off switch. I get it back by energizing the battery cut-off switch.
Apparently, the battery cut-off relay is getting a disconnect signal from some other source.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

adj · 12-21-2006, 12:50 AM

Occasionally, I lose DC as though I had hit the batter cut-off switch. I get it back by energizing the battery cut-off switch.
Apparently, the battery cut-off relay is getting a disconnect signal from some other source.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

ronboc · 12-21-2006, 01:55 AM

Could it also be dirty contacts in the disconnect switch itself?

Maybe try disconnecting the command/signal line from the switch for awhile and see if it repeats?

Oh, I hate these intermittent problems. I'm more of a "Yup, it's burnt up completely. Bet that's what's wrong" kinda guy.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

adj · 12-27-2006, 08:14 AM

Up date on intermitant battery power:

Last night the DC went off line and I couldn't get it back.
Trouble shooting revealed the house battery dis-connect relay was bad. I now have the battery dis-connect relay by-passed by means of a jumper.

Although this relay is a convience item, I will probably order a new one.

I really wish this relay disconnected the chassis battery. That would allow me to dis-connect the chassis battery from inside the coach and stop it from being discharged while sitting. I'm seriously thinking of rewiring this area to accomplish that.

All thoughts/comments will be appreciated.

troth · 12-27-2006, 10:18 AM

adj, here's my 2 cents:

You should order a replacement solenoid. Then check condition of both batteries; if maintenance free on the chassis, just use a load tester. If wet deep cycles on the coach, check water level and run load test on each individually or use hygrometer when batteries have been at rest 6 hours). There are parasitic loads on both types of batteries. The chassis (engine) battery will have milliamp draws for the engine ECM, the Allison tranny TCM, the dash radio, and perhaps some other options (like electric steps). Although the engine and tranny can "re-learn" your driving habits, I would not recommend disconnecting the chassis battery power. The house (coach) batteries will have their own parasitic loads from the propane detector, entertainment center radio, energy management center, inverter, "smart" water pump, etcetera) You need to get a good DC ammeter and measure the amps you're losing from the chassis (engine) battery when you're in storage (when you believe everything should be "off"). If you're losing more than 1.5 amps, that's too much... The next step is to go to the DC circuit breakers and fusebox and see where the biggest amp draw lies.
Keep us posted please.

ronboc · 12-28-2006, 01:56 AM

Perhaps you might want to look at one of the various types of 'trickle-charges' out on the market. They aren't battery-chargers in the normal sense, in that they only put .... well... a trickle charge back into the battery, just enough to keep it topped-up.

I have the Xantrex Echo-Charge and it works great. I used to watch the chassis battery slowly droop down while sitting for several weeks/months at a time while the coach battery was kept up by the big charger/inverter. Now, they both are always ready to go.

HTH,
Ron

adj · 12-28-2006, 10:30 AM

Thanks for the inputs.

I do use a battery charger with trickle capabilities while we are sitting. If I don't keep the chassis battery topped off, it generally takes a couple of weeks before It has discharged below 12v.

Monaco dosen't seem to be concerned about the chassis battery going dead. When I quized them on this subject sometime back, their comment was the battery boost switch was the back up.

I just feel they put the dis-connect relay in the wrong circuit. As long as I'm plugged into AC, the house batteries are being charged. On the other hand, the only time the chassis battery is charged is when the engine is operating.

I need to take a closer look at the diagrams, but, if this relay also disables my slides, I would be immobile.

ronboc · 12-28-2006, 11:06 PM

That's interesting, Dale, I got just about the exact same wording when I asked why there's no charger for the chassis battery too.

I guess they figure that once you get setup, the chassis battery isn't going to be needed for awhile, and the small parasitic draws as troth mentioned weren't significant. But I wouldn't think that includes fulltimers, etc, who are using the juice for the awnings, steps, etc.

A previous coach did have the Intellitec charging system (with disconnect relays for BOTH sets of bats, I might add) and it seemed to do ok. Since Monaco was happy with their idea, I let it stand.

Did you get a full set of diagrams? What format are they in? I needed one or two awhile back and got them as needed from the good folks at Monaco, but they were in CAD-CAM so I had to bribe a friend to print them where he worked.

Roland · 12-29-2006, 05:37 AM

Hard to believe but, my owners manual says;

"...While the motorhome is being driven the alternator on the engine will charge the house batteries. Likewise, while the motorhome is plugged into shore power or the generator is running the engine battery(s) are being charged...."

I did park the unit for up to 2 months, while campground hosting, and did not disconnect the batteries.

Green lights and soft breezes,

adj · 12-29-2006, 11:31 AM

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

Did you get a full set of diagrams? What format are they in? I needed one or two awhile back and got them as needed from the good folks at Monaco, but they were in CAD-CAM so I had to bribe a friend to print them where he worked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

------------------------------------------------
I did receive a fairly decent set of diagrams with the coach.
With regard to CAD-CAM, this past summer I quized them on the use of a one piece awning for the slide windows. In their reply,they sent me the structural diagrams for the walls which pin-pointed where the inforcers were (among many other things). Along with the diagrams was an Autodesk Volo Review program which I installed so I could display the diagrams.

adj · 12-29-2006, 11:36 AM

After reviewing the DC diagrams and the rear DC fuse panel, I'm definitely going to by-pass this relay and leave it out of the loop. It's not any fun being without coach lights and coach heater.

ronboc · 12-31-2006, 01:29 AM

Roland - I believe the earlier coaches DID have a battery-to-battery interconnect while parked, but it was deleted sometime later (dunno the exact year/date tho).

Adj - On my '06, the slides are tied to the coach battery, but the awnings are on the chassis battery. I guess this means I ˜could' make it home after an electrical failure, but would have to make some really-wide turns

In the boating world, some mfgrs put the engine and house battery-systems on disconnects in case of an electrical fire or problem. Don't know if this is the case with rv's, but could be similar. Let us know how it goes.

Roland · 12-31-2006, 05:02 AM

Ron,

Wide turns are one of the trials you must put up with for having a coach with luxury items like electric awnings

.

The '01's also came with two Perko battery disconnect switches mounted in the battery compartment.

Green lights and soft breezes,

loranimal · 12-31-2006, 07:49 AM

On my 05 Diplomat (which got traded in yesterday) I installed a product called Trik-L-Start (www.lslproducts.com) that kept the chassis batteries charged from the house charger. Seemed to work great and never had a problem with dead chassis batteries. I took it out and will be installing it on the new coach when the weather warms up.