Community Forums

garage man · 08-04-2021, 10:12 PM

As I understand the emergency start button connects house batteries to chassis battery for help with starting. Mine does nothing. I assume there is a solenoid that makes the connection.
In my 93 Monaco Signature where would that solenoid be.

MrMark52 · 08-05-2021, 04:58 AM

Follow the positive battery lead(s) from either set of batteries and it will lead you to the BCC (Battery Control Center). The BCC usually has 2 or 3 heavy solenoids along with coach 12volt fusing.
Our old ‘91 Champion Ultrastar had the BCC under the engine hood against the firewall.

brandss · 08-05-2021, 05:35 AM

I just had to do a quick learn on the emergency start button. I too thought mine wasn't working or the chassis batteries were so far gone, it wouldn't help. After doing a bit of research I found out you have to hold down the button for several minutes before trying to start the coach.

I used a small pole and put one end against the switch to turn it on and the other against the drivers chair. Left it there for 7 or 8 minutes and then, low and behold she started.

Not sure if you knew this, I certainly didn't, so thought I 'd pass along.

jeff0210 · 08-05-2021, 06:10 AM

yep. It's not just a push and go thing. Got to hold it down a few minutes for the juice to flow. I'm sure ever coach is different. Diesel and Gas have different starting needs. But it does take patience. Good Luck.

YC1 · 08-05-2021, 06:27 AM

I'm not positive on your model. Look inside the battery compartment, or if you see components at the rear of the MH with the bonnet up it would be a very large round object with heavy wires.

In the mean time, grab a jump start cable and connect your positive leads together in the battery compartment, keeping in mind safety. Ventilate the area well before doing this. One spark with dead batteries in the area can ruin your day.

If the batteries are down that much then holding the button for a few minutes is a great suggestion.

Jump starting vehicles I like to run the good vehicle for a few minutes. Wimpy jumper cables won't start an extremely dead battery without the few minutes of charging.

Most folks won't spend the money for high grade jumper cables. I call those "booster cables", versus Jump Starting cables.

If you have shoreline or can get the generator to start you will have a great source of charging power while keeping the boost button down.

It is important to find out why you have dead batteries. Running them down cripples them and eventually they die. Most RV batteries are murdered versus being allowed to die peacefully.

153stars · 08-05-2021, 07:53 AM

I have 95 Crown Royale. If you have you wire diagrams there's a page that shows lay out of rear power distribution panel. If it's laid out like mine under the bed forward firewall. All 3 solenoids are there ,boost solenoid salesman/house disconnect solenoid and starter pilot solenoid.,the diode battery isolator. Also large Buss fuses, smaller resettable fuses ,relays for brake lights, turn signals ,emergency flasher relay etc. The largest solenoid is your battery booster. With bed up you should hear it clunk but that doesn't mean contacts are good. You can test for voltage drop across it. To really test it to carry large amps is not easy. If I was to test it would disconnect chassis side and use a battery load tester to good ground. You would need a helper to push button.
Also if house disconnect is on for a while it will be warm to touch so last one is starter pilot.

garage man · 08-06-2021, 09:28 PM

Great information. The gentleman that owned this coach for the last 20 years passed away suddenly. His son help the wife sell it. Sadkly he knows almost nothing about it. It had been stored in the RV barn for at least 6 months plugged into shore power. The house batteries were dry nand swollen so I just replaced them. The coach is in a storage yard and I am working full time still so I havenot had a lot of time to really look into things. The forward firewall does have a battery isolater and some solenoids so I will start there. I also bought a clamp on DC amp meter so I can try to track down the draw on the chassis battery.

Thanks so much for the information to all of you.

YC1 · 08-07-2021, 05:32 AM

Without disconnecting the batteries there will always be some draws that will run batteries down in an RV. Just too many things involved.

Most of the large RV's have built in physical battery switches to turn things off when stored.

The bird system on that coach may not be bi-directional, or if it is, some component of that system is bad.

MrMark52 · 08-08-2021, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garage man

Great information. The gentleman that owned this coach for the last 20 years passed away suddenly. His son help the wife sell it. Sadkly he knows almost nothing about it. It had been stored in the RV barn for at least 6 months plugged into shore power. The house batteries were dry nand swollen so I just replaced them. The coach is in a storage yard and I am working full time still so I havenot had a lot of time to really look into things. The forward firewall does have a battery isolater and some solenoids so I will start there. I also bought a clamp on DC amp meter so I can try to track down the draw on the chassis battery.

Thanks so much for the information to all of you.

You might take a look at the convertor - if it’s an old linear type (MagnaTek/Parallax are 2 brands), as opposed to a 4 stage type, they will cook your batteries (which is what you found as the batteries were swollen).

Progressive Dynamics (which is who I’ve used on my previous and current coach) has drop in replacements for most linear convertor’s.

twinboat · 08-08-2021, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YC1

Without disconnecting the batteries there will always be some draws that will run batteries down in an RV. Just too many things involved.

Most of the large RV's have built in physical battery switches to turn things off when stored.

The bird system on that coach may not be bi-directional, or if it is, some component of that system is bad.

The " B " in BIRD stands for Bi-directional.

If not Bi-directional it would be an IRD. " Isolation Relay with Delay "

garage man · 08-08-2021, 10:55 PM

I charged the chassis battery and then used my new clamp on multi meter that can actually measure DC amps that way. The main power cable was drawing just over .25 amps and the second wire which powers the transmission module was drawing just about 0.1 amps.
I would like to have an easily accessible physical battery cut off switch but not sure where to mount it. In the battery compartment there is no room and that copartment locks so not so easily accessible. I belive the closet in the bedroom is just above the battery locker so maybe it coule be put there by rerouting the cables up to a swicth and then back down to the battery compartment to attach to the original positive cable.

Is the switch normally put in the positive cable or perhaps the ground?

153stars · 08-09-2021, 12:11 AM

You want to break the positive. My Chassis disconnect is big metal body through panel type its mounted. It's through front of chassis sliding tray. That's will solve issues of trying to find spot for red plastic surface mounts. Previous owners wrapped whole cable area of switch with rubber and zip stripped.
If I shut off house battery disconnect, fridge, water pump, LP detector with safety solenoid and my inverter and Aquahot. the house batts last very long time. I have moved my 90 watts of solar to house batts.
I think these is highest power disconnects you can get.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...M8JSG24J&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-7...01FQNI9I&psc=1
Unless installed later there's only a diode battery isolator from factory. I installed Bluesea MTL ACR combiner instead. I left my boost solenoid it's huge for M11 in mine, isolator was 18" long, also has 200 amp HEHR Powerline Alternator. Unlike other MTL acr installers I left boost solenoid, some cables are stacked on it , so it was easier just to leave it even if it didn't work.

garage man · 08-09-2021, 05:54 PM

I don't really see a place to mount a switch in my battery compartment. I will take a closer look.
Thanks for the links.

153stars · 08-11-2021, 02:38 PM

Do you have two sliding trays one over the other like mine????
My coach has two sliding trays. The chassis tray has a switch that I shared through the front of drawer . The cables come in through the back of the drawer and around the batteries. There is enough cable to allow the tray to pull out and go in and out.
With adding 4 golf cart batteries to my or the OEM small semi batts this won't work for house tray, it's too full. I can use disconnect solenoid and shut off everything else as not to drain my house batteries for a long time unless I miss something.
One might be able to secure a strong metal strap/flat stock to front of house battery tray. Then and put same switch right above the batteries.
Different types of 90degree cable crimps can make things easier/neater /safer.