Community Forums

Yodaman17 · 12-19-2014, 07:40 PM

Hello Everyone,

The wife and I just finised our first trip in our 2004 HR Navigator 40PBT which is our second Navigator the first being a 1994 38PD 300HP.
All went well with minor issues with the Aqua Hot and hot water in the shower.
I am not getting the aqua hot to light off for the diesel burner so we were left with the 110V water heater. I should stipulate it is an all electric coach. I suspect it is either fuel or ignition and will be checking both tomorrow.
The main problem I had was with dead chassis batteries today as we tried to leave the campground. Chassis batteries are 18 months old and were depleated when I forgot to turn the docking lights off and were on all night and morning.
My main question is to clear up some misconseptions I have from my understanding of the charging system on the coach. I thought the chassis batteries would charge if either the coach was tied to shore power 50amp or the generator. Neither was the case for me and ended up getting a jump from a nearby friend. My battery boost switch would not tie as well and Aladin showed full charge on my 8 house batteries.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

Best regards,

Scott
04 HR Nav 40PBT
03 F250 6spd man
94 HR Nav 38PD (to market in spring)

krivanj · 12-19-2014, 08:18 PM

Most likely, only your house batteries charge when plugged in. And the boost switch relay probably gets energized from the chassis batteries. If you knew where it was, you could jump it from the house battery terminal right on it and it would have worked.
We had the same problem and bought a Trik-l-start (Amazon, $40) which solves the problem as it allows the house batteries to bleed over to the chassis batteries when charging.

Steve Ownby · 12-19-2014, 08:27 PM

Scott,

Your chassis batteries should be charged by either shore power or generator. More than likely you have problem with the Big Boy or its control circuit board. Here is pretty good write up from another Monaco owner:

Your coach has the same BB system as mine. The Big Boy Relay is controlled by Bird Relay which is located in the RRB. It is located on the right side and is the third circuit board from the top. There is a Green LED-(ISO Relay On)-third from the top on the board that should be Illuminated and the Big Boy Relay should have a low humm and be hot to touch when working properly.

When you disconnect from shore power and the generator is not running, the Green LED should be out. The Big Boy Relay will drop out of the circuit when the dc voltage drops to 12.5 to 12.8 vdc when measured at the Battery side of the Big Boy Relay.

When connected to shore power or when the generator is running you should have power to the #2 pin on the eight pin connector on the right side of the board. The #1 pin is ground and the #3 pin is powered on when you turn on the Ignition Switch. Pin #4 is from the battery boost circuit, Pin #5 is the Domestic power circuit. Pins #6 & #7 are blank. Pin #8 is a ground circuit.

The six pin connector on the top of the board powers up the relays. The left pin is Pin #1 and is ground, Pin #2 powers up the Big Boy Relay, Pins #3-4-5-6 power up the two Domestic Relays to the right of the Big Boy Relay. When working properly you should measure about + or - 4.6vdc on Pin #1 when the Board is powered up and the Big Boy Relay is working.

If the BB is powered up and running correctly, you should have around 4.5 to 4.8 vdc on pin 1 of the 6 pin connector. You should also have that same voltage on pins 1, 4, 5 & 8 on the 8 pin connector.

On the BB Solenoid you should be seeing 12.8+ vdc on the chassis side battery post-(left side) and 13.0+ vdc on the house battery side post-(right side). A differential of .3 to .6 vdc between these two posts is normal.

If your Inverter is set up correctly and the Bird relay is working-(green light on) the Inverter through the BIRD Relay and the BB will charge the Coach Batteries first and then the Chassis batteries and when all the Batteries are fully charged the Inverter will go into float charge. When plugged into Shore Power or with the Genset running the Green LED will be Lit on the BIRD Relay Circuit Board, If not I would venture to guess that the circuit board is failing or has failed. The relay above the eight pin connector on the BIRD circuit board controls the Big Boy Relay, it could be failing.

If the above doesn't help, I would call Monaco tech support and they can step you through troubleshooting.

Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

Czar Of Poop · 12-19-2014, 08:38 PM

You might need to check your Battery Isolator Relay or BIG BOY. Your 04 house and chassis batteries should charge while on shore power and your Aladdin system monitors the activity. We had to replace our BIG BOY because our chassis batteries were not being charged while on shore power. Now they are and our battery boost switch works.

Yodaman17 · 12-19-2014, 10:39 PM

Gentlemen,

Thankyou very much for the expertise!! I dug out the wiring diagram manual and found the rear run box diagram. PC board#6 on my coach for the Bird Relay. There were no green lights lit with the generator running. I did see two reset buttons, one for the isol relay and one for batt disc. I reset both switches and got momentary green lights for both. I then went into the coach to check the Aladdin and it now shows chassis batteries being charged at 13.2 volts. I will assume they are being charged now with the reset.
In my snooping in the RRB I did find an old PC board#6 stuffed in the left side of the bay. The labels were faded so I assume it is the original to the coach.
Do any of you know if these boards are a continual problem and if a spare should be kept on hand?
Again I thank you very much for the help and look forward to being help to someone down the road!!

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2015!!!

Scott
04 HR Nav 40PBT
03 F250 6spd man
94 HR Nav 38PD (to market in the spring)

Yodaman17 · 12-19-2014, 11:45 PM

Well I just took the coach over to the inside storage facility and hooked up to shore power and no joy on the chassis batteries being charged. Tried pushing the reset buttons again with no luck. I will check into purchasing a new PC Board #6. in the morning.

Again thank you all for your help!!!

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2015!!!

Scott
04 HR Nav 40PBT
03 F250 6spd man
94 HR Nav 38PD (to market in the spring)

Czar Of Poop · 12-20-2014, 06:00 AM

Scott, can you post a picture of your rear run box and let us see the inside? It should be to the right of the engine.

Mike Canter · 12-20-2014, 03:38 PM

Scott, the chassis batteries will only charge after the house batteries reach a level of 13.2 volts. At that voltage the Big Boy comes on and ties the batteries together for charging. What worries me is earlier you said the battery boost didn't work. I had the same problem in my 2004 Signature which is identical and I took apart my Big Boy relay and cleaned it and all has been good since. Took me 45 minutes to do it.

Mike Canter · 12-20-2014, 03:43 PM

See if this helps. It is really easy to do.

Stretch · 12-20-2014, 11:30 PM

Regarding the aquahot not running. Find the low voltage reset on the aquahot control panel. Push it in to reset. Probably failed when your batteries were low and somebody tried to get hot water

Mike Canter · 12-21-2014, 06:36 AM

Stretch is correct. In case you don't know your Aqua Hot Control Panel is located on the basement overhead on the passenger side. Mine is one bay forward of the Aqua Hot Boiler. Get a toothpick and lay on your back and insert the toothpick into the small low voltage reset hole and you should feel the small click when you push it. I bet it all works after that. It happens every time you lose battery power.

2-Nickels · 12-21-2014, 09:33 AM

Hi Scott,

We have the same make, model and year coach you have. Great coach to live in and drive. Over the years we too have lost our chassis battery charging, boost switch functionality and ability to properly charge the house batteries. When visiting Monaco in Oregon for some service I outlined these as my concern and they replaced the Big Boy and control board, all was resolved and has worked properly for a few years. The recommendations mDe by others appear to be spot on.

I leave my coach plugged in while in storage and maintain the batteries by ensuring they are topped off with distiller water. I do check them every month.

2004 HR Navigator
2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee Toad

Yodaman17 · 12-22-2014, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2-Nickels

Hi Scott, We have the same make, model and year coach you have. Great coach to live in and drive. Over the years we too have lost our chassis battery charging, boost switch functionality and ability to properly charge the house batteries. When visiting Monaco in Oregon for some service I outlined these as my concern and they replaced the Big Boy and control board, all was resolved and has worked properly for a few years. The recommendations mDe by others appear to be spot on. I leave my coach plugged in while in storage and maintain the batteries by ensuring they are topped off with distiller water. I do check them every month. 2004 HR Navigator 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee Toad

Hello Everyone!!

I have been on a trip at work and away from the coach. I greatly appreciate all of your responses and insight. I anxiously await my return home at noon on Christmas Eve. When you travel a lot for work ...any Christmas at home is a huge blessing.

I do look forward to investigating the Big Boy board and possibly getting it cleaned up or replaced. I also look forward to resetting the Aqua Hot low volt to see if it solves that problem as well.

I do have another mystery I will throw out there. Looking at the engine you see the two chassis batteries located prior to the engine just below the top of the rear bumper line. If you look to the right you see the hydraulic reservoir. Above the reservoir is a bracket shelf holding two 12 volt batteries which seem to be in parallel with cables running forward towards the house battery bay on the curbside of the coach. I have looked through the manual and wiring diagrams and they make no mention of these batteries that I can find. Any ideas??? (All electric coach)

Thank you all again for taking the time to respond and be of so much help.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2015!!!

Scott Krause
04 HR Nav 40PBT
03 F250 6spd manual
94 HR Nav 38PD (to market in spring)

Yodaman17 · 12-27-2014, 09:52 AM

Good morning!

I am unable to find the Aqua Hot controller and the low voltage reset button in any of the bay's on this coach. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! It is an all electric coach with residential fridge 04 HR Nav 40PBT.

Best regards,

Scott
04 HR Nav 40PBT
03 F250 6spd manual