Relay that connects Chassis/coach battery

[wdbates]

I got a problem
The relay that connects coach and chassis battery when the coach is running OR when the charger is operating is not working. The relay gets B+ to switch it and relay clicks about every 2 minuets but doesnt connect. I am tempted to just connect them with a bolt till I can replace the relay..I am thinking about a manual switch as to Isolate Chassis battery when dry camping otherwise they can be connected all the time..
This relay is loated just above the coach and chassis battery's. It connects both battery banks when the engin is running,generator running or connected to shore power. so the only time it is NOT connected is when parked. SO as I am going to head out to FMCA rally in a week I was thinking about just adding a switch (just like the disconnect ones on the battery banks now) Getting a replacement from Monaco isnt a problem but if it doesnt last but a few months no sence in puttng another one in?. I check other posts and it seams the fix is to replace relay with a marine relay for a cost of 134 bucks.

[wdbates]

I got a problem
The relay that connects coach and chassis battery when the coach is running OR when the charger is operating is not working. The relay gets B+ to switch it and relay clicks about every 2 minuets but doesnt connect. I am tempted to just connect them with a bolt till I can replace the relay..I am thinking about a manual switch as to Isolate Chassis battery when dry camping otherwise they can be connected all the time..
This relay is loated just above the coach and chassis battery's. It connects both battery banks when the engin is running,generator running or connected to shore power. so the only time it is NOT connected is when parked. SO as I am going to head out to FMCA rally in a week I was thinking about just adding a switch (just like the disconnect ones on the battery banks now) Getting a replacement from Monaco isnt a problem but if it doesnt last but a few months no sence in puttng another one in?. I check other posts and it seams the fix is to replace relay with a marine relay for a cost of 134 bucks.

[Sixpack98]

I think connecting the 2 sides together should be ok until you can get it replaced thru warranty. On the Yahoo Monaco group that is generally considered ok. When ours goes out I'm going to replace it with a solid state relay, much more reliable.

mark

[Robin_M]

I would think that one of the main "down-sides" of connecting the two banks together is that if your batteries get too low while dry camping, you may not be able to start the coach. I've also read that keeping the battery banks connected for long periods of time could shorten battery life on one or both banks.
There are reasons published that state why you should not mix two kinds of battery banks together, but I'm not entirely sure what they are.

That said, I agree with Mark in that connecting them for a short period of time shouldn't cause too much harm. I wouldn't leave it that way for an extended trip, however.

(Just my thoughts.)

[nodine]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by wdbates:
I got a problem
The relay that connects coach and chassis battery when the coach is running OR when the charger is operating is not working. The relay gets B+ to switch it and relay clicks about every 2 minuets but doesnt connect. I am tempted to just connect them with a bolt till I can replace the relay..I am thinking about a manual switch as to Isolate Chassis battery when dry camping otherwise they can be connected all the time.. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would recommend that you leave as is and put it on your list of warranty items to have repaired. If you connect the house and chassis system together and something goes wrong there could be warranty issues.

The main function of the relay is to allow your house batteries to provide a boost to your chassis batteries for cranking if the chassis batteries are low. The battery boost switch in the cockpit does this. If you stop every night as most do and connect to shore power you should not have any problem with the house batteries going low. If for some reason you do need to charge the house batteries while underway just turn on the generator.

Bob

[Roland]

Hi WDBates,
I am slightly confused. Chassis and house batteries are not connected while the coach is running. The "emergency start" solenoid can be used to temporarily connect chassis and house batteries to start the engine when the chassis batteries are low.

The only solenoid, that I know, that several have bypassed (by removing the wires and bolting them together) is the "salesman switch" which kills the 12v power to the inside circuits. It is notorious for failing at the wrong time.

Normally on most Monaco products, the inverter/charger charges only the house batteries when on shore or generator power. That is why several of us have installed "Trik-L-Start" units to keep our chassis batteries topped off while we are on shore power for extended periods of time.

Green lights and soft breezes,

[Sixpack98]

Roland,
On my MH the battery isolator relay is located in the battery compartment and allows the alternator to charge the house batteries when the engine is running. I could be mistaken but I also think this relay provides the boost function that allows the house batteries to be used to "jump start" the engine.

You bring up an excellent point about the saleman relay going south at the wrong time. I need to find out where it is located and possibly purchase a spare so I don't become a victim of the "wrong time"

mark

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sixpack98:
On my MH the battery isolator relay is located in the battery compartment and allows the alternator to charge the house batteries when the engine is running. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sixpack98,

I'd forgotten about that. The connection while underway is accomplished by the IRD relay in the front run bay. (Details here.) Guess my earlier comment about the alternator cooking the house batteries doesn't make sense in light of that.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I could be mistaken but I also think this relay provides the boost function that allows the house batteries to be used to "jump start" the engine. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>That's correct. The IRD closes the Isolator Relay when it senses over 13.3V on the chassis batteries after a delay of about 12 seconds, which would normally be the case with the engine running. The "boost button" is used to simply close the same main isolator relay without the engine running.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You bring up an excellent point about the saleman relay going south at the wrong time. I need to find out where it is located and possibly purchase a spare so I don't become a victim of the "wrong time" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>That relay looks like the main isolator relay in the battery compartment. It can be found in different places, but on our coaches it is located behind the large black plastic cover inside the front run bay. You don't really need to carry a spare because you can safely bypass that relay for as long as necessary. Some owners have permenently bypassed it to disable that "salesman switch".

[Life Style]

I'm confused, the chassis and coach batteries are never connected unless using emergenency start solonoid. On our previous Monaco coach there was a Lambert brand isolater that allowed the chassis battery to receve a trickel charge any time the charger was in use.
I can't recommend connecting the batteries even for a short period of time. Unless I knew all batteries were the same type and same age. Mixing deep cycle and standard lead acid batteries is not a good mix. Also mixing old with newer only results with the newer being overcharged because of the weaker aged battery or being over worked becaused of the weaker battery.

Life Style

[Sixpack98]

Life Style,
I'm not qualified to answer your question from any level of experience or qualification. I can't disagree with your battery compatability charging statement. You might check Monacoers on Yahoo groups, there has been quite a bit of Lambert isolator dialog discussion. I did not pay much attention since I have never had a coach with the Lambert.

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Life Style:
I'm confused, the chassis and coach batteries are never connected unless using emergenency start solonoid. On our previous Monaco coach there was a Lambert brand isolater that allowed the chassis battery to receve a trickel charge any time the charger was in use.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>Life Style,

That's not quite true - at least for the Diplomat (or perhaps the Camelot) on down. We have the system I was describing above. The IRD closes the main isolator relay when it senses output from the alternator, if the genset is not running.

However we need to add something like the echo~charge, to keep the chassis batteries charged. It does what the old Lambert system did.

Your 07 Dynasty has a BIRD relay (Bi-directional delay relay) that accomplishes the same duel purpose of keeping the house batteries charged enroute, and keeping the chassis batteries charged while running the charger. Like the IRD, it does close the main isolator relay, under pre-defined conditions, to accomplish those tasks. You can read more about how the BIRD works here on Intellitec's web site. There is a typical schematic shown on that site. I don't have access to the Dynasty schematics, but I suspect that they also include a relay connected to the genset hours meter that would interrupt the lead between the BIRD and the main isolator relay while the genset is running. (They do on the Dip.)

I suppose that it's possible Monaco could also add additional circuitry on the Dynasty and above to further isolate the two battery banks when the BIRD relay is functioning, but I'm not sure they do that.