No charging of House battery when engine is running.

[davismills]

I know this one has been beat to death, but replacing the solenoid between the two disconnect relays did not resolve my problem.

1. House batteries charge normally while on shore-power.
2. House batteries charge normally while generator is running.
3. Chassis battery charges normally with engine running.
4. House batteries DO NOT charge from the engine alternator while en-route.

I've replaced the solenoid between the relays (house/chassis disconnects). This did not resolve the problem. The battery boost switch works as advertised.

Could it be the chassis disconnect stopping flow from the alternator?
Any help/ideas appreciated.

2011 Winnebago Sightseer 33c Ford F53 chassis.

[tderonne]

A few folks have had this issue. Sounds like ignition power isn't making it to the solenoid. Circuit "KE" is what does that. Others have found bad fuses and wiring (or at least adding a new wire fixed it).

Searching for "circuit KE" finds some good leads.

Like this thread

[ga traveler]

The disconnect solenoid has nothing to do with the charging circuit of the chassis battery. You either have another solenoid that is the battery charging solenoid or you have a big blue heat sink with a diode that controls the charging. That is where your problem is.

[davismills]

Originally Posted by ga traveler

The disconnect solenoid has nothing to do with the charging circuit of the chassis battery. You either have another solenoid that is the battery charging solenoid or you have a big blue heat sink with a diode that controls the charging. That is where your problem is.

Thank you for the help. My chassis battery is charging fine from the alternator, the problem is that the house batteries are not charging from the alternator. I have a disconnect solenoid bordered on either side by solenoids that supposedly disconnect the chassis and house batteries when in storage. I'm suspecting a fuse/power/ground issue, but am having trouble tracking it down.

[twinboat]

Take a picture of the solenoids. We can id the isolation solenoid.

That is the one that needs to engage when the engine is running.

[Sweetbriar]

Normally the cross connect solenoid (usually the Aux Start) will close only after the battery volts exceed a preset voltage. The volts will depend on the hardware that monitors everything. For my coach with an Intellitec Mini Gas Battery Control Center the volts have to exceed 13.3 for more than 14 seconds before the cross connect with activate and allow charging of the second battery bank when either on shore power or when with the engine running.

Besides a problem in the sensing circuit the alternator could be a little low but not enough to cause a fault so check the volts with the engine running. What isn't mentioned, is the chassis battery getting a charged when the engine is off and the coach on shore power or generator? In other words does everything work going the other direction?

What the chassis disconnect removes from the circuit will depend on the installation. Some rigs if it opens when going down the road the engine quits. Others you'll loose all the accessories the coach builder installed the receive power from the chassis such as the entry steps.

[davismills]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Take a picture of the solenoids. We can id the isolation solenoid.

That is the one that needs to engage when the engine is running.

I apologize for the poor pics, but it's kind of crowded in there. The solenoid/battery disconnects are depicted in this drawing.
http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_174399.pdf

[davismills]

Originally Posted by davismills

I apologize for the poor pics, but it's kind of crowded in there. The solenoid/battery disconnects are depicted in this drawing.
http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/...ire_174399.pdf

Pics attempting

[davismills]

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

Normally the cross connect solenoid (usually the Aux Start) will close only after the battery volts exceed a preset voltage. The volts will depend on the hardware that monitors everything. For my coach with an Intellitec Mini Gas Battery Control Center the volts have to exceed 13.3 for more than 14 seconds before the cross connect with activate and allow charging of the second battery bank when either on shore power or when with the engine running.

Besides a problem in the sensing circuit the alternator could be a little low but not enough to cause a fault so check the volts with the engine running. What isn't mentioned, is the chassis battery getting a charged when the engine is off and the coach on shore power or generator? In other words does everything work going the other direction?

What the chassis disconnect removes from the circuit will depend on the installation. Some rigs if it opens when going down the road the engine quits. Others you'll loose all the accessories the coach builder installed the receive power from the chassis such as the entry steps.

The chassis battery is using a Trik-L-Charge to maintain itself via the coach batteries when the engine is off. If I click the aux battery boost switch via the dash panel button, with the engine running, I immediately get a charge via the alternator. Releasing the switch drops the charging action. Steps, slides, jacks all work fine with engine on or off. I suspect one of the battery disconnects is bad. At $54.00 each, I hate to spend the money if not necessary. BTW, thanks much for your help.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Dave-

I am not a Winnebago wiring expert. "gtrharris" (on iRV2) is. He has taught me a little about Winnie wiring. Tim's ("tderonne") post #2 is right on by suspecting a problem with the "KE" signal.

Winnebago has online wiring diagrams at this link. Unhappily, the post-2009 models do not seem to have as complete a set as those before that model year. So I pulled up a 2009 Sightseer "Automotive Wiring Diagram" at this link. The lower-left corner of sheet 3 shows the wiring at the back of the battery boost switch. If you follow circuit "KE" back to sheet 1, you'll find it goes to a Ford pigtail, pin 5, "ACCY FEED 2 (RUN ONLY)." Follow that through the Ford diagrams (not available online) and you'll discover that a fuse on the Ford fuse panel under the dash (to the left), possibly fuse #38, sends a signal on "KE" when the ignition switch is in the "START" or "RUN" positions. Fuse #38 on my coach is a 10A fuse.

The battery boost solenoid should be energized by signal "KE" or by pressing the boost switch. You can test for "KE" by starting the coach and testing to see if the voltage on each of the battery boost solenoid large posts is the same. You can also test to see if you get 12V on the solenoid small post. If you don't, the next place to look is at the rear of the battery boost switch.

According to the diagrams, signal "KE" is used for several ignition-switched functions (e.g., levelers), so if its fuse was blown I'd expect you'd see other systems not working.

Give those tests a whirl and see what you find.

[twinboat]

It's the silver one with the single small wire.

Run the engine for 10 minutes and check chassis batt volts. If over 13.2, you should see the same on the couch side.

If not , check the small wire. That should have batt voltage when activated. Make sure the solenoid is grounded. The single wire ones ground thru the mounting base.

The other 2 are latching type disconnects.

[davismills]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

Dave-

I am not a Winnebago wiring expert. "gtrharris" (on iRV2) is. He has taught me a little about Winnie wiring. Tim's ("tderonne") post #2 is right on by suspecting a problem with the "KE" signal.

Winnebago has online wiring diagrams at this link. Unhappily, the post-2009 models do not seem to have as complete a set as those before that model year. So I pulled up a 2009 Sightseer "Automotive Wiring Diagram" at this link. The lower-left corner of sheet 3 shows the wiring at the back of the battery boost switch. If you follow circuit "KE" back to sheet 1, you'll find it goes to a Ford pigtail, pin 5, "ACCY FEED 2 (RUN ONLY)." Follow that through the Ford diagrams (not available online) and you'll discover that a fuse on the Ford fuse panel under the dash (to the left), possibly fuse #38, sends a signal on "KE" when the ignition switch is in the "START" or "RUN" positions. Fuse #38 on my coach is a 10A fuse.

The battery boost solenoid should be energized by signal "KE" or by pressing the boost switch. You can test for "KE" by starting the coach and testing to see if the voltage on each of the battery boost solenoid large posts is the same. You can also test to see if you get 12V on the solenoid small post. If you don't, the next place to look is at the rear of the battery boost switch.

According to the diagrams, signal "KE" is used for several ignition-switched functions (e.g., levelers), so if its fuse was blown I'd expect you'd see other systems not working.

Give those tests a whirl and see what you find.

Mark

I checked every fuse I could find. All under the dash to the left tone out with connectivity and all under the hood test well too. When the engine is running and I press the boost switch, I get charging to the coach batteries as long as the switch is depressed. I've not removed the doghouse to look at the alternator and I don't really believe there is a problem there anyway. I'll check the actual rocker switch next.

I am now connected to shore power and the coach batteries are reading 13.2. We're leaving for a short 4 day trip tomorrow that's only about 80 miles away. I'll keep an eye en-route to see if there is any inkling of power getting to the coach batteries. I suspect I've had this problem for quite some time and just recently got interested in fixing it. It's not a show stopper for the type of trips we take, but I'd like it to work like it did when I bought it new.

Again, thanks for the great tips and any other ideas you might have to add.

Dave

[davismills]

Originally Posted by twinboat

It's the silver one with the single small wire.

Run the engine for 10 minutes and check chassis batt volts. If over 13.2, you should see the same on the couch side.

If not , check the small wire. That should have batt voltage when activated. Make sure the solenoid is grounded. The single wire ones ground thru the mounting base.

The other 2 are latching type disconnects.

Thank you sir. I suspect you're right that i'm not getting voltage at the single silver wire. It is grounded. Previously when running for 10 minutes, I was getting 13.6 on the chassis and 12.8 on the coach.
Dave

[davismills]

My problem is resolved. My IQ points, however, are not as high as I thought they were.

This is my second motor home and my first one had a two way rocker button for the battery boost switch. My current coach has a THREE way rocker button. Depressed upward engages all batteries for emergency start. The button returns to the center position by default when released. To re-engage charging coach batteries via the alternator (running) one must manually press the rocker arm button to the full DOWNWARD third position.

I cranked the engine and was immediately getting 14.2 volts to both the coach and chassis batteries.

This dummy sincerely thanks you all so much. Especially to Mark for mentioning the boost switch itself. If I ever cross you alls paths, the drinks are on me.

Dave