Batteries

[Sixpack-7]

Sooo, Im new to the RV world. I just bought a 1991 Bounder 34S. Im a mechanic by trade so working on it isn’t a proble but finding information is. I currently have 2 12V batteries to run the house and, of course, a 12v battery for the chassis. I was told that those batteries must have been put in after the fact because “the house batteries are always 6v”. Does anyone know if Fleetwood ever put 12v batteries in as an option and where i can get wiring diagrams for the chassis and the house systems?
Thanks in advance

[Jthigh]

Your set up is probably correct. Some of the older gas coaches had 1 12 volt for chassis and 2 12 volt batteries tied in parallel for the house side. We had a 1992 Fleetwood Pace Arrow and that is how it was wired from factory.

[Jthigh]

As years went on into 2000 and up and more electrical items were added along with slides they moved towards more battery capacity. Usually 4 6 volt batteries in a parallel/series configuration.

[chuckftboy]

Back in the 90's a lot of manufactures used 2 -12 volt house batteries. I had a 98 Newmar configured that way from the factory.

[Jthigh]

There is a small control board (usually mounted on the firewall near the relay and fuse box) that monitors the charging voltage from the alternator. System is designed to charge chassis battery first. Once charge/alternator output reaches 13.8 volts in cuts in a solenoid to tie in the house batteries so they can charge as well. If alternator output drops below 13.5 (like at idle) the solenoid drops out and doesn’t pull back in until voltage increases back about 13.8 volts.

Just thought you want to know when checking battery charging on the chassis vs house batteries. You may hear the solenoid dropping in and out as well depending on alternator output.

[NLOVNIT]

Our Bounder is 2006 & it came with 2 12v house batteries.

Lori-

[Sixpack-7]

Originally Posted by Jthigh

There is a small control board (usually mounted on the firewall near the relay and fuse box) that monitors the charging voltage from the alternator. System is designed to charge chassis battery first. Once charge/alternator output reaches 13.8 volts in cuts in a solenoid to tie in the house batteries so they can charge as well. If alternator output drops below 13.5 (like at idle) the solenoid drops out and doesn’t pull back in until voltage increases back about 13.8 volts.

Just thought you want to know when checking battery charging on the chassis vs house batteries. You may hear the solenoid dropping in and out as well depending on alternator output.

Thats. Very good to know. Thank you! I don’t recall seeing a solenoid to charge the batteries unless it shares the solenoid with the “emergency start”. Any idea where i can get wiring diagrams for the house power distribution? When i bought the RV the house batteries were all unhooked. I put the cables back on to the best of my knowledge and after drawing out a make shift wiring diagram, I found that there were two cables missing. I got the cables i needed and, again put them in as best as i could guess. Everything seems to be working but I’d love to check out a diagram to see if i missed anything.

[Jthigh]

On the Pace Arrow we had, the emergency start switch (or auxiliary start in some cases) engages the same solenoid that the control board engages mentioned earlier. It ties the house batteries into your 12 volt chassis system to start engine if you chassis battery is dead. Built in jumper cables. You can press the emergency start switch several times and listen for the relay to help locate it.

Our system also had 2 switches above the entry door to disconnect chassis and house batteries when not in use. Use those if Coach is stored or parked for extended amount of time to keep things from draining down your batteries. I always switched off my chassis battery when boondocking so as not to drain chassis battery. They both have to be active to charge both battery banks while driving or plugged in on shore power.

Not sure where you can get a wiring diagram though.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I don’t recall seeing a solenoid to charge the batteries unless it shares the solenoid with the “emergency start”.

Yes, it shares the same solenoid.

There is nothing magical about 6v batteries - it's just packaging. All lead acid batteries are a collection of 2.1v cells wired together to get the desired amount of volts and amps. However, the common 6v golf car battery is a good quality deep cycle package that is produced in a high enough volume to make the pricing attractive vs a similar 12v design that is a more specialized and thus lower volume product. You will find quite a few RVs that use a pair of 6v GC2 batteries in series to get about 210-225 amp-hours of 12v capacity, simple because it is cost-effective. I have an article on RV batteries in the IRV2 File Library at http://www.irv2.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=231

"House" batteries should be a deep cycle type while the engine uses a cranking battery, different internal battery designs.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I disagree that house batteries are always 6V.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[jarata]

I have a 2010 Newmar and my house batteries are 2 12 volts

[Bosunmate]

My 2017 Winnebago Vista came with 2 12v house batteries and 1 12v chassis battery. I may look into 6v when these batteries die if there is room for them.

Best regards.

Patrick

[Sixpack-7]

Thank you for all the great advice and info. I found another post that said if I contacted Fleetwood and just asked, they would send me the prints i request. I did that last night and, low and behold, I had a set of diagrams ranging from basic house wiring to gas line plumbing and lots in between. The wiring diagrams weren’t exceedingly detailed but its a great start. And if they gave me the correct set of drawings, i found out that my house batteries were originally 6v so ill have to update the drawings based on my drawings and their drawings. Either way its awesome!!
Thanks again for all the info. Im sure ill have more questions as time rolls on