Battery & Cockpit lights

[zekethomas]

Ok... now that we are parked for a while, we use the passenger front seat as an office and the drivers seat as a seat, (inasmuch as we can given the seat will not fully rotate, a separate issue).

A few questions.. we have a drop down bunk over the drivers area which we use daily. When the bunk is up, it has an interior light with a switch next to the passengers cup holder on the outside wall. Does that light run off the house battery or coach battery, and does that matter?

Does the coach battery get charged or topped-up from shore power? (which makes the light draw a non-issue if it is charged by shore power). It also occurs to me that the bunk going up and down is powered by house batteries / shore power as well as there is no difference in its service day by day.

Thoughts?

Thank you.....

[BFlinn181]

With a multimeter you can test for yourself if the chassis and house batteries are both charged on shore power. With everything off, take volt readings at the batteries. Then plug in the shore cord and repeat taking readings. You should see a voltage increase on charging batteries. If you want further education, unplug the shore cord and start the engine, then take a third set of volt readings to determine if your alternator is charging the house batteries while driving. Be aware there might be a delay in connecting, so wait 5-10 minutes after starting the engine to get accurate data.

As to the overhead light, turn it on, then turn off your house battery disconnect switch. If the light doesn't go out, you'll know the light is powered by the chassis battery.