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Tom57 · 01-25-2023, 08:19 AM

I recently replaced both 5 year old 12 volt coach batteries on a 2006 Class A Gulfstream independence. Afterwards when I pressed the coach battery disconnect switch to restore house power, the lights started cycling off and on. I can hear the relay picking up and dropping out each time, but it won't stay latched in. Looking for troubleshooting suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

MrMark52 · 01-25-2023, 09:04 AM

If you weren’t having problems before - then chances are you got something hooked up wrong when you replaced the batteries.

Did you take a picture of the wire connections at the batteries before you disconnected?

Do you have a coach wiring diagram? If not, you might try to locate one.

Arch Hoagland · 01-25-2023, 09:09 AM

Coach batteries are usually 6 volt batteries. Are you sure they were 12 volt?

Did you measured the voltage of each battery before you installed it to make sure it was good and fully charged?

twinboat · 01-25-2023, 09:09 AM

Backwards cables, what your hearing may be an auto reset circuit breaker tripping in and out.

Recheck your cables.

Mark_K5LXP · 01-25-2023, 09:10 AM

Could be hooked up backwards, or in series for 24V. Better check those connections.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Tom57 · 01-26-2023, 07:45 AM

Thanks all for the quick response.

I am sure they are 12 volt batteries and they are in parallel. The connecting cables are all very specific lengths and it would be nearly impossible to hook them up incorrectly, but I'll double check again too make sure I didn't leave one off. Both new batteries were measured at 12.7 volts before installing them. After installation with shore power plugged in they were getting 13.7 from the converter.

I've tried numerous times to find wiring diagrams on the internet for this MH, with no luck.

Can you tell me more about this auto reset breaker? I did not know such a thing existed.

Something I did not add to the first post is that I replaced the batteries because one of them blew up. I attached a picture this time to show I'm not exaggerating. I neutralized the battery acid and cleaned everything up before installing the new batteries.

MrMark52 · 01-26-2023, 08:04 AM

A battery that blows up like that doesn’t “just happen” without something being awry - and may likely be the cause of your problem.

How much water was in the other battery?

Low battery water and/or loose connections in the area of the batteries could have lead to a hydrogen explosion.

Have you seen, or do you have this manual?
https://www.gulfstreamcoach.com/medi...ers-manual.pdf

Tom57 · 01-26-2023, 08:06 AM

I just checked the internet for auto resetting circuit breakers and I should add that the lights cycled at least once per second. So it seems unlikely that a bi metallic circuit breaker could cool off enough that quickly to reset the circuit; especially over the course of 10 or so seconds that I let this cycling continue before activating the disconnect switch again.

My initial though was the latching power trust that may have 2 springs in it. If the latching mechanism was not working, could the 2 springs make the connection bounce open and closed.

Tom57 · 01-26-2023, 08:09 AM

The other battery had cells that ranged from 20% full to 80% full. All of them would have needed filling if I hadn't replaced it.

Even if the converter was bad, how would that address the power cycling I see now?

Persistent · 01-26-2023, 08:20 AM

Self resetting circuit breakers are often used on critical circuits like head lights and electric brakes. Mine is a thermal switch. It trips "off" when it gets hot and reconnects when it cools off. The cycle is short and would cause flashing 12 volt lights.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=self+rese..._ts-doa-p_2_14

MrMark52 · 01-26-2023, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom57

The other battery had cells that ranged from 20% full to 80% full. All of them would have needed filling if I hadn't replaced it.

Even if the converter was bad, how would that address the power cycling I see now?

A lot of hydrogen created in a partially filled battery.

I may have steered you down the wrong path with the converter comment. But you still might want to check it.

Monitor the battery voltage while you flip the disconnect switch - what is battery voltage doing while the lights are blinking?
If voltage remains >12vdc, locate the coil terminals on the relay and see what voltage is doing there.

Are the lights incandescent or LED?

Tom57 · 01-26-2023, 02:24 PM

The lights are LED. I'm going to wait for it to warm up a bit and do some more troubleshooting. Thanks for your help guys. More to follow.

Tom57 · 01-28-2023, 05:14 PM

For future reference, the problem turned out to be pretty simple. Each battery post has multiple cable lugs and the surface exposed to air had significant corrosion on them. When I reinstalled the cables, I didn't put them back on in the same order so the corrosion prevented a good connection. In short, as soon as the primary power relay picked up, the voltage dropped to the point the relay would drop out and then the voltage would recover and the coil would pick up again.

I simply sanded the copper lugs clean, reconnected them and everything works as designed.