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Old 12-04-2014, 02:18 PM   #1
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Dead Coach and Chassis Batteries

I had foot surgery several months ago, which has greatly limited my mobility and limited the amount of time I can stand up. Because of this, the last time I went to my storage building to start the motor and the generator on my MH , I didn't properly re-insert the power receptacle into the MH after shutting down the generator. When I went over to do it all again yesterday, both the chassis and coach batteries were dead as a door nail. I re-inserted the receptacle properly and got good power inside. I then went to a McDonalds for an hour or so to let it recharge. I guess it must trickle charge, because everything was still dead, when I returned. My question is about the switches above the entrance door. I have one to shut off the chassis battery, and one to turn off the coach battery. I always leave my MH plugged in to 120 vac whenever it is not being used. What position should I leave those switches on while in storage? I guess my question really is, are both sets of batteries being charged from this 120 vac power source irregardless of the switch position? Or do I need to leave both switches turned on to charge the batteries from the ground power? Thanks for your time and assistance.
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Old 12-04-2014, 03:15 PM   #2
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Jlabit,
If it is anything like mine. I believe your inverter will charge your coach batteries when hooked up to shore power but will not charge your chassis batteries. If your leaving it in storage for longer than a couple of weeks I suggest you turn both battery shut offs to the off position. That will disconnect them from the MH and any stray voltage bleeds. in order for you get your chassis batteries charged from you coach batteries you need to use jumper cables inbetween both sets of batteries. this will take a bit of time to get your chassis batteries enough charge to start it up. There is a product called Trik-L-Start that you can install that will keep the chassis batteries charged when you are hooked up to shore power. I hope this helps.
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Old 12-04-2014, 07:12 PM   #3
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Your signature shows 2010 Hurricane. This model has a FW 2050 Battery Control Center (BCC). It also has a recall that needs to be performed if it has not already. The reason for the recall is the disconnect relay in it will go bad and leave you with no power.

But if it has been sitting for a while without power, chances are both batteries are dead. If lead acid batteries sit dead for an extended time, they don,t always take a charge and could be ruined. You need a volt meter and test your batteries and your converter.

This BCC will charge both chassis and coach batteries if it is working properly. When plugged in to shore power, the converter will charge the coach batteries until it reaches 12.4 volts, then it will also charge the chassis battery. Conversely, the alternator will charge the chassis battery until it reaches 12.4 volts then it will also charge the coach batteries. Both disconnects by the door need to be engaged.

The aux switch on your dash will also "tie" them together. You should hear a clunk sound when they engage and disengage.

You need a volt meter and test your batteries and your converter. Let them charge overnight.

You need to check the water in the coach batteries. Leaving them plugged in will consume water. Remember, distilled
water only.

Read this.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/thor...ll-169291.html
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Old 12-04-2014, 09:02 PM   #4
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Thanks for the replies. mgscott4, I have read the 16 page thread about the Thor recall. I haven't had a chance to look at the BCC and whether both leads are connected to the "Chassis Battery" terminal on the BCC. That is on my list to do when my foot heals and I can walk a little better. The batteries could not have been dead for very long as I get over to Crestview and check everything fairly often. I've had it properly connected to a good power source since Wednesday mid-day. Hopefully, everything will be re-charged and good to go when I go back over tomorrow.
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Old 12-04-2014, 09:28 PM   #5
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Good luck, Your BCC is under the hood on the drivers side. Let us know how it turns out tomorrow.
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Old 12-04-2014, 11:50 PM   #6
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Hello all: I have a2003 excursion and I call the number I my munal about the same thing before they went bad and they say if plugged in leave the two switchs in the on position and just check the water level every two weeks. I hope it work because I got my mh cover until march good luck
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Old 12-05-2014, 12:15 AM   #7
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I don't think I've ever turned off the power switch in the 12½ years we've owned the rig. Maybe the dealer did but I haven't.
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Old 12-05-2014, 04:55 PM   #8
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Well, I went to Crestview, Fl today, where my MH is in covered storage, and the batteries are still dead. The coach is a 2010, and it is 2014, so maybe the batteries have gone bad. I might should have put this question in the Thor forum, but I have only found one set of batteries. I found two 6 volt batteries under a panel on the drivers side, the forward most lower storage panel behind the drivers seat. I called Thor this afternoon asking for the location of both the house and chassis batteries and they had no idea, if you can believe that. Do any Thor owners out there want to share the location of their batteries? As stated in my signature, I own a 2010 Thor Hurricane 33T. The best I can tell, it either has to be bad batteries or a bad converter, because the coach has been on 120 vac for at least the past 2 days, with ALL batteries dead. Thanks for any assistance.
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Old 12-05-2014, 05:14 PM   #9
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Battery switches should be on or they wont charge.
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Old 12-05-2014, 06:07 PM   #10
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If you don't have one, rent a HD battery charger, most are on wheels, and manually re-charge the batteries. These chargers will "force charge" at their rated amperage output.
I remember one time I forced a dead battery to accept charge by at first leaving the charger set to "boost", which was 200A, for 10 minutes. I then switched the charger to its normal 40A charge. I had the cell caps off and tested specific gravity periodically until it reached the full charge reading of 1.285. Use a hydrometer with automatic temperature compensation for best results.
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Old 12-06-2014, 05:09 AM   #11
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Can,t help you with the location of the batteries because my Hurricane is a 2006 and a workhorse chassis.

The (2) 6 volt batteries you already found are most likely your coach batteries.

If you trace the big red wire on the starter on your engine, it will lead you straight to the chassis battery most likely under the hood, but not always.

Make sure the disconnect switches near the door are engaged. Listen for a clunk sound under the hood.

Bring a volt meter with you next you go out there. Get battery readings on both sets of batteries, both with and without shore power connected, and post the results here.

Do you have any interior lights or working water pump when you are plugged in to shore power?

Do you get any dash lights when you turn the key on?

Try the Aux switch on the dash. Listen for a clunk sound.
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Old 12-06-2014, 04:08 PM   #12
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mgscott4, appreciate your response. It will be Monday before I can get back over to the MH, this time with my very mobile young son in tow. I have tried the aux switch to no effect. I do have interior lighting and TV working when on ground power. When it is disconnected, everything is completely dead. No lights anywhere. Trying to turn off the chassis and house battery switches produces absolutely no sound at all, anywhere. When ground power is off, everything is completely dead.
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Old 12-07-2014, 09:35 AM   #13
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That is good that you have interior lights with shore power on, this means that your converter is working to supply 12 volts to the 12 volt appliances and should be charging your batteries too.

So this could be real simple. If you find out that with shore power on, you get 13 plus volts at your coach batteries, and they have been on for a few days now, they should be charged. If you read Less than 12 volts when disconnected from shore power, your batteries are bad and need to be replaced.

Once you replace your coach batteries, you can use the aux switch to start your engine. Or you can wait and leave it on shore power overnight and the converter will now charge your engine battery.

This BCC (FW-2050) will not charge the engine battery until the coach batteries are above 12.4 volts, since the coach batteries are dead, the chassis battery never got charged and went dead over time. The chassis battery is not necessarily bad, don,t replace it until you have tried to charge it, either in the coach or with an external charger.

If you don,t measure 13 plus volts at your coach batteries, with shore power on, you need to find out why.

Is the converter working? Measure at the converter output. If yes, then it goes to the BCC and it is supposed to pass it through. You have to measure on the output of the BCC.
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Old 12-07-2014, 09:05 PM   #14
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Here might be something I learned from my 2002 Fleetwood Revolution. It is a DP and has a BCC (battery control center) and it controls EVERYTHING 12 volt. My batteries would drain in less then 1 week before I replaced the control board inside the BCC. Now after 5 weeks in storage everything works as it should. Tested both battery banks and they were at 12.9 volts after 5 weeks storage and not fear of running them dead again. Look under (dead batteries) and might be some good reading to also look under BCC search!
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