Community Forums

rcouch54 · 04-16-2017, 12:12 PM

Have a 2017 View. Came back from Florida a little over a month ago and had to rewinteruze the coach. Since returning I have left the coach plugged into shore power and left the coach batteries switch on to the chassis. Went to dewintwrize the unit yesterday and found that the chassis battery was dead. Put the chassis battery on charge and the battery is holding a full charge fine.
I'm nearly certain that I had the house chassis switch off to the house. I cannot determine anything that was left on that would draw power and even so wouldn't the chassis current sense protect the chassis battery? The propane switch was left in during this period. Could that be the phantom current draw that drained my chassis battery.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

BFlinn181 · 04-16-2017, 01:15 PM

Not clear on "left the coach batteries switch on to the chassis" statement. If you were plugged in to shore power, no need to disconnect either house or chassis batteries, the on board converter/charger should maintain all batteries.

To test your charging system, take voltage readings at the batteries after they have been disconnected to all charging for an hour or more. Then plug in shore cord and take readings again. All batteries should show a charging voltage of 13.4V or more. This shows batteries connect together when a charging voltage is present. You could also take readings when engine is running to show the alternator also charges all batteries.

Phantom draws happen from the ECU, remote unlock, radio presets, LP detector, thermostat, etc.

My car will discharge the battery if left for a week or more without driving. Dealer suggested I lock it, supposedly it would draw less power that way. I've tried it, no change in battery charge life. I plug it in to a charger when not using the car.

llscott · 04-16-2017, 07:06 PM

Shore power will not charge chassis battery. If you are leaving the coach inactive for even a short time you need to disconnect the chassis battery at the special switch at the accelerator pedal. This was never mentioned at my initial inspection .... my chassis battery did not maintain for more than 7 to 10 days if left attached...did not happen too many times tip I learned.

BFlinn181 · 04-16-2017, 07:36 PM

I'm surprised that a 2017 Winnebago doesn't have a battery isolator that automatically connects the chassis and house battery whenever a charging current is available. My 1998 came so equipped, and a battery isolator can be had for ~$100, more or less. While disconnecting the chassis battery if without shore power is still needed, on shore power there should be no problem if the RV is equipped with a battery isolator. The test I described in post #2 is a way to see if you have a working battery isolator. Most isolators have a delay before they connect both systems, so wait about 5 minutes to be sure it is activated and connects the two battery systems.

llscott · 04-17-2017, 06:06 AM

Maybe it has to be something about the Mercedes chassis ??? I know it was true with my 2007 Navion iQ ( an Itaska/Winnebago product) and now with my 2015 Forester 2401 (a Forest River product)....both on the Sprinter chassis.

brdm266 · 04-17-2017, 07:46 AM

Had a similar issue after storing for about three weeks without shore power. I have read on other forums that the Sprinter alone will drain it's chassis battery after a few weeks. When plugged in to shore power at my house for extended time have not had this problem. I am trying a small solar panel charger on the chassis battery while in storage to see how that works.

twinboat · 04-17-2017, 08:27 AM

It seems common on Sprinter chassis to not have bi-directional charging.

Do they use different chemistry batteries in the chassis and house ?

Camper Ken · 04-17-2017, 10:34 PM

This topic has been covered before, but no problem... here's a good solution that I use. Get a Deltran Battery Tender. You may have to replace the connectors with a 12 volt power plug. Be careful to ensure correct polarity when wiring it up. Plug it into the 12 volt power outlet on the dash (which is wired directly to chassis battery), then plug the Battery Tender into a 120 volt AC outlet in the coach. As long as the coach is plugged into shore power this method works great and will keep the chassis battery fully charged,

JerryP · 04-17-2017, 10:47 PM

This happened when I had a Pleasureway Plateau which is based on the MB Sprinter. The engine battery is not charged by shore power.

I added a product called Trik-L-Start. It takes power from the house batteries (which are charged by shore power) and charges the engine battery.

It works great.

Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer

Regards, Jerry

luvlabs · 04-19-2017, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcouch54

Have a 2017 View. Came back from Florida a little over a month ago and had to rewinteruze the coach. Since returning I have left the coach plugged into shore power and left the coach batteries switch on to the chassis. Went to dewintwrize the unit yesterday and found that the chassis battery was dead. Put the chassis battery on charge and the battery is holding a full charge fine.
I'm nearly certain that I had the house chassis switch off to the house. I cannot determine anything that was left on that would draw power and even so wouldn't the chassis current sense protect the chassis battery? The propane switch was left in during this period. Could that be the phantom current draw that drained my chassis battery.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

So hopefully you have learned that Winnebago has not provided any type battery charging for the chassis battery (the Mercedes battery) and that you are going to have to add a Trik-L-Start or similar device - or - simply disconnect the engine battery manually if you are going to store it for longer than a week. Mercedes has lots of phantom draws on their Sprinter systems so either disconnect the battery or add a charger.

You dealer should have briefed you on this and should you how to disconnect the chassis battery. Turn off the engine, wait 15-20 minutes for systems to store things in memory, and then look for the cable by the throttle pedal. Push the clip down and pull it off the post. You now have isolated your engine battery. Plug it back in when you are ready to start the engine.

BFlinn181 · 04-19-2017, 05:25 PM

A Trik-L-Start is current limiting on how much charging it allows. (Hence the name "Trik-L")

For about the same cost as one of those, you could install a proper battery isolator that would a connect at a much higher amperage and allow for the generator or shore power to charge the chassis battery, and when the engine is running, the alternator will charge the house batteries. You'll not have the pretty little LEDs like the Trik-L-Start, but usually they are hidden in a compartment anyway.

Mooneypaul · 04-21-2017, 05:55 AM

I purchased a small solar panel that I rest on the dash. The output goes to a small solar controller to prevent overcharging. The controller connects by plugging into the cig adapter that is hot all the time (connected to chassis battery). I had to do it this way since I have no shore power at my storage location.

BFlinn181 · 04-21-2017, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mooneypaul

I purchased a small solar panel that I rest on the dash. The output goes to a small solar controller to prevent overcharging. The controller connects by plugging into the cig adapter that is hot all the time (connected to chassis battery). I had to do it this way since I have no shore power at my storage location.

Most solar panels that would fit on a dashboard are less than 7 watts, hardly need a controller to prevent overcharging. Does the panel also maintain the house batteries?

RobbieH · 04-21-2017, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

A Trik-L-Start is current limiting on how much charging it allows. (Hence the name "Trik-L")

For about the same cost as one of those, you could install a proper battery isolator that would a connect at a much higher amperage and allow for the generator or shore power to charge the chassis battery, and when the engine is running, the alternator will charge the house batteries. You'll not have the pretty little LEDs like the Trik-L-Start, but usually they are hidden in a compartment anyway.

5 amps. How much do you need? My Trik-L-Start works great. My house batteries already charge off the engine's generator, I just needed a way to get the chassis batteries charged when on shore power or generator. The Trik-L-Start is also very easy to install, or at least it was on mine.

Looks like it's been discussed, but my mom's Winnebago Gemini on the Mercedes chassis does not charge the chassis battery when plugged into shore power. I've recommended to her to install one of these also. She called me from an RV park a few months back and wondered why her engine wouldn't start.