Lost the 12 volt system -help

[firedoc]

Ok, I went to clean up and fill up the 6v house batteries. Disconnected one at a time and reconnected them. However may have gotten a little confused. Had no 12 v system when done. The 4 batteries appear to be interconnected correctly( according to diagram I found on this site) but not sure about other 3 wires. The 2000w inverter appears to be powered up as it has two green lights. But when I press the aux battery switch - nothing. Chassis batteries works when I press that button but I didn't work on those (thank goodness) generator also has no power. Have tried the 3 a extra wires in different positions (every combination I think). I suppose I could have blown a breaker or fuse. Where would I start looking for fuses? The charger part of inverter appears to be working as batteries test at 14.5+- when it is on. I have turned the charger off for the night in case it would want to overcharge the batteries. I don't trust it at this point. Btw it's a Fleetwood Bounder DP 2006. Any help would be appreciated. We are hosting at a remote F&W preserve and are 50 miles from help. Have a feeling that slides won't come in and levelers won't retract without 12v system.

[stink]

sounds like one ground was left off. They have a habit of falling to the rear of the batterys so you cant see them. The wire in question is the chassis ground and the charger inverter has its own ground wire.

["007"]

If you go to QT's #1 & #2 you will find threads on battery replacing, pictures and problems people had after replacing their batteries. read all the links may find your problem.
Just stay with your house batteries leave chassis battery alone.

[RV Wizard]

Check the Battery Control Center for tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse for the house battery disconnect circuit. Call Fleetwood for a pdf file for the battery cable wiring diagram. Verify cables are connected properly and retry house battery operation into the coach and for generator starting. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Shadowcatche]

A VOM is your friend and will tell you which pole/post is which and if the whole lashup is connected correctly, if you don't get 12V where it needs to be it is not correct. If it were me I would start with the last set of + - battery terminals and see if they are 12V and work forward if it is correct or back if it is not.

[firedoc]

Thanks to those that have replied so far. The batteries are connected as per the diagrams and non of the wires are getting hot. Have 13.7volts at fuse that pos end of batteries are attached to and same exiting fuse so its ok. When the switch in motor home is pressed to turn on aux batteries I hear a click somewhere around the batteries and I assume that is a solenoid of some sort. Wi check next ( when it gets warmer outside) to see if voltage is getting to that solenoid. If its getting to solenoid but not out I assume I must replace solenoid- are there any other reasons that would happen? If goes through solenoid I guess I need to start looking at fuses. But since entire 12v house system is out I'm betting its the solenoid.

There are three other wires that go to battery that I don't know about. Obviously the generator probably has a pos connection to batteries but does it also have a neg connection or is it grounded on chassis somewhere closer to generator. Also inverter (Zantrex 2000) must have a connection to batteries. Is it pos or neg or both (rather than a local ground). Would it be a large gauge wire or a smaller on. I have two extrA large gauge and one smaller gauge (maybe 14 or so ). Don't know what to do with these or what they are for.

Thanks

[Dr4Film]

Every coach can have extra wires which may go to either the positive or negative terminals so your best option is to find someone with the exact same year and model of coach or contact Fleetwood for their technical help.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[John Hilley]

What color are the three wires? Grounds are generally black, but not always. A good way to check a wire to see if it is chassis ground is to use a continuity tester, 12 volt test light with battery or ohm meter. If you hook one end of the continuity tester to the chassis and probe the wire with the other and you get continuity, then it is a ground and would go to the negative battery terminal. If you don't get continuity it is probably a positive connection and would go to the positive terminal of the battery.

[firedoc]

I'm back. Have 13.5 v to inverter. 12 v system only getting 6.5v to lights so very dim and generator of course won't start. Control panels for slides and levelers will not light up, but aux battery switch will light and give 6 + v. That's a start. Batteries are wired as per diagram

[firedoc]

Update

Now have 12 volts to lights.
Generator has no power to it and transfer switch is clicking every 30 sec or so. I've kind of run out of ideas. Anyone???

[steved44]

Terry, you should have one pos cable coming from your house bank through the 300A main fuse to the pos input on your inverter. You should have one neg cable coming from your house bank to the neg input on your inverter. You should get 12.7V at the input to the inverter if nothing (shore power or engine) is turned on and your 6V batteries are fully charged. You also should have a pos cable running from your house bank to the solenoid you heard clicking. This is your aux start solenoid and will just be used to combine the two banks (house and chassis) if your chassis batteries happen to be low and you can't start your bus. This is also used when the bus is running to charge the house batteries when you are going down the road (it should do it automatically). The small wire might be the heat sensor from the inverter, at least mine has one like that and it is hooked to a positive terminal on 6V batteries. It almost sounds like you have a ground wire not hooked up, but then you wouldn't get 12.7V at the inverter input. I have one other smaller wire hooked to one of my 6V pos terminals, but I don't know what it goes to. Not too much help I guess. Good luck, Steve

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by steved44

I have one other smaller wire hooked to one of my 6V pos terminals, but I don't know what it goes to. Not too much help I guess. Good luck, Steve

Steve,

That small wire could be a battery temp sensor for the rooftop solar panel charge controller if you have a panel on your roof.

Dr4Film ----- Richard