Chasi battery 33v2006 adventure

[Larry K. L]

When my engine battery was dead i pushed the battery boost switch, No sound
and no boost .i did jump with house battery.and check charge with meter .14.2 v also battery no- off switch does not appear to function . will make a clicking sound . solar light on panel is red dot but it don't seam to work .2006 adventure 33.v any help with chasing my wiring system.

[Morich]

Most likely the start battery is dead and the 14 volt reading is not the battery but what the engine alternator is putting out. A fully charged battery of this type will never go past 13 volts if reading the actual battery.
To get things like the solenoid to move and connect,there has to be power in the batteries to do it.
Rather than go through a full blown troubleshooting it is often just easier to cut straight to the problem, make sure both coach and start batteries are charged and holding that charge by charging them for at least six hours, taking the charger off and then waiting a couple hours to test the voltage.
If ALL the batteries don't show at least 12.5 consider that some of them are damaged and may need to be replaced soon.
But if the batteries are all good and there is still a problem with getting the boost solenoid to work, look at the "battery mode solenoid" and you should find whatever level the start battery tests on one big post and the coach battery level on the big post on the other side.
Start battery cable will be found on the "isolated post" at left on this drawing.
At the solenoid Red battery cable with purple tape marker is from the start battery and red with yellow marker tape is from the coach batteries.
When you push the switch on the dash, this solenoid connects left side to right side for the boost but it has to have battery power to do it! Kind of automatic jumper cable without the cable?
If you do not hear or feel the solenoid move and the battery on both sides does not read near the same, the solenoid may need replaced.

[Larry K. L]

Thanks the drawing is very helpful. The 14.2 was with the engine ruining with a dvom. at the main battery. the house battery's are all OK and stable.Thanks again
Larry K.

[Morich]

Yes, the 14 volts is always a tipoff that it is reading the alternator.
But for more info, that 16 gauge yellow wire labeled LR goes up to the AUX switch and controls the solenoid. When the switch is pushed battery flows down from the switch, through the solenoid coil and to ground through the wire marked FM which is ground.
There are times when the switch might be bad, so rather than change out a good solenoid we need to test to make sure we hear or feel it thump when the switch is pushed but if not, we need to check to see the voltage jump up to around 12 volts, just to make sure it is not the switch or some other weird thing like the ground on FM is not bad and throwing us a curve?
I might guess that the most common failure would be the big contacts in the solenoid get corroded and we won't see the same voltage on each left and right side when pushing the button. They sometimes thump as the contacts move but that doesn't always mean they made contact if they are bad.
The bigger question at times is if we can reach the solenoid and get to it or did they hide it way back in a corner??? Mine is hidden behind a well marked cover but once the cover is off, it's still behind a breaker panel and I've not needed to get to it that bad----yet!
Good luck.

[creativepart]

Just one more piece of info... that solar light thing? It's pretty much a joke. It's coming from a 10w 14-yr old solar panel that puts out milliamps of power.

Hey, 14 years ago that was a big deal. Today, a solar charger the size of your phone is more powerful.

The idea was to keep full batteries topped up in storage, in sunshine, when all the power disconnects were turned off. For that, it works a tiny bit better than nothing. But only a tiny bit.

And, it's not upgradable to a real solar power system. You don't even have a solar charge controller. Just that light.

Like Richard said - 14v is a dead giveaway that it's your chargers voltage, not your battery's voltage. If your batteries are fully charged you'll see 12.7 or so volts. Anything higher means you're not looking at your battery's state of charge.

This is why voltage meters on a RV are so worthless for determining anything about your battery's condition.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Just one more piece of info... that solar light thing? It's pretty much a joke. It's coming from a 10w 14-yr old solar panel that puts out milliamps of power.

Hey, 14 years ago that was a big deal. Today, a solar charger the size of your phone is more powerful.

The idea was to keep full batteries topped up in storage, in sunshine, when all the power disconnects were turned off. For that, it works a tiny bit better than nothing. But only a tiny bit.

And, it's not upgradable to a real solar power system. You don't even have a solar charge controller. Just that light.

Like Richard said - 14v is a dead giveaway that it's your chargers voltage, not your battery's voltage. If your batteries are fully charged you'll see 12.7 or so volts. Anything higher means you're not looking at your battery's state of charge.

This is why voltage meters on a RV are so worthless for determining anything about your battery's condition.

I guess I'm pretty lucky. My original 2002 solar panel still keeps my batteries charged while in outdoor storage (including during our northern CA winters). It also charges my starting battery via an Amp-L-Start. I have two 160A panels that I plan on installing along with suitable wiring and controller, but in the meantime, the "little panel that could" is still chugging along.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by BobC

I guess I'm pretty lucky. the "little panel that could" is still chugging along.

I’m not saying it does nothing, but I wonder, you’ve never stored your RV without it. For all you know it could be doing very, very little.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by creativepart

I’m not saying it does nothing, but I wonder, you’ve never stored your RV without it. For all you know it could be doing very, very little.

The "very little" is enough to keep my batteries charged after several months of storage (I haven't used it since before COVID-19), which is all I need it to do.

[Larry K. L]

Yes it is hidden away it took me some time to find them . a cover at top of the steps pulls out then a panel you can open and 2 screws to remove and then you can see 2 relays one a bigger one, and the one like in your drawing ii will
continue on thanks Larry

[Morich]

YES! sounds like you are on the right track, so some info on the other relay, maybe? They do a good job of showing what they look like, I think but the one you want will likely be the siver one and the other one maybe a black plastic looking top?
That second one is the battery disconnect relay and it might need a look someday, so some info on it.
The yellow marks are the control wires going to the disconnect switch and one that is on some but not others for a light to tell if it is on or off. You have one wire (GJ) that meets coach battery on the right side of the mode relay and then goes straight to a breaker for something that DOES NOT get disconnected when the disconnect switch is off! That part will run the coach batteries down even when turned off, so be aware of that. Likely something like the CO2 detector.
The rest of your coach battery comes up, through the switch when on and goes to the breaker at the steps (blue mark) for everything else.
Green marks are where the start battery comes off the isolated stud and up to the same set of breakers as the coach battery.
That means you have both start and coach 12VDC in the same panel but different breakers and that could confuse the dickens out of a guy if he disconnected something to work in that panel and there was still power there!!!
Use care, trust nothing!

[Larry K. L]

Hay Thanks lots with all this help i am sure i will fix this challenge