Coach Batteries Not Charging

[Hootie-Owl]

Originally Posted by Dave78Chief

You have to be careful when you make the statement:

Many rigs have a small 300W-400W inverter mounted in the dash overhead that is used to support TV/DVD operation and the Converter/Charger is used for 12VDC charging. Those inverters do not have a built in charger. That situation is true for many Winnebago products. So, it is best to say, "do you have a Inverter/charger installed?" There are just far to many combinations of devices in the RV world which in the end create mass confusion at times.

Dave

Dumb question, but I am new to RVing. I have a fleetwood revolution. Will the battery's charge when the unit is plugged in to shore power.

[Dave78Chief]

Hootie-Owl,
Because each coach mfg does things different, it is impossible to provide one answer fits all. You need to ask that question in the Fleetwood forum (Fleetwood Products Owner's Forum - iRV2 Forums) rather than the Winnebago forum. When you do be sure to include the year and any coach identification information also. There can be differences in the different models.

Dave

[Airtool]

Hottie-Owl, The Fleetwood units will charge when plunged into shore power.
The coach batteries charge first until they reach 14.5 volts ( That can very some)then the charger goes into float mode. At that point the Chassis batteries will start to charge.
If you have a bad 6 volt batteries or batteries and the charge voltage never reaches the 14.5 volts the charger will never enter to float mode.
This info. should be covered in the Inverter / Charger information supplied with the Coach.
Remember to keep an eye on the water levels of the cells or have someone check them for you.
I have found that being connected to shore power for a period of 3 or more mounts will lower the water level in the 6 volt batteries to a point that the top of the plates in the cells are visible.
Used only distilled water to top off the batteries!!!!

Airtool.

[Hootie-Owl]

Air-Tool. Thanks much. As you can imagine, being new to RVing and buying a 2004 RV has me a bit nervous. I have located many of the manuals and am slowing working through them.

Thanks again.

[Airtool]

Originally Posted by Hootie-Owl

Air-Tool. Thanks much. As you can imagine, being new to RVing and buying a 2004 RV has me a bit nervous. I have located many of the manuals and am slowing working through them.

Thanks again.

We all had to start the learning curve you are on !! Reading all the manuals is allot like watching grass grow,but in the end; time well spent.
I spent a few hrs.practice driving in large parking lots and asking a few local school bus drivers questions about air brakes and how they work.
I just finished reading your last post,after replying to your PM.
The 04 year has a VGT type Turbo. FYI they have a tendency to go south because the control linkage for the thing seizes up. Some of them have fuel filters placed in almost imposable places to access.
I still like the model year as it is not(high tech) as the newer ones and the last year before some new emission standers went into effect. The newest standards require the use of DEF.
There are so many good people and allot of information with in this group, so ask all the questions you want. The only dumb question is the one your afraid to ask. Positive everyone would rather help you then to be on the road with an unsafe coach.
Everyone also likes trouble free R and R time when out on the road.

Dick

[Hootie-Owl]

Dick,

Thanks for taking the time with me. I feel pretty good driving it. Rides really nice down the highway. The dealer I bought it from was about an hour away so I got a fairly good drive with it at highway speeds and rush hour traffic when I got in the city.

As you can imagine, my fears are around proper operation of all the components and gadgets. Lastly proper maintenance.

And the fear of buying a lemon. Hope that's not the case.

[skyking421]

I just now joined this great forum, so that I could contribute what solved my "no charging" problem.
This will only affect a small number of us, but it is vital for the ones it does.
First, I bought my 2007 Winnebago Adventurer 33V two years ago from a knowledgeable retired engineer.
Being stored for months this cold winter, I found the chassis (engine) battery too weak to start the coach. When I tried the "battery boost" switch, I heard a click but still not cranking. The coach batteries were low, at 10.8 volts, but should provide something, so I suspected the battery boost solenoid. I started the engine by jumping the coach and chassis battery positive terminals with an open pair of pliers.
Stay with me, it gets worse!
With engine running, chassis battery was charging, but coach batteries were not. Must be the solenoid!
Bought a new solenoid from Camping World (same price as ebay, amazon, etc). On installation, it was strange to find a Ford starting solenoid there. Must have had the problem before.
Installed correct solenoid and checked operation. Good, it clicks and works when the boost switch is pressed, but, OMG, it still is NOT charging the coach batteries!
Is that normal? After scouring the manual and much internet research, I found that it should be charging them.
Started diagnosis by removing the, very difficult, battery boost switch. Using an ohm meter, found the switch was good. Checked the switch socket and there was voltage on one terminal, as there should be. Manually jumped the voltage to each of the other two socket terminals, and the solenoid would kick in. So why didn't it work with the switch.
A close look and another, bigger "OMG". The small spade socket on top was installed in the wrong slot!!! Most likely that way from the factory, which means the coach batteries NEVER charged from the engine alternator.
I inserted a very small nail to free the spade terminal from the plastic housing, bent its holding tang back up again, and pushed it into the next opening lower (the proper one). Reinstalled the switch and now all works as it should. I was very happy to see the same charging voltage on all the batteries.
I can't imagine that this could happen anywhere, except where the wiring harness was assembled.
I wonder if there are any others like this?
I have attached before and after photos of the switch and socket. You can see the top connector, in the wrong position, in the first photo and fixed in the second photo.

[ladagobago]

[QUOTE=skyking421;1902993]

Started diagnosis by removing the, very difficult, battery boost switch. Using an ohm meter, found the switch was good. Checked the switch socket and there was voltage on one terminal, as there should be. Manually jumped the voltage to each of the other two socket terminals, and the solenoid would kick in. So why didn't it work with the switch.
A close look and another, bigger "OMG". The small spade socket on top was installed in the wrong slot!!! Most likely that way from the factory, which means the coach batteries NEVER charged from the engine alternator.
[SIZE=3]I inserted a very small nail to free the spade terminal from the plastic housing, bent its holding tang back up again, and pushed it into the next opening lower (the proper one). Reinstalled the switch and now all works as it should. I was very happy to see the same charging voltage on all the batteries.


VERY GOOD trouble shooting. you should be congratulated !! It takes a lot of time to follow the diagrams and understand the ckts. I am in the fire alarm and security business an let me tell you, after 50 years of working in electronic - automotive wire hounds me to no end at times.