No House battery power

Parkman Jim · 06-17-2013, 02:36 PM

Need some help – I read the battery problem thread in general discussion, but I do not have any house battery power to lights, or unit. 1999 Winnebago Adventurer 37G. I checked water level in batteries, put charger on, batteries show full charge. I checked circuit breakers and chassis breakers, all good. Checked fuses on back of converter and none blown. Hooked up to shore power and all is well with batteries showing good charge, but when I switch back to house batteries, nothing. All connections on batteries are tight. Any ideas as to potential problem? Thanks for input. House batteries were replaced in 2011. Will not start generator and no sound or attempt to turn over. Do not know if it had any effect, but a storm rolled through last week and the power to the home went on and off several times before finally going out for 10 hours. MH was on shore power at the time. What have I missed?

tompen · 06-17-2013, 02:45 PM

Verify your "salesman switch" is on. Then check voltage on both sides of your latching relay that turns off the batteries for storage. You should have convertor voltage on one side and coach battery voltage on the other side. Does it click when you switch it on and off ?

Parkman Jim · 06-18-2013, 12:16 PM

Sorry, somewhat tech challenged, not sure what a salesman switch is. Just came in from checking lines, I do not have a battery disconnect switch that I see anywhere

tompen · 06-18-2013, 01:19 PM

Jim
I hope someone with a similar coach will jump in here. I think most units have a coach battery disconnect switch and latching relay. On mine the switch is just inside the door and the relay is under the hood at the battery control center. It is a two position momentary switch with center off.
Winnebago guys.............where is your salesman switch ?

skigramp · 06-18-2013, 01:34 PM

My previous coach was a '99 Adventurer ... there is a "Battery Disconnect" switch ... I can't remember if it is on the dash or in the stairwell as you enter the coach.

RickO · 06-18-2013, 02:27 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

My money too is on the house battery cut off switch or relay.

Rick

John Hilley · 06-18-2013, 10:10 PM

There should be a switch in the entry steps and on the dash.

darstar · 06-18-2013, 10:44 PM

The switch inside the door entrance , on most Coaches is for general lighting and connections. It does not shut down any device that has a memory , security system, or safety items including engine or generator start.
The master switches can be almost anywhere that is out of site, often in the battery bay.in my case they are under the bed hatch switch is a problem for easy axcess . The general rule is if the coach is to be left not connected to shore powernfor more than three or four days these switches should be activated . Depending on the amount of electronics aboard makes the most difference as to how long the battery banks will remain active. In real words, these are master battery cut offs.

John Hilley · 06-18-2013, 11:41 PM

The 1999 Adventurer doesn't have a battery cut off switch, just a switch in steps and on dash to turn House Batteries on and off via a latching solenoid.

Parkman Jim · 06-19-2013, 05:27 AM

Thanks for all the leads, I will continue to search in the areas mentioned for the cut off switch. Will let you know the results. Thanks all.

Parkman Jim · 06-19-2013, 01:04 PM

Problem solved. Thanks to all for your help. I tracked done someone at the local campground down the road who had a better handle on electrical then I did. This is what we found - converter was charging at 13.7, but found 18 volts at batteries. After tracing the system the culprit was found as a short at the roof mounted solar panel causing over charging and if I understood correctly, prevented the solenoid from switching over. Disconnected solar panel and all is well, but no solar panel. All that did was provide a charge to the batteries to keep them charged up. Called Camping World for cost of new panel-qouted $300-$500. Think I will just use a battery tender. Thanks again to everyone for all your help. Hope this may give a lead to others with the same setup and or problem. Just love those electric gremlins

tompen · 06-19-2013, 03:34 PM

Jim
Thanks for the follow up. We all learn from each other.

John Hilley · 06-19-2013, 08:54 PM

Nothing wrong with the solar panel, it is supposed to put out 17 volts. You just need a charge controller. What size panel do you have?

Stan.Birch · 06-19-2013, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley

Nothing wrong with the solar panel, it is supposed to put out 17 volts. You just need a charge controller. What size panel do you have?

No, he doesn't need a charge controller. He needs someone that knows a bit about electricity.

The normal unloaded output from the standard 15w solar panel runs around 21 volts. Connected to good batteries, the house batteries should read 13.8 volts.

Maybe time to clean the house battery terminals as a start; and turn on the house battery connect, located on the left side of the dash.

Stan.Birch · 06-19-2013, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkman Jim

Sorry, somewhat tech challenged, not sure what a salesman switch is. Just came in from checking lines, I do not have a battery disconnect switch that I see anywhere

1. You do have a battery disconnect switch, the bottom switch located on the left side of the dash labelled Aux Battery. When you switch the disconnect on and off, you should hear the relay click.

2. If you turn on one of the interior lights, it should go on and off along with the battery disconnect setting . . . . unless, you are connected to shore power, in which case, the interior lights will illuminate regardless of the battery disconnect setting.

3. If you are getting 18+volts from the solar panel, then it working the way it should. Reconnect it!

4. With shore power connected, the voltage on the house batteries should read 13.8 volts when the batteries are fully charged; and more like 13 - 13.2 if the batteries are low, and being charged.

Sounds to me that you merely have the battery disconnect, i.e Aux battery switch in the off position.

RickO · 06-20-2013, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley

The 1999 Adventurer doesn't have a battery cut off switch, just a switch in steps and on dash to turn House Batteries on and off via a latching solenoid.

I thought that was the definition of a house battery cut off switch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan.Birch

1.

2. If you turn on one of the interior lights, it should go on and off along with the battery disconnect setting . . . . unless, you are connected to shore power, in which case, the interior lights will illuminate regardless of the battery disconnect setting.

.

My rig is wired a bit differently and even when on shore power, my house battery switch needs to be on or the entire coach goes dark.

Rick

Parkman Jim · 06-20-2013, 07:20 PM

Looks like more things to check. I did hit the Aux switch and heard the click, but there was no DC current. Electric is not my strong suit. I know when he disconnected the solar panel, I got the dc power back, again this is not my strong area. I will have to check the sizing on the solar panel - this is all new to me and I appreciate the responses and leads. Thanks all.

Stan.Birch · 06-20-2013, 08:43 PM

Check your water/sewage/battery panel.

1. Unplug shore power.

2. If your house batteries are disconnected, then the test buttons on the panel will not light any of the "levels" LEDs.

3. Switch Aux battery to the other position, and the appropriate level-lights will illuminate.

4. Switch Aux battery off so the levels indicators do not light;

5. Plug in shore power, and the lights should work as if the aux battery was turned to "on" position.

6. Locate the 12 volt breaker panel ( behind the black glass above the stove). Check for any 12 volt breakers that might have popped.

Parkman Jim · 06-21-2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan.Birch

Check your water/sewage/battery panel.

1. Unplug shore power. OK did that, that is when I noticed no power.

2. If your house batteries are disconnected, then the test buttons on the panel will not light any of the "levels" LEDs. Correct, I did not have levels
LEDS
3. Switch Aux battery to the other position, and the appropriate level-lights will illuminate. I thought that I had checked that, pushing the button back and forth, but my dw says I am getting forgetful and may not have.

4. Switch Aux battery off so the levels indicators do not light; correct

5. Plug in shore power, and the lights should work as if the aux battery was turned to "on" position. They do

6. Locate the 12 volt breaker panel ( behind the black glass above the stove). Check for any 12 volt breakers that might have popped.

None were tripped.

Stan, I thought that I had hit the aux switch but after you mentioned it again, I am not completely certain. Probably my bad but this has been a learning experience.
As others mentioned, perhaps the solar panel was not the problem, but I di not watch the disconnect, and if I understand this panel only functions to provide a trickle charge to the batteries, is that correct? If so, i do not boondock but use shore power and keep the unit under an RV shed.

Thanks you and all the others for all the good information it is very much appreciated.

Stan.Birch · 06-21-2013, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parkman Jim

the solar . . . and if I understand this panel only functions to provide a trickle charge to the batteries, is that correct? If so, i do not boondock but use shore power and keep the unit under an RV shed.

That's correct. It doesn't do squat for boondocking, but it's great for long term storage where you don't have any shore power. Although I do have shore power available, I just use the solar panel to keep the batteries up to snuff. For long term storage, as I have endured over the past eight months, I ran a battery jumper cable from the positive terminal of the house batteries to the chassis battery, and it has kept all three fully charged during that time. It is very important to make sure the house-battery disconnect-switch has been clicked "off", or it won't work. Even the current drain from the propane detector is sufficient to discharge the batteries within a week or two!

Nothwithstanding, as a heavy boondocker who abuses his batteries mercilessly, they lasted for a good ten years; and the only reason I changed them at that point, is to make sure they were up to the task of carrying us through some of those cold snowy winter nights when we are enroute to the South. I place the blame on getting such outstanding service from my batteries directly on the solar panel.

>my dw says I am getting forgetful

That has a familiar ring to it!