Pogger to the Rescue

[truk4u]

While at TGO getting ready to head to PSL, the Green Machine just didn't have the starting juice to get going. My fault, I have been nursing the timed out chassis batteries just too long. Left the charger on all night (3 stage) and in the morning it just wouldn't roll it over fast enough. Not the chargers fault, Brian put in the best, the batteries are just wore out.

So, a call to Andre for help was answered with him being there in 5 minutes ready for action. I had already pulled the jeep up close and was getting ready to hook up at least 12 volt to see if it would be enough. Sure enough, jeep power was enough to fire it up. Andre came to the rescue with his golf cart and we would have had access to 24 volt if the jeep thing didn't work.

Moral of this story.... don't procrastinate on maintenance items. I have been dancing around the battery issue for the last couple trips and I knew better!

And if you need help, make sure your near Andre!;)

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Tom was actually lucky. When the batteries show signs they are giving up life (house or chassis) run, don't walk to your nearest battery store because it has been my experience that when they start to fail it is not a slow death. Once they start going they really go fast. Ironically it is not usually the set, but one that drags the remaining batteries down.

If I were in Tom's shoes I would have pulled the batteries apart and tried to determine which of the four was the bad guy, and then I would have tied just two of the good ones together and kept a charger on them until it went to float. Two will spin the engine as long as one of them is not the bad one.

I had to operate my other bus with 1/2 my house batteries because of a bad one (a gel cell that burst) and we got along just fine. Ditto with the chassis, as long as you understand you do not have the capacity to sit with the parking lights on all night.

[garyde]

While at TGO getting ready to head to PSL, the Green Machine just didn't have the starting juice to get going. My fault, I have been nursing the timed out chassis batteries just too long. Left the charger on all night (3 stage) and in the morning it just wouldn't roll it over fast enough. Not the chargers fault, Brian put in the best, the batteries are just wore out.

So, a call to Andre for help was answered with him being there in 5 minutes ready for action. I had already pulled the jeep up close and was getting ready to hook up at least 12 volt to see if it would be enough. Sure enough, jeep power was enough to fire it up. Andre came to the rescue with his golf cart and we would have had access to 24 volt if the jeep thing didn't work.

Moral of this story.... don't procrastinate on maintenance items. I have been dancing around the battery issue for the last couple trips and I knew better!

And if you need help, make sure your near Andre!;)

I replaced mine this weekend. For some reason, I havn't figured out yet, my batteries only lasted about 2 years 2 months. It may have started with one and then spread to the others. I have also removed the charger Liberty installed with a 3 stage Guest 2611A 24 volt Marine Battery Charger.
The new batteries are sealed batteries instead of the previous wet cell.

[merle&louise]

I just recently changed my starting batteries; they were 4 years old!

I installed 2 new 8D 1400 cranking amp Everready batteries from Batteries +.

All of my previous starting batteries only lasted 2 years. I installed Power Pulse on these batteries when they were new and it doubled the life of them. I am very happy with Power Pulse; I have it on all 6 of my AGMs for the house.

http://www.pulsetech.net/productinfo/product_sheets/RV_LIT.pdf

PowerPulse 12 is the one I have. You just connect it according to the directions and you are go to go.

This really works!:D

[BrianE]

Tom, I'm thinking those batteries were at least 5 years old. Sealed wet cell Interstates if memory serves??? Jon is right of course. Trying to stretch a failing set can be bad news as they can wreck havoc on the the entire system. :eek:

[phorner]

Tom,

If you still need 'em, St. Lucie Battery and Tire is a good resource for batteries.

If you need a hand, let me know....

[Devin W]

Begin noob alert:

I thought you can jump off of the house batteries if the chassis batteries don't have enough juice to crank the motor. I swear there is a switch in my interior switch/breaker panel that jumps them together. Would there be a reason not to use that?

Noob alert over (for now).

[jack14r]

I know that Newell uses Lifeline batteries for the starting(coach) batteries,has anyone else used them,and if so how have they performed.

[MangoMike]

Trukman,

JDUB and I are sending down the 3,293 left over watch batteries we have from POG II as a backup measure.

Who's your buddy.

mm

[Kenneth Brewer]

Begin noob alert:

I thought you can jump off of the house batteries if the chassis batteries don't have enough juice to crank the motor. I swear there is a switch in my interior switch/breaker panel that jumps them together. Would there be a reason not to use that?

Noob alert over (for now).

Good question. Jon? What about using jumper cables from the house to chassis batteries for emergencies, (in my case 24v to 24v)? Thanks.

[tdelorme]

Good question. Jon? What about using jumper cables from the house to chassis batteries for emergencies, (in my case 24v to 24v)? Thanks.

Our old Liberty had a booster switch that did just that, connect one battery bank to the other. I haven't given it any thought and don;t know if the new bus has the booster switch or not. Better check and see before the need arrises.
Thinking about it, the breaker labeled 24 volt charger or booster that Dave Wishnoff said to leave off may be just that.
Just about the time I think I have a handle on my systems, I find out how wrong I am. I was visiting with a fellow from Alaska last week who had sold a 2006 DS Marathon. His comment was that the coach was more than he could cope with system wise and he had gone back to a Foretravel for simplicity. I wouldn't do that, but it has crossed my mind now and again. Another good reason to buy a coach and keep her for a long time.

[merle&louise]

Jack,

I don't know what they are using in the newer coaches, but when I told them to put new batteries in my coach in January 2006, they put 2 wet cell Interstate 8Ds in for starting batteries and 6 - 8D Lifeline AGM for the house.

Next time I talk to the service department, I'll ask and let you know.

[jack14r]

Thanks Tuga,Lifeline makes starting and house batteries,Newell list the Lifeline as standard equipment for starting and house batteries.The Lifeline web site has different part numbers for each and they have different specs.

[michaeldterry]

Evangeline has a Battery Boost button that bridges the chassis and house batteries when an emergency need arises.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Ken raises a good question and he is correct to a limited extent.

First, I think Tom's bus is a 12V house so he does not have that option. All Liberty Classic coaches are 12V so jumping from the house is not an option. As I pointed out usually the failure is not the whole set of chassis batteries but one of them. Find the bad one, connect two of the good ones in series and connect the 12V center cable plus the 24 volt. That will provide power to spin the motor and the 12Volt (connect the equalizer) will keep the DDEC and lights working.

But for those that have a 24V house, such as the Elegant Lady, if the battereis for the house are accessible you can jumper for a start. My house batteries are behind the tag axle and very close to the jumper posts. Some however are behind the entertainment center in the 2nd passenger side bay and they are not easily accessed.

I could add a switch and a big relay to connect the two sets, but with the isolator so close, I might be tempted to just connect both sets of batteries using the isolator cables all connected together until I could replace the batteries. I would disconnect them if I had to overnight so the bad chassis batteries did not drag down the house.

[truk4u]

Mine is 12v and as Jon pointed out, no way to jump from the house to the chassis.

Devin - The parallel switch on your panel ties in the gen and house batteries if your gen battery goes dead.

Also, on my Liberty, the chassis charger will not work off the generator, only shore power, so there's no way to boost/charge the chassis without plugging in. In my case, that's good to know because if I don't have shore power and the chassis batteries die, I'm screwed.

Thanks to Paul, group 31 wet sealed Deka's can be had here at PSL for 69.95.

[Devin W]

Mine is 12v and as Jon pointed out, no way to jump from the house to the chassis.

Devin - The parallel switch on your panel ties in the gen and house batteries if your gen battery goes dead.

Also, on my Liberty, the chassis charger will not work off the generator, only shore power, so there's no way to boost/charge the chassis without plugging in. In my case, that's good to know because if I don't have shore power and the chassis batteries die, I'm screwed.

Thanks to Paul, group 31 wet sealed Deka's can be had here at PSL for 69.95.

Tom, thanks for the clarification -- my manual is for a '96 and it doesn't mention what the parallel switch is for so I assumed it was like the one on my old Monaco.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Before assuming the parallel switch joins the house and chassis batteries I think the circuit needs to be researched.

I had a parallel switch on my 87 Liberty. However.......my house was set up with several DC load centers. I had the fuses and CBs in the second bay, but I also had several other DC panels with fuses and CBs located in proximity to their loads such as behind the vanity drawer in the bedroom.

Because of the way Liberty distributed the house DC voltage the six house batteries were set up in two sets, each set powering a part of the house DC requirements. I cannot remember much of the specifics, but I do remember each set had its own converter (charger) and if one set of batteries was turned off all the devices and circuits on that set received no DC voltage.

The battery parallel switch on that coach would merge both sets of house batteries. It would not join the house and chassis batteries. It could not because the house was 12V and the chassis was 24V.

So if you have a Liberty and it has a battery parallel switch verify what it does and do not assume it will help you if you have dead chassis batteries. A further caution also: As coaches age they are "upgraded". Owners through the years would remove converters for example and switch over to inverter/chargers. If the work was done in a less than professional manner you may not have certain functions you think you have so it is important to learn and verify how your coach is set up.