Won't Start After Battery Change Out

[wmoureau]

I donot know where to post this question so here goes I have a 97 liberty tha would not turn over since my batteries where over 4 years old replaced all 4 with 1000cca batteries took pictures off wiring so they are connected ok but starter will not turn over engine wha do I look at next thank you in advance wayne moureau

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Verify the battery wiring is correct. Then do it again. That is perhaps the most common reason why a bus will not start after a battery change.

On the coach you should also have smaller wires connected to the batteries. These go directly to the circuit breaker(s) for the DDEC. I believe them to be 12 volt, but if you need specifics I will look at mine and give precise information. Make certain these are in place and there is power to the DDEC circuit breakers. I think they will be CB19 thru 21 in the rear box, but check the diagram on the rear door to verify that. If they don't get power DDEC will not work and the coach will not run.

Since you indicate the starter will not turn over the engine check the three way switch at the rear electric box. (Front start. off, rear start). See if it will start in the rear start position. Verify it has power and continuity.

In the rear electric box is a solenoid for the starter. Verify it is working as it should. If in doubt swap it out with one you know works.

Being lazy and not liking to do a lot of unnecessary work I start with the things that require little or no effort, so the first thing I would do is flip the switch to rear start and push the start button. If that works it eliminates the need to do much other work. If that does not work then I would systematically go through things step by step.

[wmoureau]

jon I checked wires with my picture and some wires that hook negative side on # 3 battery had dropped on side .Ifound them hooked nthem up all is fine thank you wqyne moureau

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Wayne,

By far the most common cause I have found has been an issue with the battery wires. You are not alone.

[jack14r]

It is so easy to miss one of the small wires when replacing the chassis batteries,I take pictures and also draw a diagram and list how many wires are on each battery post and number each wire,I know this is overkill but it works for me.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We all have our secrets. Jack's method is a good one. I wrap the ends of each cable with masking tape and put a number on it to correspond to a number I assign to each battery post location. And then when I put everything back together I check and check again matching my cables with the diagram on the side door. It is so easy to make a mistake.

How it gets done is less important than getting it done right.

I will not name names, but on two occasions I have had owners call in a panic when a mechanic changed the batteries, re-installed the cables (incorrectly) and then the bus would not start, or it would not charge the batteries correctly. Both times it was insisted the cables were put back correctly and after ruling out every other possibility the cables were re-examined and an error was found. I just hope the owners were not charged for the time the "professionals" spent attempting to sort things out.

[truk4u]

I do the same as Jon by taping, numbering and I put rubber caps on the positive posts just as insurance until I'm ready to hook everything up. I also then check the voltage to make sure 12 and 24 are present before I turn back on the cut-off switches and hook the ground wire back to the Equalizer.

As a reminder, the first thing you should do is remove the ground wire from the Equalizer before removing any cables.

[wmoureau]

what I did was to take several pictures, then put on each end tape with P1 N1 P2 N2 plus the best thing I found at home depot some zip ties for electric that had room to also tag which post they went and zipped the wires from that post together that helped a lot thanks wmoureau

[LA-HODAG]

Wayne, speaking as someone who has been there, check the two battery disconnects...