Printable View
Only problem is... the batteries died while continuously plugged into shore power.
That's what has me concerned. If I lose the chassis batteries while maintaining power to the coach, something has to be wrong.
The coach sat for about 3 weeks, house power connectd all the time, since the last start-up, and the chassis batteries were dead.
Since we live in the bus full-time, I have no objection to keeping it plugged in when the alternator isn't keeping things charged up.
Paul,
You can be plugged into shore power, but if there is no battery charging provision on your chassis batteries they are going to go dead because of the parasitic load. That is why they are a bad thing.
I have sat for at least 3 months, with my chassis switches ON, no charger for the chassis batteries, opening bay doors on occasion (drawing power from the batteries due to lights which I think are chassis) and still had plenty of battery power to start the coach. The object is to get your coach to a point where you do not have to worry about dead batteries. In fact judging by the size of the wires that parasitic load is not a tiny one if it is on a circuit that is hot at all times.
I have zero issues with loads being connected to either set of batteries if two conditions are met, neither of which appears to be the case with your coach. First, the circuit is fused or protected at the batteries. Every inch of wire between the circuit protection and the battery post is an unfused hazard. Second, the circuit is not "on" except when you turn it on so you can control if it draws down your batteries. If an unprotected or poorly protected circuit is on all the time (fuse no further than 18" from the battery post) you not only have a current draw you have a potential fire hazard.
I went through this issue on my previous coach where a previous owner did some shade tree engineering and hooked the Racor heater element directly to the batteries. The thing that made it impossible to quickly locate was it wasn't drawing current until the internal thermostat called for heat, so I couldn't find the current draw until it got cold. The only thing I beleive to be directly from any of my batteries now is my CB and I have no clue why, but it is called out in my owner's manual to be that way.
Paul, just to review, you have the chassis batteries charged, the bus starts and everything is fine, the bus charging is ok, except you need to replace the ends on the two cables in the photo?
I reconnected the damaged wires and fired up the bus. Good news is it started.
But, I'm getting readings from the Liberty gauges of 15 and 27 volts, respectively, including 15 or more volts for the house batteries.
With the high house battery voltages, the inverters are in a fault stage of some sort.
Shore power is disconnected at the breaker in the 1st bay.
Can you leave the cables with the bad ends disconnected to see if your still getting draw down on your chassis batteries. If you can do this in the dark, touch the bad positive cables, almost a striking against the post to see if you have much draw or if you have a DC amp meter that would be the best to check draw.
I think I would leave them disconnected for a few days to see what's going on with those cables.
Paul,
The 27 volt chassis voltage is OK. I would expect to see it climb to around 27.7 or thereabouts as the batteries get fully charged.
The 15 volt for the house is a little high unless the inverter went into equalize mode. Is your equalizer hooked back up? 13.8 to 14.2 would be around where I would expect to see the house when the inverters are maintaining the charge on fully charged batteries.
Why is the shore power off in the coach and not in the campground the power outlet? If you are trying to verify everything is OK you want to make sure all switches and devices are in the normal mode.
Jon,
I shut the power off at the breaker in the bus bay simply as a matter of convenience. I subsequently then shut down the breaker in the resort power pedestal.
One thing that I've learned is that the inverters do not like to have me start the bus while connected to shore power. For some reason, when I do this, it acts as if the house batteries are getting over charged (which, I guess they are, since both the inverter/chargers are working as well as the alternator at that point) so I have to remember to disconnect from shore power before starting the engine.
I did notice that the dash engine monitor clock display went back to a flashing 12:00 after I had shut down the 12 and 24 volt disconnects, which indicates to me that this "draw" can be eliminated by using the disconnect switches. But that should, in my opinion, draw very little current and shouldn't have been enough to kill the chassis batteries in less than a month.
I'm sure things will be better once I have everything down to a set procedure and gain more experience in using the bus.
It was a real eye-opener to turn that ignition key and have absolutely nothing happen!
Is there a good way to measure the current draw from the chassis batteries while parked and in a "shut down" (both disconnects in the off position) mode? If so, that seems to be a good starting place to figure out what I need to do next. My ultimate plan is to install the battery charger that you recommended, which should arrive in the next week or so.
You can use a clamp type meter that measures DC current (Fluke 336A for example) or a multimeter that has a current measuring capability. If the draw is greater than 10 amps that will exceed most meters, but not the clamp type.
I'd have to get more familiar with your coach because some stuff doesn't sound right. Both the inverters and engine driven alternator sense current and regulate the voltage so you could have three chargers on there and the battery voltage is unlikely to exceed a certain preset value. That is why I questioned if the inverters went into equalize which is a higher voltage than the bulk charge voltage, and which the inverters are capable of doing. It is not a bad thing if that is what happened, but it is a bad thing if the voltages are out of control.
On your bus the house should have a dedicated alternator specifically for the house. If the higher voltage is present when the bus is runnning I would be very suspicious of the alternator or the voltage regulator (most likely).
Paul, when you have the bus engine off and you go to the dash, can you see the volts of the chassis batts? My thinking is if you can then watch the chassis battery volts over a period to see if they are dropping. Ours doesn't loose volt while just sitting, but I normaly flip the disconnect. I still would leave the cables with the bad ends off, I have a feeling they are coming from the house batteries.
It would sure be fun to be parked next to you, so we could see for sure what your dealing with.
Thanks for all the help.
Dale, if you really wanna have fun, Lot 24, right next to me in Outdoor Resorts, is available!
The mystery wires that had the bad connections have all the appearances of an "original" installation.
So, I'll continue tomonitor the situation. At least I know what I need to do to get the batteries charged if need be.
I've schedulled a service appointment to have everything checked out and to have my handiwork on the replacement cable ends inspected.