House Batteries Not Charging

[mike kerley]

Granvil, Are you certine you have only one engine driven alternator for all the batteries, chassis and house?

How many house batteries do you have and what size are they. What does the voltage on them read, engine off and engine running fast idle?

Do you have a drawing for the house electrical system?

Have you looked at every circuit breaker in the engine and electrical compartment and checked power on both sides (12 or 24 V)?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Granvil Ed is there with you he has a Vantare and is very knowlegable on his stuff. I think it is exactly the same wiring as you.

Let him help you reprogram your inverters, wont take but a few minuites and you really need to know how to do it anyway.

Every time you disconect them from the batteries you need to reprogram them to choose the source of charge.

All you Vantare owners take note, ol Sawdust has very quietly become a bit of a resident expert on those conversions.

[grantracy]

thanks for all the replys, Ed is here and been helpful. I believe it is a faulty cable between the isolator and the bus bar. Mike: it is a single alternator ( I believe 270 amp) it is only the 24v side that is a problem ..tomorrow I am going to a prevost authorized serice center to see if they can confirm my suspicions

[0533]

Hello Granvil,

Often times Prevost Car will not be much help if the problem is on the house side. They will spend your $ for sure looking but it is best to carefully evaluate the source for all charging before heading out to Prevost car, this includes the following: With a single 270 AMP alternator that is responsible for charging both the chassis and the house (marathon older units the same way) there has to be some type of sensing capability for the alternator to sense demand from the house side.

On a Marathon single alternator hookup the 270 AMP alternator senses the house side not the chassis side for charging purposes. In other words follow the alternator wires to the regulator, from the regulator the wire (Prevost wire code) should go to the chassis main shutoff at the rear C/S back door in a Prevost configuration, but if the sense wire from the regulator is sensing the need for a load at the house side the wire will be spliced from a Prevost coded wire into a converter coded wire and attached to the House main 12/24 volt shutoff, you will be able to see this connection if you follow the wires. once you have established this, then you can follow the wires to the fuses (inline) to the Isolator and if installed the Load Balancers and on to the inverter chargers to the house batteries. some where in this chain of events there must be a fault. I would also take a look at the regulator to make sure it is supplying the correct output from the alternator, make sure the house (converter fuses) shutoff fuses are OK.

In most cases the reason for moving the sense wire from the chassis side to the house side for charging is because the house will call for a charge and have a greater demand before the chassis side does while underway if you have AC loads on in the bus and do not have the generator running.

[grantracy]

Thanks for the reply, resolved the problem. Was a combination of a faulty cable( compromised somehow) and the cable limiter reducing voltage by around 4v. Replaced cable and tossed limiter( was not on original schematic anyway) Bruce did I see correctly that you sold your coach?

[0533]

Sadly I do not have a bus to worry about any longer, will be picking up a ride soon though, need to get out of my Toad.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Rumor has it you have an "H", remember I asked, "where in the H are you".

Sorry to hear of your plight, but I have a feeling you are happy

JIM

[0533]

I saved enough money in repairs and upgrades to cover the next stimulus plan. The only thing I really regret is not being able to purchase new 365 tires and wheels. My wife said My tire thing was like her shoe fetish and about the same price.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Well it's done now and I'm happy for you. Sorry though that you didn't get to complete your trip!

JIM

[ajducote]

Okay Bruce, it is time to spill the beans for the rest of us. Where are you guys? What happen to your bus? And what is the new bus and when do you get it?
I guess this thread has gotten way of track...