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Thread: Alternator(s?) on 03 Liberty

  1. #11
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    Nov 2007
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    Back to square one for Debbie and her house alternator. After talking to alternator shop today, and learning how to use my trusty multimeter, Eric and I finally found time to investigate the alternator issue. This evening, with the bus engine running, the gauge on the dash read normal and voltage at alternator was normal (as checked with our multimeter). So now we know our problem must be intermittent, because it all sure seemed to be working properly this evening. I know for sure it has not been working 2 times, since the batteries were not charging when we were driving, and the gauge on the dash indicated that there was a problem. The batteries charge normally on shore power and generator, and they seem to hold a charge well, so I don't think it is a battery issue. Connection of big wires to alternator are both tight. Belt is good. So, question is this: does an intermittent problem indicate that the alternator is about to puke? Do we now remove it and have it bench tested or is it likely something unrelated? Did we just have a spontaneous fix????

    Second question,is very specific to a 2003 Liberty Lady Classic. If we need to remove the alternator, I see the two mounting bolts, so getting it out doesn't look too hard. I would like to disconnect the battery supply to the alternator so we don't fry ourselves or the bus. I see the switch in the 2nd bay drivers side that says 12 volt House Battery disconnect. I assume this is what accomplishes this task. I confirmed this with Troy at Liberty told me all I needed to do was disconnect the battery here,simple as that, but when I opened that bay I saw a yellow sign below that cut off that says "Do not turn off house battery disconnect unless battery watchdog is disconnected. Failure to comply will result in generator control circuit failure. Heart Remote Panels must also be reprogrammed. See yellow instruction tag at 110 distribution panel" YIKES. Does this mean that if I don't disconnect the watchdog that all that bad stuff will happen, or does it mean that if I cut off watch dog, then disconnect the battery that I will still have to reprogram the heart remote panels? So, how do you disconnect the watchdog???? It is frustrating to know just enough to not know enough. But at least I learned how to use my multimeter today Deb

  2. #12
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    Deb,

    You can have an intermittent alternator. You can have a problem in the regulator or something internal to the alternator so my free advice is if you know the alternator has not been charging on at least two occasions, pull it and either get a shop to rebuild it, letting them know of your issue, or just buy a new one. When you run the generator or have shore power the inverters become battery chargers so if you do want to run the alternator to total failure it is not the end of the world. I struggled for a couple of years with an intermittent alternator on the plane. It always checked good and it drove me and mechanics crazy looking for the problem in the alternator or the voltage control units. I could reset it the voltage control unit circuit and the problem might not reappear for hundreds of hours. You could be dealing with an equally frustrating issue.

    As to removing the alternator, if that is how you choose to go......If you choose to not reprogram the inverters or disconnect the Watchdog leave the bus connected to shore power in the barn. When you disconnect the wires at the alternator just remember they are "hot". That means if the big wire terminal hits a ground (anything metal) you are going to get a big spark, but you can handle that terminal all day long and nothing will happen to you because it is only 12 volts. Just carefully loosen the nut, and use care to not allow the wrench to come in contact with anything other than the nut, unthread it by hand with the terminal being held in place. When the nut and washers are off, remove the terminal and tape it to prevent it from accidently hitting any metal and grounding out until you are ready to reinstall it. Ditto on the other terminals.

    Your inverters will keep the batteries charged up and the Watchdog and inverters will not even know you removed the alternator.

  3. #13
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    Deb,

    For what it's worth, when I changed out our 12 volt alternator, I simply disconnected the leads and taped them to keep any accidental sparks from flying. There will be 12 volts coming "back" to the alternator from the battery bank.

    Also, unless you have the bus set up with the generator set to auto-start, I don't see an issue with the battery watch-dog.

    Once I had the leads removed and taped, I simply removed the alternator and took it to a local shop for repair. My problem was also intermittent and was likely a problem with the voltage regulator which in my case was part of the alternator.

    Good luck with your project. It's much easier than you think.

    Bring that bus to Port Saint Lucie and I'll be happy to give you a hand!

  4. #14
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    Thanks, Jon. That is exactly what I needed to hear. Deb

  5. #15
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    Folks,

    What does the Watchdog do?

  6. #16
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    The Battery Watchdog is Liberty Coach's generator auto-start system.

  7. #17
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    Mar 2006
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    Hi Deb. I had a similar problem with my charging system. The guages were going haywire. I replaced the electronic voltage regulator which is attached to the wall above the batterries and all was well.
    A Watchdog is Liberty's electronic box which will auto start the generator when the house batteries go low.
    Gary & Lise Deinhard, 2003 Elegant Lady Liberty, Dbl slide

  8. #18
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    Deb and Eric have a Classic which uses dual alternators and I think the house alternator has an internal regulator.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Wehrenberg View Post
    Deb and Eric have a Classic which uses dual alternators and I think the house alternator has an internal regulator.
    Yep, I think so too, Jon.

    Mine is set up that way..... and that's where the problem was in my case. So I had the alternator re-built (including a new regulator) and all is well.

  10. #20
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    David,

    Forgot to respond earlier.

    The "Watchdog" is a Liberty proprietary generator auto-start and monitoring system. It will start the generator when house battery voltage gets down to a specific level, if set, it will start the generator upon interruption of shore power, and it monitors to make sure all operating conditions such as temps and oil pressure are within limits.

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