Adrian, please see Steve Bare's post and determine if you have the low voltage chassis charger in the street side bay. If so, my view is the you should seldom, if ever, need to merge the batteries. The engine will charge both sets of batteries through the issolater (sp?) and the Zantrex, tied to the small chassis charger, should keep both charged when operating with the generator or external power. A few years ago I accidentally merged the batteries, ran down the house batteries and could not start the engine. Thereafter, I taped the merge switch in the off, center, position. Just my opinion based on my experience.
2001 Newell #579
tow a Honda Odyssey
fun car: 1935 Mercedes 500K replica
It looks like the battery voltage is at 12.5 for both bank 1 and 2 (my house banks are split for some odd reason.
I failed yesterday to do the analysis on the batteries because it was Sunday and my body had to rest...
I will try to check them today.
Chester: I always use the merge switch when sitting still (PLUGGED IN TO SHORE POWER) - unless there is something fishy with yours you should be able to keep all your batteries charged when sitting for a while; this operation would use your inverter/charger to keep the batteries up (including the engine starting batteries). Apparently when the switch is flipped in the UP position the house batteries are used to energize a solenoid to connect the banks together. If the switch is flipped in the DOWN position then the engine batteries are used to energize the solenoid and charge all the batteries. This switch also enables you to be able to connect the house and engine batteries together to start either the engine or generator. Once you start the engine you should turn the merge function OFF (middle position).
I just learned that the generator has an alternator on it to charge the batteries but it is pretty weak (if it works) and does not charge very fast. I am slowly learning and documenting the electrical system and Tom helped me to see the light a little more clearly yesterday with a drawing and explanation. He should give a clinic on electrical systems at one of the rallies! I am working on a diagram of his drawing to show the different systems in the coach and how they work together - I can share a link but it is in LucidChart.com so you have to join to see it...
Here is the current (DRAFT) drawing and I'll update it as I get more info and time.
Anyone else have a SPLIT battery bank? i.e., I have a passenger-side bay capable of holding up to 4 house batteries and also a smaller bay in front of the passenger side rear wheels that holds 2 more batteries. I have noticed that these are SPLIT and you have to use one of two switches in the larger bay to turn them on. I also noticed that the 4 house batteries seem to charge whereas the two house batteries do not. I'm going to look for some type of wiring on a shunt somewhere in the bay today to see if there is a wire missing/loose that is keeping them from charging. Since these are new batteries maybe someone disconnected the shunt wires (if that's possible)…
Yes, the bank was split in 512. It was tied together at posts mounted inside the larger battery bay. I only have one switch in the house battery bay. It connected or disconnected all six batteries on the ground side.
I also have one battery disconnect switch in the engine compartment for disconnecting the engine batteries.
You said "the 4 house batteries seem to charge and the 2 in the other bay do not". How did you reach that conclusion? The data you reported said both banks were 12.5 volts.
We can help more when you report the readings that I suggested.
I respectfully disagree with the strategy of leaving the merge switch on to keep the coach batteries charged. In my unasked for opinion, it will leave you stranded with no way of cranking anything to get going. Since they are all tied together, one day of leaving something on kills all the batteries if the power is interuppted or the charger faults.
Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home )
I agree with Richard on the merge switch use. IMO it's much better to just add an Amplstart or other brand that takes power from the house batteries (which are usually charged by the inverter or if you have solar) and sends a small charge to the chassis batteries.
These devices have an automatic cutoff that will not let the chassis batteries charge if the house batteries are below a certain voltage. Cheap insurance.
BTW if you have a Power Pulse on your batteries then this device is not the same as the above and does consumer power from the batteries it's hooked up to.
I agree with Richard and Forest IF the coach is unplugged but I was referring to when the coach was plugged in for a longer stay. I would NEVER merge the batts if boon-docking overnight - you are correct, that’s asking for trouble! :-)
Thank you guys for catching that! I have corrected it in my post... It’s been such a long week.
I’m now at All Aboard America spending the night (Thanks Leo and Tom for recommending him!!!)
Leo is outstanding and I highly recommend him! He had a last minute cancellation and wifey said ‘Get it Fixed!!!’ So we are going to be here tomorrow getting some stuff done including fixing some leaks on the new engine :-(
BTW, Karen taught me something today: we added a hot water dispenser at the sink and I blindly plugged it in to the socket where the Garbage Disposal (Garberator for you Canucks lol ) plugs in. I didn’t realize there was a switch under the cabinet to turn it off... I was worried it would suck down the batteries when using the inverter...
If I ever get done cleaning the exterior of the coach tonight I will try to run the tests... maybe I need a break ...
It seems to have sorted itself out - I remounted the inverter and found out that the auxiliary plug (in the same bay as the inverter - looks like a 30amp plug) had come loose and was causing wierdness in my 120-volt appliances. The coach is charging all the battery banks going down the road from the engine alternator without the merge switch turned on - Newell confirmed this is normal. As I recall, the batteries are staying around 12.8 or so and everything is working well. We are going on a trip to Virginia tomorrow for a new project and will confirm everything is working as advertised.
Thanks again for all your help and advice!
)
