Bought an old Class C - Electrical question?
Hi all-
A friend of mine and I just bought an old 1978 Dodge Midas Class C motorhome to use on a property she just bought until the home is built. To be honest, the thing is a bit of a mess, but we're making good (but slow) progress on remodeling it. Neither of us has ever owned an RV before, so we are figuring it out as we go along.
Here is my question: The "aux" lights are powered by two 12 volt batteries wired in parallel. There is also a 120v cord that you can plug into shore power to power those lights, which seems pretty standard. There are also two switches: one in the front to totally shut off the aux system, which also seems pretty standard. The second switch lives in the compartment with the batteries, two circuit breakers, the inverter and a (nonfunctional) generator. We bought an external gas generator to plug into for now.
When the RV is driven, it seems like the alternator does a good job of charging the batteries. However, when plugged into the external generator/ shore power, the batteries don't seem to charge. Additionally, when connected to shore power and the switch next to the batteries is "off" the aux lights don't don't draw power from shorepower, but from the batteries (very dim but working). When the switch is moved to the on position, the place nights up like a Christmas tree and is clearly drawing power from the generator/ shore power.
So, now that I've done my best to give enough detail: Do any of you have thoughts as to why the batteries aren't charging when plugged in, but do from the alternator? Do you think the switch I mentioned has to remain in the "off" position to direct power to the batteries, and if so shouldn't the lights inside still be bright or does it just take a long time for the batteries to build up enough charge for that?
We are heading up to the property tomorrow, and I'm hoping to correct this issue. Thank you so much for any advice you might be able to provide! -J
A friend of mine and I just bought an old 1978 Dodge Midas Class C motorhome to use on a property she just bought until the home is built. To be honest, the thing is a bit of a mess, but we're making good (but slow) progress on remodeling it. Neither of us has ever owned an RV before, so we are figuring it out as we go along.
Here is my question: The "aux" lights are powered by two 12 volt batteries wired in parallel. There is also a 120v cord that you can plug into shore power to power those lights, which seems pretty standard. There are also two switches: one in the front to totally shut off the aux system, which also seems pretty standard. The second switch lives in the compartment with the batteries, two circuit breakers, the inverter and a (nonfunctional) generator. We bought an external gas generator to plug into for now.
When the RV is driven, it seems like the alternator does a good job of charging the batteries. However, when plugged into the external generator/ shore power, the batteries don't seem to charge. Additionally, when connected to shore power and the switch next to the batteries is "off" the aux lights don't don't draw power from shorepower, but from the batteries (very dim but working). When the switch is moved to the on position, the place nights up like a Christmas tree and is clearly drawing power from the generator/ shore power.
So, now that I've done my best to give enough detail: Do any of you have thoughts as to why the batteries aren't charging when plugged in, but do from the alternator? Do you think the switch I mentioned has to remain in the "off" position to direct power to the batteries, and if so shouldn't the lights inside still be bright or does it just take a long time for the batteries to build up enough charge for that?
We are heading up to the property tomorrow, and I'm hoping to correct this issue. Thank you so much for any advice you might be able to provide! -J
