Doris is Dead!
Hello all- I sure hope you can help me! We have a huge problem. We are in the middle of a trip, and our youngest daughter ( we became guardians at age 50 because the girls were being abused) in one of...
Forum Discussion
DKLilly67 wrote:
We have now been running generator for about 20 minutes and we can see the charge in the batteries going up, but it still not enough to start engine, let alone turn anything else on.
I'll jump in here, with the caveat that there's still not enough info to make a definitive diagnosis of what's going on. My experience comes from owning and operating Class A RVs 28 years. I'll concede I find it curious that you're the one who's having to try to address these problems.
"and we can see the charge in the batteries going up" - WHICH batteries? House or starting batteries?
Your RV has two mutually-exclusive electrical systems. It has an engine starting system, and a house battery system and each depends on its own separate charging system.
What that means is, your could have lights, etc, that depend on your house batteries to work, and still not be able to start your engine, if the starting batteries are discharged.
The usual way starting batteries are recharged is through the alternator that operates when your engine is running. The converter that normally recharges your house batteries usually won't recharge your starting batteries. System design varies by manufacturer.
Our present Class A has a 12v trickle charger which keeps the starting batteries topped off when our RV is connected to shore power. Yours may, or it may not. If your engine starting batteries are discharged, and shore power doesn't recharge them, you may need to use an external charger to get your engine started.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All the above are variables, which may or may not apply to your RV, due to variations among brands.
With no more information, it's impossible to give any further advice.
