I just got my 1st Class A RV for some future trips. It is a 2005 Four Winds Hurricane 30Q w/ Ford V10. I currently have it at my house while I fix things up and I decided to spend a night on it to give a test run. I had it plugged to a 15 amp outlet in my garage and I only used a 1200w oil heater inside to stay warm for the night. It worked fine and no breakers were tripped. But when I woke up, the chassis battery seemed to have drained. The radio wouldn't come on and the RV engine would not start or even make a whimper.I put the chassis battery on a Battery Tender Plus 1.25amp charger and let it charge over 2 days until it was 100% charged. The RV started right up and the battery seemed ok. BUT I don't know if I just noticed this or if this is new, but while the engine is running, I am not able to use the following items together. Any one of the items work alone, but if you try a 2nd one, it won't start.1. Headlight2. In-dash charge plug (12v)3. In-dash A/C4. RadioThe order of priority seems to be 1, 2, 3, 4. If I turn on the headlight, then all others go out. If I have something plugged into the charger (phone, gps) or try to start the A/C, then the radio power goes out. Also, when the A/C is on, the fan is very weak and I can barely feel it blowing. This is regardless of whether the engine is on or not.I am thinking that this may be an issue with the alternator, but I wanted to ask the knowledgeable gurus on here before I started tearing anything out.I charged the battery this morning and took the Battery Tender off so I am curious to see how the battery is doing tonight. I had the chassis battery switch to the off position this morning so hopefully nothing was draining it, but I'm not sure what is going on. Any help in the right direction would be appreciated.

Welcome to RV.net!What is year, make and model of the rig?What chassis is the rig on?have you had the battery tested?You could just have some corroded battery terminals.Another item depending on make and model of the rig, is in the battery control center the ignition relay is not working. This provides power to coach manufacturer installed items and some accessories such as the radio, electric mirrors, step.

enblethen wrote:Welcome to RV.net!What is year, make and model of the rig?What chassis is the rig on?have you had the battery tested?You could just have some corroded battery terminals.Another item depending on make and model of the rig, is in the battery control center the ignition relay is not working. This provides power to coach manufacturer installed items and some accessories such as the radio, electric mirrors, step.Thanks. 2005, Four Winds Hurricane, Ford V10. Not sure of the chassis.I tested it with a multimeter and the chassis battery was at 12v in the morning which tipped me off to the fact that it had drained out (not sure why) and I charged it and it's now a nice 12.9v.It has a "salesman's switch" at the stairs with both a chassis and house battery kill switches. I thought you have to have both on for the shore power to keep both batteries charging. So I left both switches on while I was sleeping. Perhaps the 15amp power wasn't sufficient to power the heater and charge the batteries at the same time? But why would it drain the chassis battery?

Your rig is most likely on an E450 chassis.The chassis battery quite often is not charged by the shore power cord. Some are and some are not.There should be a battery control center somewhere. It should have a relay that will charge the house batteries from the engine.Measure the voltage on the chassis battery with engine off. Then start the rig and measure the voltage with the engine running. Running it should be around 13.8 volts.Some rigs have a switch to run the radio off the coach battery system. If you listening to the radio for some time at night it could have drained the chassis battery.

I would suggest a higher capacity charger for those emergency moments. 1.25A will barely make a dent in big deeply discharged batteries. At a voltage of 12.9 it may not have reached it's maximum charge. Was the battery voltage still rising or did you just stop at 12.9? Normal charging with a smart charger is to take the battery up to at least 14.4 until the voltage stops rising. A float (maintaining) voltage is usually around 13.2 or so give or take a decimal or two.I suspect the battery has reached or past it's "best before" date.A hydrometer will tell you the real story.

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:I would suggest a higher capacity charger for those emergency moments. 1.25A will barely make a dent in big deeply discharged batteries. At a voltage of 12.9 it may not have reached it's maximum charge. Was the battery voltage still rising or did you just stop at 12.9? Normal charging with a smart charger is to take the battery up to at least 14.4 until the voltage stops rising. A float (maintaining) voltage is usually around 13.2 or so give or take a decimal or two.I suspect the battery has reached or past it's "best before" date.A hydrometer will tell you the real story.The charger charges at 14.4v until 80% charged and then reduces the voltage. The 12.9v was the resting voltage. It's a trickle charger and not meant for emergency charging. I have AAA for that, although having a portable battery starter would come in handy I'm sure.But the real mystery isn't the battery, but why the dash a/c, radio, etc. won't run at the same time, even when the engine is running.

Electrical Problems! Chassis Battery / Alternator Issues.

26 Replies

CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Nov 24, 2014
Bad batteries can cause all kinds of strange behavior. First have the batteries load tested at a auto store. Charge with a good charger with at least 20A. Buy a digital voltmeter to help determine SOC and charging voltage.
sd2usa2
Explorer
Nov 24, 2014
Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
I would suggest a higher capacity charger for those emergency moments. 1.25A will barely make a dent in big deeply discharged batteries. At a voltage of 12.9 it may not have reached it's maximum charge. Was the battery voltage still rising or did you just stop at 12.9? Normal charging with a smart charger is to take the battery up to at least 14.4 until the voltage stops rising. A float (maintaining) voltage is usually around 13.2 or so give or take a decimal or two.

I suspect the battery has reached or past it's "best before" date.

A hydrometer will tell you the real story.

The charger charges at 14.4v until 80% charged and then reduces the voltage. The 12.9v was the resting voltage. It's a trickle charger and not meant for emergency charging. I have AAA for that, although having a portable battery starter would come in handy I'm sure.

But the real mystery isn't the battery, but why the dash a/c, radio, etc. won't run at the same time, even when the engine is running.
Canadian_Rainbi
Explorer
Nov 24, 2014
I would suggest a higher capacity charger for those emergency moments. 1.25A will barely make a dent in big deeply discharged batteries. At a voltage of 12.9 it may not have reached it's maximum charge. Was the battery voltage still rising or did you just stop at 12.9? Normal charging with a smart charger is to take the battery up to at least 14.4 until the voltage stops rising. A float (maintaining) voltage is usually around 13.2 or so give or take a decimal or two.

I suspect the battery has reached or past it's "best before" date.

A hydrometer will tell you the real story.
enblethen
Nomad
Nov 24, 2014
Your rig is most likely on an E450 chassis.
The chassis battery quite often is not charged by the shore power cord. Some are and some are not.
There should be a battery control center somewhere. It should have a relay that will charge the house batteries from the engine.
Measure the voltage on the chassis battery with engine off. Then start the rig and measure the voltage with the engine running. Running it should be around 13.8 volts.
Some rigs have a switch to run the radio off the coach battery system. If you listening to the radio for some time at night it could have drained the chassis battery.
sd2usa2
Explorer
Nov 24, 2014
enblethen wrote:
Welcome to RV.net!
What is year, make and model of the rig?
What chassis is the rig on?
have you had the battery tested?
You could just have some corroded battery terminals.
Another item depending on make and model of the rig, is in the battery control center the ignition relay is not working. This provides power to coach manufacturer installed items and some accessories such as the radio, electric mirrors, step.

Thanks. 2005, Four Winds Hurricane, Ford V10. Not sure of the chassis.
I tested it with a multimeter and the chassis battery was at 12v in the morning which tipped me off to the fact that it had drained out (not sure why) and I charged it and it's now a nice 12.9v.
It has a "salesman's switch" at the stairs with both a chassis and house battery kill switches. I thought you have to have both on for the shore power to keep both batteries charging. So I left both switches on while I was sleeping. Perhaps the 15amp power wasn't sufficient to power the heater and charge the batteries at the same time? But why would it drain the chassis battery?
enblethen
Nomad
Nov 24, 2014
Welcome to RV.net!
What is year, make and model of the rig?
What chassis is the rig on?
have you had the battery tested?
You could just have some corroded battery terminals.
Another item depending on make and model of the rig, is in the battery control center the ignition relay is not working. This provides power to coach manufacturer installed items and some accessories such as the radio, electric mirrors, step.

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Electrical Problems! Chassis Battery / Alternator Issues.

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