House batteries not charging -- Road Trek

Good for her!!

Please let her know that there are thousands of women RVing solo.
Most people she meets on the road will be helpful / able to assist her should problems arise. There's a learning curve in most any new venture, it's often steeper for some than for others. I hope she will not be discouraged.
She's lucky to have a friend in you!

Note: No one, male or female, was born with infinite knowledge of everything; how to use a voltmeter, as an example. Once she is introduced to the voltmeter, as an example, she will have that knowledge and the ability to apply it. It isn't rocket science, and the fewer who try to mystify the process, the better off we will all be!

P.S. I appreciate your noting that many of us weren't encouraged, nor socialized, to gain mechanical knowledge / experience. As a matter of fact, for many it was discouraged, and mystified, but, once the curtain was / is pulled back, most become adept, or at least competent at it.

Again, good luck to your friend!!

cannesdo wrote:


Hey...grumpy guy...I made it clear she's brand new to the Road Trek thing. He husband died 18 months ago from lung cancer that took him just two months after they even knew there *was* cancer, and just a week after she decided to retire so they could go on the road together. She's been in the pit and wearing a groove in her park model floor from pacing for hours on end -- for 18 months straight -- from the shock and pain. She went right from her abusive father's home to the arms of a really wonderful man at a very early age and didn't even know how to read a map until last month.

I'm incredibly proud of her courage to get back on the horse and go out and try to enjoy the world again, on her own, for the first time in her life. It's astounding what she's tackled in just the last few weeks. So how about cutting the woman a little slack and giving her time to catch up? The women you seem to have so much disdain for were inside cleaning your house and cooking your meals all your life while you were outside learning about circuits and tools and transmission coolers.

You tone is *incredibly* disrespectful. Your own personal unhappiness is evident. If you're not here to be helpful and to make other people's days better and their loads lighter perhaps you should turn off the computer and find some stray animals to kick.

Seriously...Unbelievable.

Does the generator owners manual have any info on this?

Following up. She drove it 2 1/2 hrs for a weekend get-away and was able to turn the switch on when she arrived. Everything's working fine. The battery charge just dropped too low I guess. Even after the problem resolved the blue light is still on. ? From now on she's going to charge it regularly when she's home with shore power since she doesn't do much when home except drive to the grocery store which is a block away.

Now she's wondering about an amber light that comes on when she runs the generator. Anyone know what that might be? Forgot to ask what kind it is, but is it normal for a light to come on when it's running. I've never had one.

I have studied electronics and worked on them a lot and don't carry a VOM with me. I can use a 12V lightbulb and tell from the brightness if I have good voltage or not without being concerned about polarity. It works for me.

It is a 2013 and that means it could have been built in the last half of '12. If the battery is original it is probably nothing more than a dead battery. Don't replace it with a car battery but get one for that use as an RV battery.

If she doesn't have the manual it can be downloaded from the RT website. They have all the previous model info available to download there.

http://www.metrotrekkers.org/utility/electrical.htm
Maybe this would help?

cannesdo wrote:
It's a 2013 170 Versatile. She did check the breakers...everything was a-ok. Everything works fine with shore power. She's going to have the battery checked when she gets back from a quick 4-day trip. If the switch is engaged how does one "unengage" it? Could it simply be a dead battery?

My understanding is that the switch should be on when traveling and off when storing, yes? We're also trying to figure out how her battery ended up dead (if it is) in the first place. What must she be sure to turn off when she's using it to drive around town (it's her only vehicle).

Thanks for your help!

So much for all the guess work...although some comments may have their merit. The tell tale light (blue LED) is labelled "battery on" which I assume is telling us that indeed the battery is on and supplying power regardless of the condition of the battery.

LEDs can operate on extremely low voltage (in fact most of then are designed for three volts power) hence, staying on even if the battery is giving less that 12 volt power.

The rocker switch labelled "battery disconnect" is by all indication a momentary contact N.O. switch that is used to trigger an SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) that will drive a normally closed heavy duty relay or contactor to disconnect the battery. Since the voltage is too low to drive the heavy duty relay coil, it is unable to open the normally closed contact.

SCRs will only reset to its normal state by either introducing a reverse voltage or disrupting the supply power completely. This sounds like rocket science but you can simulate a disrupted power condition by disconnecting the battery momentarily about five seconds. Reconnect the battery and Blue light will come on--then push the rocker switch and see if blue light goes off. This should be the normal operating condition.

If all else fails get the schematic diagram.

Good luck

As a safety precaution: if your house battery is essential along with your engine battery in the normal operation of the vehicle ie travelling, you would not be able to disconnect the battery. Putting the RV in storage is a different matter.

If it were me, my course of action would be: take the house battery for a battery test--replace if necessary.

Oh well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Why don't you pay less attention to my bad attitude and put a voltmeter on it yourself? I'll stand by my answer. And I really don't know a whole lot about transmission coolers.

But thanks for the psychological profile. My cat and I get along fine.

2oldman wrote:

cannesdo wrote:
Could it simply be a dead battery?

Doesn't take a lot to figure that out. She's going to have to sleuth this a bit with a voltmeter. If she can't do that, it's going to be a very expensive hobby.

Hey...grumpy guy...I made it clear she's brand new to the Road Trek thing. He husband died 18 months ago from lung cancer that took him just two months after they even knew there *was* cancer, and just a week after she decided to retire so they could go on the road together. She's been in the pit and wearing a groove in her park model floor from pacing for hours on end -- for 18 months straight -- from the shock and pain. She went right from her abusive father's home to the arms of a really wonderful man at a very early age and didn't even know how to read a map until last month.

I'm incredibly proud of her courage to get back on the horse and go out and try to enjoy the world again, on her own, for the first time in her life. It's astounding what she's tackled in just the last few weeks. So how about cutting the woman a little slack and giving her time to catch up? The women you seem to have so much disdain for were inside cleaning your house and cooking your meals all your life while you were outside learning about circuits and tools and transmission coolers.

You tone is *incredibly* disrespectful. Your own personal unhappiness is evident. If you're not here to be helpful and to make other people's days better and their loads lighter perhaps you should turn off the computer and find some stray animals to kick.

Seriously...Unbelievable.

cannesdo wrote:
Could it simply be a dead battery?

Doesn't take a lot to figure that out. She's going to have to sleuth this a bit with a voltmeter. If she can't do that, it's going to be a very expensive hobby.