inverter and start batteries

Bud -- John and the rest of responders MY SINCEAR THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AND ADVISE --I got the new batteries in and all seems well so far, the Magnum inverter /charger sounds like it did when it was new and John I did call the people at Magnum (Dean) and they were very good at helping me out and confirmed that if a battery had a bad cell or worse that would cause the Magnum to do strange things. Will give a further update for others when it has been on for a couple of days. Cheers Blake at Lake Cowichan BC in the summer and Lake Havasu AZ in the winter

YES Scott I leave our converter off all the time except when we need power when boon docking and then it is turned off again as it draws the batteries down with all the parasite connections that turn on like TV stand by theaters system stand by etc. I also have all those appliances on power bars so they all do not come on at once when in the desert.cheers Blake

FIRE UP wrote:

chriba wrote:
Bud I will use colored tape and take pictures 1st,thanks John we only use the inverter when boon docking to get power from batteries for appliances did you mean somehow to leave the charger off or both as they are a combined set up.I have solar power for my auxiliary batteries but not to my starting ones. Cheers Blake

Blake,
Thanks for answering me on the other issue. Yes, you can and for all intent and purpose, leave the inverter "Off" when you don't need it for A/C power needs. Some folks turn it on and leave it on, all the time when their camping, whether the need it or not. I never have figured that one out. I mean, why would you want it on, even in the stand-by mode, when you don't need it?

Now, it's been a bit since I installed my Magnum so, I'll have to review the specs and instructions to see what it takes to actually turn the battery charger section off, should I ever need to. Our coach stays plugged in, in it's parking spot, an attached RV garage so, I'm out there every day, goofing around in the garage so, I can monitor things. But, both the Dimensions 2000 Watt Inverter/Charger and, the new Magnum 2012 unit, both go into a "float mode" so, it's usually hovering around 1 amp or so.

Since our Magnum, or, even the old Dimensions unit, did not charge the chassis batteries, I hard wired a NAPA, three stage battery charger, directly into the breaker panel, under the foot of the bed. I then ran the leads through the side bulk head, and over to the appropriate terminals on the chassis batteries. Now, those batteries are always topped off in terms of being charged and, if and when I should ever need to disconnect or, turn off that battery charger, I just reach down at the foot of the bed where all my 110VAC breakers are and, flip that one off. Done!
Scott

My Magnum control panel has a button to turn off both the inverter and the charger. I leave my inverter off because I have the coach plugged in all the time. If the coach loses power (at the storage lot) I don't want the inverter to draw my batteries down to zero. If there is no actual button just cycle through the functions and I am relatively sure you will find a setting to turn off the charger.

chriba wrote:
Bud I will use colored tape and take pictures 1st,thanks John we only use the inverter when boon docking to get power from batteries for appliances did you mean somehow to leave the charger off or both as they are a combined set up.I have solar power for my auxiliary batteries but not to my starting ones. Cheers Blake

Blake,
Thanks for answering me on the other issue. Yes, you can and for all intent and purpose, leave the inverter "Off" when you don't need it for A/C power needs. Some folks turn it on and leave it on, all the time when their camping, whether the need it or not. I never have figured that one out. I mean, why would you want it on, even in the stand-by mode, when you don't need it?

Now, it's been a bit since I installed my Magnum so, I'll have to review the specs and instructions to see what it takes to actually turn the battery charger section off, should I ever need to. Our coach stays plugged in, in it's parking spot, an attached RV garage so, I'm out there every day, goofing around in the garage so, I can monitor things. But, both the Dimensions 2000 Watt Inverter/Charger and, the new Magnum 2012 unit, both go into a "float mode" so, it's usually hovering around 1 amp or so.

Since our Magnum, or, even the old Dimensions unit, did not charge the chassis batteries, I hard wired a NAPA, three stage battery charger, directly into the breaker panel, under the foot of the bed. I then ran the leads through the side bulk head, and over to the appropriate terminals on the chassis batteries. Now, those batteries are always topped off in terms of being charged and, if and when I should ever need to disconnect or, turn off that battery charger, I just reach down at the foot of the bed where all my 110VAC breakers are and, flip that one off. Done!
Scott

Bud I will use colored tape and take pictures 1st,thanks John we only use the inverter when boon docking to get power from batteries for appliances did you mean somehow to leave the charger off or both as they are a combined set up.I have solar power for my auxiliary batteries but not to my starting ones. Cheers Blake

I suggest you call Magnum Energy's Technical Support and have them lead you through a diagnosis of your Inverter/Charger. They are excellent to work with. I had a similar problem and working with them over the phone they discovered a bad temperature sensor which was causing the batteries to overheat. Their phone number is 425 353-8833. BYW an inverter does not charge batteries it only converts DC voltage to AC voltage. It is the charger side that charges the batteries. Leave the inverter turned off when not in use. If they discover a problem you can send your unit to them for repair at a fraction of the cost of a new unit. They are in Everett Washington, not to far from you.

I would get some colored electrical marking tape while you are out. Mark the positives red and negatives black. I use yellow for the jumpers along with the red or black.

Scott after I find the new batteries today I will be disconnecting the cables and then I can see where all wires go as there are extra connections on them besides the starter also mine is a 2008 model 2000 MAGNUM converter /charger if you wish to Google it.cheers Blake

The wiring to charge the chassis batteries id not from the inverter directly on my coach. I'm not an expert either but the way I understand it is that the the charge voltage goes to an echo charger that directs the charging voltage to the house batteries until they are charged then to the chassis batteries. My coach also has a solar charger that will charge the chassis batteries once the house batteries are charged. Again not an expert but I believe part of that system is the BIRD or "Bi-directional isolator relay delay" that directs or combines the charge. That is about the extent of my knowledge and I wouldn't count on it being correct!

JimM68 wrote:
Fleetwood has always been ahead of the curve on keeping all the batteries charged, even our old 99 pace arrow had an intellitec battery control center that would energize the boost relay to charge all batteries once the primary battery for that charger was charged.

Our 08 Monaco has a similar system, Monaco calls it a "bird"

OP, our bus is also an 08. I lost a chassis battery a year ago, replaced both, lost a house battery this spring and replaced all 4.
5 years old, it is time.

Jim,
Isn't the system you're referring to, the Intellitec one, only involved when the engine is running? You see, we also had a '99 Fleetwood but, it was a Bounder, 34V. And it too had that same "BCC" system. It had something like what's called a "time-delay-relay" portion that, after the engine was started, it gave all the alternators charging, to the engine battery(s). Once those engine batteries were up to a certain voltage, then it kicked in the time-delay-relay and sent the remaining charge to the house batteries.

But, if I recall, that system had nothing to do with the "Converter" which was the on-board charging system for the house batteries when plugged into shore power, correct? That BCC was not in effect when the engine was shut down, if I recall but, I could be wrong here.
Scott