I have a 1996 Newmar Kountry Aire with the F53 chassis. I haven't driven it for awhile, but have had guest stay in it, so the slide out was out and shore power on. Preparing to go on week long trip this weekend so started prep. All 3 batteries were dead, so I replaced them, two deep cycle for house and the one for motor. Motor starts right up, but none of the 12 volt system work.Also, the drivers seat won't move back at all, so I can't drive the RV. The seat has to be all the way forward for slide out. Two fuses from box under drivers seat are not getting power. I replaced them with new ones still no power. Half the fuses in box in front of fire wall, no power. I am getting approximately 13 volts from battery and the same volts at terminal on battery disconnect. Any ideas? At least need to get the chair to move so I can get it to the shop. When started, steps won't go in either.

look for a breaker relay on the converter/inverter or near your batteries/12v power panel. If tripped these relays will stop all 12v power. They are usually about an inch long, black plastic and will have a micro switch button to push to reset.

sounds like your converter is not working take it out of the loop use a battery charger see if things straiten out.Or look for a relay or fuse at the batts

How do I use my battery charger to take converter out of loop? Use it at the disconnect?

13dcv at the battery means the battery is fully charged and still has a float charge on it (12.6v is fully charged) or is being charged by the alternator.Where are you reading the 13dcv from the House battery?The juice from the House battery appears not getting to your fuses.Is the house battery disconnect switch in the On position?Are all battery connections clean and tight?Do you have circuit breakers on your converter/inverter unit that need to be reset?Do you have fuses between the batteries and the house disconnect switch?

better idea for the quick fix. (At least this should get your drivers seat going, slides in, ETC). Have the engine running! Now have somebody "push & hold" the battery boost button, while you try to use the 12 volt stuff to get the old girl rollin.Granted this does NOT work on every unit, but it does work on many. At least try it. (You do know what the battery boost (or) emergency start button does? It locks all the batteries together.Id bet there is a breaker thrown like "BEAR" suggested.

massive 12 volt battery issues | Good Sam Community

kenroy
Explorer
Dec 17, 2014
Took the RV to a shop. A wire was burnt, don't know which one, yet. Repair place says everything is working now. It took less than 2 hours to find and repair. They also found the short in the rear lights.
dougrainer
Nomad
Dec 17, 2014
kenroy wrote:
Didn't have time to check things last night, but I did get the name and model of converter:
Atwood Mobile products converter/charger STV 75
So, if no shore power, cord unplug, does the 12 volt system have to go through the converter. Basically, if the converter is bad can you still run the 12 v system? If so, then my disconnect is not working.

That was not Factory installed, someone else installed in the past 20 years. Doug
dougrainer
Nomad
Dec 17, 2014
kenroy wrote:
Didn't have time to check things last night, but I did get the name and model of converter:
Atwood Mobile products converter/charger STV 75
So, if no shore power, cord unplug, does the 12 volt system have to go through the converter. Basically, if the converter is bad can you still run the 12 v system? If so, then my disconnect is not working.

If the Converter is bad, your Disconnect MUST be working and the red LED on the disconnect switch must be on for the coach batteries to supply power. IF you have 12 volts in the RV when plugged into shore power, your Converter IS working. Find the disconnect Intellitec solenoid up front, all you have to do is use a 4 gauge jumper wire from each large side terminal to bypass the solenoid. Doug
gfs1943
Explorer
Dec 16, 2014
dougrainer wrote:
Are you POSITIVE you connected all the cables at the chassis battery. There may be 2- 12 volt positive cables at the chassis battery. make sure you check this. IF the Chassis engine starts, then the FORD side (electric seats) and that fuse block at the front firewall should have power, unless you did not connect all the cables correctly at the chassis battery. Do you have 12 volt power to the coach inside from the coach batteries? If not, then if the battery disconnect does NOT turn on the coach system, you may have not connected to coach battery cables correctly. Find the battery disconnect solenoid up front. It should be in a Plexiglas covered housing and will say Intellitec. That solenoid will have 2- 5 amp ATC fuses that power it. They may be blown. On your year model Newmar, when plugged into Shore Power, IF at anytime someone pushed the STORE button on the battery disconnect switch, that would turn the battery disconnect OFF, but the RED LED on the battery disconnect panel would stay ON and the result is, while the rest of the RV coach 12 volt was ON and functioning(from the Power Converter), the battery disconnect turned the coach batteries OFF from the Power Converter and the coach batteries slowly went dead. The CO and LP detectors on your unit are wired direct to the coach batteries and were the reason for the draining of your batteries. Doug

I'm with Doug on this one. I don't know your coach, but from your description of the issue it sounds like a cable left off the chassis battery. Steps and power seats are usually powered from the chassis system.
kenroy
Explorer
Dec 16, 2014
Actually I have 2- 12 volt deep cycle in parallel for the house and another 12 volt for motor. At the hot post for disconnect I get approximately 13 volts. Will measure other side later today
kenroy
Explorer
Dec 16, 2014
Didn't have time to check things last night, but I did get the name and model of converter:
Atwood Mobile products converter/charger STV 75
So, if no shore power, cord unplug, does the 12 volt system have to go through the converter. Basically, if the converter is bad can you still run the 12 v system? If so, then my disconnect is not working.
Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Dec 16, 2014
Sounds like a blown fuse for the battery disconnect circuit based on the what isn't working and DC volts at the disconnect terminal. If necessary you can use a jumper cables or other heavy wire on the solenoid terminals to bypass the disconnect and get the house systems working enough to get the coach to a service center. Once you get the coach to a drivable state best to remove the jumper.

But before you jump the circuit triple check your battery configuration with the two 6VDC batteries. You really need a meter rather than a circuit tester to be absolutely sure. If somehow you have them connected wrong and send incorrect power to the house equipment (fridge, furnace, water pump and such) you're likely to allow a lot of magic smoke out of various appliances. Getting the smoke back in can be expensive. A bit like plugging the couch into a stick and brick electric dryer outlet for AC power. Works great for about 10 seconds.

Ensure the door is closed and the step switch is off so the steps will retract before jumping the circuit.
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
Dec 16, 2014
Hi,

My guess is that you have a battery disconnect switch, and it has been shut off.

Good luck!

Fred.
dougrainer
Nomad
Dec 16, 2014
mike brez wrote:
I just had a problem with my batteries and having no power. Ended up being this 300amp fuse.

Your year Newmar has a Power Converter and does not have this fuse. This fuse is for a Inverter/Charger. Doug
Shadow_Catcher
Explorer
Dec 15, 2014
A VOM/mutimeter is your friend you start with where you do have power and follow it till you do not. checking to find that the battery bank is putting out what it should and or getting what it should from the converter.

Forum Discussion

massive 12 volt battery issues

About Motorhome Group

Related Content

Battery issue

Battery Issue

Strange house battery issue

Battery Issue

Battery Charging Issue