Suggestions for battery isolation
Hi all, I've owned a 2007 Class C Fleetwood Jamboree for about 3 years now and am having issues with keeping the batteries charged properly and not draining. There is no current set up to disconnec...
Forum Discussion
davron94 wrote:
*A* There is a battery isolator controller, but I'm not sure what that does.
*B* I'm kind of confused about how everything should work together and what this controller does.
*C* I'm assuming that i should install a switch of some kind to disconnect the chassis battery from the house batteries,
*D* but do the house batteries need to be disconnected from each other also?
*A* the "battery isolator controller" is a printed circuit board called a bidirectional isolator relay delay - BIRD. it eats both batteries until they cannot be rescued.
*B* there is also the isolator solenoid that BIRD controls - it either entangles the engine and house batteries so they act in parallel whenever either one is being charged; otherwise, it is supposed to keep them totally isolated. mostly, it just keeps them entangled all the time.
*C* your better option is to pull the fuse on BIRD and disconnect the isolator relay, which it totally fried for you a few years back
*D* not at all - the group of house batts, when connected in parallel, simply act as one 12 volt battery
like many RV gadgets, BIRD is a Rube Goldberg, only it cannot hold up to its overcomplicated manner of doing the simple job of acting as a single engine/house connect switch to charge both, and as a jumper cable (the emergency start toggle on your dashboard should the engine batt be too low).
