Brand new here, brand new to RV's --- HELPRecently acquired a 1989 Southwind, P-30. Was well taken care of its whole live. Owned it for 3 weeks and took it to a local shop to have it gone through, change fluids, convert the AC to R34, etc.It was in the shop for a couple of weeks because of a delay in getting a part for the front end. They dropped it off at my house Later that day I started it up and noticed a strange noise, and electrical surging.. the interior lights, dash lights, headlights, etc. were surging. I took it in the following day, the mechanic opened it up, and diagnosed that the Battery Isolator Controller --- made by Intellitec --- was defective. I was there and watched him test it, and it was definitely the problem.Took it home, plugged the RV into the outlet to keep the refrigerator running. Today we went to take a short trip for fireworks and it wouldn't start... nothing at all. Not even enough juice to turn anything on in the cab. I took a battery charger out to see if I could jump start the battery and it gave a reading F02 - "Bad Battery Connection. Battery Voltage Too Low to Accept a Charge".I have no idea what to do. Everything on this rig worked perfectly when I bought it, and when I played around with it for a couple of weeks in my driveway. As soon as I get it back from this shop I have this issue, and as far as I know they didn't do anything service wise that would have required fooling around with anything electrical except for the AC unit - they had to replace the condenser and some other parts. Aside fro the fact that they said that the replacement condenser they used failed, and had to get another one, I don't know what else they could have done that might have caused a problem. I can't even get it started to take it in, so I guess I will probably have to have it towed. If you have ANY advice I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Dream- Use jumper cables to get it started and then go online and order a replacement Intellitec controller. It probably killed the chassis battery. When you do get it started, look for the jump up in battery voltage that says it is charging. If it got killed that dead, the main engine battery may be toast.Good Luck Matt

Never liked those things. These days I think I would use a real contactor relay to charge both batteries and do away with the diode losses

I doubt that anything is wrong with the Intellitec controller- if the alternator was trying to charge a dead battery, it would cycle, as it disconnects if the voltage drops below ~12.7, then reconnects when the voltage rises. All it does is control the solenoid. and it does that by sensing voltages. I think you just have a bad battery.

Make sure your battery terminals are clean and tight. Take them off, clean them and reattach. If the terminals on my 96 Southwind get a little corrosion, even if you can't see it, I have electrical problems and it won't start.Check the battery to see if it will take and hold a charge.

The Isolator device might not have been defective....If it sat for a while. with old enough batteries the batteries (house) may have been dead (run down dead, as well as past end of life)Now many Intelletec Battery Control Systems use a BIRD (BI-Directional Relay) and with this system if the engine is running and the system voltage is high enough the batteries (All of them) charge, else only the engineWell when it closes, thus connecting the very low house, the voltage drops and it re-isolates, then the voltage rises and it re-connects (After a delay in all cases) causing the surging you cited.Also a breaker can open due to high load and cause it, then self reset, on some RV's. (Mine for example) And of course the technician may have installed the new isolator wrong ---OR---The converter may have blown a fuse due to dead house batteries or not been able to bring them up to the "Connect" voltage due to the house batteries being toast.

Help with Electrical | Good Sam Community

Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 27, 2016
OK - Taking it in to the shop... entry step is definitely draining it.
Bobbo
Explorer II
Jul 25, 2016
The entry step is supposed to be connected to the starting battery, but should not drain it.

It is connected to the starting battery so the steps can auto-retract when you start the MH even if the house battery is disconnected.

However, if the step is not being activated, it should have no drain. If it is draining your battery, the problem is in the step.
Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 25, 2016
Thanks for all the help everyone... I figured it out.

I had two problems:

1. The Battery Isolator was bad. I replaced it and upon inspection of the circuit board I saw a very faint carbon scar on one of the components... took it to a friend who works on circuit boards and he tested it... bad.

- charged the battery back up. Measured 13.5v. House batteries the same.
- with the refrigerator and entry step off... no change.
- With the Refrigerator on and entry step off there was no change.
- Then I turned the refrigerator back off and the entry step on... 2 hours later there was a voltage drop on the starting battery. THAT was what was draining the battery. On my RV, the entry step switch is connected to the starting battery.
westend
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
The images you posted of the fuse panel labeled "Fleetwood" are of the chassis 12v fuse panel and associated solenoid relays. Those solenoid relays (at least one) are what separate your starting battery from the house batteries. There may be a switch on the dash to control this relay.

The paper work you have labeled "Progressive Dynamics", of the house load center and fuse panel contains the charger and distribution of both AC and DC systems. You should find this. It may be behind a decorative panel or within a cabinet. Do not trust that "idiot light" battery meter. I'll advise it one more time and I'm out---Measure the voltage at the battery terminals, both house batteries and starting battery. Do this when disconnected from shore power and when connected to shore power. Report back with your measurements and a description of your hand held meter.

Edit: After some consideration: Take the RV to someone that knows what they're doing. You are unable to believe information or take basic troubleshooting instructions. Good luck.
Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
Here are two pics from that datasheet:

This is a picture that is depicted on the front cover:

Here is a line art drawing printed on the inside to describe what the components are:

(Sorry they are upside down... I have to take off, otherwise I would re-do it)
Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
I got a huge pack of paperwork when I bought the RV. I went through it all again. In it I found a separate datasheet tucked inside the owner's manual.

"7300 & 7600 Series Electrical Control Center Owner's Manual"

It's made by Progressive Dynamics out of Michigan. The picture on the front of this 4-page sheet doesn't look like anything I have seen on my RV, but it may be in there somewhere - it is definitely not the electrical panel under the hood I posted pics of earlier.

In it it says,

"Your RV is equipped with the latest most advanced Electrical Control System. Your new Electrical Control Center is designed as a combination panelboard / power converter. The distribution panel-board gives you overcurrent protection for all the 120v AC wiring in your RV."

"On most RV's the 120 VAC panelboard is equipped with a 30 amp main breaker and 3 or more branch circuit breakers. On some RV's with only 2 branch circuit breakers there might not be a main circuit breaker...."

On mine there are three 30 amp breaker... a main, and two branch circuit breakers.

The thought plickens. :)
Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
big jim 2 wrote:
Sometimes repairs are beyond ones expertise and it's far cheaper and much less frustrating to take it to a repair shop. Been there and done that!

Check... and check LOL - But I'm just the kind of guy who wants to know, and I don't like losing... ESPECIALLY to an almost 30 year old inanimate object. I may not figure it out, but I will do my best to win this one. To me it's all about the challenge, stretching myself beyond my comfort level. I just started playing with cars and other motorized vehicles a few years ago, so I find the challenge exhilarating.

Here is the outside of my electrical control panel... no brand or part numbers anywhere to be found.

Here's a close up of the left side:

Close Up of the right side:
big_jim_2
Explorer II
Jul 23, 2016
Sometimes repairs are beyond ones expertise and it's far cheaper and much less frustrating to take it to a repair shop. Been there and done that!
Dreamweaver
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
Here is the control panel in the coach to test the battery level, etc.

Here is a pic of the battery indicator lights showing the battery in good condition. I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Here is the dash switches where the entry step switch is:

Thanks for the help in posting pics.
tenbear
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
Here is a link to the way to post photos.

Link

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