House Batteries
We have a 2007 Winnebago Outlook 29B class C. The generator quit working so we took it to a mechanic who told us the house batteries are dead (don't hold a charge) and have to be replaced. I was surpr...
Forum Discussion
I'm thinking that there may be some confusion in this discussion:
There are TWO solenoids in many motorhomes - one that you can manually turn ON or OFF that connects the coach batteries to the motorhome's 12 volt circuits, including the coach's built-in charger or converter. This should be left OFF when the motorhome is in storage so as to not drain the battereis from small currents that power the motorhome's detectors, etc..
The other solenoid automatically connects (whenever the ignition key is ON) the engine alternator to the coach's batteries to charge them whenever the engine is running. This one carries heavy currents from the alternator to the coach batteries. These heavy currents can erode the solenoid's contacts over time. This solenoid's contacts must be kept in good shape for the alternator to keep the coach batteries charged up when driving the motorhome. The easiest way to keep this solenoid's contacts in good shape is to replace the solenoid every so often. We're on our 3rd solenoid after owning and using our motorhome for around 9 years. I'm willing to bet that this solenoid is letting a lot of folks down by not keeping the coach batteries charged when driving - and they're not aware of it ... they only know that their batteries seem to be "weaker" than they should be. Years ago I installed a couple of meters on the cab dash that tell me just how good this solenoid's contacts are at all times ... after learning the hard way on camping trips.
There are TWO solenoids in many motorhomes - one that you can manually turn ON or OFF that connects the coach batteries to the motorhome's 12 volt circuits, including the coach's built-in charger or converter. This should be left OFF when the motorhome is in storage so as to not drain the battereis from small currents that power the motorhome's detectors, etc..
The other solenoid automatically connects (whenever the ignition key is ON) the engine alternator to the coach's batteries to charge them whenever the engine is running. This one carries heavy currents from the alternator to the coach batteries. These heavy currents can erode the solenoid's contacts over time. This solenoid's contacts must be kept in good shape for the alternator to keep the coach batteries charged up when driving the motorhome. The easiest way to keep this solenoid's contacts in good shape is to replace the solenoid every so often. We're on our 3rd solenoid after owning and using our motorhome for around 9 years. I'm willing to bet that this solenoid is letting a lot of folks down by not keeping the coach batteries charged when driving - and they're not aware of it ... they only know that their batteries seem to be "weaker" than they should be. Years ago I installed a couple of meters on the cab dash that tell me just how good this solenoid's contacts are at all times ... after learning the hard way on camping trips.
