No Power to Dash/Chassis
So I go out to crank my motorhome. Batteries are fine. House power is fine. Everything works on the house side. But I have no voltage to the power distribution box located under the driver area. ...
Forum Discussion
DiskDoctr wrote:Gdetrailer wrote:
Why don't you simply buy a "battery maintainer"?
An isolator is designed to allow charge to flow from alternator or converter/charger (later powered by shore power or generator) to BOTH the motor battery and the house battery.
But it also allows ONLY the house battery to flow back to power the "RV parts" thereby leaving the motor battery to start the motorhome- even when the house battery is dead.
Sometimes there is a "combine" switch to allow house battery to aid in boosting the motor battery to start in the event of emergency (dead battery).
If the isolator was bad, the converter/charger cannot charge the motor battery, allowing it to slowly lose its charge to parasitic or standby losses.
Wrong.
There are TWO "types" of isolators..
Smart and non-smart.
Non-smart are the STANDARD ISSUE version which allows the vehicles alternator to charge both the starting battery AND the house battery. Acts like a one way valve and does not allow the house converter or batteries to "charge" the starting battery.
DOES NOT PROVIDE EMERGENCY START OR COMBINE OF THE BATTERIES.
Smart isolators on the other hand, can allow the house battery/converter to trickle charge the vehicle battery.
Also provides EMERGENCY STARTING WHICH COMBINES BATTERIES FOR A FEW SECONDS.
The OP obviously does not have a smart isolator or they could have simply pushed the EMERGENCY COMBINE BUTTON to get the engine started.
