Electrical system discharging WAY too quickly
I’m having an issue with my electrical setup. A few days ago my system began going from a full charge to 50% overnight instead of in it’s usual ~3 days. We have been on the road for a little over 4 mo...
Forum Discussion
CloudDriver wrote:
One additional thing to test - make a note of the voltage at the chassis and house battery terminals, then start the engine and check the voltage at the chassis and house battery terminals again. The voltage at the chassis battery will rise if the alternator is working. If the voltage of the house batteries doesn't rise to be close to the chassis battery, you aren't charging from the alternator while driving.
Our Class C has a relay that connects the chassis and house batteries together when the ignition is on. In 11 years, I have replaced this relay three times because charging of the house batteries became unreliable.
I have a volt meter wired from the house batteries to my dash so I can see it while driving. Soon as I fire up the van I can the see the voltage increase. Lately the batteries have been so deadened that they only show 13+ for a bit before getting to around 14.3, but I've checked with the volt meter and the alternator is definitely sending 14. (My dash volt meter is cheap so the numbers aren't super reliable but it's clear the relay opens).
