Starting Batteries

Not in one place that I can recall MEX. It would be REALLY handy to have that info.

Does any internet information site have a listing of WHICH vehicles can not have the starting battery disconnected because it will cause the ECU to lose memory and force the taking of the vehicle to a dealer to have the computer ECU reset? At a considerable cost I may add.

Thanks for reporting back with the fix.

Ok, an update. I was able to get the motorhome started and take it to camping world. They pulled the batteries out and showed me the bulge in one and the test meter showed bad cell. Two new starting batteries and I am on the road again.

Also they showed me where the battery disconnect switch for my coach is located. Up in the bin with the inverter controls! My goodness. So back to storage until my trip the middle of next week.

Thank you for helping me everyone. One step at a time. Everything is fine now.

OK thank you. I stored it in a valet type facility indoors so may need to get a battery disconnect switch installed. HATE to have anyone work on this motorhome other than diesel dave but will find a reputable mechanic here in Orange county ca.

Thank you all for the input.

My rig had steps, alarms etc hooked to both chassis and coach batteries (safety issue I think)- after getting stuck in the boonies with dead chassis battery I made sure that the only thing attached to the chassis battery was the starter and emergency start feature of the RV. Disconnecting the battery when stored is something that many do.

Unless the battery tops cant be removed, take the caps off the cells and check the fluid level in the battery. If it is below the plates, add distilled water only, enough to cover the plates. If the fluid levels get too low it wont hold a charge properly. good luck.

Just do like people do with a car in prolonged storage - physically disconnect all the loads from battery. Radio clock on standby, CO or propane detector, some odd forgotten light, short in old wiring, who knows...

Don't believe when they say "dead" until you test it yourself. More than a year ago people replacing a fuel pump in my truck told me that battery needed immediate replacement - as usual they wrote a looong list of deficiencies after fixing the one thing that needed to be fixed. Went to a friend who works in truck service - battery tested OK. Starts without problems still now.

Thank you for the input. I am going out to the storage location tomorrow to check it out. I will see if the house batteries are dead. I just replaced the house batteries so I think they will be ok. I also know the motorhome has the aux start function so hopefully I can get it started using that.

The kill switch is located in the of the motorhome. The only thing I know is you can kill the engine from the back "trunk" area. The switch also prevents you from restarting the engines. Not sure if it disconnects battery power or what.

Some days I really miss diesel dave.. thanks for the help!

It sounds stupid, but maybe you left the lights on. Was the battery totally flat? or did it at least click click the starting relay? That tells you if there is was a slow drain from something hard to find, like a radio etc. Headlights left on = flat battery, totally dead. Also, it is possible your dome light stayed on, or maybe if your rig has a battery boost function. That allows the house batteries to crank the rig if the start batteries are dead, and if the switch was left on, putting the starting batteries in the parallel with the house batteries, and allowing the slow drain of detectors, appliance controls, etc to bring all the batteries down. Were the house batteries dead too? Although you said it didn't have this boost function. If you drove a 1000 miles and all was well then the alternator seems good. Finally, check the torque of the starting battery cables under the hood make sure they are tight. Tell us more about this "killswitch." What exactly is that?