Travel'r awning issue

It sounds to me like you have a battery charging issue. Nominal 6V batteries in series should have higher voltage than 12.45 when fully charged. The low battery voltage would effect the performance of the awning.

westend wrote:
It sounds to me like you have a battery charging issue. Nominal 6V batteries in series should have higher voltage than 12.45 when fully charged. The low battery voltage would effect the performance of the awning.

Wonderful. Where do I start with this? I have the Magnum Energy MMS1012 inverter/charger and the MM-RC remote for it. I have seen it go through the charging cycle based on the lights on the remote. The inverter is running the refrigerator only, no other outlets. The batteries are new this year, as of March and the water level is correct. Wiring is clean and tight. I'll have to see how much voltage the batteries have. At this time I don't know what model converter I have, it's a WFCO and that all I know for now. I don't know how this is wired either (yet). Do I have AC going into the inverter which charges the battery and then from the batteries it goes to the converter to supply the 12 volt circuits? The converter and inverter are almost 20 feet apart, they are almost at opposite end of the coach. Isn't that a long run to the converter?

I have some investigating to do tonight. Please send me anything else to check.

Thanks again

Fred

westend wrote:
It sounds to me like you have a battery charging issue. Nominal 6V batteries in series should have higher voltage than 12.45 when fully charged. The low battery voltage would effect the performance of the awning.

Each battery reads 6.67 volts. Combined the meter reads 13.65 volts. What I didn't try was having the coach running and checking the voltage. I still need to try this but I may have solved this issue. My fuse box in the back does not have a fuse for the awning. I realized tonight that there is another fuse box under the dashboard. If the awning fuse is there, then it gets its power from the chassis battery. A theory I'll check tomorrow. If I'm correct there may be nothing I can do but run the engine to get the awning in and out.

your on the right track, following correct trouble shooting procedures
check the voltage on the chassis batteries before you start up, then check voltage on the switch with the engine running

MrWizard wrote:
your on the right track, following correct trouble shooting procedures
check the voltage on the chassis batteries before you start up, then check voltage on the switch with the engine running

I think I have it figured it out. I have 12.45 volts at the chassis battery. I also found the awning fuse under the dashboard in an ignition protected circuit. The awning won't go in or out with the engine running.

The fix? Pull the 12 volt wire off the awning switch and put it on a relay. Then run a new wire from the house batteries to the relay and then from the relay to the switch. This will give me 13.65 volts to the awning. Big problem is getting the wire from the batteries to the switch which is basically from the bottom of the coach to the top. If it can't be done I may be able to tap into a wire up near the switch but I'd rather not do that. The awning is on a 15 amp circuit, don't want to overload something else.

You found the awning fuse
On a protected circuit that is disconnected? When the engine is running
Move it to another circuit, an accessory circuit heavy enough to carry it,
Something hot when engine is on
Like maybe dash A/C , heater blower, etc..
No need to run new wire all the way from the house batteries
It has it own fuse, you can even move it too a main b+ line
Or the power circuit for the step ?
Quite a few possibilities exist

MrWizard wrote:
You found the awning fuse
On a protected circuit that is disconnected? When the engine is running
Move it to another circuit, an accessory circuit heavy enough to carry it,
Something hot when engine is on
Like maybe dash A/C , heater blower, etc..
No need to run new wire all the way from the house batteries
It has it own fuse, you can even move it too a main b+ line
Or the power circuit for the step ?
Quite a few possibilities exist

Your theory is good but the problem is that the chassis battery doesn't have the power like the house batteries. This is on a 2015 coach so I really don't want to mess with the wiring too much. If I can use the existing circuit to power a relay that will bring house power up to the awning I should have the retraction issue fixed. If not, I'll have to get another motor under warranty.