2000 HR Class A motorhome Generator and Jack problem

[al_hillman]

I was traveling from Dallas and started my generator while traveling. I could not hear when it started so I may have kept the start button engaged after it had started. I later shut the generator off. I got home and tried to start the generator and it would not engage. I then tried to lower the jacks and they would not go down either. What ever happen seemed to effect the generator and jacks at the same time.I don't know of anything else not working.Any suggestions as what may be wrong??

[al_hillman]

The batteries are 7 yrs. old. I charged them all night and they failed to equalize
so I replaced them both. That fixed the generator and leveling jacks. The culprit was the house batteries. Thanks everyone for your help and ideas.

[Gjac]

How old are the batteries? I would put them on a charger and see if the come back. If your charger can equalize I would do that after you charge them. Of course fill them(about 1/4 in from top) with distilled water before charging or equalizing. They may be alright. Check the resting voltage the following day after you remove the charger.

[al_hillman]

I jumper-ed the chassis batteries to the house batteries and the generator cranked. I believe the culprit to be the house batteries.Voltage meter shows batteries to have 6.5 on one and 6.0 on the other. Pulled the weaker of the two out and it was a little low on acid level. Not sure whether to put it on a charger and fill with water or what??

[wa8yxm]

SUSPECT: A Circuit breaker or two, believe it or not.
(Also the salesman switch by your door)

On many RV's there are a couple of POST type Circuit breakers (Where you push in on the button to reset) in the bottom of a box called the Battery Control Center.

IF these get tripped, the generator will not start, and depending on how the jacks are wired, the jacks will not work,

Likewise if the house batteries are disconnected Or of they are dead, or if there is a bad connection.

On some RV's the generator and or jacks might be Chassis items, but if they are House items (most common) those breakers can break them.

NOTE: THis will also affect Water Pump, interior and porch lights, Fans, Fridge, Air conditioners (Some models) and water heater.> Anythign that runs on 12 volts.

[jluke]

On my 2000HR, the start battery is under the hood and the house and generator Batt is in the 2nd to last compartment on the passenger side, you may have enough juice to power lights but not enough to crank the gen or power the jacks.

[OLYLEN]

Do you have 12 volts in the house, lights water pump and so on. Try holding the emergency start switch for about a minute then continue holding the emergency start and try the Gen again. If still nothing on the gen you will need to start looking at battery terminals and ground wires and that includes the start side of the gen and the ground wire on the gen also. If the gen starts most likely a battery "house" side problem. The gens batteries are the house batteries on most MH's. As an after thought turn the house batteries off and on a couple times, could be a bad or near bad switch.

LEN

[Gjac]

Al as gfs explained each MH maybe set up differently. The easiest way to tell is use your voltmeter on the chassis battery and try to start it, if the voltage drops that is the battery that starts your genset. Do the same thing with your slide and look for a voltage drop. Do you own a multimeter?

[al_hillman]

Does anyone know exactly where the battery for the generator is located?

[Gjac]

It sounds like if the generator and slide are both on the house batteries you have found your problem. What is the resting voltage of the house batteries? Have you cleaned the connections at the battery terminals? Is the ground wire clean? Start with these things first.

[gfs1943]

al hillman wrote:
The code on the generator blinks 4 times pause and 6 times. Think that is code 46 which is low battery. Where is the generator battery located? The generator is a Conan quiet 7500 diesel. The generator does click like low voltage. Is the battery in the front behind some cover or is it in the back where the 2 12v chassis batteries and 2 6volt house batteries are??

On most motorhomes, there is not a generator battery. The generator will use house batteries, or the chassis batteries to start. On my Itasca, it's the house battery, but I can't say about your HR product. Also, my coach uses the chassis batteries to operate the slides and jacks. If yours is the same, then you probably have two unrelated problems. I suggest you start by checking the house battery voltage. Also, if you have a boost switch that connects the house and chassis battery systems, try holding it on while you're trying to start the generator.

When you get it figured out, please let us know what was the problem and how you fixed it. Best of luck!

[al_hillman]

Its full of fuel and oil.

[prstlk]

How much fuel do have? All MHs have a higher than bottom pick up for the gennie, this keeps you from running your tank dry after a too long nap or too many cervases. It can be made worse if the coach is on an angle moving fuel away from the pickup.

[al_hillman]

The code on the generator blinks 4 times pause and 6 times. Think that is code 46 which is low battery. Where is the generator battery located? The generator is a Conan quiet 7500 diesel. The generator does click like low voltage. Is the battery in the front behind some cover or is it in the back where the 2 12v chassis batteries and 2 6volt house batteries are??

[bounder39zman]

holding switch on after genset starts would most likely not hurt anything, as control board disconnects cranking circuit as it engages run circuits. Model and spec of generator would be helpful, and as OP stated, a description of light blinking pattern would help with diag.

also, if jacks and generator do have a common cause for not working (and
it is not just coincidence), would likely be at battery comnnection or ground connection. also look for blown fuse in battery cable near battery (this would be 200-300amp fuse, like a ANL, ANN, "T" type fuse)
Since gen switch light comes on, you are getting some voltage to gen.Try measuring voltage at gen pos batt. cable connection, and see if it drops when cranking is attempted. You might try using a jumper battery directly to gen, and if it cranks then the problem is battery or cables.