89 winne chieftain not charging coach batteries with engine

[a_graham52]

hey all. just aquired my second class A. its a 1989 37' winne chieftain (my other is a 37' rockood)and come to find out the coach batteries are not getting charged by the engine. the previous owner directed me to the battery "isolater" behind the front bumper (see attached images).

i can see one wire is not attached to anything (can see in pic) but mainly i dont know how this thing works, i see it has a "gain" knob on it but i cant make since of it. hows it supposed to work and how can i go about verify that this is the culprit.

[1995brave]

Check this link, it is to the Winnebago manuals and will give you the wiring and locations. It only goes back to 1990, but there should not be much difference between a 1989 and a 1990 on the wiring.

[1995brave]

Just follow the heavy battery cables, they will probably go into a large metal box, remove the cover and you will the solenoids.

[a_graham52]

1995brave wrote:
I think you are looking at the brake controller. Do you have a tag axle? The charge solenoid will be in a box on the firewall and have the large guage wires going into it. The charge solenoid is used for charging the house batteries while the engine is running and for emergency start. So to find the solenoid press the emergancy start button and follow the sound of the solenoid energizing.

what your saying does make perfect sence. my 87 rockwood has like 4 big solenoids hanging in the engine compartment. this thing however does not. i cant see them anywhere.

[1995brave]

I think you are looking at the brake controller. Do you have a tag axle? The charge solenoid will be in a box on the firewall and have the large guage wires going into it. The charge solenoid is used for charging the house batteries while the engine is running and for emergency start. So to find the solenoid press the emergancy start button and follow the sound of the solenoid energizing.

[dougrainer]

On the dash front is a switch that is labeled MOM/DUAL. THAT is your charge switch. Do you have the switch engaged on the DUAL side? If NOT, then the system will not charge the coach batteries. Doug