All my batteries are dead

[BraxtonBaird1]

I recently purchased a 2018 Windsport 35M and I am not understanding how the battery disconnect switch is working. I keep it plugged in at my house all of the time to a 50 amp. Two weeks ago I drove it to a RV Park two hours away to use during the football season. I was running the generator and about an hour into the drive the generator shuts down displaying a code 36. I start it up again and it runs for about 20 minutes and then shuts down again with the same code of 36. So I leave it off and continue the drive to the park. I get to the park and plug it in to a 50 amp plug and leave it. I come back two weeks later and the refrigerator is not working and the 110 outlets in the bedroom are not working on the driver’s side wall. The battery indicator by the door is dead. I leave a floor fan running when not in use and it had stopped. I then try to crank the engine and there is no power from the chassis battery. I try the Emergency start switch and there is no power from the coach batteries. I then take another vehicle and jump start the engine on the coach and while the engine is running I hold down the Emergency start switch and I see a reading on the charge indicator that starts at .7 and then climbs to 12.2. I then take a battery charger and connect it up to the coach batteries ( 2 12volt). I call the dealer where I purchased the coach and explain what happened and they tell me my converter must have gone bad. The next morning I check the converter’s fuses and they are both good. When I remove one of the fuses the lights go out and if I unplug the converter the lights go out. I call the dealer back and talk to a different tech and tell them what happens when I unplug the converter and they tell me it’s working fine. They then tell me to turn off the shore power and then go press the battery disconnect switch and I hear the loud click from the back. I then disconnect my battery charger from the coach batteries and turn on the shore power. When I go back in and look at the charge indicator it is reading 13.2 or 13.4 so now its charging. So I’m confused about why the chassis battery was dead. If the battery disconnect switch was on then wouldn’t all of the lights in the coach be off? Or does the shore power override the switch? Maybe the floor fan drained the coach batteries over two weeks? Why was the chassis battery dead? There is a battery isolation manager that is supposed to prevent draining the coach battery, right? Not sure if the problem with the generator stopping is related or not.

[Executive45]

We are all ASSUMING the OP's batteries were in GOOD condition PRIOR to his adventure. If the were not, lots of variables can be involved. A bad battery will draw a good battery down quickly. And that fan will deplete his batteries in a week.....Dennis

[BraxtonBaird1]

Thanks for that AllegroD. That is a good idea. I can see the charge indicator charging but that doesn't mean the batteries are actually taking a charge. I will test that.

[AllegroD]

Now add to that that there may be parasitical draws that bypass the disconnect and after the battery disconnect is on for a length of time, your battery is drained. You have indicated that the battery disconnect may have been on for a while. Batteries may be permanently dead. While on inverter, they may appear good as you are reading the charging voltage. I would check my batts by turning off everything, including the charger and turn on the disconnect, for a couple hours. Then test the batts before turning on anything. Do not turn off the disconnect. You are trying to see how well the batts hold a charge.

[BraxtonBaird1]

Thanks for the replies. This makes more sense now how the batteries get charged. I am just still wondering how it got in this state to begin with. I never touched the battery disconnect before leaving the house and after arriving at the RV park.

[Dale_Traveling]

I'll give this a try.

I think the overall problem was you lost 1/2 your 50 amp shore power. In particular the half that was powering the converter, some of the outlets, probably one of the roof A/C,s your fridge and such) but the two pole tied together breaker (either in the coach or at the shore pedestal) didn't fully trip. If won't look tripped but it is. Happen to me with the coach panel breaker. When you turned off shore power while working with the dealer you reset the breaker and full power was restored.

For your questions -

If the battery disconnect switch was on then wouldn’t all of the lights in the coach be off? Or does the shore power override the switch? - If 115VAC is available to the converter it will provide house DC power needs even if the batteries are disconnected. Shore power does not override the switch but the indicator only shows that 12VDC house power is available but not what is producing the power.

Best practice with the battery disconnects is to only use them when shore power is not available and when you are not using the coach. IE when you are storing the coach. Think of "store" as cold, dark and quiet storage. Also ensure the inverter is completely shut down when you are not using the coach. Inverters can sometimes be wired directly to the battery and will still be connected ever when the disconnect is active.

Maybe the floor fan drained the coach batteries over two weeks? - Maybe, if the fan was plugged into a circuit that is powered by an inverter and you lost shore power.

Why was the chassis battery dead? - When the house battery disconnect is active (battery disconnected) the converter cannot provide a maintenance charge to either battery bank as the disconnect is between the converter and both battery banks. With a Hurricane or Windsport coach the chassis batteries are kept charged by the converter thru the house disconnect solenoid then thru the aux power (emergency start switch) solenoid then thru the chassis disconnect solenoid. Disable any of the three and you lose chassis charging via the converter.

Not sure what consumed the chassis battery. There are a few devices that are powered from the chassis battery but normally not enough to deplete the battery in two weeks. If it's the original battery then it might need to be replaced. You never know how well it was treated while on the dealer's lot waiting to get sold. Same for the house side. Run either down too deep to many times and they just can't hold a charge for very long afterwards.

There is a battery isolation manager that is supposed to prevent draining the coach battery, right? - With the newer rigs I'm not sure. My older Hurricane the Battery Control Center (AKA BCC) will open the aux power solenoid to prevent the house from draining the chassis or the reverse but it won't prevent a house item from draining the house battery or the same for the chassis. Leave the lights on (house ceiling lights or chassis head lights for example) and I'll still have a dead battery if the converter is off line or disconnected.

Not sure if the problem with the generator stopping is related or not - Not likely. A good probability for a 36 code is fuel related as the code indicates an "uncommand shut down". The usual suspect is the fuel pump overheating but you'll also get the code for low fuel tank level (under 1/4 tank) forcing a generator shut down so you don't run the coach out of gasoline.

[time2roll]

If you have 13.4 volts on the house battery it sounds like you have that figured out. Is the chassis start battery still low (less than 12.4) volts?

You may or may not have a system to keep the chassis battery charged.

[Lwiddis]

All your batteries are toast. Get the dealer to repair the electrical issues and buy new batteries.

If you weren’t plugged in, yes, the fan would have depleted your house batteries.