Batteries dead...won't start

[iradi8]

Tried to start the RV after not using it for a while and it won't start. It was connected to shore power (30 amp) the entire time with battery switches on and the charger on. The water level on the house batteries is fine, and the chassis batteries are no maintenance batteries.When attempting to start, it gets momentary current and attempts to start. Then it stops and the entire dash display goes dark.

Tried to use auxiliary start (boost) and get power to dash display, but still will not turn over. According to the manual, chassis batteries should be charged by the charger when connected to shore power. I also ran the generator for three hours, but it didn't help.

Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

[RayChez]

Wildmanbaker, I wish they were all like that out of the factory, but I know that most are not. Reason? I do not know. Maybe it is too many batteries for a charger. Not sure!

[wildmanbaker]

RayChez wrote:
The chassis batteries do not charge when hooked up to shore power out of the factory. But some individuals have made some modifications to their coaches where both house and chassis batteries will charge off shore power.

Get a Smart portable charger and hook up your chassis batteries and let them charge for several hours. If they are not shorted out, they will pickup the charge. Most of the time you can jump start with the house batteries, but if the chassis batteries are too far gone, even the house battery jump will not help.

If your batteries do not pick up the charge, then you might have to buy a couple of batteries. Best place I found was at Napa. I bought two of their heavy duty sealed batteries and they have lasted now five years and still going strong.

Fleetwood MHs do charge house and chassis batteries when plugged into shore power.

[RayChez]

The original poster said all it needed was new batteries. He bought batteries and the coach started right away.

[wallynm]

X2 then charge them up, then load test them

Tom/Barb wrote:
Clean all high amperage connections, report back.

[2bzy2c]

A few posts back, they reported new batteries fixed the problem

[Pattwood]

The problem may not be your batteries. I didn't notice the age of your coach, but I had a similar problem on a 2008 coach. The problem was a failure of the chassis ground. Without a good ground, you will be unable to start. A poor ground could allow you to get enough power to the dash to light up your panel lights, but insufficient to turn over the starter.

Finding the ground fault can be difficult and may take a service provider 3 or 4 hours. In my case, the chassis ground had corroded to the point where it was insufficient for high current draw starting.

[RayChez]

The chassis batteries do not charge when hooked up to shore power out of the factory. But some individuals have made some modifications to their coaches where both house and chassis batteries will charge off shore power.

Get a Smart portable charger and hook up your chassis batteries and let them charge for several hours. If they are not shorted out, they will pickup the charge. Most of the time you can jump start with the house batteries, but if the chassis batteries are too far gone, even the house battery jump will not help.

If your batteries do not pick up the charge, then you might have to buy a couple of batteries. Best place I found was at Napa. I bought two of their heavy duty sealed batteries and they have lasted now five years and still going strong.

[2bzy2c]

Thank you for posting the results.

[iradi8]

I apologize for not updating sooner. My husband works 12 hour days and has been working a lot lately. So, he hasn't been able to do anything with the RV for the last week and a half. He bought new chassis batteries and put them in yesterday. It started right up and we took it for a drive for about an hour. We'll keep an eye on these batteries to make sure there is not a problem with them draining.

I want to thank everyone who responded to my previous emails about this problem. You are all very appreciated!

[BigBlockTank]

But, since you put on the charger, now you know for certain. No guessing, just good old maintenance

[fivejackie]

I had a deep cycle battery that wouldn't take a charge. I left it on charge, it would only show 1 amp charging. After 3 days the charging went up to 10 amps and down again for fully charged. What I did was to break down badly sulfated plates. The battery was good for several years.

[olfarmer]

iradi8 wrote:
Have one of the batteries on a charger for the last six hours and needle hasn't budged. It does not appear that the battery is drawing any current from the charger. I'll check it again in the morning.

Thanks again everyone!

Wayne

Yes if they get that bad they just can't take a charge.

[iradi8]

Have one of the batteries on a charger for the last six hours and needle hasn't budged. It does not appear that the battery is drawing any current from the charger. I'll check it again in the morning.

Thanks again everyone!

Wayne

[olfarmer]

BigBlockTank wrote:

olfarmer wrote:
If your chassis batteries are testing 2 and 3 volts, I think you have found the problem.

How can you say that 100% sure, without testing them first? Does anybody on this forum know if there is a draw on the system? Wouldn't you yourself want to start with exploring the condition of your battery first, before spending money? Is there a problem with his charging system? See, things that we all don't know, not being there....

I'm not making fun or poking at you, I've noticed almost everybody on this forum goes right for the deep end of the pool first. I am not a parts changer, I'm a technician, find the real issue, and fix it at the lowest level. And do it on time, with the least amount of funds. I'm not rich, but because of this style of maintenance practices, I'm not broke either.

He said with the batteries removed he tested the charger and it read over 13 volts but the batteries tested 2&3 volts! I would take them and have them tested! Anyway he found the reason the engine would not start..... the batteries were f n dead!