Forum Discussion

tealea's avatar
tealea
Explorer
May 13, 2014

generator/chasis wont charge hse battery

I have recently purchased a 1999 coachman santara class c motorhome. Looking for idea's to trouble shoot a charging issue. My house battery will only charge if plugged in to external power. my generator works and I do have power in the unit when its running- but it does not charge the house battery. When the chasis engine is running it also does not charge the house battery. Any ideas? veified all the fuses in panal are good?
Class C
  • ksg5000's avatar
    ksg5000
    Explorer
    May 13, 2014
    tealea wrote:
    yes everything powers up when generator is running- only problem when battery gets low not enough juice to kick it on -lol. Thanks for info on fuse- will check it - ibelieve there are 3 there?? 1 for each -120vac/1 generator / 1 engine?


    Once you fix the fuse issue you will find that starting the RV engine before starting your generator should provide enough "juice" to start the generator. Something I do as regular procedure even if batteries are OK. Also on older rigs it's a good idea to check the battery grounds (where battery grounds to chassis) as they tend to get rusty overtime and can significantly impair battery.
  • tealea's avatar
    tealea
    Explorer
    May 13, 2014
    yes everything powers up when generator is running- only problem when battery gets low not enough juice to kick it on -lol. Thanks for info on fuse- will check it - ibelieve there are 3 there?? 1 for each -120vac/1 generator / 1 engine?
  • Sfla2's avatar
    Sfla2
    Explorer
    May 13, 2014
    look right by chassis batt for a little box w/ a red switch make sure it is closed this feeds house off of eng. mine is a 150 amp fuse have a 98 santara
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    May 13, 2014
    Does everything 120VAC in the coach work when you run the generator? Some coaches are wired so that the generator will power some but not all, until an automatic switch kicks in. OR you need to plug your shore tie into a receptacle powered by the genset.

About Motorhome Group

38,705 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 21, 2025