New coach, old (charging) question....

[Vibrant93]

Hey guys, 1st time poster here. Been a member since '02 (what's that tell you) but finally got life in order enough to settle down with a coach! The wife and I just picked up an '00 Itasca Suncruiser 35u. 1st thing we've done was grab a couple of 6 volt batteries and put them in series for the house side. Here is where I kick the dead horse... What I'm noticing is that they are doing the job very well but I feel as though they are not receiving a charge when plugged into shore power. AKA not seeing a voltage on the house side above 12.2 with the master disconnect on and 30 amp shore service. This coach has a Magnetek 7455 converter/charger of which I've located and checked fuses. Everything checks out with the fuses. My question... Even though the coach has this converter with a charger function, does that mean the coach is wired for the charge feature that the converter offers? After hours of reading various posts and trying to go through schematics I feel as though there isn't a definitive answer. I don't have a problem upgrading to a 3 phase converter if mine has a bad charge side but doing so and still not having the charging function work is going to be an issue. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this but does anyone really know? Do the 2000 model Itasca Suncruiser 35u's take a charge off shore power if they were factory equipped with a Magnetek 7455 converter?

[FIRE_UP]

Vibrant93,
You've been given some good info. You have stated that see no more than 12.2 on the house battery side. May I ask, WHERE are you seeing this reading? Is it on a panel for checking the house battery voltage? Or, are you reading it with a VOM at the house batteries posts?

gemert and Don have both indicated that you "should" see 13.8 at the output of the Converter/Charger. Well, something's obviously not correct here. How are your lights in the coach, with no shore power attached and, with shore power attached? Are they any brighter with the shore power attached?

If you take a reading at the house battery posts with the shore power disconnected, then take another reading across those same posts, WITH the shore power connected, is there any difference? How much is any?

Yes, if you have a Converter/Charger, it is wired and setup to not only supply a charge to those house batteries but, also supply 12V to all your house appliances if and when, you are plugged into shore power.

If you run the tests that have been suggested, and, you see no difference in the voltage across the battery posts, then you potentially more than one issue.

1. As you suspect in your original post, you have a problem with the output side of the charger side of your converter.
2. You have a breakdown in the line(s) from the charger to the batteries.
3. You may have a bad cable, cable connection, set of cable connections, loose terminal, ????

It will interesting to find out just what your issue is. Keep us posted.
Scott

[DSDP_Don]

"Vibrant93".....Your converter charger only has two jobs....convert 110 volts to 12 volt and charge your batteries. It sounds like you the ability to use a voltmeter, so pull it out. Locate the converter charger and identify the two large wires that go to the batteries. It should be pretty easy to identify those. Take your meter and check those two wires at the converter/charger. They should be showing the voltage "gemert" discussed above. If not, the charger side is not working. If it's not working, check the entire unit carefully. Some have one or two blade type fuses plugged into the body of the unit. Check your Magnetek manual or go on line and download it.....and look for any fuses.

If the unit is putting out the correct voltage, you'll need to follow those large wires to the house batteries and check everything along the way and see where the connection is broken or there is a hidden fuse.

[gemert]

Congrats on your new coach! I am not an expert but I have never heard of a converter charger that was not supposed to charge your house batteries. That's what they do. I would plug the coach into a known good shore power and check across both of the 6 volt batteries. In other words, from the positive on one battery to the negative on the other battery. That should read initially at least 13.8 VDC or more. As the batteries become charged the voltage should go down to 12.5ish. If you don't get a charging voltage (12.8-14 VDC, some as high as 18 VDC)then the charger is not working or there is a broken or loose connection. Again, not an expert but thats how my RVs have operated. Good luck
PS. On edit...put your coach info in your signature or some of the old fuddy duddies on here will give you hell! Me I know so little about other people's coaches that I don't care! LOL