Parasitic voltage due on Roadtrek 190

I dont have an RT, but a conversion RVan. I have had persistent leakage ever since I had an alarm system installed. Various mechanics have found/fixed problems, grounds and bad wires (my van is old) but I finally had a "priority start" installed and carry a "jump start" just to be sure.
Are there fuses for different parts/items/areas in the RT? Pulling a fuse and checking the battery charge after a day might at least narrow down the culprit. Most times a nail or a screw nicks a wire and that is where the leak is occurring. It is just really bad luck.

Often times things like the propane detector are not turned off by a master disconnect.

The 2008 Chevy chassis has a history of starter battery discharge, but better on later and earlier years. Even so, it shouldn't kill the house batteries at the same time. You might want to see if the separator has failed and is locked in all the time. It would pull about 1.5 amps and from both batteries, so it could do the deed in 7 to 10 days.

You are not the only one this has happened to. I know a few other 190 owners who experience this - and apparently the problem with the chassis battery is with Chevy. One solution is to install a battery shut off switch on the engine battery. My 2011 190 has not had this problem but I do plug in to charge at the end of every month and then also run the generator for two hours in the middle of every month which will also give the batteries a boost charge as I was seeing my coach batteries going low if I did not do this. Always turn off the battery disconnect switch inside the Roadtrek when not traveling. There is enough connected to the 12 v system that draws power with that switch on that it will run down your coach batteries quickly (but not the engine battery).

We dry camped for 3 days this summer and the chassis battery wouldn't start the engine at 9+ volts. The separator was not wired to allow coach batteries to assist in starting. On returning home, we had the separator checked - not charging the coach batteries. Probably discharging the chassis battery. New separator installed and wired for manual assist from coach batteries. Sorry to hear from Booster that we have an on going problem. However, we will conduct an experiment by not connecting shore power to the RV and see what happens.

JimH190 - Our RT has been parked for 7 days with no shore power, the coach battery switch left ON and the inverter switch OFF. Checking it today - the coach batteries are Good and the chassis battery measures 12.56 volts.

It would appear that our problems were due to the Separator, which was replaced before the test. There is a 2011 recall on the SurePower separator series. Serial numbers are provided, but our bad separator was not among them. When the new separator was shipped from ASE Supply Inc (Portland Oregon) it was designated as a 1315-200-B replacing the ordered 1315-200.

senf wrote:
We dry camped for 3 days this summer and the chassis battery wouldn't start the engine at 9+ volts. The separator was not wired to allow coach batteries to assist in starting. On returning home, we had the separator checked - not charging the coach batteries. Probably discharging the chassis battery. New separator installed and wired for manual assist from coach batteries. Sorry to hear from Booster that we have an on going problem. However, we will conduct an experiment by not connecting shore power to the RV and see what happens.

If by manual assist from coach batteries means using the coach batteries to start, Ii is not a good idea on a Roadtrek. The front to rear wiring is too small, and there are several 80 amp (50 on older ones) breakers in the line. You could use the assist to charge the starter a bit, as the the dead battery will take some charge from the charged ones, but I wouldn't try to start off the coach batteries.

I hear you 'Booster', but on my RT the separator wiring to the inverter/charger and then to the coach batteries is the same size as the separator wiring to the chassis battery.

One of two stated purposes of the separator is to allow the coach batteries to assist the chassis battery in starting. The separator can be wired either for automatic assistance via the start switch or (as I have it) a separate switch on the dash. When I use the switch on the dash, you can hear the separator relay engaging and disengaging.

The other stated purpose of the separator is to allow the coach battery to be charged when the engine is running or the chassis battery to be charged when on shore power or generator. In both cases if either battery gets too low, the separator separates the two circuits to prevent the power draining from the higher of the two batteries.

All good stuff - when it works!!!

senf wrote:
I hear you 'Booster', but on my RT the separator wiring to the inverter/charger and then to the coach batteries is the same size as the separator wiring to the chassis battery.

One of two stated purposes of the separator is to allow the coach batteries to assist the chassis battery in starting. The separator can be wired either for automatic assistance via the start switch or (as I have it) a separate switch on the dash. When I use the switch on the dash, you can hear the separator relay engaging and disengaging.

The other stated purpose of the separator is to allow the coach battery to be charged when the engine is running or the chassis battery to be charged when on shore power or generator. In both cases if either battery gets too low, the separator separates the two circuits to prevent the power draining from the higher of the two batteries.

All good stuff - when it works!!!

If yours is wired adequately to start off the coach batteries, it is not like any of the Roadtrek wiring diagrams. This is entirely possible due to the sorry state of the Roadtrek literature:B. Remember that the wiring to the separator and the converter, the wiring from the alternator to the starter battery, and the wiring from the converter to the coach batteries is not carrying starting amperage normally, which is only in the wiring from the starting battery to the starter. The alternator is in the 150 amp range, the converter 30-50 amps. If yours is wired as the wiring diagram shows, you should have 4 gauge to the converter and coach batteries, with 80 amp breakers. The breakers will trip on starting amperage which is usually in the 150-300 amp range depending on temperature and engine. The 4 gauge is also way to small for that length an will have a huge voltage drop and heat gain. For that distance, you probably would want a 1/0 cable to be safe and 300 amp fusible link. I think Roadtrek wired the separator without the boost start for a reason, and the reason is that it isn't wired for it.

One of the stated purposes of a separator is using it for starting off either set of batteries, but it is always stated that only activate that feature if adequate wiring and protection are provided.

I would be very interested to see if Roadtrek has changed the wiring in their units, as boost would be a very nice feature, but it would increase their costs and be heavier, so they probably wouldn't do it.

Booster, you may be 100% correct with your facts, but I have done something similar before. How is this for memory recall? Diary actually.

On February 1, 2006, my 1996 Dodge RT 190V had a new chassis battery installed and the dealer also installed a switch to allow the coach battery to assist engine starting. The Dodge had an isolator, so a relay was installed and I remember the extra wiring to the isolator was not as heavy as was already there.

We were on our way to Arizona March 6, 2006, when, having stopped for a break at Myers Flat, CA, we couldn't start the engine. For the next 3.5 days, every time we stopped, the coach battery assist had to be used to start the engine. In Bakersfield, CA a new chassis battery was installed - by me - during lunch hour. Nothing untoward happened to the wiring, fuses or circuit breakers.

So I shall have faith, along with a dollop of doubt.