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Southwind not starting

gbopp
Explorer
Explorer
My 96 Southwind, P 30 chassis, will not turn over. It acts like the battery is dead.
According to my multi meter the battery is at 12.9 volts.

I had the same problem about a year ago. I cleaned the battery terminals and later it started. I didn't have any problems since, until today.
The battery terminals are clean, the battery is good.
What should I check first? The ground connection on the frame?

I know, I should have checked it out better when I originally had the problem. But I didn't.

Any recommendations will be appreciated.

We had a major storm two nights ago. It dumped over an inch in about 40 minutes.
Could something be soaked?

Thank You.
6 REPLIES 6

Hank_MI
Explorer
Explorer
Do you have power to the dash and ignition and no cranking or is everything dead?

outofplace
Explorer
Explorer
I would try starting it again then go disconnect the House batteries and see if the starter wire is on the wrong battery
Paul
2016 Outlaw 38RE

gbopp
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks, I need to find the problem. New cables may be a good place to start.

And, I should probably test the voltage at the starter before and after the new cables are installed.

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
Hi,

Probably time to consider new cables.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

WyoTraveler
Explorer
Explorer
A volt meter takes very little current to measure voltage. A better reading would be to put the probes on the starter and watch voltage when someone else tries to start the engine. With dirty contacts voltage would drop and show true voltage starter is getting.

gbopp
Explorer
Explorer
I got it started.
I cleaned the house battery terminals.
I don't know if that was the problem but, it started immediately after cleaning them.
I'll be checking for a bad battery cable.