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Old 07-20-2006, 09:39 PM   #1
50kw
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Default chassis battery charging

I was under the impression that the converter/battery charger would keep all the batterys charged. I find that over 2-3 weeks of non-use the chassis battery will go dead.

I am plugged in 24/7. The other batterys are staying at full charge. I must be wrong about the chassis battery. How do you keep the chassis battery charged during non-use?

Many thanks,

Duncan
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Old 07-21-2006, 07:01 AM   #2
GStream40
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We do not keep our coach plugged in all the time since we have to keep it in our community storage lot, regulations don't allow it to be kept at the home, so I always turn the disconnect switches off to disconnect the batteries.

You could do the same with your chassis batteries, turn the chassis battery disconnect switch to off and just leave the house battery disconnect on.

Another thing would be to purchase a charger like the Battery Tender to keep the chassis battery charged while plugged into ac or just use a battery charger that has a tickle feature to maintain the chassis battery.

If your battery is going dead in 2-3 weeks, you will have the same problem if you use it in a extended stay like we do in the winter in Florida. It is not good on the battery to keep letting it discharge, it will have a very short life.

Ron
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Old 07-23-2006, 12:10 AM   #3
RJ82much
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Duncan,

Our 8351 chassis battery discharged like yours. With hindsight, it seemed to occur at shorter & shorter intervals of nonuse. My dealership service department "investigated" several times to find "nothing wrong"; scolded me for mistreating the battery (typical answer for everything). With a lot of noise from me (squeeky wheel) & words of wisdom from the factory, the battery was determined to be defective & replaced on warantee (with a cheap brand, of course).

Think about this: The chassis is 1 year older than your model year RV built on it. A case could be made that the battery has sat activated, discharged, outdoors (perhaps frozen), for up to 2 years before you took delivery. A defective battery is not surprising.

I HAVE learned to hit the disconnects when our coach is going to sit for any time & have never had the discharged problem since. Do remember, that if you discharge your chassis (engine) battery, calmly start your generator (It uses the coach or house batteries). It will charge your dead chassis battery thru the "Intellitec IRD Relay". I think you have to depress the "Auxiliary Start Switch" on the dashboard. You may be able to start the engine off the house batteries without the generator using this switch, but if you run those down, that's it. Start your generator first, then the engine. The engine alternator will provide a rapid recharge to the engine battery.

whew... sorry about all the long-wind again.
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Old 07-23-2006, 09:49 PM   #4
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Thanks for both replys. I never fully understood the starting from the house batterys. I knew there was a way. Now I think I have a better grip on it.

Duncan
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