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Old 01-16-2020, 09:14 PM   #1
SGTJAC
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Default Maybe a different approach

First thing, The white on the Battery terminals is a protector not corrosion.
I'm hoping that this forum stays active as I and other new owners to come with have questions for a while. Many of you have been there and done it.

I have a 2006 GS Tour master without manuals but are downloading them as I find a new one. I have been starting the coach weekly but was gone for a 15 days and came back and all I got was a slow turnover and then nothing when I tried starting the engine. It was 60 degrees outside. I have also went and bought a large charger for future use.batteriesjan2020 (2).jpg

Next I started the Gen. and she came on right away without problems. Now, did I do something wrong by first trying to push the Temp. connect battery switch to start to diesel engine? (To no avail, very slow turnover and then I stopped trying) Also when I did try and start the engine, the Gen. died immediately. The chassis batteries are the top one's. The house the lower I believe and up front are 4 for the Gen.

Not very good with Electrical but will learn. Can you help with what I have tried to describe?
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Old 01-17-2020, 10:32 AM   #2
Chuck v
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SGTJAC,


My 2007 Tour Master T40C also had two chassis batteries, two house batteries and the 4 golf cart front batteries for the generator and inverter. The inverter takes care of charging the cart batteries when you are connected to shore power (and also when the generator is running...) Shore power also charges the house batteries, but the chassis batteries are only charged by the engine alternator in the factory configuration. For my coach, I added a quality float charger for the chassis batteries, as I was full timing then and mostly connected to shore power. I only moved the coach about once per 90 days or so...therefore I did not count on the engine alternator to keep these diesel starting batteries charged.


The temporary start switch on the dash is there to connect the house batteries to the chassis batteries momentarily if needed to boost the starting of the engine. If both battery banks are low, this switch will not rescue you.


I expect from your post that this coach is new to you. You might want to have both the house batteries and the chassis batteries tested, likely they are at the end of their service life. ALWAYS replace both batteries in the same bank and do not mix age or ratings as that will adversely effect charging. I added a watering manifold to my house batteries and to the front cart batteries to allow keeping the electrolyte levels properly maintained easily. If batteries go dry they are easily damaged and have greatly shortened life.



I can't explain why the generator died when you attempted to start the diesel... The generator is set up to charge the house batteries when it is running, but as far as I know it is not connected to the chassis batteries. For your information, the shore power enters the coach through the main transfer switch. This transfer switch selects between the shore power and the output of the generator. There is a secondary transfer switch built into the Inverter (which allows the front 4 cart batteries to be 'inverted' to about 2000 watts of AC power) such that either available AC from generator or shore power goes to designated loads like the residential refrigerator -- and if either of those are absent, then the battery powered inverter takes up the slack for essential loads. Your coach probably has two separate small panels of AC breakers (mine did...) and the one with the refrigerator is the one that can be powered with the inverter. I recall that the breakers for the main TV and some outlets in the kitchen and some in the bedroom were in this panel. Large continuous loads like the air conditioners, water heater, engine block heater are not candidates for power from the inverter, they are in the other breaker panel.


Hope this helps. Your coach may have several differences from mine, so use the above as a guide only...


Chuck
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Old 01-17-2020, 02:47 PM   #3
SGTJAC
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Chuck V,

Thanks for a concise reply to my questions. They were spot on to what I needed and made it clear for me to understand. You are quite right that those four batteries need replacing. I invested in a large charger with boost and the coach started right away. They show low at 12.0 or so on the LED read-out on the charger.

{The temporary start switch on the dash is there to connect the house batteries to the chassis batteries momentarily if needed to boost the starting of the engine. If both battery banks are low, this switch will not rescue you.}

Since they were all low then, the temp. start switch wasn't able to come to my aid. I could have also been trying to restart the gen. at the same time but honestly can't remember. Seems possible that they also need looked at before road trips.

Would you go with just Deep Cycling batteries, AGM as replacements? Thanks again for your time.
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Old 01-17-2020, 06:05 PM   #4
Chuck v
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The house batteries should be deep cycle. The diesel start batteries will not be deep cycle but rather heavy current starting batteries. The 4 each 6 volt golf cart batteries will be similar to deep cycle as that is what electric vehicle lead acid flooded cell batteries are...


I have never used AGM or the more exotic battery types as they rarely pencil out for a recreational use and often need to have the charging equipment modified to charge them properly. Battery technologies are constantly improving, but lead acid is a veery good value for money...



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Old 01-18-2020, 08:05 PM   #5
SGTJAC
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Chuck,

Thanks again for the great info on choices for batteries. I'm going to take my time and find some good ones for the money so I'll be ready when spring arrives.
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