Flashing lights on dash of 2016 London Aire

[Jim]

I picked up my 2016 London Aire at Newmar where it was having some repair work performed. While I was there, I stayed a night in their camping area. That evening, I lowered the blinds and noticed that as they started to go down, they struggled a bit. Almost stopping at times, and then regaining momentum and going the rest of the way down. Then suddenly, all the lights on the dash started flashing on/off in unison.

I had no idea what the cause was, and unluckily for me, it was Friday night and even though I was at the Newmar Service department, they were closed. The lights stopped flashing in a few seconds and I filed it away in the "that was strange" section of my brain.

So now I'm back at home, and the exact same thing happened to me last night. Same scenario, putting the blinds down and they were struggling, then the lights on the board started to flash on/off.

I have my suspicions as to what is happening, but I'm going to keep that to myself and wait to see if someone else has a suggestion.

 

[Neal]

What are the voltages showing at this time for house and also chassis batteries?

 

[Jim]

What are the voltages showing at this time for house and also chassis batteries?

I don't know. I checked afterward, and they appeared to be normal. That being said, they were connected to shore power at the time, so I'm sure the charger was telling me everything was charged, when indeed it may not be.

But the batteries were my first idea as well.

 

[Neemer]

Speaking only of my limited experiences with things RV electrical related, nearly 100% of my issues have been related to a bad ground. I would try to find a common ground and see if it needed to be cleaned up or tightened.

 

[Neal]

If you can capture what you're seeing with flashing lights on the dash with a video that would help us and also Newmar if you email them.

 

[NWIP]

I would also try and look at amp draw while shades are going down, wondering if one of the shade motors is going bad causing a high draw.

 

[Neal]

Or a bad house battery? Test them?

 

[Jim]

Or a bad house battery? Test them?

I'm getting the video ready to post to YouTube but yes, the batteries are probably the problem. I bought a tester the other day, but it's a real pain to disconnect them and test them individually.

Keep in mind now, that these are the $2,780.00 in new batteries that I JUST replaced last year. My guess is they were severely damaged while they sat at the repair shop for 6 weeks, without a charger on them.

 

[Neal]

I watched your YouTube video I'm sure you'll link in a few. Looks like house batteries are the issue. The rocker switch lights are all on the 12V loop. Sounds like someone owes you new batteries. What I don't know is if bringing down shades triggers night mode and if those rocker lights will light up when the coach has shades down. Stupid question but confirm key is OFF? Headlights OFF? I think those lights only come on with ignition in accessory or on?

Confirm this does not happen with shore power connected?

 

[Jim]

I watched your YouTube video I'm sure you'll link in a few. Looks like house batteries are the issue. The rocker switch lights are all on the 12V loop. Sounds like someone owes you new batteries. What I don't know is if bringing down shades triggers night mode and if those rocker lights will light up when the coach has shades down. Stupid question but confirm key is OFF? Headlights OFF? I think those lights only come on with ignition in accessory or on?

Confirm this does not happen with shore power connected?

Yes, the ignition key is off.

I have had discussion with them and they have agreed to pick up the coach, repair some damage that occurred while it sat outside in the rain, and to replace the $2,780.00 worth of batteries that should have been connected to shore power during the 6-7 weeks it sat in the parking lot.