House batteries wont recharge from driving (halfway on cross country trip)

[moto_marx]

cross country from fl to cali in a 99' workhorse chassis on a '00 winnebago itasca sunrise and a week into driving i10, my house batteries (one year old and well maintained) wont recharge themselves. i've physivally inspected the power cables and connection. sounded different when I fired it up first thing this morning. after driving several hours, batteries are at 12.2. I have 200 watts of solar but it was really cloudy today with light rain. in the past with a 97 camper van, a relay went bad for the charger that charges the house batteries. i wonder if its the same thing. im going to call winnebago in the morning. I've turned off my house system and am not sure what to do. I'm in ft. stockton, tx not sure whether to press on to nm and find someone to help along the way

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Till you get it figured out, run the genny to charge the house. Yes, on the road!

 

[moto_marx]

Long story but even with all new parts in my onan, for whatever reason, won't crank over

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Did it run before the trip?

 

[moto_marx]

I've been on the road for 10 days. slowly driving from fl to cali. it's always worked. I disconnected the solar and drove 90 minutes but it didn't charge back so I think it's a hidden part of the wire or connection or converter is bad. the connections for 120v were loose going into the converter. I tightened and replaced a 15a fuse for dc power to an extra cigarette lighter outlet

 

[moto_marx]

update: tested the ac120 power going into the converter with a multimeter with and without the main breaker on and noticed no change from 12.7v. pics below

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Sitting, what is the battery voltage

 

[moto_marx]

it is sitting. I'm not plugged into sure power. batteries read anywhere between 12.2 and 12.9 since the problem started. unplugged the solar system, read batts 12.75 and drove 90 minutes and read 12.4

 

[Kevin D Pem]

This the chassis batteries?

 

[moto_marx]

The house batteries in my rv. The alternator has no problem charging the starting battery

 

[Kevin D Pem]

it is sitting. I'm not plugged into sure power. batteries read anywhere between 12.2 and 12.9 since the problem started. unplugged the solar system, read batts 12.75 and drove 90 minutes and read 12.4

Answer how driving has anything to do with house batteries, and you will likely have your Answer! When I read this I think the two are somehow connected. If they were they should be charging.

If a small load brings down the voltage as far as you say, have you load tested the house batteries. Have you checked any Isolators to verify it is functioning? Have you made sure batteries are installed with proper polarity?

I would stay up and help, but my help will have to wait till tomorrow.

 

[Wemustrv]

Till you get it figured out, run the genny to charge the house. Yes, on the road!

I have done this successfully many times. We will run the generator going down the road if it is hot and we need to run roof AC or if we have something cooking. Prior to changing batteries I did in fact use it to charge weak house batteries going down the road.

 

[moto_marx]

Answer how driving has anything to do with house batteries, and you will likely have your Answer! When I read this I think the two are somehow connected. If they were they should be charging.

If a small load brings down the voltage as far as you say, have you load tested the house batteries. Have you checked any Isolators to verify it is functioning? Have you made sure batteries are installed with proper polarity?

I would stay up and help, but my help will have to wait may be that the converter is bad given the pics I attached

Answer how driving has anything to do with house batteries, and you will likely have your Answer! When I read this I think the two are somehow connected. If they were they should be charging.

If a small load brings down the voltage as far as you say, have you load tested the house batteries. Have you checked any Isolators to verify it is functioning? Have you made sure batteries are installed with proper polarity?

I would stay up and help, but my help will have to wait till tomorrow.

yea, it might be a bad converter given the test results in the pics in my update post about. the fridge/freezer uses a little power nonstop to power a fan. it just charged from 12.3v to 12.4 overnight with solar connected under gas station lights. thank God I installed that before the trip

 

[moto_marx]

yea, it might be a bad converter given the test results in the pics in my update post about. the fridge/freezer uses a little power nonstop to power a fan. it just charged from 12.3v to 12.4 overnight with solar connected under gas station lights. thank God I installed that before the trip

I installed them correctly last year and keep the batt. bay clean and connections tight. never had this problem living full time in it for the last year. I didn't think I could load test it cos I'm on the road. also, I've paid close attention to their levels and states of charging. I thought since the batts never went below 12.2, that a reading of 12.95v is accurate at sitting. the isolated has always worked. I'm not sure how that would be related. the starting batt. is even newer and reads 12.6-8 all the time

 

[Kevin D Pem]

What did you say was in Cali!

 

[moto_marx]

in the batt management system compartment under the hood, I tested the auxiliary start solenoid (going to the house batts) for 12v DC while sitting and unplugged and found it was 12.88v (like reads at the batteries also) and while idling and was -1v. also, the other side of the solenoid going to starting batt and found was also 12.88v at sitting and unplugged but went to .26v while idling. saw a demo that recommended starting there. that also explains why the voltage doesn't change at the converter (leads feeding power to converer) with the main breaker off vs. on

 

[moto_marx]

I have done this successfully many times. We will run the generator going down the road if it is hot and we need to run roof AC or if we have something cooking. Prior to changing batteries I did in fact use it to charge weak house batteries going down the road.

my gunny isn't cranking over. it's been a broke for months. I'll have it diagnosed when I get the money

 

[moto_marx]

good cheap bud, great climate, better pay, more gov. resouces, more libs to laugh at, a wide range of nature environments...