House Batteries

[Jetaway]

Hello, Campers!

I am new both to RVing and my motorhome. It is a 2003 Winnebago Windsurfer (wind ... something) with the 8.1L Chevy engine. I may have been taken a bit by the private seller, having to replace all 6 tires (it is a 30 footer) because they were literally coming apart after the 15 mile drive home. When plugged in, all the 120 volt equipment works, on battery nothing. It starts and runs fine, but the interior house lights are weak or nonexistent and the TV doesn't come on either. They worked at the sellers place, honestly I don't remember if it was plugged in or not. We went to a dumping place at the local water treatment plant and the pump seemed to work fine. I left it plugged in for 8 - 10 hours (that should charge the house batteries, shouldn't it?) but still nothing.

Could dead, as in need replacing house batteries, exhibit these symptoms? Is there some switch that I've Forgotten about?

Jetaway

 

[Rustymayes]

You probably have a dedicated battery for starting. Use a Volt/Ohm meter and check the voltage on your house batteries and familiarize yourself with how they are hooked up. Look for an in-service date on the batteries them selves and also see what kind they are. If they are sealed and several years old they are probably dead. If they have removable caps and are relatively new, check the water level, fill with distilled water to cover the cells and start your engine. Check voltage at the batteries, you should see at least 13.5 volts. If you are not familiar with electrical systems, find a good mechanic that is and have him or her check both the AC and DC systems for proper operation. Also look around the battery area and see if maybe you have a house battery selector or isolator switch that is turned off.

 

[Jetaway]

You probably have a dedicated battery for starting. Use a Volt/Ohm meter and check the voltage on your house batteries and familiarize yourself with how they are hooked up. Look for an in-service date on the batteries them selves and also see what kind they are. If they are sealed and several years old they are probably dead. If they have removable caps and are relatively new, check the water level, fill with distilled water to cover the cells and start your engine. Check voltage at the batteries, you should see at least 13.5 volts. If you are not familiar with electrical systems, find a good mechanic that is and have him or her check both the AC and DC systems for proper operation. Also look around the battery area and see if maybe you have a house battery selector or isolator switch that is turned off.

Thanks for the reply Rusty Mayes (guessing)

Yes. The starting battery is next to, but physicaly separated from the chassis battery.

I do have a volt/ohm meter but never having used it on a vehicle, I did not know whether the battery should be disconnected, or tested with car off, or with the car running.

Jetaway

 

[Rustycoach]

Doesn’t matter, if you are testing the battery health, check with engine off. If you are checking the charging system then check with the engine running.
You should see 12.5 with engine off and no 12 volt loads on.
I am just getting back into RVing, been in bigger boats lately and those systems have a lot more circuit controls and protection than most RVs as I remember but the basics are the same.
While you are checking things, look at all the terminals in the batteries for tightness and corrosion. Sometimes a little maintenance can fix problems like you are having.