Dead before we start

mstevens107 · 07-28-2010, 06:26 AM

Need to know what I did and how to correct the problem of dead coach batteries. We were planning to leave for a 2 week road trip this morning.

Over the weekend I ran the generator and AC units while packing out the bus. I turned the AC units off and after a few minutes shut down the generator. The night before last I turned on the refrig. in preparation of packing it out the following morning. Upon my return I found the entire coach dead. The chassis is fine and is running great but the coach is completely dead. Last night I drove it home and plugged into shore power. Note, I don't have 50 amp capacity at home so I used a reducer and plugged in a 12 ga extension cord. According to the indicator light I had 1/3 battery power last night when I went to bed but this morning it's down to zero and the inverter continues to blink red.

What did I do wrong and what is the resolution?

**Herk7769** · 07-28-2010, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstevens107

Need to know what I did and how to correct the problem of dead coach batteries. We were planning to leave for a 2 week road trip this morning.

Over the weekend I ran the generator and AC units while packing out the bus. I turned the AC units off and after a few minutes shut down the generator. The night before last I turned on the refrig. in preparation of packing it out the following morning. Upon my return I found the entire coach dead. The chassis is fine and is running great but the coach is completely dead. Last night I drove it home and plugged into shore power. Note, I don't have 50 amp capacity at home so I used a reducer and plugged in a 12 ga extension cord. According to the indicator light I had 1/3 battery power last night when I went to bed but this morning it's down to zero and the inverter continues to blink red.

What did I do wrong and what is the resolution?

Was the inverter left on?

mstevens107 · 07-28-2010, 07:57 AM

Yes. I have a mobile mechanic coming to inspect. Sent by Good Sams Emergency Service. I can't move the coach out of the driveway because the awnings are fully extended and no power to bring them in...
Murphy's Law does exist!

NWJeeper · 07-28-2010, 08:44 AM

A guy we camped with not long ago had the same issue. If you left the inverter on it is possible that it was powering something that takes a lot of power and drained the batteries. If you have a digital readout in the coach for the inverter it is good practice to use it to make sure the inverter is off and to know if there is any parasitic load on the batteries being supplied by the inverter when it is on. We found that even when forcing our refrigerator to run on LP with the inverter on the ice maker draws a lot of amps.

The other possibility if you always leave your rig plugged in and you haven't checked the batteries is that you have ruined one, shorted it and taken the others with it. It does happen and it's easier than you think if you never check water level in the batteries on a regular basis while plugged in to power and charging.

cfsoistman · 07-28-2010, 11:45 AM

Once plugged back in did you turn the inverter back on? Your coach may be wired through the Inverter and if you don't turn it on or have a means to by-pass it then your power will be off. If the power in the batteries go down too far the Inverter will shut itself off based on the settings. Until power is reconnected and the unit turned back on the batteries will not charge either. Also, not sure which inverter you have but I have a Xantrex RS3000 and there is a 400 amp fuse between the batteries and the charger off the inverter. If this fuse should happen to blow for any of a number of reasons the batteries won't charge but everything will work on shore power or generator provided the Inverter is turned on. Eventually the batteries drain completely down. Just a couple possibilities! Let us know what the tech finds, Charlie

RVNDC · 08-17-2010, 10:10 PM

I boondock near DC and have drained my batteries numerous times. I carry a set of jumper cables and jumpstart the chassis battery to the coach to start the generator. Works like a charm...

mstevens107 · 08-18-2010, 07:52 AM

Come to find out we had a faulty inverter. We were able to find a Camping World along our trip and had it replaced. The coach ran terrific for the rest of the 2755 miles. Great trip! From Raleigh, NC to Springfield, MO & the original Bass Pro Shop, to Tulsa, OK to St Louis, MO where the kids rode up the Arch and Mom/Dad visited Budweiser...Then on to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY and the Woodard Reserve distillery...finally on to Milton WV where we stayed at a nice KOA and went sightseeing. This is the what the Berkshire BH is meant for - family memories!

tmmar · 08-18-2010, 09:23 AM

Happy to hear that the problem was solved and that you had the first of many memorable vacations. When my sons were in grade school many years ago, the teacher remarked at how many times when they were discussing a place in school that my sons raised their hands saying that they had visited that place. To this day (30 years later) they remember those places. We are now re-visiting the same places with our children and their children (our grand children) hoping they will have the same memories.

52Dodgeman · 08-18-2010, 09:52 AM

Really glad to hear things worked out. It sounds like a great trip. The Arch and the Bud Brewery are both interesting places to visit. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Dbt803 · 08-18-2010, 01:13 PM

I am happy to hear everything worked out and you had a wonderful trip. I hope to visit some of those same places and create family memories as well.

**Bob Fields** · 08-19-2010, 01:33 PM

Awesome!

And I agree with the childhood memories - sometimes when heading out on a trip the kids would be like, "do we have to go away again?" Then once they went off to college the first place they brought their friends when visiting home was the family room to show them all the places they had been growing up! I get a smile just thinking about!

Travel on!

cfsoistman · 08-19-2010, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstevens107

Come to find out we had a faulty inverter. We were able to find a Camping World along our trip and had it replaced. The coach ran terrific for the rest of the 2755 miles. Great trip! From Raleigh, NC to Springfield, MO & the original Bass Pro Shop, to Tulsa, OK to St Louis, MO where the kids rode up the Arch and Mom/Dad visited Budweiser...Then on to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY and the Woodard Reserve distillery...finally on to Milton WV where we stayed at a nice KOA and went sightseeing. This is the what the Berkshire BH is meant for - family memories!

We had a faulty inverter as well but only on one leg. We left for the beach and everything was working, came back and only 1 AC was running and half of the motorhome was dead. I check the output voltage at the inverter and found one side with 120 volts the other with zero. Went to HD and bought a few wire bugs and rubber tape. By-passed the inverter and continued with vacation. Camping World swapped it out under warranty and reimbursed me for the supplies and my time. I guess when they croak there's no warning they just don't work. Glad to hear they got you squared away.

NWJeeper · 08-19-2010, 05:47 PM

WooHoo!

Awesome!

(not about having a bad inverter but that you had a good trip)

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