Battery Problems - need help

shorty · 12-25-2008, 11:00 AM

I have a 2008 373 Georgetown. I recently start having engine battery problems which I had to use the battery boost. I took it in to the dealer and they too had problems starting it. They took it to Ford because the battery is warrantee under them. Ford tested the unit and sent back to dealer saying nothing is wrong with the unit. I just picked it up from dealer two weeks ago and it cranked right up. I went to crank it on Sunday and again, I had to use the battery boost. I drove it around to charge up the battery and on Wednesday I went to crank it battery dead and had a really hard time trying to use the battery boost. Well, I got it started and drove it again and went to visit a friend in my town and now it will not start. My son works for Merchant Auto so I had him come and test the engine battery and it showed Low voltage from the alternator and the battery had 139 CCA cold cranking amps out of 750. We attempted to get a new battery, but due to being Christmas Eve everything closed early. The unit is under warranty and I called Coach Net and asked for service on Friday the 26th.

In my brainstorming effort my son tested the coach batteries which had a good charge on both batteries. My thinking with these batteries being fully charged I should have inside lights, slide outs working, command center should function, generator should fire-up, and steps should work. That is not the case EVERYTHING is dead...no generator....nothing. I know I have a service call in for Friday, but I thought I would at least get the group brain storming to help me have some clue as to what possibly could cause this problem. I requested the service call for Friday because I want everyone to have a merry Christmas, Friday works for me. I was suppose to be leaving Friday am heading to Cleveland GA and other places and ending in Melbourne FL for New Years eve, but looks like my plans just went down the drain. Any help or ideas are truly welcome.

rockwood06 · 12-25-2008, 11:11 PM

I had a problem with an old Chevy Nova, the battery kept on discharging, come to find out it was a bad ground wire on the starter. Check all you connections and make sure the are clean and tight. The other thing that could kill your battery is a bad starter. Just a few Ideas, hope it helps good luck.

cfsoistman · 12-26-2008, 07:14 AM

Check your coach battery disconnect button by your door. It may be lit but it may be switched off. If both coach batteries are good you should have lights in the coach. I've experienced a bad ground on the coach in regards to my headlights. One morning they would not come on. FR used an aluminum trim self-tapping screw to make the ground to the frame without removing any of the paint to expose the metal to the terminal end.
As for the starter battery I would trace out the ground from the battery and check it as well as the wiring to the starter. Any chance the radio is on but the volume is off and draining the battery?
Good luck and let us know what they find. Some of us may need this info for future reference, Charlie

shorty · 12-26-2008, 04:14 PM

I just took it to the Chesaco dealership today, they will look at it on Monday. I will give a big kudos to Coach Net for the fantastic service and follow-up. The tow truck guy came and jumped the RV and tested the alternator and said that it was working fine and charging the battery. He told me that something on the unit is draining the battery. I took it back to the dealership for them to research and correct. I will keep you all posted on their findings.

rockwood06 · 12-27-2008, 08:43 AM

It's funny after posting on the Christmas day about your problem, my son toke a family member home that night and he ended up with a dead battery as soon as he returned home, What luck!

jimb053 · 12-28-2008, 10:03 PM

I feel for you man. I once had a Ford Mustang that would or would not start and the battery was fine. Come to find out it was the cylinder where to put your key into. Sometimes it would make connection and start and other times it would not but a jump would make it start (and remember the battery was fine).

If you have a toad you pull check the wires running from your coach to the toad. A bad ground will also discharge your battery. Had that problem on a EL CAMINO. The wires rubed on the bumper and it had a bald spot on the wires. It took forever to find the problem - all for a small piece of electrical tape to fix the problem.
Jimbo

jimb053 · 12-28-2008, 10:06 PM

Oh and most important my wifes C240 Mercedes has a battery charger on it every time she pulls up into the drive way. It has a drain (5 months and still cant find the problem) and this is the only way we can drive it. Getting rid of it next month so I dont want to spend anymore money fixing someone elses problem. Oh those electrical problems.
Jimbo

shorty · 01-08-2009, 09:21 PM

Problem solved!!!! It appears that a wire in the driver seat was always left on somehow. It came from the factory like that which was causing the drain. I do have a question for u all. If this has been the problem for a while Should I request them to replace the battery, it is still under warranty?

rockwood06 · 01-08-2009, 09:31 PM

I would give it a shot. The dealer will get his money back from the manufacture because of the warrenty. This might be a good test to see how your dealer handles customer satifaction.

cfsoistman · 01-08-2009, 10:06 PM

Definitely agree. The more a battery is drained the weaker it becomes over the long haul and since you've had it drain down to the point where your motorhome wouldn't start more than once I would pursue it. First check with your dealer and if they can't help email Mike Burns at Forest River and explain your situation.
mburns@forestriverinc.com

cfsoistman · 01-08-2009, 10:14 PM

What did you find out about the coach lights, slideouts, and generator not working. Were these related to the seat wire issue?

shorty · 01-09-2009, 07:57 AM

Thanks for the input. I am going to pick it up today and will let you know if they will replace the battery. I am actually thinking about contacting Mike Burns prior to me picking it up just to get the approval and maybe he will tell them to do it before I get there. Do you think that is a good idea?

cfsoistman - They just said the issue was the wire in the electric driver seat. Irv @ Cheasaco said everything is working and that it was a real pain trying to find the problem. I have prayed that this IS the problem and all the issues I have had are resolved. I will know for sure over this next week as I plan to keep cranking and turning things on to ensure their fix is correct.

cfsoistman · 01-09-2009, 08:45 AM

I hear you. I just found a broken drawer guide in the bedroom area. I opened my slideout and the drawer was sitting in the opening crooked and partially out on one side.The plastic ? mark bracket just broke. Not sure if the cold was a factor but I found a replacement for less than $5 for a set but I'm looking into adding a channel to help carry the weight of the drawers on both sides of the roller channel. I have three drawers over top each other. the one that broke was the bottom one. I'd hate to see what would happen if it was one of the other two. Even when they're empty the drawers are still pretty heavy.

If you email Mike Burns he usually responses pretty quickly.

Good luck, Charlie

shorty · 01-09-2009, 10:46 PM

I emailed Mike and he said he was not trying to pass the buck but ford will have to take care of the battery. I emailed him and said how can they be responsible when your faulty wiring in the seat caused the battery to drain. I am waiting on a response.....stay tuned!

rockwood06 · 01-10-2009, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

I hear you. I just found a broken drawer guide in the bedroom area. I opened my slideout and the drawer was sitting in the opening crooked and partially out on one side.The plastic ? mark bracket just broke. Not sure if the cold was a factor but I found a replacement for less than $5 for a set but I'm looking into adding a channel to help carry the weight of the drawers on both sides of the roller channel. I have three drawers over top each other. the one that broke was the bottom one. I'd hate to see what would happen if it was one of the other two. Even when they're empty the drawers are still pretty heavy.

If you email Mike Burns he usually responses pretty quickly.

Good luck, Charlie

Lowe's carry ball bearing drawer guides and they come in different sizes. They carry a lot more weight.

cfsoistman · 01-11-2009, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the info. I may go that way if I have any other brackets break.

snarley · 02-02-2009, 11:02 PM

The problem I had with our 2007 370 TS was that the heated mirrors were wired to be always on. Key off, switch off - always on. If we dry camped one nite we had a dead chassis batter in the morning. Eventually the battery charger failed , I think, because of the constant 5 amp plus load. Bttery charger replace dunder warranty and finally found the mirrir problem because I had a dc clamp on ammeter and could show the dealer that there was a constant drain on the battery with nothing on. Problem was a single wire mis-connected under the dash....S..t happens but you have to perservre.

cfsoistman · 02-03-2009, 07:50 AM

With all the connections they have to make, it's bound to happen.
We had an issue with our headlights. One morning I was planning to leave at 3:00 AM to go to Camping World and had no headlights. So needless to say I was stuck at home until the sun came up so I could see what I was doing. I found that the ground for the headlights was attached to the frame with an aluminum self-tapping trim screw. You know the white oval head phillips screw type. The round terminal connector was larger than the head of the screw so they used a flat washer which was only slightly smaller. The frame did not have the paint removed so the connection was only being made by the threads of the screw. It had ozidized and presto, no lights! I had a tough time getting to this connection because it was behind the mass of wires going back to the firewall. I cut at least 5 wire ties to move them to the side. I wire wheeled off the paint, drilled a hole and used a stainless steel bolt to make the connection through the terminal connector, then sprayed the connection with battery terminal protector.
The other wiring issue we had involved the connection of the cord to the box in the electrical compartment. We purchased a RS3000 Xantrex Invertor at Camping World which included a system monitor panel inside. I started getting a Low AC input Line 1warning on the panel. When I checked it out and traced the wires I found that the Line 1 feed had burned the lug in the box and was barely making any type of connection. This was a result of the lug not being tightened completely. The wire was discolored from the heat. I cut off about 1 foot of the cable to make sure I had good wire to work with and there was a spare unused lug to make the connection since the other was cooked. I hate to think what may have occurred had I not purchased that invertor. I later had the cord replaced because the head was seperating from the cord. I now make it a habit to check those wires and any significant connections before and after each trip. Hopefully these are the only two problems we'll have.

TulsaSteve · 03-10-2009, 08:57 PM

Another option for these issues... For $40-$100 you can get an automatic battery cut off. When the voltage gets too low, it will cut the batteries... You can get them for the chassis and the coach.

Some must be accessed directly to reset, others have a remote control reset.. Can save your butt when you can't find a drain.

http://www.batterybrain.com/batterybrain.pl

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