Battery isolator info

[Dave T]

For anyone that wants to know. Being I was use to a simple batter isolator that only connected the chassis battery with the coach batteries when the ignition switch was on, I was surprised that was a better way. Also connect the chassis battery with the coach batteries when on shore power. Here is how it done.
http://www.intellitec.com/PDF/5300362.100.pdf
I don't know where they mounted this unit on all models but on my Lexington is under the driver's seat. So Lexington owners, be careful of metal objects you stuff under the seats! An inverter is under the passenger's seat. The isolator relay is in a box next to the coach batteries. Along with fuses for the slide outs. This is where my Lexington stuff is located, I don't know abot class C & class A models.

[Dave T]

Update to link
http://www.intellitec.com/assets/pdf...-00362-100.pdf

[jax1911]

Thanks for the info Dave.

[Delsbrat]

Originally Posted by Dave T

Update to link
http://www.intellitec.com/assets/pdf...-00362-100.pdf

Where can this item be purchased??
Delsbrat


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[WCL]

Question, when you are connected to shore power where should the switch be. Disconnect on or off so the house batteries will charge?

[captken]

Trickle start around 10 bucks mounted in house battery compartment

[Ckevinj]

Thanks for the info in this old sticky thread.
I'm trying to figure out my 2004 Lex GTS (e450) which does not charge house off engine.
I have a "Use/Store" switch by the interior steps, is this the battery connect/disconnect switch for the BIRD?
There are two solenoids next to the batteries, I suspect that one of these is the converter charge solenoid and the other may be the engine charge solenoid, but what a mess those wires are. Tracing them out will not be easy.

[Dave T]

I don't have the Lexington anymore but I will try to help by memory. For starters the "Use/Store" switch has to be on. I see there is a 5 amp fuse. I am guessing that is under the steps in the battery compartment. Mine had a cover with 2 winged nuts holding the cover. Inside were some fuses. I know my side out fuses were there. So the trouble is down to. Switch not on, bad fuse, bad solenoid or bad bird. The link has a trouble shooting section. Volt meter is a must. Remember that there are hot battery cables connected to the bird ! Good luck.

[Ckevinj]

I found my BIRD and blown fuse finally.
On my 2004 Lexington GTS the bird is mounted directly next to the batteries out in the elements. The lower solenoid is the engine charge solenoid, the shore power solenoid is directly above it and they are both mounted to the BIRD on plate between tires and batteries.
The blown fuse that was preventing the engine charge was to the left side of the BIRD and solenoid, very very hard to spot and replace.

[Celticrider]

I realize these posts are old, but does anyone know what the inverter is for under the passenger seat? Has a white cord plugged into it on mine.
Thanks
Dave

[Danimal713]

Originally Posted by Celticrider

I realize these posts are old, but does anyone know what the inverter is for under the passenger seat? Has a white cord plugged into it on mine.
Thanks
Dave

The inverter on our 2010 FR Lexington 300SS GTS is under the passenger seat (to be moved when I convert to swivel pedestals). It powers the outlet up in the entertainment section and had TV plugged into it. The inverter had no DC power coming in so that TV has never been turned on. We rarely watch TV or listen to music when camping. I plan to pull the entire front section out to insulate the front bubble well and clean up the last vestiges of mice inhabitation in PO RV garage- fortunately they didn't chew up anything just made nests and pooped/peed all over in bubble. I will rework the cabinetry to add a bookshelf/storage area on right like the left side has and relocate the stereo behind the TV. The TV will be mounted on a long extension bracket to give a better viewing angle when sitting in the 2 nice RecPro recliners (replaced couch). I'll probably wire that outlet to house AC and if we want to watch TV I have a small 1000W inverter I can use and not mount to take up space. We probably will watch some TV when we go on long trips once she retires (August 2023 is target). To access the wiring, pull the screws holding the trim piece by passenger seat.

[Celticrider]

Originally Posted by Danimal713

The inverter on our 2010 FR Lexington 300SS GTS is under the passenger seat (to be moved when I convert to swivel pedestals). It powers the outlet up in the entertainment section and had TV plugged into it. The inverter had no DC power coming in so that TV has never been turned on. We rarely watch TV or listen to music when camping. I plan to pull the entire front section out to insulate the front bubble well and clean up the last vestiges of mice inhabitation in PO RV garage- fortunately they didn't chew up anything just made nests and pooped/peed all over in bubble. I will rework the cabinetry to add a bookshelf/storage area on right like the left side has and relocate the stereo behind the TV. The TV will be mounted on a long extension bracket to give a better viewing angle when sitting in the 2 nice RecPro recliners (replaced couch). I'll probably wire that outlet to house AC and if we want to watch TV I have a small 1000W inverter I can use and not mount to take up space. We probably will watch some TV when we go on long trips once she retires (August 2023 is target). To access the wiring, pull the screws holding the trim piece by passenger seat.

Thanks for the reply.
I finally did figure it out after tracing where the white cord went to.
It was disconnected at the outlet by the TV and replaced with AC power.
I reconnected it, replaced the 450w inverter with a 1000w and run an extension cord to the refrigerator to run on AC power when we are travelling instead of keeping propane on, as well as being able to watch TV on the few occasions we are parked overnight and don’t want to run the generator.
Works awesome.
Running the extension cord hidden was a little work but worth the effort.
I replaced the outer refrigerator cover fasteners with ones that allow for quick removal of the cover and simply unplug the refrigerator from stock AC outlet to the extension cord for traveling.
I like your idea on the work you are going to do.
A lot of wasted space up front in the bubble and a huge source of heat and cooling loss for sure.

[Danimal713]

I finally did most of the work to insulate the front bubble and move sound system and be able to use the upper storage compartment where sound system was as storage like on left like the driver side has. Here is the link to some pictures.
https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nt-261022.html

[Danimal713]

Originally Posted by Dave T

Update to link
http://www.intellitec.com/assets/pdf...-00362-100.pdf

The URL wouldn't open because of a security issue. I thought I would post more of what I have learned and include schematics and pictures. We have 2010 Lexington 300SS GTS. I found the BIRD behind driver seat under a small plywood platform covered in carpet. Some of the wires trace into the BCC (battery control box) which on the 300 is on passenger side between door and rear wheels. My goal in digging was to try to figure out how to disable or better yet limit the charge current to coach batteries since I replaced with Lithium batteries. There are many other threads about this but basically the Lithiums will draw LOTS of current from alternator if they are discharged quite a bit and the alternator will overheat and burn up the diodes. There are DC-DC isolation chargers that avoid this by limiting the amount of current. Or spring for an alternator that shuts down for short periods based on temperature- to the tune of around $1300!!! Anyway I was tracing wiring to figure out where this needed to go. I have yet to be successful but did figure if I put a switch in the trigger circuit for the isolation solenoid, it should disable charging coach batteries from alternator.
I added pictures and will scan/add the BIRD Service Manual I was sent by a guy at
Intellitec. It explains how the BIRD is designed to work.

[Celticrider]

I have played with our system which is exactly the same as yours.
In fact my house batteries had been not being changed intermittently by the chassis battery because the isolator relay is bad.
So basically I think if you want to stop the house batteries from being charged, simply disconnect the small wire that energizes the relay and it will not charge from the alternator.
I believe that wire comes from the BIRD

[Danimal713]

Originally Posted by Celticrider

I have played with our system which is exactly the same as yours.
In fact my house batteries had been not being changed intermittently by the chassis battery because the isolator relay is bad.
So basically I think if you want to stop the house batteries from being charged, simply disconnect the small wire that energizes the relay and it will not charge from the alternator.
I believe that wire comes from the BIRD

You are correct. It is a green wire that comes from BIRD to trigger terminal on isolation relay. I plan to install a switch to leave open but if closed, I can use to add coach batteries to the chassis battery if chassis battery is too low to start the motor. I'll figure out how to add a DC-DC isolation charger later. I am good about keeping my batteries plus have 200W of solar arrays to be able to add charge to coach batteries. Here is the BIRD Service Manual I got for tech support at Intellitec. I'll add to some other posts about the BIRD for people to be able to find easier.

[Celticrider]

Sounds like you are going to have a great set up when done.
Ours is pretty much stock other than we run our refrigerator when traveling off our inverter.
Still using lead Acid batteries.
can’t justify the 2000.00 for two lithium batteries they want yet
Intellec is a great company to deal with as well.
They do not mind helping customers out with issues, unlike some other companies I’ve dealt with.

[Danimal713]

Originally Posted by Celticrider

Sounds like you are going to have a great set up when done.
Ours is pretty much stock other than we run our refrigerator when traveling off our inverter.
Still using lead Acid batteries.
can’t justify the 2000.00 for two lithium batteries they want yet
Intellec is a great company to deal with as well.
They do not mind helping customers out with issues, unlike some other companies I’ve dealt with.

I went on the low side and bought 2 100ah lithium batteries for just under $800 and that included an extra 2 year warranty. They don't have a bunch of bells n whistles but they are and will do what I need them to do. All this started when I read a blog about Lithiums burning up alternators and researched to find it is possible. I did need to buy an updated converter with Lithium charge algorithm but sold original to recoupe about 1/2 of that cost. Replacement was an easy 10 minutes or less. I also added a shunt and a Renolgy battery monitor panel and mounted just inside the door. I still need to do some experiments to simulate off-grid situations to assess approximate time to suck the life out of the batteries. I switch all the lights (except maybe 1 or 2 rarely used) to LEDs from halogens. Main cabin and most was 20W halogens with lots of heat output. I found LEDs with same base I needed and now draw is 4-5W per bulb and very little heat. I was able to squirt some foam behind the fixtures to add insulation. The ceiling is 4" thick!!! but behind the lights I could see the bottom of the fiberglass roof. I have been systematically finding the little holes and sealing them best I can. But even stock, this camper is built well and has decent insulation. Now it is better. Next is under the slide to try to devise some way for a better seal to stop cold/hot outside air from infiltration. If I had not gone to Lithium I would probably went to AGM. or similar. I chose Lithium due to less weight (each battery is under 24 lbs). More importantly, these 2 batteries are easily equivalent to carrying 3 AGM/flooded cell batteries because I can burn then down way past 50%. With AGM/floods you should only use 50% (or probably damage the batteries) so effectively carry 100ah useable vs at least 150ah useable with Lithiums. The less weight is just another bonus. The downside is cost and the other parts to replace/add for Lithiums. Hope this adventure I am on helps someone else with the information. If you have not checked it yet, I did some improvements by taking the front apart a little and moving the sound/AV system to center space and putting TV on a bracket that slides out but also slides back and locks for travel. It opened the space where sound/AV was for more storage like on the left of TV. I also added a bunch of insulation behind and down each side (behind the fiberglass bump-outs just behind the cab doors.

[Danimal713]

added pictures before and after. I added more to dress out behind TV but no pictures yet.

[Celticrider]

Wow!
That looks awesome.
There is a lot of wasted space there that you have utilized.
The step down in the ceiling with the recessed lights did you do that?
Are you a carpenter by chance, the work looks professional.
As far as batteries we will probably go AGM.
Here in Canada, batteries like everything else is way more than you guys in the US pay.
I’ll pay for AGM what you payed for Lithium.
We don’t do a lot of boondocking, but are planning a 15000km trip across Canada and into Alaska this summer.
Would be nice to have more battery reserves, however I do have a monitor to keep an eye on battery condition.
Keep up the great work and post more updates if you can