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Old 06-19-2019, 11:01 AM   #1
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Engine battery charging on shore power?

While I am camped and connected to shore power, should my engine battery be charging?

The dashboard radio in my 2018 Georgetown Class A is the radio and DVD player for the coach. There is a switch to power it on even when the key is not in ignition.

But that is apparently draining the engine battery? That battery was down below 12v after a couple days of listening to radio and using bluetooth from radio to play cell phone music.

The coach batteries are staying charged while on shore power.

I used the battery assist button to start the engine with power from the coach batteries.
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Old 06-19-2019, 11:35 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by bnaudie View Post
While I am camped and connected to shore power, should my engine battery be charging?

The dashboard radio in my 2018 Georgetown Class A is the radio and DVD player for the coach. There is a switch to power it on even when the key is not in ignition.

But that is apparently draining the engine battery? That battery was down below 12v after a couple days of listening to radio and using bluetooth from radio to play cell phone music.

The coach batteries are staying charged while on shore power.

I used the battery assist button to start the engine with power from the coach batteries.
If that were my coach I'd change the switch so it switched radio power source from starting battery to coach battery instead of just bypassing ignition switch to the radio.

A simple Single Pole Double Throw switch should do the job. Connect Radio to common terminal, starter battery source to one pole and house battery bank to other. I'd put a fuse in the line from the coach battery as the line from starter battery probably already comes from the fuse panel with it's own fuse.

Label switch "Driving" and "Parked" for the appropriate positions. Now your radio will be connected to whichever source is being charged.

Should cost less than $10 for the switch, wire, and crimp connectors.
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Old 06-19-2019, 11:37 AM   #3
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All my batteries charge when I am plugged in but I have a class c
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Old 06-19-2019, 11:55 AM   #4
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Depends on the unit and how it is wired. Sounds like you need something like the TrikLStart it provides a charge line to the engine battery from the house batteries. I put one on my Concord.

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Old 06-19-2019, 12:50 PM   #5
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As you didn’t tell us what coach you have, I doubt that your engine battery charges when plugged in to shore power,. When listening to radio or Cd’s put the switch over to coach!
This will stop the draw on the engine battery. However, if you stay in one place for a long time, you will need something like a Trik L Start or a trickle charger plugged into a house circuit and run to your engine battery. I use a portable one when plugged in at home to keep engine battery up to full charge.
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Old 06-19-2019, 01:02 PM   #6
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When I am in a place more then a week, I connect a battery tender to the chassis battery. This will keep it up even if using some power from it. My class C does not charge my chassis battery while on shore power. But I am going to change it.
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Old 06-19-2019, 01:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bnaudie View Post
While I am camped and connected to shore power, should my engine battery be charging?

The dashboard radio in my 2018 Georgetown Class A is the radio and DVD player for the coach. There is a switch to power it on even when the key is not in ignition.

But that is apparently draining the engine battery? That battery was down below 12v after a couple days of listening to radio and using bluetooth from radio to play cell phone music.

The coach batteries are staying charged while on shore power.

I used the battery assist button to start the engine with power from the coach batteries.
When we plugged in house and chassis battery charge
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Old 06-19-2019, 02:06 PM   #8
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As you didn’t tell us what coach you have, I doubt that your engine battery charges when plugged in to shore power.
The OP clearly states in the first post that it's a 2018 Georgetown and his profile says a Georgetown GT5.
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Old 06-19-2019, 08:15 PM   #9
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Chassis battery charging from shore power

My class C Lexington has an automatic transfer switch under the driver seat. When either chassis or coach battery is receiving a charge, it automatically connects the two & charges everything. You really should have this. Look around.
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Old 06-19-2019, 09:12 PM   #10
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On my 2011 Georgetown, I know that the alternator charges both the house and chassis batteries. I believe that the converter also charges both. I've never checked this because I'd need to measure the voltage on the chassis battery while the converter is producing output, something I've never had the need to do.


I'll check this the next time I'm at the rv.


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Old 06-20-2019, 12:03 PM   #11
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Yes your Batteries do charge when hooked up to shore power plus you have a switch that you can switch from coach batteries to house batteries I have a fr3 and it is the same as mine
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Old 06-27-2019, 09:56 PM   #12
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I am happy to discover that the built in battery isolator does control charging of the engine battery while connected to shore power. The only thing I need to do is turn on the battery disconnect switch.

If I plug in AC shore power first, before turning on the coach batteries, I could just go about business and everything is powered. I don't really need to turn on the battery disconnect master switch because everything is automatically transferred over to run on AC. BUT.... if I do turn on the battery disconnect master switch, it immediately sends charging power over to the engine battery. I can run the radio and/or DVD player forever without discharging any battery!
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