Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-09-2016, 10:31 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Battery isolator question

This is for a 2016 Forester. The battery isolator has one side connected to the house batteries and the other to the chassis battery. If you press the emergency start switch the isolator opens allowing vehicle to start from house batteries.
Now when you are plugged into shore power does the isolator open and allow the converter to also charge the chassis battery? I am wondering if I should invest in a Trik-L-Start.

2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2016, 10:39 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
SeaDog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
On most rigs that I have seen the converter does not charge the chassis battery only the coach batteries. With my Winnebago I leave a battery tender on the chassis battery when I have the rig in my shop.
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
SeaDog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2016, 10:51 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 306
Not to be a smart ass, but the isolator switch stays in the open position until called upon. My 2016 Forester (MBS) has an isolator switch that closes when the engine runs so chassis and coach batteries charge. It does not close when plugged into shore power, so it does not charge the chassis battery. I installed a push button switch so I could turn on the isolator switch if I needed it to jump my engine. Mine did not have one from the factory.
__________________
2016 Forester 2401WS MBS
Life is short...eat the cookie
bob dirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 02:27 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Does anyone have a Trik-L-Start? Opinions? It allows a trickle charge to chassis battery from your house batteries via converter.
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 08:45 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Englewood FL
Posts: 2,797
Most BCCs are designed to work both ways. If yours doesn't I would try to figure out why not. The trik-l-start appears to lose at least .5 volts, the BCC isolator solenoid will lose you nothing. It is already there and can do the job if correctly hooked up.
__________________

2015 335DS
ScottBrownstein is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 09:02 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Gonna do some testing and check some readings today
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 10:07 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Englewood FL
Posts: 2,797
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtlm17 View Post
Gonna do some testing and check some readings today
I looked at the manual for the Intellitec BCC. Seems that it would be hard to prevent the converter from charging the chassis battery without going to great lengths as the circuitry that allows the house to be charged by the engine is integral to that function. There are some fuses that might be a problem and I did notice a "removable jumper" on the ignition isolation relay that prevents shutting off the batteries when the alternator is running, which would blow the diodes in the alternator as it would no longer see a load.

Here is what I am looking at.

http://www.intellitec.com/assets/pdf/5301087new3.pdf
__________________

2015 335DS
ScottBrownstein is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 11:48 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 306
I checked the jump connections under the hood. The voltage did not change when I turned on shore power. I have to assume it does not charge the coach battery...although I could be wrong
__________________
2016 Forester 2401WS MBS
Life is short...eat the cookie
bob dirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 03:45 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1,441
Bob dirt,

I think the poster's 2801 QSF is on a Ford chassis. The BCC operates a little differently from the BCC on a MB. I recall Brian Clemens said MB would not let them connect to their electrical system. On the Ford chassis the BCC connects the coach and chassis 12 volt system when the coach's convertor is charging, when the chassis alternator is charging, and when the battery booster switch is pressed. The BCC will connect the batteries only if there is enough voltage, unless the booster switch is pressed. If the coach batteries are low, it won't connect until the convertor has charged them.
__________________
RamblerGuy
2011 Sunseeker 3100
2016 Ford Edge Toad
RamblerGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 03:54 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 306
Quote:
Originally Posted by RamblerGuy View Post
Bob dirt,

I think the poster's 2801 QSF is on a Ford chassis. The BCC operates a little differently from the BCC on a MB. I recall Brian Clemens said MB would not let them connect to their electrical system. On the Ford chassis the BCC connects the coach and chassis 12 volt system when the coach's convertor is charging, when the chassis alternator is charging, and when the battery booster switch is pressed. The BCC will connect the batteries only if there is enough voltage, unless the booster switch is pressed. If the coach batteries are low, it won't connect until the convertor has charged them.
I did see he had a different chassis, that's why I wrote "on my chassis".

The way to verify charging is with a DC volt meter. The voltage should go up on the coach battery connections when he turns on shore power. If it does not, it does not charge on shore power. I kinda wish mine did.
__________________
2016 Forester 2401WS MBS
Life is short...eat the cookie
bob dirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 04:10 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1,441
Bob dirt,

It's your motorhome. Wire it to charge when you want it to. Use a switch. Maybe the BCC that's installed can do it like the one in Fords and you can add wires to make it work.
__________________
RamblerGuy
2011 Sunseeker 3100
2016 Ford Edge Toad
RamblerGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 04:17 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Yup finished testing. When engine running house batteries charge. Engine off plugged Into to shore power only house batteries charge. I will probably do something to keep chassis battery up. Battery tender, Trik-L-Start, etc.
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 04:41 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1,441
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtlm17 View Post
Yup finished testing. When engine running house batteries charge. Engine off plugged Into to shore power only house batteries charge. I will probably do something to keep chassis battery up. Battery tender, Trik-L-Start, etc.
Do you have a Ford or Chevy chassis? I can't tell from the photo in your tag. If you have a MB chassis, ignore my comment below.

How long did you wait to read the voltage at the chassis battery after the plugging in the shore line? Our 2011 Sunseeker has an Intellitec BCC, which does not connect the coach batteries to the chassis battery until the coach system is above 13.1 volts for more than 2.5 minutes. I think FR changed suppliers, so yours may work differently, but the concept should be the same. If the coach batteries are low, it may take a while for the system to rise above 13.1 volts. If you don't have documents on your BCC, look on line for it to find out the voltages and timing for yours.

By the way
__________________
RamblerGuy
2011 Sunseeker 3100
2016 Ford Edge Toad
RamblerGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 04:48 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 306
Quote:
Originally Posted by RamblerGuy View Post
Bob dirt,

It's your motorhome. Wire it to charge when you want it to. Use a switch. Maybe the BCC that's installed can do it like the one in Fords and you can add wires to make it work.
good idea...I could swap out my momentary switch I installed to a toggle switch and just be careful not to leave it on when not needed.

I'll also look into Trik-L-Start like sgtlm17 mentioned.
__________________
2016 Forester 2401WS MBS
Life is short...eat the cookie
bob dirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 04:54 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Hmm very good info Rambler I will take another look at it
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 05:10 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 639
Not sure either

Quote:
Originally Posted by bob dirt View Post
I checked the jump connections under the hood. The voltage did not change when I turned on shore power. I have to assume it does not charge the coach battery...although I could be wrong
I measured the chassis battery voltage the other day at the jump start connections too - and got 13.8 volts with shore power plugged in. As a result, I assumed that the BCC relay was closed and the converter was also charging the chassis battery. Probably not a good assumption I guess.

I'm going to call Precision Circuits again tomorrow and see if I can get a better technical description of how the BCC works. Need to talk to them anyway about the fuse size for hooking up the boost/emergency start function. I assume 5 amps is more than adequate, but I'm going to verify.
KatanaPilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 08:21 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
As to the question before my 2801 is on a 2016 Ford E450
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 08:36 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Englewood FL
Posts: 2,797
You know, that is interesting. I am building a data logger for my Trimetric that records all the parameters and writes them to an SD card for subsequent analysis and evaluation. Surprisingly, I watched the banks stay connected for quite a while after I shut down my generator (converter) or my engine (alternator.) On my older 1997 Bounder, the BCC would keeps the banks connected for a while, but the newer versions seem to keep things connected much longer.
__________________

2015 335DS
ScottBrownstein is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2016, 08:37 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Englewood FL
Posts: 2,797
Quote:
Originally Posted by RamblerGuy View Post
Bob dirt,

I think the poster's 2801 QSF is on a Ford chassis. The BCC operates a little differently from the BCC on a MB. I recall Brian Clemens said MB would not let them connect to their electrical system. On the Ford chassis the BCC connects the coach and chassis 12 volt system when the coach's convertor is charging, when the chassis alternator is charging, and when the battery booster switch is pressed. The BCC will connect the batteries only if there is enough voltage, unless the booster switch is pressed. If the coach batteries are low, it won't connect until the convertor has charged them.
Seems that I read somewhere that was a misunderstanding.
ScottBrownstein is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2016, 02:12 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
sgtlm17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,363
Anyone get a definitive answer on this. I'm going to try to get to coach and do more testing later today
__________________
2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF
2011 Jeep JK Toad
Habitual RV Modifier
sgtlm17 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
battery

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:29 AM.