Question on monitor panel for battery and holding tanks.

[bobas]

Can someone please tell me why the battery and tank monitor comes on for only a split second and will not stay on when activating any one of the four switches. It is nearly impossible to see what level the battery or the tanks are at. Once you activate a switch it will not activate again until you let at least a minute or two pass. I am wondering if there are some sensors located somewhere that need to be cleaned. Because the lights will not stay on when pressing a switch, maybe there is an electrical issue. All other electricals work fine with no issues.

[Too Tall]

Mine stays on till I let it go. I found some things on my Rockwood that are wired wrong. I had to re-wire my thermostat and my battery cut off switch doesn't really isolate the battery like it should.

I don't trust those little lights too much as they don't seem to be very accurate. A flashlight works better for me, ha. But they should stay on when you hold the button down.

[bobas]

Thanks Too Tall. i will check out other electricals. After i posted, i thought about what my dad tought me many years ago. If you have a minor electrical problem always check the ground connection first. So i pulled the battery to charge it up and found the battery cables are corroded. They are now cleaned and battery is charging. Will check tomorrow to see if the monitor works. I too don't trust the monitors completely, but it does give you an idea of about where your tank levels are.

[Too Tall]

Yes they do and they are better than nothing. The ground wire was a great thing to check. There's so many things that don't work when the ground is not secure. Good thinking!

[Dennise]

Originally Posted by bobas

Can someone please tell me why the battery and tank monitor comes on for only a split second and will not stay on when activating any one of the four switches. It is nearly impossible to see what level the battery or the tanks are at. Once you activate a switch it will not activate again until you let at least a minute or two pass. I am wondering if there are some sensors located somewhere that need to be cleaned. Because the lights will not stay on when pressing a switch, maybe there is an electrical issue. All other electricals work fine with no issues.

Make sure your battery disconnect switch is NOT in the disconnect postilion, then try the monitor.

[ScottBrownstein]

X2. It is acting like mine does when the disconnect switch is OFF. Capacitor somewhere and the LED kills it in a millisecond or two. Never tried it twice after waiting a while, don't have that much patience.

[MNtraveler]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

X2. It is acting like mine does when the disconnect switch is OFF. Capacitor somewhere and the LED kills it in a millisecond or two. Never tried it twice after waiting a while, don't have that much patience.

Thinking that's because it was only getting a bit of power due to the ground cable. With the battery switch off, you can usually get a reading or two on the monitor but only momentary. It just needs juice. Fixing the ground here probably saved a bunch of headaches "down the road."

[bobas]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. After cleaning the cables and charging the battery, i still have the same problem. The battery disconnect sounds very viable, but i don't have a disconnect. I'll continue researching and will eventually find what is causing this dilemma. Thanks again.

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by bobas

Thanks for all the great suggestions. After cleaning the cables and charging the battery, i still have the same problem. The battery disconnect sounds very viable, but i don't have a disconnect. I'll continue researching and will eventually find what is causing this dilemma. Thanks again.

My current battery doesn't hold a charge very long and when it is low my monitor panel lights will do the same as yours. If I am plugged in to AC then the light will stay on as long as I hold the button.

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by bobas

Thanks Too Tall. i will check out other electricals. After i posted, i thought about what my dad tought me many years ago. If you have a minor electrical problem always check the ground connection first. So i pulled the battery to charge it up and found the battery cables are corroded. They are now cleaned and battery is charging. Will check tomorrow to see if the monitor works. I too don't trust the monitors completely, but it does give you an idea of about where your tank levels are.

The switch's are momentary switches so need to be held on to get a reading. As long as your tanks are clean the "idiot" lights do work ok. The one most likely to lie to you is the black water tank. Need to keep it clean!

As for the battery, I wired in a cheap volt meter. I can turn it on or off and get good readings on my voltage. With no heavy load on your battery you should get the following readings. Percent is voltage left. Shouldn't let battery get below 50%

12.7 100%
12.6 90%
12.5 80%
12.37 70%
12.24 60%
12.10 50%
11.96 40%

Below 50% you may damage your batteries.

Jim