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CamperDaveinPA
Morgantown, PA
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Joined: 01/18/2003
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I went to my storage lot to pick up my 09 coachmen, I have not used this unit for about 6 weeks, The batteries where completely dead, House and vehicle , I hand to Jump start the vehicle, I then let the engine run to give me enough juice to fire up the generator, I drove home appox 15 miles 20 min or so, with the generator running, Over the next few days, I would run the generator for about a half hour every other day or so for a week.
Today I go to start my refer up on propane and it wont light ( i have plenty of propane and yes its flowing I lit the stove burners) Runs fine with the generator running. I called a service tech He told me to put a volt meter across each house battery 1. 12.05volts 2. 12.07volts, He then told me that because the batteries were dead and the may not be charged enough to allow the propane to flow, Is this Possible? I also checked my DSI water heater and it would not spark at all.
One more thing, my refer would go through the motions it would spark, then light a small flame, for about 30 -40 seconds then go out and cycle again in about 2 min later.
Dave and Noreen
2009 Coachmen Freelander 3150ss
2004 Chevy Tahoe
2004 Harley Road King Classic
2006 Chevy Avalanche
2007 Honda Accord 6 cyl
Life, Lovin' It!!!!
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bldrbuck
Boulder, Colorado
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Joined: 02/11/2001
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The tech is correct the batteries are dead. Using the converter it will take at least 4 hours on shore power or generator to charge them. I would go for overnight.
The 12volt Side of Life
93 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel, DRW, Crew Cab. PullRite Hitch. 90 Nomad 28' 5er, 375 Watts Solar, 2800 Watt Yamaha Generator, 1750 Watt Inverter, 4 Trogan T105 Batteries, Spare tire and wheel and folding ladder. Me, wife and 2 spoiled Maltise furkids.
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DraginRat
On The Road
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Joined: 10/15/2004
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I agree. However, your batteries (if good) should not go dead in 6 weeks without a load on them. Check to see if the water level in each battery is correct, and also, see if you can find anything that is "draining" the batteries.
I have similar problems on our old motor home that we seldom use. I installed disconnects for both chassis and coach batteries. I did wire around the disconnect on the coach batteries to supply the fridge when I want to leave it on but not supply 12VDC to the rest of the coach.
Hope you resolve your issues and enjoy your next outing.
Ken Gasbarri
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dougrainer
Carrolton, Texas
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Joined: 06/11/2007
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1. IF your Range burners light, the LP IS flowing
2. The LP solenoids on the appliances will open down to 11 volts.
3. Your batteries are NOT fully charged. Each time you run the APU or start the chassis engine, you are only putting a surface charge on the batteries, not anywhere near a full charge.
4. Run the APU or the chassis engine and restest trying the appliances. Doug
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MNtundraRet
Bloomington, MN
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Joined: 12/06/2007
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Your batteries need to be fully charged after each trip. If your vehicle has a 3-stage charger of at least 45 amps, it would have taken about 6 to 7 hours (plugged into shore-power, or generator time) to fully charge the batteries. A voltage reading of 12.0 volts (at battery-terminals) is a 25% charged battery. 11.7 volts or less is a dead battery. 12.7 volts (without surface charge) is a charged battery.
Your method of charging batteries means that the batteries have rarely been even charged to 50%. they are most likely been sulfated and may never hold full charge again. If you own a Schummacher, or B&D, multi-stage charger which can desulfate and equalize batteries, you may be able to save the batteries since they are relatively new. A battery-dealer may be able to load-test and do the same service for a price. It also sounds like you have not been using the house-battery disconnect-switch when storing the vehicle. The batteries have had more time for discharge than charging time.
Mark
Mark & Jan "Old age & treachery win over youth & enthusiasm"
2003 Fleetwood Jamboree 29
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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CamperDaveinPA wrote:I went to my storage lot to pick up my 09 coachmen, I have not used this unit for about 6 weeks, The batteries where completely dead, House and vehicle , I hand to Jump start the vehicle, I then let the engine run to give me enough juice to fire up the generator, I drove home appox 15 miles 20 min or so, with the generator running, Over the next few days, I would run the generator for about a half hour every other day or so for a week.
Today I go to start my refer up on propane and it wont light ( i have plenty of propane and yes its flowing I lit the stove burners) Runs fine with the generator running. I called a service tech He told me to put a volt meter across each house battery 1. 12.05volts 2. 12.07volts, He then told me that because the batteries were dead and the may not be charged enough to allow the propane to flow, Is this Possible? I also checked my DSI water heater and it would not spark at all.
One more thing, my refer would go through the motions it would spark, then light a small flame, for about 30 -40 seconds then go out and cycle again in about 2 min later. Start the generator then try the appliances, if everything works, it's your battery.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
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CamperDaveinPA
Morgantown, PA
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Joined: 01/18/2003
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Sam I Tried that, the refer and or the water tank would not light under generator power. I will keep you posted.... We are going to boon dock at the nascar race this weekend ( Go Martin) it will be about a 2 hour road trip, we will see when we get there I suppose....Coolers and Ice........ coolers and ice.....No think positive..... refer and hot water!!!!!
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MNtundraRet
Bloomington, MN
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Joined: 12/06/2007
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Both the water-tank, refrigerator, plus furnace all need 12v DC power to operate even when you have 120v AC power. Check the circuit-breaker and fuse for the converter/charger. If the converter/charger is working you should see 13.6, or 14.4+ volts (for multistage charger), if the converter/charger is working. Test this with the either the shore-power plugged in, or the generator running. Test battery voltage with multimeter at the battery-terminals.
Mark
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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MNtundraRet wrote:Both the water-tank, refrigerator, plus furnace all need 12v DC power to operate even when you have 120v AC power. Check the circuit-breaker and fuse for the converter/charger. If the converter/charger is working you should see 13.6, or 14.4+ volts (for multistage charger), if the converter/charger is working. Test this with the either the shore-power plugged in, or the generator running. Test battery voltage with multimeter at the battery-terminals.
Mark Yep, check the voltage at the battery with the gen running.
Sam
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AstroRig57
near Tehachapi, CA
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Joined: 01/15/2009
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If your Coachmen 3150SS has a battery disconnect, as I assume it does, it must be tripped into the connected position in order for the batteries to charge off the converter/charger (at least that's how it works on my 2005).
Be advised, with the unit plugged into shore power, or the generator running, the indicator light on the Intellitec battery disconnect will glow whether or not the batteries are connected. You must cycle the momentary switch into the connected position, to cycle the solenoid "on", to ensure that you are charging off AC power. While on AC power, check voltage at the batteries while cycling the solenoid to see what I'm talking about. With both house and chassis batteries dead, a 20 minute drive isn't going to make a dent if the alternator is trying to charge all three.
In order to ensure that the house batteries are not run down by parasitic draws, such as the LP gas detector, the CO detector, applianes or lights which have been left on, or even the radio, trip the disconnect to OFF when storing the unit. (Yes, the dash radio, as mine was wired to run off house power till I changed the wiring when installing an aftermarket unit.)
I don't know why your chassis battery would have run down in that length of time unless something, which uses chassis power, was left on during storage. I had a similar issue when my unit was new. It baffled (incompetent) service techs till I finally traced it myself to a dead short in the power supply wire to the back-up camera system. It had chaffed on bare metal where the cut-off chassis met the overhead near the dome light.
In line with what others have noted, and assuming your Coachmen is equipped with a 55A WIFCO converter/charger (as is mine), it would take at least four hours for it to adequately charge the batteries and change from "Bulk mode", to "float mode". Ideally, it should be plugged in for 24-48 hours, cycling between bulk and float, to ensure the batteries are charged to capacity.
2005 31' Coachmen Freelander 3150SS, Stargazer II - Mobile Astronomy Unit
Do you remember when the sky was dark, and the stars were bright?
The International Dark-Sky Association
American by birth...Scottish by the Grace Of God.
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