Battery/inverter

[sullivd]

Took my 2007 Southwind for a test drive last week engine started without hesitation. Dash radio and generator would not start. Today the engine would not start but was able to use the aux start to start the engine. Dash radio and generator started without hesitation. What is my problem? Chasis battery, house batteries or inverter? All suggestions appreciated.


D. Sullivan

[wa8yxm]

KCFDCapt wrote:
Clean the battery terminals. Then test the batteries.

Test batteries while disconnected for terminal cleaning.

From sounds you are operating the disconnect system Though different RVs are wired differently I will tell you about mine

DASH radio is a "Chassis" item. runs off the ignition switch just like a car.. and the chassis battery..

HOUSE radio is a Residential job (120 volt)

Generator is a "House system" starts off the house batteries

E-Start/Boost works both ways.

Now my NON-START story...

THis happened 4 times. 4th time was different first 3. First time was about 1 year from delivery.

Turned key, dash lit up. Turned all the way to start and NOTHING.

Emergency start worked.


Crawled under where chassis battery hides (Behind Right Front Tire) with wrenches and Harbor Freight dual meter carbon pile 500 amp load tester.. Disconnected battery terminal lead.. hooked up tester. PASSED no problem

Cleaned terminal and reconnected.. VAROOM

Turns out when they built this beast they used common crimp on steel ring terminals for the positive lead (They used the PROPER connector on the negative side.

4th Time E-Start did not work, had to add a jumper from house to chassis.. This time the battery FAILED

I replaced the battery
I also replaced the connection to the battery with a new battery connector with a short pigtail. the copper wires connect to the other end of the pigtail and then got very well sealed.. NO PROBLEMS SINCE (5 years).

OF course I've occasionally forgotten and left lights on and my Converter "Failed" just yesterday (It is a PLUG IN model.. care to guess what was wrong? Outlet....... Plug (not outlet/plug like it should be). Did not take long to fix

But I don't count those.

[2oldman]

Chainwright wrote:
He never came back with an update.

Happens often.

[Chainwright]

Well, I guess he got it fixed or gave up. He never came back with an update. Glad to be of service. lol

[Beverley_Ken]

Engine start, and usually dash radio and generator operate off the chassis battery. Dirty terminals or loose connections can cause the intermittent problems.
On my CRV I had a problem where I would shut the engine off, and then try to restart 5 minutes later and NOTHING, No start, No lights or anything, I got out and wiggled the positive terminal connection and voila, everything OK. The terminal was cleaned and tightened as much as possible but it was still not tight enough, I had to put a shim in it and no problems since, the battery terminal appears have been made too small.

Ken

[time2roll]

I would guess low battery voltage. Put a meter on the battery terminals to verify.

The question is then why is the battery voltage low?

[enblethen]

Ford chassis?
Try cycling your battery disconnect switch.

[ksg5000]

Start with the basics. Have all your batteries tested (it's free) - inspect tighten battery terminals - check grounds.

[wolfe10]

Please start by telling us what troubleshooting you have done.

Our Wild A** guesses could lead you all over the place-- not reasonable for you and could be very misleading for the next person to experience this.

If you need a step by step for troubleshooting, let us know.

[Chainwright]

Hmm, since we have no clue as to what the problem may be, we may have to resort to the "Process of elimination." Did you inspect the circuit breakers and fuses first?
I carry a fues kit, you can get them at WAl-mart, there are like 10 different fuses in the pack. Just throw it in your "Maintenance" storage compartment, it's good to have.

[MountainAir05]

after the clean, check voltage at the battery from the battery terminal and post back.

[2oldman]

Converter.

[KCFDCapt]

Clean the battery terminals. Then test the batteries.