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Old 05-22-2016, 03:56 PM   #1
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Journey Battery issues

I have a 2005 Winnebago Journey and the house batteries are brand new now, We are hooked up to shore power supply the solar power light is lit but the batteries only charge by running the engine. Can someone help me to troubleshoot my bus? I am fairly new to our RV haven't had to troubleshoot charging problems before. thank you (and thank you Cliff)
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Old 05-22-2016, 06:29 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forum .

First thing to check is that all the 110v Circuit breakers are ok. Your converter/charger should be on a dedicated C/B.
The solar and charging from shore power should be separate systems so you may have two problems.
Were all the charging systems working before the batteries were replaced?
When the batteries were installed , were any sparks produced?
Were all the wires hooked up in exactly the same places as they were removed ?
Next you'll have to find the converter charger to look for a circuit breaker or fuses on the unit it's self. Could have a white push button to re-set the C/B or a pair of fuses , depending on the model.
Should be an inline fuse between the solar panel and the batteries, finding that may take some searching.
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Old 05-22-2016, 09:32 PM   #3
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BibleBill, do you have an inverter?
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Old 05-23-2016, 05:09 PM   #4
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charging problems

thank you for your quick replies. Update: I have not found any popped or flipped circuit breakers on either the 110 vac or the 12 volt dc cb's. I did locate the Converter charger series 7400 model 7455T under the drawer under the fridge. I disconnected the 110 plug and checked it for power and it was present. I then disconnected the positive wire from the converter and isolated it with electricians tape, then plugged the unit back into the 110 circuit and checked for output voltage, the reading from the unit was 14.2 vdc. I then reversed the disconnect process and put the unit back on line in it's location. now i am wondering if i have an inverter too? Or an inline fuse on the converter to the batteries?
Talked to Winnebago maintenance guy on the phone and this was before I did what i've already mentioned, and he told me that there is an inline fuse for my solar charging system but I have not located that yet either!
The ( batteries charging when lit indicator light ) is on (red light) but the batteries are still slowly discharging , and this is a condition that I haven't experienced in the past since owning this unit. the wiring diagram I looked at for my year model unit showed an inverter with more wire hookups than i found on the converter.(had one power cord for 110 vdc and one positive wire and two ground wires period) no other wiring like to go to a panel to observe it's function as the wiring diagram suggested. Still looking into this situation but wanted to post update to thank you guys for your help. Blessings and I am still open for suggestions.
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Old 05-23-2016, 08:13 PM   #5
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BibleBill, you have a converter/charger so you do not have the large inverter/charger.
Cycle the battery disconnect switch and see if you can hear the relay cycle. It is in the electrical panel up front mounted to the firewall. then check the voltage reading on each side of the disconnect relay, the reading should be the same.
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Old 05-23-2016, 09:02 PM   #6
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If your Converter/ Charger is under the fridge , did the power ( +) wire run from the C/C under the cabinets and other drawers or go through the floor then follow frame towards the batteries. If it runs under the drawers then start removing drawers to see if there's a hidden 12v fuse or C/Breaker on the floor. Most times it'll be within 3' of the C/C.
Otherwise you will need to go through the under floor compartments or get right under the coach to check the wiring.
Sometimes the solar panel wiring comes from the roof down behind the fridge, so remove the lower vent cover from outside and have a look around.
In your paperwork from Winney , or talking with the tech, was there any mention of a BCC?
(Battery Control Center) it's a distribution center for both chassis and coach battery power , and fuses and solenoids in the center could be an issue.
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Old 05-23-2016, 09:31 PM   #7
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BibleBill

Twice you have mentioned the red light being on and the batteries not charging or are slow to charge. On my coach the red light indicates that the solar is charging my batteries. It is not on at night. How much solar do you have? The small stock panel's purpose is to keep the batteries from going dead during storage, when there is no usage or phantom load. If you have more solar, you should have a solar controller, possibly a monitor and a shunt. Do You?
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Old 05-28-2016, 01:55 PM   #8
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charging problems

update: The firewall, is this in the front of my unit where the breaker and fuse panel is mounted under the front hood? I have not located a battery disconnect switch, so named. On the right side of the instrument panel is a switch aux batt, switching it I can here a relay and humming. This switch as I have been led to believe should be on while parked and on shore power.
As I understand from reading and posts presented to me, my house batteries should charge from shore power, correct?
Something I forgot to mention in my earlier posts is that before we took our bus in for new counter tops and furniture everything was working fine as far as I knew. They had my unit for 6 weeks, and this situation has been here since we got it back. I probably jumped the gun on new batteries from the get go, they were only two or three years old, but they did not seem to want to charge up, and I did disconnect them from the bus before attempting to charge them.
My wiring from my converter/charger runs down thru the floor directly from the unit about 14" away, and must be behind some of the metal covers in the bays below. Have not taken them off yet to check for breakers or fuses, you would think anything like that would be clearly identified as an access cover for maintenance purposes. like the one under the hood in the front. Still looking into this on my off time. Thanks to you guys trying to help me...blessings to you all.
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Old 05-28-2016, 03:27 PM   #9
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Hi Bible Bill,
Welcome to the forum.
Are you absolutely sure you got the battery cables back on in the right places? I get suspicious when I read "new batteries". Look around and make sure a wire didn't fall down behind something while you were changing batteries. Also please post a picture of your battery installation if you can.
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Old 05-28-2016, 05:22 PM   #10
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BibleBill, the Battery Disconnect Switch is the second switch down just to the right of the instrument panel. Your batteries will not charge if the battery disconnect is open. Do you have lights in the coach when not connected to shore power?
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Old 05-30-2016, 04:16 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grtharris View Post
BibleBill, the Battery Disconnect Switch is the second switch down just to the right of the instrument panel. Your batteries will not charge if the battery disconnect is open. Do you have lights in the coach when not connected to shore power?
That also shuts off the entire coach. If you have an inverter/ charger, it is located in the left rear bay of the coach and says Dimensions on it. Either way, do you have a real voltmeter to walk around the coach with? It may be something as simple as turning on the Dimensions
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Old 05-30-2016, 05:37 AM   #12
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I would be surprised if your Journey did not have an inverter/charger. As suggested, check the left rear compartment and make sure it is turned on. Do you have a small control panel in the coach with either Xantrex or Dimensions on it?

Finally, no offense intended but I would find a good RV tech to help you with this and give you a good orientation to your coach.
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Old 06-30-2016, 02:41 PM   #13
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How do you access the Converter under the Fridge?

I have the same problem, except mine was caused by an A/C shop that used my over head 12v. lamps over the bed for lights while working the on A/C in the Bed Room. They left the lights on and ran down all 4 batteries.
I got a jump start and this caused my alternator to burn it self out and the shore power Converter (battery charger) as well when I got home and plugged into 115vac 30A. (4 completely discharged batteries is almost a direct short, and needs to be slowly charged with a constant current type of charger till they have enough of a charge to be safely charged with Alternator or built in charger.)

Finally after many miss leads and working on the wrong thing.
(The Converter/inverter) is just a inverter to generate 115v. from 12v.
(it never had the optional battery charger)
You can see where this can cause confusion.

Now I have located the battery charger under the Fridge.

How do I get access to it without removing the Fridge?
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:52 AM   #14
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There are many different configs. What's the year and model?
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Old 07-04-2016, 11:55 AM   #15
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Converter

We own a 2007 Journey 36SG.
I found the converter under the Fridge.
You can remove it by taking the Bass Speaker and the Fuse Panel out and disassembling the panel.
It is protected by 2 ea 30A fuses.
You can get a replacement unit at Sears (of all places).
I replace mine and now everything is operating OK.
I just hope my batteries did not get damaged, ss some of them look a bit swollen.

Bottom line: the information provided by the manufacturer is a bit miss leading.
The Converter/Inverter can all be in ONE unit, but that is not the case in real life.
If Winnebago would just answer the PHONE for customer service, I could have saved a lot of $$$ and TIME.
It is almost getting so bad that I will probably be a deal breaker the next time I purchase a RV.
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