Journey Chasis Batteries

blevtr · 05-03-2011, 07:37 PM

Our '02 Journey has been sitting for a couple weeks while we sort out some parts problems with Lazydays. The panel showed the chassis batteries down to 12.1, so I wanted to charge them. Well. What a nest of snakes! Cables everydamnwhere. Finally just took the whole mess off the pos & neg post and moved it back. New Interstate 12v. My battery charger is a mullti-stage, but only 15 amps. It indicates percent of charge, which may or may not mean anything. At any rate, charged the first battery, it indicated 76% charge. When I moved to the inner battery, it only indicated 46% charge. I should have taken voltage readings on each battery, but I thought 12.1 was for both batteries: not so. Are the multiple cables that tap into each battery causing an uneven draw? Why are they taking 12v draws from both batteries? I can't be dealing with this, I have to find a Mother's Day card for my wife from the dog.

skigramp · 05-03-2011, 11:22 PM

The short cables connect your batteries in parallel ... on my rig the (+) connection for the long cable is on battery A ... and the (-) connection for the long cable is on battery B ...

The design for this is to charge (as well as draw) from both batteries equally ... the design assumes that both batteries are good.

So what you read on the one-place panel was the effective voltage of both batteries ... but says very little about the batteries individually ...

Here is some really good reading on the 12volt stuff

JayLodge · 05-04-2011, 05:14 AM

Test and check for a bad battery individually, but both (2 right?) batteries should be the same type, preferrably the same age.
However, the systems on your coach looks at them as ONE battery when all those cables are connected properly. Hence the importance of not having a bad one, or one that won't charge up properly, or two different types, capacities, etc.
And I'm assuming you have STARTING batteries for the chassis/engine, and deep draw for the "house".

blevtr · 05-04-2011, 06:48 AM

I have two Interstate's, installed 3-11 and in parallel. There are three load cables, two on Battery B (inner) and one on Battery A (outer) Plus a bunch of smaller taps. Do all those loads pull off the A-B bank, or might there be some uneven load? In 2007, SteveG did an article on "Installation of Chassis Battery Bus Bars, Journey 36G", and the first picture looks like mine. I didn't even have a DP then, and wasn't particularly looking for a Journey, but I saved that article for "just in case, you never know" purposes. SteveG has since gone to the Dark Side and bought a Tiffin. My batteries have both taken a charge, although it took a while with only 15 amps.

SVTotem · 05-04-2011, 07:40 AM

Blevtr,
Is Steve's article still available. I would appreciate reading it.

blevtr · 05-04-2011, 07:54 PM

No problem, SVTotem. Started to just call you SV, but really don't know you that well. Just enter "Chassis Battery Bus Bars" in the search window and you will get a world of good stuff. I have to do this, cannot stand this glob of wires.

SVTotem · 05-04-2011, 10:02 PM

Thanks, I will do that from the computer. The little iPhone screen is good for going through the forums, but anything lengthy is better on the bigger screen.

Just call me Bill ;o)