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Old 04-23-2008, 02:23 PM   #1
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I went out today to install a Trik-L-Start in my 02 Journey. I located the emergency start relay and measured the voltage on each side and determined which was the engine battery (left) and which was the house battery (right) The engine battery read 12.1 v at the relay, while the house battery read 13.4v at the relay. Next I went to the battery compartment and disconnected the + cable from the house batteries. When I read the voltage at the emergency start relay, it read 18 volts! Confused, I went back and disconnected the ground cable from the house batteries, now it reads 17 volts at the relay! I disconnected the 50amp power with no change. As a last resort I disengaged the aux. battery connector on the dash with no change. Unable to understand what is going on, I connected the Trik-L-Start directly to the batteries and it appears to be working properly. My volt meter is almost new and has performed perfectly as far as I can tell. Any ideas about what is going on?
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Old 04-23-2008, 02:23 PM   #2
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I went out today to install a Trik-L-Start in my 02 Journey. I located the emergency start relay and measured the voltage on each side and determined which was the engine battery (left) and which was the house battery (right) The engine battery read 12.1 v at the relay, while the house battery read 13.4v at the relay. Next I went to the battery compartment and disconnected the + cable from the house batteries. When I read the voltage at the emergency start relay, it read 18 volts! Confused, I went back and disconnected the ground cable from the house batteries, now it reads 17 volts at the relay! I disconnected the 50amp power with no change. As a last resort I disengaged the aux. battery connector on the dash with no change. Unable to understand what is going on, I connected the Trik-L-Start directly to the batteries and it appears to be working properly. My volt meter is almost new and has performed perfectly as far as I can tell. Any ideas about what is going on?
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Old 04-23-2008, 06:22 PM   #3
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Hi Robert,

Could it be that with absolutely no load, the solar panel's no load voltage is what you are reading? Try the same setup again with a piece of cardboard covering the panel to be sure.
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Old 04-23-2008, 06:30 PM   #4
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Robert, where is your meter's black(ground) lead connected while you're taking the measurements? If it's not directly connected to a bare metal area on the chassis, it should be -- not to a ground cable on one of the batteries. Have you removed and cleaned all the battery connections? From the readings you've observed, I'm guessing that your house battery power is supplied by 2 6-volt batteries wired in series. If this is so, make sure that the + from one battery is connected to - of the other battery and that + of the second battery is connected to the + that goes to the solenoid. Then measure the voltage from a good ground (bare clean metal on chassis to each ground cable at the batteries (with all cables +/- connected to batteries in the normal manner).You should not measure more than 0.2 volts. If it's higher than that, check/clean the ground connections to the chassis. Do this for both the chassis battery and the house batteries. Hopes this helps, please come back with what you find.
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Old 04-24-2008, 03:46 AM   #5
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Thanks for the responses, I will check the solar panel this morning. The coach batteries are three 12v batteries in parallel. I did use a bare metal chassis contact for the ground. I will do the ground check and clean the ground connections today. I'll let you know the results. The engine batteries are two 12v, maintenance free batteries connected in parallel.
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Old 04-24-2008, 04:23 AM   #6
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I think Mark is onto the source of the 18V. I didn't realize you had a solar panel. Good luck. Let us know what you find.
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Old 04-24-2008, 08:11 AM   #7
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Mark Wins! When I covered the solar panel, the voltage dropped to zero, so I was able to connect the Trik-L-Start to the emergency power relay and mount it on the front of the electrical panel at the front of the motorhome by the generator. Thanks fellows, you solved the problem. I don't really understand why the solar panel put out that kind of voltage, but I guess it isn't regulated.
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