2013 Journey 40U Inverter Questions

[PBHWinnie]

Hello. I have looked everywhere on line as well as on my coach and cannot find the inverter. Can someone please tell me where the inverter is located on my 2013 Journey 40U. My chassis batteries keep draining whie plugged into shore power. I am having to turn the chassis batteries off so they do not drain. Thanks

[Cooperhawk]

In our 2012 Journey the inverter is in the left rear along with the batteries. Of course ours is a 36'.
You should be able to turn your inverter off in the hallway where all the other controls are.

[PBHWinnie]

Thank you for your response. That's where I thought it should be, but unfortunately it is not.

[Morich]

Maybe match this info from the "parts catalog? I find it great for finding the hidden things:
https://catalog.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm
Click this snip for best view!


Inside behind panel or access from outside compartment?

[PBHWinnie]

Thank you both. I have located it. It just didnt lool like the inverter i had on my 5th wheel. In fact it says surge protector on it. However, it appears that the inverter is not the issue. Not sure where to look now to figure out why my chassis batteries keep draining. If i dont turn them off then they drop to around 10 volts and i have to use the battery boost to get it started. It took me 20 minutes last week to get it started. We full time by the way

[creativepart]

No, your inverter charges your House batteries not your Chassis batteries.

As, to your Chassis batteries going dead on shore power that is going to depend on the way your motorhome was built.

Is this RV new to you or did this just start happening? I ask because earlier models of Winnebago motorhomes did not provide any way for the chassis batteries to charge when on shore power. At the time they promoted the use of a device called a Trik-L-Start that you had to buy and install on your own.

But sometime in the mid 2010's they started adding a BIM that automatically took care of this task..

So, if you're this has always worked in the past and just recently stopped, then you have a faulty BIM. But if this RV is new to you and you don't know if this RV had this feature previously then perhaps you need to add such a charging eature to your RV.

My motorhome is newer and came with a BIM to charge the Chassis battery when on shore power, BUT mine was defective and when camped on shore power for even 4 or 5 days and the chassis battery would go dead. I had the BIM replaced and that fixed the issue.

I know on older units without a BIM that Winnebago even provided specific instructions for how to install a Trik-L-Start to provide this charging.

If you are Full Time, and don't want to get things figured our or fixed then you could buy an inexpensive battery maintainer or trickle charger and attach it to your chassis batteries and plug it into a 110v exterior outlet to keep your chassis batteries changed when on shore power.

If you know this worked previously, and you want to get it fixed, then you should probably call an independent mobile tech to come and fix this for you.

[Morich]

Okay, I see some confusion creeping in here as we are not really speaking of an inverter! An inverter USES 12VDC to "make" 110AC!

BUT what you have is actually an inverter charger! And it does charge the batteries!
But an inverter would not!
Right place but wrong name?

I would look at this as most likely a corroded/dirty cable until proved different. Far cheaper option to fix, too!

I might start with doing some basic checks for corroded cables to find which direction to move the chase.
You likely have spotted an area next to the batteries like this?
Click to see better!


Spot detail CB I marked ? It is likely behind a panel but that is where lots of things need to happen and we need to look at that detail CB in the next picture.

This is the place where the chassis tuff is on the left side and coach on the right. In between there is a battery disconnect relay for each chassis and coach that I marked as orange and blue.
Between those is the BIM ( battery isolation manager). That BIM is what controls when the two are connected or disconnected and that can be a biggie to know!
I favor going here first as it is a convenient place to check both battery groups and how they are connected or disconnected! If the cables are not getting to this spot well, the charge is not going to get from the 12VDC charge coming off the charger to the batteries!

I might favor checking the voltage of the coach batteries and the chassis batteries when the power cord is not plugged in and the batteries have not been charging for an hour or so to let them become stable for best readings.
Best if you read directly on the battery posts and not on the clamps or other parts which may not be connected well!
Those readings should be less than 12.8 but note exactly what you get on coach and chassis!
Then move to this set of of connections and check that you get near the same readings here for both! If they are more than half volt different that the battery readings, there is likely to be a cable problem to chase!

But if they look close to the first readings, then plug in the power cord to let the charger start charging or maintaining the batteries. That higher reading should show up higher on the coach side to charge those batteries.
Whether the chassis batteries side jumps higher will depend on how the BIM feels about the voltage there.
If the chassis battery is lower than 12, that is where the lack of charging is the problem!
You have two disconnect relays, one for each , coach and chassis.
When those are closed as they should be when using the RV, is the voltage the same on each side of the relays?
When the disconnect switches are on, the voltage on each of the relays should just pass through these relays. If not, the relay may have bad contacts, etc.

Basic point is to check the battery voltage from the chassis batty reads the same here as at the battery. If it get s here from the battery and we see charge voltage here, it should also get back the other way to the battery!

So this is a place where you can do a fair amount of checking to limit the number of other places to look! If you don't get the same voltage here as at the batteries, there may be a big mega fuse inline that needs checking!

Good luck on the chase!

[Cooperhawk]

I just went out to the shed and checked our batteries since it's been a topic. It's been pretty cold here in Minnesnowda and we keep the Journey in a shed and plugged in all the time.

I wondered if the system was keeping my automotive batteries charged as well as the coach batteries, and it seems to be. Both are showing 13 volts.

In a month, when all the family birthdays are done, we will get it out and head for Florida this year. (Usually it's Texas or Arizona). The DW has several brothers and sisters in Florida so every few years we go visit them. Happy Wife, Happy life.

[PBHWinnie]

Creative Part... It is new to me. We have had it for 2 months. We were not stationary anywhere long enough until we got to the beach for the winter. Therefore, I don't know if it was working properly. I have checked the owners manual that I downloaded and it states that it was built with a Trik-L-Start already installed. I do want to get it fixed. I purchased a warrant so I would assume that it would be covered under the warranty. I just figured if it was something simple I could just do it myself. Thank you for your help

[PBHWinnie]

Creative Part... Where would I find that Trik-L-Start or BIM and how would I check to see if it is functioning properly?

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by PBHWinnie

Creative Part... Where would I find that Trik-L-Start or BIM and how would I check to see if it is functioning properly?

Here's a sad story.

The Trik-L-Start and their better model the Amp-L-Start were sold by the LSL company in San Antonio, TX. It was basically a one man operation run out of his home on the East side of town.

Approx 3-years ago, the owner, Joel Donaldson, unexpectedly died.

The family sold their remaining units over the next few months and that was the end of the product. It was said they wanted to get the biz going but never have.

Xantrax makes a similar device called an "Echo Charger" that folks say works just as well. It cost twice as much as the Trik-L-Start but that's the only option outside of designing and building your own. Some folks have posted elsewhere that you can make one out of a few electronic diodes, etc but I've never seen any details on how this is done.

Here's a link to the Echo Charger.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016G8RT8?th=1

[DancinCampers]

My Magnum Inverter/Charger MS2812, has an option installed called a Smart Battery Combiner. The charger monitors a second set of batteries (in my case the chassis set). When this voltage decreases to a set level, the charger will divert some of the current going to the coach batteries to the chassis batteries until the volts increases.
The charger does not charge both sets on batteries on a continuous basis.
You can check if your system has this option by turning on your parking lights after you get set up on shore power. Watch the battery display to see if the voltage rises after a short period.
Even with this option installed, which worked well for 9 years, my engine would not start without assist in 2021, at which time I replaced the chassis batteries.
If your batteries are original it may be time to replace.

[Morich]

You are correct in that the batteries do have to be in good enough condition to take and HOLD the charge it may be getting!
But that is where testing is needed to find if the charge is getting to the batteries that need the charge!
The OP has a BIM on their RV if it is as built. But there is nothing more we can suggest without knowing what testing shows.
Are the cables good or bad? Is the BIM working as it should?

What often happens on forums is the OP steps in for a bit and maybe gets the right info or maybe just gives up and goes to a shop!
We may never know if it was fixed or just abandoned on the highway somewhere!

[Bobn1957]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Here's a sad story.

The Trik-L-Start and their better model the Amp-L-Start were sold by the LSL company in San Antonio, TX. It was basically a one man operation run out of his home on the East side of town.

Approx 3-years ago, the owner, Joel Donaldson, unexpectedly died.

The family sold their remaining units over the next few months and that was the end of the product. It was said they wanted to get the biz going but never have.

Xantrax makes a similar device called an "Echo Charger" that folks say works just as well. It cost twice as much as the Trik-L-Start but that's the only option outside of designing and building your own. Some folks have posted elsewhere that you can make one out of a few electronic diodes, etc but I've never seen any details on how this is done.

Here's a link to the Echo Charger.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016G8RT8?th=1

I would install a voltage sensing relay between the house batteries and the chassis battery, remember to put a fuse in series with it! A voltage sensing relay works just like the Trick-l-charge relay!