Chassis Battery Charging 2023 View 24D

[patdig51019]

I recently purchased a 2023 Mercedes Winnebago View 24D, Sept. 2023. My chassis battery goes dead when I'm parked in an RV park and hooked to shore power.
I read and read owners manual and found no solution. I thought when plugged into shore power it would keep the house batteries and the chassis battery both charged.
After a few days (8) on shore power my electric panel shows chassis battery 10.2 volt.
Any suggestions how to solve this situation.

[Morich]

Sorry, but this is an area which is often not understood correctly!
what you see is totally normal and does need some extra work to prevent it happening and that can lead to early battery failure.

There is an automatic setup that connects the chassis and coach batteries together when we drive.
However, it also disconnects when we stop the engine. We can easily be confused and think we have it covered!

There was a small group of items called Trik-L-Start or similiar which was a group of simple items with three wires to tie the two battery groups together.
However, the small company has gone through a bit of change and I do not currently know of any item to replace their product.
They may have come back---or not?

Until we can get better info, I suggest going one of two ways to get charging to the chassis battery.
I separate small trickle charger can be a stand alone item to keep it up but with the downside of being somewhat awkward to have a charger to remove when wanting to move the RV.
A different way to go that works but some feel is not good, is placing a simple jumper from positive of one group to positive of the other. This works but also has the downside of being able to run BOTH groups dead if we are not alert and lose the charging from our onboard converter!
This can get rough if we are out too far in the boonies to get help!

A set of post on a forum discussing what's happened:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/tri...-593928-2.html

[Wayne M]

I don't know anything about your particular setup but two Winnebago's I have and own will not charge the batteries if the disconnect switch is off. It has to be ON. Also, on both of mine keeping the step switch on wore the battery down in a week or so. Now that I leave the steep switch off the current limiting switch for the steps is not drawing current. Trik-L-Charges cannot keep up with the parasitic draw when the steps switch is in the on position.

Can't hurt to try and back to the drawing board if it doesn't work. Also, call Winnebago and ask the about parasitic drain and if you particular set up requires the steps to be off and disconnect switch turned on. They have been helpful for me.

[bigb]

The battery disconnect switch has to be on in order to charge the house batteries but there is nothing in place on a View to charge the chassis battery when parked and if you desire it then you must install it after the fact as Richard pointed out.

However, a chassis battery in good condition should not drain in a few days. The Sprinter does have some parasitic loads but unless there is a problem it should last a week to 2 weeks and if you plan to sit longer simply squeeze the connector down by the accelerator pedal and lift the battery cable off the stud, that's what it's there for. If you look in your Sprinter manual it will give you the procedure, you are not supposed to do it immediately after shutting the engine off but after 15 min is OK if I recall.

I went a different route and connected a permanent charge cable to the chassis battery that comes out at the front bumper and I plug a Victron Blue Smart battery charger/maintainer into any time I plan to park for more than a few days. You could also buy a maintainer that you fasten to the vehicle, put it in the outside bay where the outlet is and run the charge wire to the battery, then whenever you are on shore power the chassis will stay maintained. Some folks like NOCO for it's user end simplicity while others go with Victron for it's "nerdy" user experience.

[Morich]

As a follow up thought, this RV may have some items which can make it more difficult to get to the chassis battery directly, so perhaps a suggestion to make it a bit easier would help?
If difficult to get to a battery under the floor, maybe connecting under the passenger seat would work better? I've not looked at either, so i'll let you decide if either or neither works for you!

Under the seat there is the gizmos which tie the two together as we drive. I can't say if you have a solenoid, (large silver thing!) or if you have the newer solid state item as used on the late build for that year. They look different but do the same job?
This drawing is of the solid state, so perhaps check the battery cables for a tape marker to ID the cables to each battery.
Click these snips for better view of what they show!

Purple tape to ID cable to chassis battery?
An overall view of where it shows the chassis and coach batteries, not side by side for easy!

But if you can get to it easier under the seat, this might be a good place to hide a small trickle charger?


Positive charger lead to the positive of the chassis here is the same as at the battery and then connect the charger negative to most any metal under the seat?

One way I might go until I found a trik-l-charge, etc that we miss so badly!
Surely somebody will pick up the slack and built it????

[wqmiller]

Originally Posted by Morich

As a follow up thought, this RV may have some items which can make it more difficult to get to the chassis battery directly, so perhaps a suggestion to make it a bit easier would help?
If difficult to get to a battery under the floor, maybe connecting under the passenger seat would work better? I've not looked at either, so i'll let you decide if either or neither works for you!

Under the seat there is the gizmos which tie the two together as we drive. I can't say if you have a solenoid, (large silver thing!) or if you have the newer solid state item as used on the late build for that year. They look different but do the same job?
This drawing is of the solid state, so perhaps check the battery cables for a tape marker to ID the cables to each battery.
Click these snips for better view of what they show!
Attachment 188091
Purple tape to ID cable to chassis battery?
An overall view of where it shows the chassis and coach batteries, not side by side for easy!
Attachment 188092
But if you can get to it easier under the seat, this might be a good place to hide a small trickle charger?

Attachment 188093
Positive charger lead to the positive of the chassis here is the same as at the battery and then connect the charger negative to most any metal under the seat?

One way I might go until I found a trik-l-charge, etc that we miss so badly!
Surely somebody will pick up the slack and built it????

Hello Richard, great info and pics of the electronic “gizmo” as you coined it. I saw a utube where a guy removed his seat to change it out. I am going to install a battery maintainer and that is a convenient place until you have to change it out. HOWEVER my problem is with that unit as my coach batteries are not getting a charge when the engine is running and I suspect that device. It is strange that it would fail so soon as our coach is only about 2.5 months old.

Hoping someone might see this post that has had this failure and shed some light on their experiences. Don’t mean to hijack this thread but thought it was relevant in a remote kinda way! Enjoy you posts especially your signature.

[wqmiller]

see title correction

[Morich]

It is kind of related as it is a two way street.
If the BIM is involved, it does act to connect the charge from the coach converter to the chassis battery when we are plugged into shore power.
But it is also the same group of equipment which connects the two when we have the engine running to let the engine alternator charge both the chassis as well as the coach!

With the older RV using only the Mode solenoid, there often was no provision made for getting power from the coach side to the chassis and it slips up on folks who think they are always connected, even when stored!

But looking at the title change, that puts it into a different box!
The engine alternator charging the chassis battery is pretty much like any truck that doesn't have an RV on top!
But that is where we begin to run short on info as the chassis folks are tight with their info and Winnebago does little to show the parts that the chassis builder does!
Result is that I have no good info on how charge gets from alternator to chassis battery!
I know it has to and then there is a connection from that battery to the RV parts----- but I don't know where or how from alternator to chassis battery.
Should expect there is a big heavy cable between the two but no good any more than that guess!

[bigb]

Originally Posted by wqmiller

Hello Richard, great info and pics of the electronic “gizmo” as you coined it. I saw a utube where a guy removed his seat to change it out. I am going to install a battery maintainer and that is a convenient place until you have to change it out. HOWEVER my problem is with that unit as my coach batteries are not getting a charge when the engine is running and I suspect that device. It is strange that it would fail so soon as our coach is only about 2.5 months old.

Hoping someone might see this post that has had this failure and shed some light on their experiences. Don’t mean to hijack this thread but thought it was relevant in a remote kinda way! Enjoy you posts especially your signature.

I read both your posts but very confused, your title says that your chassis battery is not charging but your post says the coach batteries are not charging. You might want to start your own thread since this is getting confusing and will probably get more so if it continues.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by Morich

It is kind of related as it is a two way street.
If the BIM is involved, it does act to connect the charge from the coach converter to the chassis battery when we are plugged into shore power.
But it is also the same group of equipment which connects the two when we have the engine running to let the engine alternator charge both the chassis as well as the coach!

With the older RV using only the Mode solenoid, there often was no provision made for getting power from the coach side to the chassis and it slips up on folks who think they are always connected, even when stored!

But looking at the title change, that puts it into a different box!
The engine alternator charging the chassis battery is pretty much like any truck that doesn't have an RV on top!
But that is where we begin to run short on info as the chassis folks are tight with their info and Winnebago does little to show the parts that the chassis builder does!
Result is that I have no good info on how charge gets from alternator to chassis battery!
I know it has to and then there is a connection from that battery to the RV parts----- but I don't know where or how from alternator to chassis battery.
Should expect there is a big heavy cable between the two but no good any more than that guess!

Richard, on the Sprinter motorhomes there is a "Y" cable that goes from the alternator to the starter then up to the chassis battery under the floor. From the chassis battery a 1 AWG cable runs to the chassis side of the BIS, then another 1 AWG (red with yellow) connects to the house side of the BIS and then on to the house batteries under the step. This same red w/yellow cable that carries the charge to the house also carries current back from the house bank to the 12 volt circuit breakers thru a jumper which is attached from the house side of the BIS to the battery switch, and one of those breakers carries power to the 12 volt fuse box. When plugged in and the converter is switched on, charging power comes back on the same wires that the house bank uses to feed the system and charges the battery thru the battery switch and thru the jumper to the house side of the BIS, then on to the battery bank.

[KeithoM]

We have a 2022 Navion 24V. The first time we camped while plugged in through a surge protector at the power supply our coach batteries dropped to 10.4 volts. The fridge warned us that something was amiss, low voltage. After several hours or trouble shooting I decided to look in the wet/power supply bay and saw an open ground light. I removed the surge protector and fixed the problem.
The second trip I thought we were good until the fridge woke us again with the low voltage warning. I noticed that we had not turned on the inverter. Once the inverter was switched on the batteries began to charge.
Hope this helps.

[WillowRider]

We’ve had several battery-related incidents with our 2021 24D. The most significant was not remembering how heat can kill lead acid batteries (i.e., the coach batteries). This was learned ($$$) after storing the 24D outdoors through two southern Arizona summers without checking the batteries and topping off with distilled water. The fridge revealed the problem with probably the same low voltage warning you received.

We temporarily solved it by turning on the inverter but still had Freedom RV do a thorough electrical system check. That check found two switches/settings incorrectly configured. One was the connection with the solar, the other with the routing of charging power from the alternator. Having the electrical systems checked—coach and chassis—might be a good idea. I know this may sound silly on such a new 24D, but the problems we found on ours were there from the day of delivery by La Mesa RV, which clearly failed to conduct a proper pre-delivery inspection to discover and correct Winnebago’s mis-assembly.

The only issues we’ve encountered with just the chassis part is the starter battery losing charge during extended storage, e.g., a month or two. We get the warning through M-B’s app on our iPhone and restore the charge by driving the 24D for 30-60 minutes. It’s good then for another extended storage.

For preserving charge all ‘round while on shore power in a park, we keep the inverter on (the switch and the panel).

[Morich]

There may be some confusion, either on terms or on what the equipment can do?
By basic definition, an inverter can't charge any batteries.
To avoid confusing anybody about what inverter can do, we may be getting confused on names and the poster may be talking about an inverter charger or just saying inverter when meaning converter but we need to make clear that inverters do not charge.
They are much more prone to discharging batteries as they use DC battery power to "make" AC power and that can quickly run a battery down.

Search for: What are the uses of inverters?
What do you use an inverter for?
A power inverter changes DC power from a battery into conventional AC power that you can use to operate all kinds of devices ... electric lights, kitchen appliances, microwaves, power tools, TVs, radios, computers, to name just a few.

Normally we DO NOT turn on an inverter to charge as they USE DC rather than provide it? Bit of confusion somewhere!

Yes, it is true that there are parasitic drains which are still left connected on most RV, even when we have turned off the battery disconnect and those drains will gradually drain the batteries over time, if there is not some form of charging provided.

However, turning on an inverter should not recharge a battery as it uses the DC FROM the batteries.

Looking deeper at the manual for the view24D, I do see it has an inverter charger, not a stand alone inverter! That does mean leaving the charger portion of the inverter charger on would be needed to keep the charging going to the batteries.

Page 6-11 seems to describe the correct storage methods to avoid battery discharge over longer periods.

[WillowRider]

Thanks, Morich, for the clarification. Yes, our 24D has the combination inverter/charger, with the charger element providing three levels of charging depending on the state of the coach batteries. My oversight.

On the steps for storage on p. 6-11 of the manual, the people operating our storage facility explained (something else La Mesa RV didn’t do!) the Why: M-B did not design the Sprinter for storage but as a regularly driven van. Ergo, (and true or not) disconnecting the chassis battery is necessary when storing. This means disconnecting the chassis battery (inside the base of the center console accessed from the driver footwell) and pulling fuse 32 in the panel under the flap in the base of the driver’s seat.

Aren’t RVs fun? :-)

[Morich]

Yes, I guess the person who designed that idea of cutting off battery drain was thinking of a different operation than many of us?
I've noticed mention of the disconnect and wondered how awkward it was to get to it.
One of the big things, I notice is that all RV seem to have their own special little weirdness and some of that weird stuff is not mentioned in the manual in a way that the normal user can sort out!
I've always thought there should be a rule that manuals are written by people who really know the thing, passed to a total stranger to try to use and THEN rewritten to make the two views meet!
My main career, way back in history, was in telcom and one of the funnies we found was that manuals from Japanese companies were very large and bulky but easy to get the info as they were unsure of the language difficulties. Meanwhile I hated going to the Rockwell -Collins books because they assumed we knew it already!
We had books that covered microwave radio that were actually written to be used for two different radios without mention that the two did not use the same parts!

One of the big things not mentioned in lots of RV manuals is that there are things that do not run through the battery disconnects and are left on , even when we thing we turned it all off.

I came away with the main idea that most of our communications are prone to lots of error. One of the things I hate about getting anything done is the way we try to save time with messages but have to send several to get what we could do in one phone call!
It's easy to miss what a smiley face actually means!

[WillowRider]

Truth be told, I find RVs fun. I like learning new things. Sites like this one are favorite stops in daily routine.

For anybody unsure, but curious just in case, saying getting to the 24D battery disconnect (speaking only for the 2021 MY, but I assume it’s the same on contemporary Views) is awkward understates the pain. The picture in the manual is more than mildly misleading. The snap-in panel in the base of the center console in the driver’s footwell that hides it truly hates to be removed. That leaves you fumbling around unseeing behind the half-loose panel feeling for the plug to pull off the single pole connector. Reconnecting is even more troublesome. I’ve seen postings by frustrated View owners who have re-wired the chassis battery disconnect to a properly gauged switch outside the center console. And I mentioned the fuse as it’s easily overlooked in the manual.

Appreciate the discussion.

[Morich]

HAH! Bet the manual doesn't read that same level!
That's when I wish things were designed and built by folks who will be using them and the manuals written together with the users after they tried it for a few trips!

The devil is in the details!