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Old 06-05-2021, 08:19 PM   #1
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Low voltage light on Equalizer Leveler Panel

I have a 3-month old View 24D. On 2 recent trips, I have trouble operating the autoleveler, both lowering and retracting. The low voltage light is on, although it sometimes flickers on and off. This occurs even when we have 30 amp shore power and the engine is running. The panels show voltage levels around 12.5 to 12.7. After running the engine for awhile and turning off all electrical uses including the refrigerator, we can get it over 13 volts and the levelers will work.

Winnebago customer care recommended removing a cable under the passenger seat that connects with the Chargemate, which apparently allows the house battery to transfer power to the chassis battery to help start the vehicle. I did that but the problem remains.

Because I purchased the vehicle in Montana (found the only dealer with a View 24D in stock in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana), I am having trouble getting the RV dealers authorized to do Winnebago service in Seattle to look at the vehicle. Even if they consent to schedule a service appointment, they are backed up to late summer with their existing customers.

My question is whether this could be due to a defective battery? Related to this is that I am planning to replace the house batteries with lithium ion ones. Will the existing charging equipment work with the lithium batteries?
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Old 06-06-2021, 01:00 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunset View Post
I have a 3-month old View 24D. On 2 recent trips, I have trouble operating the autoleveler, both lowering and retracting. The low voltage light is on, although it sometimes flickers on and off. This occurs even when we have 30 amp shore power and the engine is running. The panels show voltage levels around 12.5 to 12.7. After running the engine for awhile and turning off all electrical uses including the refrigerator, we can get it over 13 volts and the levelers will work.

Winnebago customer care recommended removing a cable under the passenger seat that connects with the Chargemate, which apparently allows the house battery to transfer power to the chassis battery to help start the vehicle. I did that but the problem remains.

Because I purchased the vehicle in Montana (found the only dealer with a View 24D in stock in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana), I am having trouble getting the RV dealers authorized to do Winnebago service in Seattle to look at the vehicle. Even if they consent to schedule a service appointment, they are backed up to late summer with their existing customers.

My question is whether this could be due to a defective battery? Related to this is that I am planning to replace the house batteries with lithium ion ones. Will the existing charging equipment work with the lithium batteries?
Sorry for your early on troubles. It kinda does smell like a battery that can’t hold a charge, since it eventually works, once you get them charged up enough.

To the second question. I do not know what Charger and or converter you have, so I can’t comment. However, if you have the WFCO unit, it will charge lithium batteries, but only to around 80%, until you upgrade the charger to their new lithium component module, ($230j. But, it WILL work, in answer to your question.
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Old 06-06-2021, 07:12 AM   #3
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Are you familiar with the term "surface charge"?
this sounds like a possible explanation and it is reasonably simple but also difficult to see at first.
Depending on your use of the rV, you may be getting the batteries down to a point that it takes several hours to get them back up.

The way this has been explained to me is comparing it to looking in a hole in a barrrel of water. At first it looks clear but as you add black ink to the hole (battery charging?) the hole will look totally black and you think the barrel is full of black water but if you stop adding ink at that point and way a few hours to look again, the water appears clear again as the ink has spread and diffused in ALL the water.

The chemicals in the battery that do the charge can be misleading in the same was as we test just at the terminals, not through the whole battery and it does take hours for the charge to move from cell to cell and get it ALL done.

So perhaps a check to think if that fits when you have been having the trouble or not.

But I would also point out that the engine alternator should be plenty of voltage to work the system when it is working and connecting to both sets of batteries, so some testing checking of those may be needed as well. When getting full value from the alternator into a fully charged, good battery, I would expect to see more like 14 Volts when revving the engine a bit.
I would not trust the monitor panel readings very far as I see them as a quick "feel good" item more than a true diagnostics tool. A real meter on the batteries is the way I would want to test.

You may have something as simple as a corroded ground strap , etc.
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Old 06-08-2021, 03:25 PM   #4
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Thanks for the 2 replies. After being parked on the street overnight, batteries were so weak that the Xantrex would not go on. However, I found that running the diesel generator instantly restored things. Next time that I have problem with low voltage on the Equalizer levelers, I'll use the generator.

I had trouble getting anyone to test the batteries so I bought a battery/alternator tester (Foxwell BT705). After being plugged in to a 30amp line for 17 hours, things seem close to normal. Batteries test said that they were good and had about 12.7 volts. Unplugged with engine running, the solar charger read out was over 14 volts and the low voltage light on the Equalizer was no longer on.

I am surprised that the engine did not recharge the house batteries during a 125 mile trip but we stopped for lunch and a few other times and used some power.

Thinking of upgrading the batteries but getting conflicting opinions about 12 volt lithium ion versus 6 volt golf cart batteries.
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Old 06-08-2021, 04:44 PM   #5
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Batteries are probably one of the biggest, most confusing things we deal with in Rv, even though they seem so simple. It really is a close chemical reaction and we often do underestimate how long it really takes to recharge a depleted battery.
When dealing with low batteries, I often think of 6+ hours to actually get them back to full charge.

And we do find folks who have lots of problems due to not taking into account how much they take out over an 8-10 camping use and how little can be put back in the a couple hours drive. What we wind up doing is often the battery gets low the first cycle and then we only get part of that put back and the second and third cylce become even more obvious that we are using more than we are putting back and at some point the system begins to fail due to low batteries.

Things like the solenoid and relays we use to connect batteries and operate things like the jacks, just gets lower and lower until it finally fails and then we get questions here on the forum as to why "X" item is not working but the battery is new and folks tend to not accept that it is likely to be run down when we first suggest that as the problem.

Experience is a tough thing to pick up when first going into new items like Rv. We all operate differently, so there is such a range of answers that it really takes some time to figure what fits what we do personally!
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Old 06-08-2021, 05:57 PM   #6
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Having issues with HWH leveling system. Front jacks were out, and after bringing them in. Tried to lower both front & rear jacks . Can hear the pump running but jacks don't move. Red housing lights on touch pad stay off. On, store lights come on but no jacks move out.
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