Electrical question 2021 Intent 31P

Mike_m · 07-11-2021, 04:54 PM

When I turn the key to start the engine nothing happens and the dash is completely dark. Pushing battery boost lights the dash and I can start the engine. Batteries are all fully charged. 2021 intent 31p. Any ideas?

wyocamper · 07-11-2021, 05:41 PM

Chassis battery disconnect switch off?

No idea really, that's all I've got. I don't know if you can start from the house batteries using the boost switch if the chassis disconnect is off, I've never tried it.

Mike_m · 07-11-2021, 05:56 PM

The only disconnect I know of is near the house batteries. It's on

Morich · 07-11-2021, 06:56 PM

The info on the newer models is not nearly as complete as older and we are somewhat guessing on what's up for wiring but there are some general ideas that you might check.

One is to make CERTAIN the battery is good as what you have is very typical of a weak start battery and even new batteries can be bad. That can be from simple defects or it can be from the battery left to run down and stay down long enough to be damaged, so review some things on how the battery may have been treated.
What you are saying is that the battery acts totally dead until you connect the coach battery and then things work, so you see how I start wanting to make certain the battery is actually good?
Some other simple tests are to try the horn and lights to see if they appear to be okay before stating the engine or using the boost switch. Just clues and not full answers but just simple tests.
If those other things don't work, I would jump to doing a full test on the start battery as the most common suspect/failure as they are often treated really bad at the dealer and then passed on to us where we find they soon fail due to prior abuse.
A "load test" at an auto parts store is one of the better tests as it puts the battery under a load, rather than just doing a simple voltage test.

imnprsd · 07-11-2021, 07:59 PM

Sounds like your engine battery has an internal short.

To confirm you can go to any Napa and they they will do a load test on your engine battery.

Alternatively, you would pull the battery and use a hydrometer to check each cell, but since the battery is probably sealed you can't do this. So the load test is your best (FREE) bet. You can also go to any Les Schwab or O'rielly. They all do the test as a curtesy... even most Walmart... so they can sell you a new battery.

powercat_ras · 07-11-2021, 08:11 PM

Comments:

1. Alternator must be good or chassis would go dead once you released the battery boost switch.

2. Something is discharging the chassis battery with the chassis off. Are you turning the ignition to off and removing the key when parked? If you are leaving the key in the ignition this might be the cause. With key out of ignition the chassis battery should go at least 4 weeks before discharging to the "dead" state you describe.

3. If you have key out and battery going dead in only a day or two then I'd make a warranty service appointment with a Ford dealer who works on your type of RV. You are under warranty, no need to go to an auto parts store and get battery tested there and you pay for a new battery yourself if battery has prematurely failed.

4. The alternator at engine idle speed would take a long time to replenish the chassis battery. You may have to drive the coach for a couple hours to replenish. Or, you can buy a battery charger and clip it to the chassis battery to replenish if you have 120 VAC power where you are at. I'm pretty sure that to save money on the cheapest of the class A lines Intent model Winnebago did not provide a Intelligent Battery Isolation Manager that woulde connect the coach DC to the chassis DC when the coach has charging voltage on the coach DC side and the chassis DC side is at a "not charged" voltage.

imnprsd · 07-11-2021, 08:57 PM

PowerCat Ras makes a good point: If you can drive the coach for a couple hours and then you can start your engine "normally" off the engine battery, then you are looking for short in your engine battery circuit.

What can cause this:

* Your alternator internal voltage regulator diodes have blown, but most of the time your dummy light will illuminate, but not always.

* Your Kwikee Steps are sorting out to ground. So pull the 4-prong plug and see if your current drain goes away; I.e., your battery does not die after a few days.

* Maybe your battery boost solenoid has a short to ground in the coil, and this one is hard to confirm.

OP: How fast is your engine battery draining?

RetiredUSCG · 07-19-2021, 01:06 PM

What rig do you have. Sounds like you need to install a Trik-L-Start but need to know what your rig is.

70ChevelleSS · 07-19-2021, 04:57 PM

We have a 2003 Adventurer. No disconnect for the chassis battery, only the house batteries. I just installed a new chassis battery in ours, like 10 minutes ago. We have a solar charger on the roof that charges the house batteries but not the chassis battery. So the house batteries remain charged up if everything is off or batteries disconnected. Chassis battery, different story. The engine ECU (computer) will drain the chassis battery over time. You don't drive these every day. That constant drain over time destroys the chassis battery. Our Fleetwood Bounder had a disconnect for the chassis battery. Not sure why Winnebago didn't put one in in our coach, sure wish they had.

**creativepart** · 07-19-2021, 07:01 PM

Your Chassis battery "could" be dead. But it is a pretty new coach. It could also have a loose or bad connection at the battery.

The first place to start is the easiest place - and that's checking to be sure the battery cables are tight and not corroded to the point of disconnecting your engine start battery - aka chassis battery.

Again... it could be a dead battery and if that's the case you should have it load tested at an auto parts store to see if it's still good. If not, replace it. If it is. recharge it and get it back up to power.

Wyatt · 07-19-2021, 08:09 PM

Then I see no issue with your coach batteries. It’s your starter or chassis battery that’s not able to start the motor without boosting it with the coach batteries.
So, is your starter battery not charging, or is it dead? Easy enough to test to see if the starter battery is being charged. You can put a voltmeter on the terminals of the starter battery and run the engine. If you’re seeing over ~13v. Assuming the battery is getting a charge from the alternator, and as Creativepart mentioned, all terminals are tight, however “new” your RV may be, these things can sit in dealer lots and drain down until the battery is ruined. I’ve also seen dealers swap out batteries from other RV’s that they’re readying for sale, and not connecting them right.
Your starter battery should be one that you can add distilled water to. Have you checked that?
That battery is a bitch to replace, so I’d run all test as mentioned above first.
Side point. You should be able to turn your ignition key to the first position (dash lights will be off), when in shore power, and it will charge both the coach and starter batteries.