Help with getting going after a year of no use

[dnixmisc]

Unfortunately, my 2020 Navion sat for a year with no access/use.
Today, I have found today issues thus far:
1) that the main battery is dead
2) the zamp controller shows a 601 error.
Just starting my journey to get things back in working order.
Any help for how to deal with these two issues would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
David

[Eagle5]

Greetings dnixmisc,
After a year of non-maintenance charging, lead-acid batteries must be replaced.
From this old post, it appears that error code 601 is for "battery disconnected," which I believe would also include a battery which has gone dead.
I would recommend that you carefully examine the tires for air pressure, sterilize your water system, and check all areas (engine bay & compartments) for signs of rodent nesting or insects.
Make sure your new batteries are kept on maintenance charging when you are not traveling with your Navion.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

[bigb]

Depending on how old the DEF was when you parked it and what the storage temperature was you may want to check the concentration or at least top it off with fresh if there is room. Your chassis battery will be an AGM, group 49 also known as an H-8 and it's under the passenger floorboard, they are available everywhere, I particularly like the O'reilly Superstart Platinum AGM for $240 and it is made by East Penn Deka, good quality. If you are parking for an extended time you should remove the battery disconnect cable near the accelerator pedal, it just pulls straight off. This would have saved your battery.

[dnixmisc]

Thank you!!!

[dnixmisc]

One more question:
I attached my pickup to try to jump the RV, and on the dash it shows Auxillary Battery Malfunction. Is this a capacitor in the 2020 View and will it charge when I put in the new battery? The place where the RV is stored is not at home, so I want to make sure I have all of the necessary 'stuff' to get the RV running.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by dnixmisc

One more question:
I attached my pickup to try to jump the RV, and on the dash it shows Auxillary Battery Malfunction. Is this a capacitor in the 2020 View and will it charge when I put in the new battery? The place where the RV is stored is not at home, so I want to make sure I have all of the necessary 'stuff' to get the RV running.

No, the auxiliary battery is a real battery. It is small and normally located under the passenger seat, not easy to access. Some are located under the hood on the firewall but most are under the passenger seat, in fact I've never seen one on the firewall but I read about it. You should still be able to start and drive without the aux battery being charged though.

[bigb]

Here is an example of your auxiliary battery, it is just like the battery in a home alarm system or an exit sign at the theater, nothing special and readily available at any battery store, just match the amp hour rating or close to it. It is possible yours may come back once you get the rig running. https://www.raiongroup.com/2021-merc...liary-battery/ The factory one is AGM but you will find many are SLA which will still work.

[bigb]

Apparently it can also be under the driver's seat, here's a 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rRx69SFU4w

[eyecando]

Originally Posted by bigb

Depending on how old the DEF was when you parked it and what the storage temperature was you may want to check the concentration or at least top it off with fresh if there is room. Your chassis battery will be an AGM, group 49 also known as an H-8 and it's under the passenger floorboard, they are available everywhere, I particularly like the O'reilly Superstart Platinum AGM for $240 and it is made by East Penn Deka, good quality. If you are parking for an extended time you should remove the battery disconnect cable near the accelerator pedal, it just pulls straight off. This would have saved your battery.

I replaced my 2019 Sprinter battery with an identical Group 48/H6 battery from Sams. The H6 was the original equipment battery installed in my 2019 Sprinter chassis. Cost was $190, $205 including tax. My battery was under the driver's side floorboard.

Depending on age, I would consider removing some of the old DEF and replacing with new.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by eyecando

I replaced my 2019 Sprinter battery with an identical Group 48/H6 battery from Sams. The H6 was the original equipment battery installed in my 2019 Sprinter chassis. Cost was $190, $205 including tax. My battery was under the driver's side floorboard.

Depending on age, I would consider removing some of the old DEF and replacing with new.

Interesting, mine has a group 49 H8 as well as all the 3500s I've seen, I wonder why they went smaller on some?

[Morich]

If the RV is still not where you can check things, I might recommend care before buying new batteries, etc. as some of the info you are getting doesn't necessarily match what you have. What each RV has will often depend on several things besides just what basic chassis it sets on.

There are also option or "feature packages" which involve the batteries!

Looking at the parts diagrams, I do not see the batteries under the seat but in a compartment along the passenger side.
The parts drawings and info are online at this site:
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

When you get down to the correct year and model of RV you have, it will also be helpfull to know the build date and feature codes that were ordered when new as they do change what batteries to expect!

Click this snip I did for the 524D model for that year to see what I'm looking at on batteries.



If we start with the assumption that they drew the drawings correctly, it looks like they put two batteries in a compartment just behind the passenger door on your year and make. This is for the 524 D but it looked much the same on other floorplans of that year, but always best to check for the correct parts as there appear to be four different battery part numbers, some lithium, some lead acid!

On other points that you may want to have checked there is one that almost caught me when buying a used RV that set for long periods.
Brake fluid is famous for drawing moisture but it is not a huge problem for most of us as it also tends to bleed off as we use the car.
But if you have an RV that has set for a long period and especiallly if it is in a cold wet area, there is likely to be more than the normal water in the brake system. There are often warnings on cans about moisture.

That water in the fluid tends to make places like the wheel and master cylinder form rust. If we are not looking sharp when we start driving again, that film of rust can start to score the walls of each cylinder.
It is not a terribly hard job to pull the cylinders down and check their condition or buff that interior.

But if we go with the rust still in there, it can result in the walls being scored too deep and those parts have to be replaced! Big bucks and a big hit!

There are actually tools to test the amount of water in the fluid (conductivity tester)

[bigb]

OP has a Navion which is a Sprinter chassis and there's only one chassis battery, a group 49 is all I've ever seen in the Sprinter 3500s NCV3 and VS30 and every internet reference points to a group 49 then eyecando came along and his has a group 48 I don't know if maybe the dealer or upfitter had to replace his and cheaped out or what but never saw that before.
eyecando is there extra space around your H6 to where a H8 (group 49) would fit?
Since there is only one battery box made for the Sprinter I'm going to say the smaller H6 or the H8 would fit but not sure why someone would install the small one except to save money.

[eyecando]

Originally Posted by bigb

No, the auxiliary battery is a real battery. It is small and normally located under the passenger seat, not easy to access. Some are located under the hood on the firewall but most are under the passenger seat, in fact I've never seen one on the firewall but I read about it. You should still be able to start and drive without the aux battery being charged though.

Sounds like your Sprinter must be the mirror image of my 2019 Sprinter. My auxiliary battery is located under the driver's seat.

[eyecando]

Originally Posted by bigb

OP has a Navion which is a Sprinter chassis and there's only one chassis battery, a group 49 is all I've ever seen in the Sprinter 3500s NCV3 and VS30 and every internet reference points to a group 49 then eyecando came along and his has a group 48 I don't know if maybe the dealer or upfitter had to replace his and cheaped out or what but never saw that before.
eyecando is there extra space around your H6 to where a H8 (group 49) would fit?
Since there is only one battery box made for the Sprinter I'm going to say the smaller H6 or the H8 would fit but not sure why someone would install the small one except to save money.

No, there is no room for a larger battery than the group 48/H6 without modifications. This is the original battery size, it has not been modified.

The battery is located below the floor on the driver's side.

[cthiggy]

FWIW: Installed a new chassis battery in my 2020 Navion on 3 March last. The new battery is an Odyssey ODP-AGM 49 H8 L5. Definitely a Group 49 and fit perfectly. I wanted a quality battery to "hopefully" always start the vehicle instead of being stuck somewhere miles from a repair facility. The original battery never failed, but was showing signs of weakness.

Also, everybody has their preferences and reasons for those preferences. For me, I make it a point to run and drive the Navion/generator at least ten miles twice a month. The idea is to agitate the engine and transmission oils, achieve normal operating temperatures which boils some of the accumulated moisture off, and charge the batteries. It's a bit of a hassle as the Navion is stored in a covered facility (not at home), but this process has never failed me in the last thirty years. Did the same for three airplanes. Bottom line: Any mechanical device used often will generally cause less problems. Just my opinion.

Also, eyecando: can you offer an easy way to remove DEF fluid from a Sprinter?? Would sure appreciate knowing how to do that.

[eyecando]

Originally Posted by cthiggy

FWIW: Installed a new chassis battery in my 2020 Navion on 3 March last. The new battery is an Odyssey ODP-AGM 49 H8 L5. Definitely a Group 49 and fit perfectly. I wanted a quality battery to "hopefully" always start the vehicle instead of being stuck somewhere miles from a repair facility. The original battery never failed, but was showing signs of weakness.

Also, everybody has their preferences and reasons for those preferences. For me, I make it a point to run and drive the Navion/generator at least ten miles twice a month. The idea is to agitate the engine and transmission oils, achieve normal operating temperatures which boils some of the accumulated moisture off, and charge the batteries. It's a bit of a hassle as the Navion is stored in a covered facility (not at home), but this process has never failed me in the last thirty years. Did the same for three airplanes. Bottom line: Any mechanical device used often will generally cause less problems. Just my opinion.

Also, eyecando: can you offer an easy way to remove DEF fluid from a Sprinter?? Would sure appreciate knowing how to do that.

I've never done it before, but it is nothing more than a tank. Should be able to take a hose and siphon most of it out.

[Sparky19053]

Strange that the Zamp controller is showing an error code indicating a battery problem. Was the RV covered such as no sun reached the solar panels? Ours is in storage with a cover but to keep the batteries fresh I have a 100 watt panel on top of the cover. With the Amp-L-Start keeping the engine battery fresh I'm looking forward to May when we'll get on the road again. I checked on the RV today, battery voltage was 13.1 for the chassis and engine.

BTW, next time you need to store your RV hit the battery disconnect switch. It will disconnect the vampire loads.The solar panels will continue to charge your chassis batteries.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by eyecando

I've never done it before, but it is nothing more than a tank. Should be able to take a hose and siphon most of it out.

It depends on which tank you have. If you have the cargo/passenger van type that fills from under the hood you can't get a siphon hose in there but the tank has a drain. If you have the chassis cab tank that is mounted on the frame on the passenger side and fills from the side compartment it has no drain, but a siphon hose fits that one easily.