2003 journey diesel pusher, the engine batteries are dead (one year old) any ideas why they won’t charge? The house batteries are the same age and charge just fine. Engine batteries don’t charge from the engine, the generator, or when the coach is plugged in. I suspect there may be some problem with the wiring between the batteries and what ever circuit they are connected to. I looked at the Winebaggo wiring diagram and it shows the wires going to the batteries for a short distance and then say see frieghtliner wiring diagram which I am unable to find. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated as I really don’t want to start taking things apart to find the problem.
Some basics may need some thought as the way the start battery gets charged is a bit different than the coach batteries which do get charged from the converter using power from the generator or plugged in 110AC.
The coach batteries get charged both as we have 110 AC and as we drive the mode solenoid should connect both battery strings together to charge.
But that voltage to charge the two sets of batteries comes from the engine alternator, just as a normal car/truck except it adds the coach batteries.
So that means your problem is not so much an RV problem but in the basic automotive parts like the alternator on the engine. And that also means we are really not setup and given much info on dealing the the automotive parts and wiring.
For me, this would have to go to the folks who do Freightliner repairs and get the basics like alternator checked. But as part of that I would want to check that the battery is in a condition to receive and hold a charge as it may just be a bad battery, fan belt or something really simple in the wiring like dirty cables, etc.
__________________
Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
I checked the current going into the batteries and there was current flow into the house batteries with just the engine running and nothing into the engine batteries. Almost like there is an open somewhere between the alternator and the engine batteries. I know that the circuitry between the house batteries and the engine batteries is different. Winnebago wiring diagram shows most of the wires for the house batteries. Very frustrating, I guess I will either have to take it somewhere that works on the freight liner part of the coach or start taking it apart myself, neither option is something I’m looking forward to.
FInd out if you have a B.I.R.D. system or another charging circuit that connects your house batteries to your engine batteries.
Make sure you inverter charger is off and if you have solar turn it off too.
Put a multimeter on the engine battery and with the engine running confirm you are getting 13.8V or more.
How many miles on your coach? My alternator went out at 84,000.
Is this coach new to you? ...Do you know your engine batteries use to charge off the alternator?
Get rid of that BIRD... and install a KeyLine VSR for $85 on Amazon.
Verify your Boost Solenoid is not leaking current to ground.
When did you last replace your boost solenoid?
Howe old are your engine batteries. Get them fully charged and load tested at Interstate or Les Schway or Napa for free.
Engine batteries can come back from the dead fast. But cranking amps are another story. Make sure you don't have any battery shorts before you spend money on a mechanic.
I don’t know if it is a BIRD or not. I will have to check. When I put a DVM across the engine batteries with the engine running and nothing else connected I get 0.3 volts. When I put the DVM on the house batteries with just the engine running I get 13.9 volts and the engine running keeps the house batteries charged so I don’t think it is the alternator. Something is shipping the current from getting to the engine batteries or the engine batteries are bad and have an internal open.
Yes, If the alternator is pushing that much voltage to the coach batteries, the connections to the start or the batteries themselves are bad as the route from the alternator the the start batteries is much more direct than from alternator to coach batteries.
Wne engine is running, the mode solenoid connects both together, so if the start battery is not get the charge and the coach is, there is a definite problem with wiring or battery in the start battery system.
It will not be a short to ground in the circuit but more likely an open, but I would first do some minor checking like adding a jumper between the positive of the start and positive of the coach as a way to fully confirm the mode solenoid operation and then after an hour or so of them being definitely set to charge the start, let it rest for a few hours and recheck the voltage.
Or if more convenient, taking the battery for a load test is also a good bet.
__________________
Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
Yes. The Keyline was one of my first and best upgrades!
Why?
* I use it so the alternator charges the engine batteries; and with the the Keyline battery isolator (aka Voltage Sensitive Relay-VSR) my house batteries also get charged when I'm driving.
* The Keyline is also bi-directional so when my solar MPPT solar controller can charge both the house and engine batteries.
Note: The engine battery will get full faster and first; and when it's full, it won't accept any more charge. I.e., no BIM or other switches needed. The FLA battery by design just stops accepting the charging amps; and since current always follows the least path of resistance, this means more amps will go to the less empty battery... until it's full.
* FYI, I'm using the Victron 17A separate charger (instead of my Dimension Inverter-Charger) most of the time, for reasons I will not go into now, but I highly recommend this upgrade too, which is connected to the house battery. And now I turn off the Dimensions Charger when I'm camped for more than 2 days; and now I really only use my Dimensions 100A charger (inside the inverter box) when I am on generator power and I need a fast charge when I'm boondocking.
You can buy the Victron with Bluetooth on Amazon for ~$125 and besides being my primary charger, it's also my battery maintainer when I put my RV in storage, and it works great! (And in storage, I just fish an extension cord thru my tip-out windows and use a towel to block the air gap; so I can turn of my BDS (aka "Salesman Switch."))
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Charging (amps) will always travel from a "higher potential" to a "lower potential" ...so long as it can overcome the internal resistance of the battery, which is pushing back.
This is why your FLA/AGM battery charges faster when it is low.
And because your alternator is connected to your engine battery, that charge needs to push through the engine and house battery cells, which are all connected in parallel when the KeyLine VSR is closed. So there are never too many amps going to the batteries, and in the wires, because of the internal resistance in both batteries.
However, this MAY NOT BE THE CASE with LiFeO4 batteries. So if you go that route I suggest you do some more homework if you plan to us a LiFeO4 as your power source.
FACT: My charging system would not work as good, or at all, without the Keyline VSR, or solar MPPT, or the Victron 17A charger I installed. Further, the Victron is both my primary engine and house battery charger, when I have shore power; and it's also my battery maintainer when I put my RV in storage.
Note: When I'm driving and my inverter is powering my AC systems, I just unplug the Victron in my bedroom.
I forgot to point out, if your house batteries are only lasting 1-2 years, it maybe because you don't have a battery maintainer hooked up in storage...
AND...
I bet where you store your RV the winter temps drop below 32F for several days and you are freezing the water inside which distorts the battery cells.
SOLUTION: Get a Victron or some other battery charger/maintainer; and you will never return to pick your RV up from storage and find your house and engine batteries are dead.
WHY? ...Because, when you have a battery maintainer, there is heat produced as a byproduct of the charging process. I.e., the internal resistance produces enough heat to keep your batteries from freezing.
Note: One mechanic told me, if you see battery bulges there are two types:
* If the battery bulged out of the top, that's due to winter freezing.
* If the battery bulges out the side, that's due to over charging.
I don't know if this is true, but I'll accept it until someone else debunks this theory. The point is that you first need to keep your batteries stored above 32F at all times, and then you may be able to avoid over charging them; or to say that another way, you are fast-charging your batteries with too many amps. So don't be in a hurry if you don't need to. Turn your charger down to 20A and give it 3-5 days to fully charge when possible. And maybe then you will get 3-5 years of service from your FLAs.
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