Battery switches

[Angus Og]

Just bought an 85 Chieftain and I was wondering if someone could tell me what the switch on the right is for. Thanks!

[Mtn Charlie]

This is just a guess, but since it appears to be a momentary contact switch, it appears that it would momentarily connect the house and chasis batteries for use in the event the chassis battery does not have enough charge to start the engine.

[MinntoMich]

Originally Posted by Mtn Charlie

This is just a guess, but since it appears to be a momentary contact switch, it appears that it would momentarily connect the house and chasis batteries for use in the event the chassis battery does not have enough charge to start the engine.

Bingo. When traveling I have mine set to the dual setting to use the engines alternator to charge the house batteries. The momentary position is to temporarily "jump" the chassis battery using the coach batteries. If there is a center position for that rocker it's not going to do anything.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by MinntoMich

Bingo. When traveling I have mine set to the dual setting to use the engines alternator to charge the house batteries. The momentary position is to temporarily "jump" the chassis battery using the coach batteries. If there is a center position for that rocker it's not going to do anything.

The center position disconnects the house and engine batteries which is what you'd want while stationary so you don't accidentally deplete your starting battery.

Your owners manual details this on page 36:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ago-Itasca.pdf

If you don't have the manual, you should download a copy.

Additional resources, plumbing and wiring diagrams, parts catalog etc., can be found here:

https://www.winnebago.com/owners/owner-resources

[Morich]

The online info for wiring only goes back to 1990 but Winnebago has been using near the same setup for this almost forever, so we can look at wiring for a 1990 model and think it is pretty much the same! Some guessing there but overall much the same?

Almost all Winnebago before about 2020 have some for of this setup and it is vital to how things work on our RV, so worth taking a look at them.

Somewhere on the RV are both a solenoid and battery disconnect relay with switches to control them and they look very much like this drawing for shape and connections.

The battery disconnect switch cuts off much of the load on the coach batteries, using a switch that is often near the door. it doesn't cut off ALL that load not does it disconnect any load from the start battery, so we need to be aware that things are still connected and may run either set of batteries down when we store the RV!

Then if that disconnect is closed there is a solenoid which operates from a dash switch. That is likely to be the switch you are asking about and it does two things for us.

When the start battery is low, you can push the switch to close the solenoid and it connects the coach and start batteries together for an automatic "jump start or boost". Many RV it is set so that when the RV engine runs, the solenoid is closed to charge both batteries off the alternator but it looks like you have an option for that? I would want to test how that works to find out while it is working!

One nice things about the older solenoid over the newer solid state is that we can hear and feel the solenoid move! If you are near or feeling the solenoid and somebody pushes the switch, you feel it jump or "thunk" as it closes.

The power to move the solenoid comes in on a small wire(maybe purple?) to a small screw connection, through the coil inside the solenoid to the metal body and uses the mounting screw or bolt to ground the circuit! Blue line?

These are big spots that need to work and they get lots of failures so if one want to be ready for future problems it is often good to know what to expect here??? I find if I know what to expect when things are right, it is easier to spot things that don't work!