Hi Everyone! Looking at new Winnebago View and have questions

[roundtail]

Thanks to all of you who posted responses - It's all VERY helpful!!! My friend that is much more technically and mechanically inclined than I am helped look at this issue today. I forwarded all of your posts to him as well.
I would love if there were an instructional video or manual that tells me exactly what I am supposed to do when I am connected to shore power and when I'm using solar. The person who was supposed to have showed me all of this at the dealer didn't do a good job... She was too busy babbling about all the interesting things she would find when cleaning out RVs that came back from Burning Man....
Not once did she show me the Xantrex panel - she only showed me the battery on/off switch and then kind of pointed to the other 2 obvious panels, but she assured me that she'd send me links with helpful videos that would show me everything I needed to know... Unfortunately, the videos didn't cover any of this!
My friend found the Xantrex panel in the cabinet that Roundtail mentioned (THANK YOU, Roundtail!!!) and saw that it was powered off. So, he turned it on and almost instantly things looked better. It shows the bypass to the 30 amp shore power and shows a battery symbol charging. The One Place panel now shows 12.2v for the chassis and 13.9v for the house, and the ZAMP shows 14.1v now.
Should that be on at all times? Or is there a reason it was turned off? I read the inverter manual and it was not clear on any of this.
The technician who did work on the RV before I purchased it had mentioned they replaced a battery and when we looked under the step, the batteries looked to be in good condition - one was dated 4/25 and the other was dated 11/24.
My friend also pointed out that although we do get decent sun in the backyard, there is a tree blocking some of it, and that we only get good sunlight in that area in the later afternoon, so I guess it's possible that it just wasn't getting enough sun to keep the refrigerator running when I first brought it home... however, I am concerned that once I turned the refrigerator off for a few days, it never got up past 12.4v.
@ Roundtail - it sounds like yours is the closest to this 2022 Navion - Do you have suggestions for how things should be done when plugged in vs when using solar?
Thanks everyone SO MUCH!!! This is a wonderful forum!!!
Randolf

Glad I could be of some help. We do have similar RVs, and I will answer as much as I can, since mine is new to me as well. However, it's my third RV, so I have a little more to draw from.

First, a caveat. You, as I do, have a pre-owned unit. What that means is that the previous owner may have altered things. So if things don't act the way the manual says they should, there could be a mod in the works. I ran into this on my previous RV, also a used unit. I live in the Northeast, and do my own winterization. I was following the well-written manual to the letter, but one of the connections it specified did not exist. I discovered that the previous owner had modified the plumbing in the water bay...meaning I had to figure out how to attach the antifreeze siphon on my own, and verify that all the lines were in fact getting fluid. You may run into this kind of thing, so don't get frustrated. Stay logical .

The Zantrex. I have an early build unit, and some things were changed not long after production started...so what I have could be different than yours, or how it functions at least. However, I am fairly certain I do not have to have the inverter panel powered to charge off shore power. The inverter is necessary if you need to have 110 volt outlets (or the fridge) powered from the batteries. That is when you'd need the panel on for sure. However, yours may be different. NOTE: The batteries will drain quite easily powering the fridge. If they don't get sufficiently recharged, you'll notice. Also, that panel is out of sight and out of mind. Be sure you remember to turn it off when you store your unit. It draws a little power even with the batteries off.

The Zamp. My Zamp does not require the batteries to be on for the solar to charge them. Yours should be charging your house batteries even with every switch in the RV off. This is where "previous owner" fiddling may be at play. I suggest checking your Zamp controller settings against the recommended ones in your manual, just to be sure.

Zamp Part Two. You appear to have flooded (FLA) batteries. As I previously mentioned, those can stratify (reducing charge ability). Your Zamp screenshot shows your controller using the AGM profile. Again, for charging, that's ok. But it won't run its 28-day equalization cycle, which equalizes the batteries and corrects stratification. There could be a reason it is set for AGM instead of flooded, so I wouldn't change it unless you are sure you need to. The Zantrex can run a "manual" equalization (it's covered in the operator manual). If your batteries aren't holding charge, you may want to run one. Just be sure to replenish with distilled water afterward. Equalization can cause some to evaporate (avoiding that is an advantage of your Zamp set to AGM, btw...that's how I run mine).

That ought to do for now .

 

[Riverbend]

Here is something that might help you in regards to power in your 24D.

 

[Morich]

I don't want to conflict with users who have actual experience with the RV but I might throw some different thinking on the inverter and let you then see how it works for you? There can be a really big difference in theory and what you actually find!

There are often problems with terms. There is a converter which uses AC power to make DC. Then there is an inverter which does pretty much the opposite, using DC to make AC.
The converter is often left on any time we are using the RV or wanting batteries to charge from the cord.
The inverter is prone to using battery7 power, even when you do not have anything running to use AC! It is prone to running the batteries down while totally wasting that energy! The electronics in the inverter use power to just set there! I might start out with the idea of keeping the inverter OFF, unless you are NOT plugged in and DO want AC power!

But a lot of confusion can come in with names! There are times when RV have converter, maybe inverters or there are also times when we get the name inverter but it also charges batteries. We can find inverter chargers? So try to sort info to be sure what it talks about is what you actually have and not name confusion!
A good place to get info is the owners manual , as a start but it can be missing on details we need. They may tell you to turn this valve, but not tell you WHERE to find that valve!
One good source but takes a bit of "learning curve" is an interactive parts catalog. Not so much to order parts but a really great way to get to drawings that show WHERE and how it was built:

Parts Catalog

I suggest locating a label near the driver's left side for info to trust on exactly which RV and when it was built. A surprising thing is that the title for the chassis year may be a year older than the build date for the RV! They may buy the chassis which is what the title cares about but not build the RV until six months later. This comes into play when you want truck parts like brakes or RV parts like a vent fan!
More like a house situation than the normal car thinking? All the parts we live in are not built at the same time, nor by the same people, so we have to sort closer when we need info for repairs.
With the correct year, corr4ect model and then correct floorplan, we can go to the parts drawings and they will often be very helpful to locate those valves and drains, pipes or if we even have what the book talks about! The manual and drawings may/may not be what you find but if you look in that spot on the right drawing, it is easy to see if they match. That can tell you there has been a change made, so be alert for that?

That drawing group does take some learning to go quicker but that is my favorite playground here, so if some pointers on use would help, ask away and I may be able to get you over a few of the bumps!
This is a drawing of what's under the passenger seat in one form:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/2020/000158614.pdf

OR?

Parts Catalog

Both show the same place under the seat where it is hard to get to for a look. But used together, you get different info in different ways.
If you want to know what wires are there, the first may work better. But if you only want to know what under there and what it looks like? The second works better for me as they are often very good at location, size and shape. Colors? NO! they are not that pretty!
What's behind this panel?

We can turn it around to look!

Too much info allows for too much brain strain, so I'll stop now!

 

[Morich]

One of the great things I like about this style drawing is the detail they show and being able to move it all around to look really close!
If we had a cold rainy day but wanted to know how to get to a leak in this space, setting inside in our char may be a good option to take a look?
See that set of screw holes at the lower edge of the blue panel? That might fake us into thinking could take those out and remove the tan panel?
Nope! Not going work without a lot of fuss/work if the lines are all attached to the back of that panel!
So maybe we want to look at the green panel if it is next to a compartment as it shows screw holes on the near end? Are there also holes at the top?
You may need to do a quick run out in the rain to see what type screwdriver but that is a much quicker trip if you have a good idea which panel to NOT look at on the rainy trip!

I've found the hardest part of any repair is getting it planned correctly!