chassis battery goes dead
chassis battery goes dead
Hi all. 2002 Concourse battery problem. Chassis battery will die when hooked to shore power. New battery and separator switch will hold charge except when on shore power. Thanks for your help in advance. Mike
Re: chassis battery goes dead
What is the converter output? Flip the breaker on the converter, and monitor the voltage on the battery and see if that "fix" the issue.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Is your converter the original "Brown Box?" It's not supposed to work backwards.
Roly
Roly
1998 Premier
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Hi, Mike. Before we can offer too many suggestions, could you clarify a few things?Galaxie 1 wrote: December 12th, 2020, 6:46 am Hi all. 2002 Concourse battery problem. Chassis battery will die when hooked to shore power. New battery and separator switch will hold charge except when on shore power. Thanks for your help in advance. Mike
When you say "chassis battery", do you mean the Engine Starter battery, or the Coach battery/batteries? Since you mention the battery separator, I'm thinking you mean the Starter battery is the new battery that is losing charge?
When you say on shore power, do you mean the coach's power cord is plugged in to a 110V AC outlet (and if so, 20A or 30A)? And if it is plugged in, is the 'store' power switch in the cab lit green? Or are you referring to just having the 'store' power switch lit green in the cab without being plugged in, meaning the coach has 12V DC power available but no AC power coming in?
Do you still have the original converter/charger in the coach, behind the brown box that Roly referred to?
How quickly does the battery in question lose its charge, and what things do you have turned on using power (if any)?
2000 Concourse, Ford Triton 6.8 V10
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Thanks it is original and I'm checking the voltage with charger off. If coach is in sleep mode not plugged in chassis battery stays fine. Thanks for the help. Mike
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Sorry, I'm still confused as to the actual problem - can you answer each of these questions, yes or no?
1) Is it the engine starter battery that you are referring to as the 'chassis' battery?
2) Is the issue when the shore AC cable is plugged in to a 110AC 20/30 Amp outlet?
3) Is the issue when the Store/Sleep mode switch is lit green, meaning the coach has 12V DC power available?
4) Do you have a new battery, and if so is it for coach or engine starter?
5) Do you have a new separator (Sure Power 1314 or 1315, or something else)?
6) Are you getting a dead battery or are you measuring voltage going down over time (if so, what readings at what time intervals)?
1) Is it the engine starter battery that you are referring to as the 'chassis' battery?
2) Is the issue when the shore AC cable is plugged in to a 110AC 20/30 Amp outlet?
3) Is the issue when the Store/Sleep mode switch is lit green, meaning the coach has 12V DC power available?
4) Do you have a new battery, and if so is it for coach or engine starter?
5) Do you have a new separator (Sure Power 1314 or 1315, or something else)?
6) Are you getting a dead battery or are you measuring voltage going down over time (if so, what readings at what time intervals)?
2000 Concourse, Ford Triton 6.8 V10
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Thanks Bob. I'm talking about the engine start battery. Hooked to 30 amp 120vshore power. With coach batteries on (green lite).New AMG start battery and new Sure Power 1315. Battery will go dead. If coach is in sleep mode and not plugged start battery will stay fine. Either on green or shore power the start battery will die others stay fine.
Re: chassis battery goes dead
Mike, that is a doozie of a problem.
If your coach batteries are fully charged, then I don't think plugging in shore power will put the voltage high enough to trigger the 1315 to connect to the starter battery for charging. If the converter/charger is in 'Storage Mode' slow blinking once every 5 seconds (coach batteries are full), it puts out 13.2V at the charger, but by the time it goes to the coach batteries and then on to the 1315, I'm sure its down to 13V at best due to wire losses. This is well below the 13.2V required at the 1315 to trigger it to connect to the starter. So that could be why it doesn't matter if you're plugged in to shore or not when the coach is green (not in sleep).
That would suggest to me the issue is a power drain in the coach system that connects to the starter battery.
The only connection like that that I recall offhand is, at least in some Concourses like my 2000, that the coach stereo has a 'stay-alive' connection to the starter battery (like your dash radio does), in order for it to not lose its settings and radio stations when the coach is placed in sleep more. This should be a very small drain, as you basically just have 2 car radios attached now. Though the one in the coach has a longer wire run, so will probably use a bit more power. I found this years ago when changing the solar controller, and proceeded to change the wiring, so I have no idea whether there is any fuse in the dash that might be available to pull to disconnect the coach radio for testing.
About how long does it take for the starter battery to go dead, do you know? I mean, is it like overnight, 2-3-4 nights (no driving), or more like a couple/three weeks without driving it?
If your coach batteries are fully charged, then I don't think plugging in shore power will put the voltage high enough to trigger the 1315 to connect to the starter battery for charging. If the converter/charger is in 'Storage Mode' slow blinking once every 5 seconds (coach batteries are full), it puts out 13.2V at the charger, but by the time it goes to the coach batteries and then on to the 1315, I'm sure its down to 13V at best due to wire losses. This is well below the 13.2V required at the 1315 to trigger it to connect to the starter. So that could be why it doesn't matter if you're plugged in to shore or not when the coach is green (not in sleep).
That would suggest to me the issue is a power drain in the coach system that connects to the starter battery.
The only connection like that that I recall offhand is, at least in some Concourses like my 2000, that the coach stereo has a 'stay-alive' connection to the starter battery (like your dash radio does), in order for it to not lose its settings and radio stations when the coach is placed in sleep more. This should be a very small drain, as you basically just have 2 car radios attached now. Though the one in the coach has a longer wire run, so will probably use a bit more power. I found this years ago when changing the solar controller, and proceeded to change the wiring, so I have no idea whether there is any fuse in the dash that might be available to pull to disconnect the coach radio for testing.
About how long does it take for the starter battery to go dead, do you know? I mean, is it like overnight, 2-3-4 nights (no driving), or more like a couple/three weeks without driving it?
2000 Concourse, Ford Triton 6.8 V10
Re: chassis battery goes dead
The thing that is the most mysterious is that the chassis battery goes dead *when* plug in. When plugged in, the converter should be able to charge up both the coach and chassis batteries. But instead, it actually make it goes dead, and I assume only the chassis battery goes dead (the coach batteries are fine...?).
This can't be explained by the parasitic drain alone. I think either we do not have a full picture, or there are a few components that we need to make sure they are working properly.
The first thing I will try is to disconnect the chassis battery from the chassis components (radio, starter, etc), but leave the connection to the separator. This way, we can narrow down if the issue is on the coach system, or the chassis system. If the problem still persists, then we can go down each of the components (separator, converter, LVD, etc.) and see what we find. If you have an ammeter or a multi-meter, it will be very helpful in figure things out.
This can't be explained by the parasitic drain alone. I think either we do not have a full picture, or there are a few components that we need to make sure they are working properly.
The first thing I will try is to disconnect the chassis battery from the chassis components (radio, starter, etc), but leave the connection to the separator. This way, we can narrow down if the issue is on the coach system, or the chassis system. If the problem still persists, then we can go down each of the components (separator, converter, LVD, etc.) and see what we find. If you have an ammeter or a multi-meter, it will be very helpful in figure things out.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
Re: chassis battery goes dead
I am looking for the parasitic drain one step at a time. Coach batteries stay fine. If it was radio cab or coach then the start battery would not stay good when every thing is unplugged and in sleep mode. Chin I do have meters retired So Cal Edison and have built classic cars. This one has got me. Thanks to everyone for the input. Got to be simple just over looked. I will find it or do a frame off. Most auto electrical problems are ground related. Mike
Last edited by Galaxie 1 on December 14th, 2020, 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.