House batteries not charging

[100str8]

Our house batteries are not being charged while driving. Can someone tell me which fuse to check in the power distribution panel? Another question, what is the 80 amp breaker found passenger side firewall for? We are in the Chinook learning curve. We’ve got a ‘98 Concourse.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[chin_k]

Blue has a diagram in the following post with the 80A breaker. It is for connection the generator starter with the battery, I think.

https://www.chinookrvforum.com/viewtopi ... 6015#p6015

now, if your alternator does not charge the coach battery, maybe the chassis battery never got enough current to charged up. So I will check the alternator, then chassis/engine battery, and make sure it is fully charged. Then check the solenoid (made by Surepower) that connect the chassis battery to the coach batteries. Maybe the solenoid is bad and never connect when there are spare energy to spare from the alternator.

I assume the convertor has no problem charging the coach batteries when it is plugged to shore power, correct?

[100str8]

The coach batteries do charge on shore power. I will check the chassis battery charge. Where is the surepower solenoid located? Always learning something new on this rig...

[chin_k]

You can do a search on the forum on the solenoid. In my 2000 Concourse, it is attached to the driver side of the fender under the hood. Just need to follow a large cable from the battery.

[100str8]

I think I’ve found the battery separator...and if it is, it looks pretty shot. To replace, should I go with the same surepower 3015a, or as many discussed a blue sea? I don’t want to get into new wires, etc., just drop in and go. Blue sea makes a si-acr and a ml-acr. What makes the most sense?
Photos attached of what I think is the separator.

[Blue~Go]

The 7662 would be the typical choice. You need the high amp capacity for self jump starting.

There is no "easy" with that location though - geez that was tight. I couldn't wait to move it. You could consider moving it and just rearranging the wires on the original to effectively make it a power post. (You'd still have the original small-and-thus-unfusable wires, but at least you wouldn't be putting it back in such a poor location (heat, water, and inaccessible in general plus inaccessible lockout switch)

Electrically it can go anywhere on the wire between start and house banks.

[chin_k]

I had to remove the plastic reservoir to get to the solenoid. Not to bad after it is out of the way. The tricky thing about relocating it is that you also need to consider the control wires for jumpstarting if you want the "battery boost" feature. I guess if you want to test it, use a battery charger on the chassis battery until it is fully charged, and see if the current spill over to the coach batteries. If nothing happened after the voltage is high enough, then the solenoid probably is bad. You should be able to hear it clicks when the solenoid is engaging/disengaging. If you bypass the solenoid by put a jumper across the solenoid (warning: large current and sparks! may melt the wire if not the right size.), you should see the coach battery should start charging. To avoid the fire show, I would disconnect the chassis battery at the neg terminal, and use a charger (lower current) to see if it can start charging the coach batteries via the by-passed solenoid.

[100str8]

Is there a need to add new wiring for the blue sea 7622 or can I use the original? Blue sea also makes a si-acr. Any good?

[Blue~Go]

Is there a need to add new wiring for the blue sea 7622 or can I use the original? Blue sea also makes a si-acr. Any good?

The SI is fine but only rated to 120 amps, so not big enough for our Chinooks.

You can use the original wiring, but it is not large enough to support safe fusing which is why Chinook left it un-fused. Whether or not to accept that risk is up to you. The small wiring will also impart some additional voltage drop on your charging line.

I up-sized the wiring for the above reasons. I also abandoned the fenderwell location, so running the new wire was not difficult as there was a clear path.

[100str8]

I'm electrically challenged so please bear with my questions. Our '98 Chinook had been somewhat updated by the previous owners, new progressive dynamics converter, new generator, water heater. It still has the original single solar panel and the SESI solar controller. I need to replace the battery separator to charge house batteries while driving. The original separator does not have the label (front cover is gone) so I'm assuming is is the original 1315. My question is why is the 100 amp original or the 120 amp Blue Sea SI-ACR not big enough?
The Blue Sea 7622 has the remote switch (don't need/want) so can I assume that I can completely ignore the wiring for the remote switch upon installation? My electrical experience/upgrades involves me looking where old wire was connected and do the same on new...my apologies for my lack of knowledge. I'm learning as I go. I understand the original surepower (100 amp) isn't the best route, but it may be the route I have to take with my limited set of skills. Or am I overestimated the level of skill needed here?