wolfe10

Have you contacted nearby RV parks for recommendations for mobile RV repair? Again, nothing magical about the alternator, battery isolator and wiring.

Towing is a lot tougher on the motorhome than driving. Where are you located and what are you driving-- got to be someone familiar with your 12 VDC system. May even be someone on the Forum near you.

We do not have enough information to be able to answer that. How many amp-hrs are your chassis batteries? How old/degraded are they? How much power does it take to power your coach's engine/transmission electronics and other electric systems. Remember, a reading of 12.8 VDC when the charger is on is NOT the same as 12.8 VDC with the batteries at rest. With charger on, you will need readings close to 14 VDC to show full charge. You really need more than a 10 amp charger to get this done. Can't you borrow a bigger charger? Another option to more quickly charge the chassis is to use your toad's alternator-- use jumper cables from toad battery to coach chassis batteries and put toad engine at 1500- 2000 RPM for a half hour or so. DO YOU HAVE NO ONE NEAR YOU THAT HAS KNOWLEDGE OF MOTORHOME 12 VDC SYSTEM. Given the questions being asked, you really need someone with experience helping you.

NOT enough to allow a 50 mile drive. You need batteries at at least 12.8 VDC (fully charged battery at rest). With charger on-- around 14 VDC.

Certainly it would need to be plugged in. Your generator will power the outlet you plug it into. And, again you would need to secure the 12 VAC ends so they do not jump off while driving.

As long as you insure that the connections can not fall/jump off on the road, no problem running the generator and charging either/ both battery banks. You don't say what amp charger you have, but worse case is borrow a higher output one for the trip.

YES

If the generator is quitting because of low voltage-- have you tried running it with the auxiliary battery charger plugged in?

Yes, if you fully charge the house battery bank and don't run extra 12 VDC stuff such as lights, dash fan, etc, should easily make 50 miles. Options: If you see chassis battery voltage dropping below about 12.1 VDC. stop and use the generator and auxiliary charger to bring the battery back up. OR Fully charger both battery banks and use the battery boost/combine to provide more battery capacity-- more driving time. Again, strange that both 120 VAC and alternator charging have gone out at the same time. But, agree you really need someone who knows coach wiring to help you.

You are not charging from the alternator OR shore power. Again it could be the alternator or it could be the battery isolator or wiring. And, your converter, charger or inverter/charger may or may not be working. As stated earlier, they only charge the house bank on many coaches. What do your house batteries read? And what does your chassis battery read when boost/combine switch is ON?

Actually two answers to your question: VW has not deemed any of their vehicles towable 4 wheels down. Now, this could be for mechanical reasons OR due to VW lawyer conservativeness. Here is a good source of information strictly from a mechanical standpoint: http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php You can put in your vehicle specifics and see what they recommend.

peegee5344, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Looks like some confusion here: What year Beetle (basically asking old air cooled rear engine or newer front wheel drive)? Manual or automatic transmission?

If solid front axle, very doubtful that 1/2" of ride height would change tire wear. If IFS, a completely different matter.

STOP. Extremely unlikely that teflon tape has electrically isolated your sender. Easy to check. Use an Ohm meter between body of the sender and engine block. I will guarantee that it reads ZERO OHMS.

TOTALLY AGREE. hence the IF above. 240 VAC can be lethal.

If , actually IF, safe working around 240 VAC, check voltage at the ATS-- both on IN and OUT sides. There will be two hots-- usually red and black One neutral, white. One ground, green Correct readings: Either red or black to either white or green- 120 VAC Red to black 240 VAC White to green 0 VAC If that checks out, repeat at main breaker box-- same colors, same readings.

Sorry, I though you had already confirmed that the problem existed on BOTH generator and shore power. They are totally separate until the ATS. Both generator and shore power come IN to the ATS. One cable (4 wires) go from the ATS goes OUT to the main 120 VAC breaker box.

Good diagnostics (checking whether problem still happens on generator as well as shore power). If the same fault occurs on both shore power and generator, "first suspect" is a bad connection in the ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch). With generator, shore power and inverter OFF, remove the lid and check for clean, tight, non-burned connections. If no issues there, look at the main 120 VAC breaker box.

The battery temperature sensor is attached to the battery post and the other end to the inverter/charger. Usually with a "telephone-type connection". It has two functions: As ambient/battery temperature drops, charging voltage goes up. For those with no temperature sensor, most inverter/chargers allow the user to tell it "cold" vs "hot" ambient temperature. So, if only the manual/owner input, it needs to be changed at least seasonally. Related to the above: If battery temperature rises too much, it reduces voltage (and therefore charging amps) so as to not overheat the batteries.

Ya, with the very limited access to the engines on many motorhomes, not working on engines is understandable. But, the programming the computer???????

I agree-- absolutely take it to Caterpillar dealer for programming.

Carl, The rear engine gas was not a real good choice in any coach until the very few Workhorse UFO chassis that were produced. Most early gas pushers overheated badly and returned poor MPG.

SDeuker, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. The Equinox is one of the heavier toads. What are you towing it with/what coach do you have and what is its towing capacity.

No the battery temperature sensor should not cause a 120 VAC issue. It will just modify the inverter/charger's battery charging algorithms a little, particularly when batteries deeply discharged.

Could be improperly wired 120 VAC outlet. Test with a voltmeter IF you are safe working around 120 VAC: Long straight is neutral Short straight is hot Round is ground SO: Short straight to either long straight or to round= 120 VAC Long straight to round= 0 VAC