wolfe10

pbrosher, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Please tell us what model year chassis, as well as what engine and transmission you have. Thanks.

Every one of those readings means neither battery bank is receiving ANY charge from your inverter/charger. And, all are dangerously low. What inverter/charger do you have. On most, you can not turn off the charge circuit or the pass-through feature. Said another way, on most only ability to "invert" from battery is a normal on/off function. Without knowing what inverter/charger you have we are GUESSING. The only other explanation I can think of is that when the smart inverter/charger sees 11 VDC, it (properly) says, that is a dead battery, I am not going to try to charge it. This can be overcome by plugging in a "stupid"/old technology charger to get it up to 12 VDC or so to where the inverter/charger will take over.

OK, enough. I will repeat (as both a participant and moderator): The FMCA Forum WILL remain a friendly place to exchange information. It will NOT go the way of so many organizations and forums that most of us have left. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but when it is posted just to be divisive, as long as I am moderator, it will not be allowed. Really guys, I have bent over backwards to allow everyone to express their opinion, but it is time for those interested in the future of FMCA to come together, not continue to pull apart. Locking thread now.

Follow the wires from the generator. It will be where wiring from generator is connected to wiring in the coach that goes to the ATS.

Guys, As moderator, I have really bend over backwards-- keeping this thread alive. But any more personal attacks WILL lead to it being shut down. Irrespective of how you voted (and I suspect very few of you know how I voted) it is my sincere hope that those of you who continue on the FMCA Forum and in FMCA ARE TRULY INTERESTED IN SEEING FMCA SUCCEED. If that is not your goal, guess from a personal standpoint (not as moderator) I wonder why you are here. Most of us have been involved in organizations and/or Forums that degraded into conflict. I know I have left them, never to return. I sure hope the FMCA Forum does not go that route, or I and many others will cease to participate. Yes, most are here because it is a positive experience-- let's keep it that way.

Wayne, From the ATS (automatic transfer switch) onward, there is no difference between shore and generator power. So, start by turning off and back on the on-generator breakers. Next (if you are safe working around 120 VAC) check for "power in" from the generator at the ATS. Yes, the most common cause of outlets not working is a tripped GFI, but if tripped, it would be the same on shore power or generator.

Yes, we need more information. But answers to generator and shore power will be the same. Let's do this-- have YOU tell us what is going on with your coach. With digital voltmeter (start under $10): With shore power off and generator off, check voltage at chassis and house banks. Plug into shore power or start generator. Check voltage at both banks again. Post here. And, unlikely it could be overcharged from shore/generator unless both banks are being overcharged, but your readings above will give us "bulk rate" voltage.

Have you verified that this IS a real issue, and not just malfunctioning gauges. Quick place to check is to put a tire gauge on the hose coming from the on-board air chuck/hose.

Not a lawyer, but there are many, many chapters that have membership restrictions. Most "brand chapters" are restrictive. Never been a problem in the past-- don't see that as an issue in the future.

Check online-- all you need is ID, length and if not straight, its configuration.

F207364, Please tell us what coach, chassis and current tire size and series you have. That will help you get reasonable responses.

Safest way to wire a "separate power source": Direct from chassis battery or large-gauge connection to it with inline fuse as close to "source" as possible. Minimum 8 gauge wire to connector at back of coach, 8 gauge wire to toad battery with inline fuse at toad battery. Best to up-size ground wire from coach to connection and toad to connection to 8 gauge. Wired this way, it will charge toad battery anytime the toad is plugged into coach. If you only want it to charge with the coach ignition on, use a relay at coach end with an ignition-hot as the trigger. Plenty of those in the engine room.

Herman, To make it clear, I assume you are unplugging the block heater and plugging in a small smart charger.

Couple of points. As long as the breaker to the inverter/charger is on, it will be doing two things: "passing through" 120 VAC to circuits downstream AND charging at least the house battery bank. You will have to verify that your coach is wired to also charge the chassis battery-- that is not standard on a lot of coaches. Leaving the inverter turned on will give an added feature-- if shore power goes out, it will deplete the battery to supply power to all circuits downstream of the inverter/charger. IMO, not a particularly good idea. Also, your inverter/charger is programmable-- probably easily from your inverter remote. Suggest you reconfirm that it is properly programmed for: battery type, bank size and also ambient temperature unless yours has the optional temperature probe. And, with any wet cell battery, be sure to check water level. Running them dry even once kills them.

OH,,,,,, Stop whining. Ya, spell check "kills wine ing" every time.

Totally agree. Service intervals are related to "work" by a component. Tire, differential and in some cases, the transmission "works" when towing.

Thanks, John, Ya, very frustrating when a manufacturer's engineering, legal and marketing departments can't/don't get their act together. And with the manual transmission Civic being one the best vehicle in its category, a shame it is not on the "approved list"! Ancient history-- I worked for American Honda in the early 1980's and then GM of Honda dealership (read that, big fan of Honda).

Keon, Totally agree with you about the special interest groups and ethanol--ethanol is bad for everyone except the farmers and ethanol producers, and I guess their lobbyists and congressmen who benefit from their campaign contributions. But, would question that engine longevity is down-- actually it is way up. Today's engines, partially due to tighter control on tolerances and partially due to much cleaner burn ARE lasting well longer than "per-emission" engines. And, I think we all understand that most vehicles are "world" vehicles. Even without the EPA, European emission standards (with the increased HP and MPG that stiffer standards brought) would have lead to acceptance of those standards in the U.S. Said another way, consumers here would have been willing to pay a premium for greater performance and economy.

raibourn, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Assume you are talking about a temperature rise while using the dash A/C. If so, your condition is contrary to what one would expect. That is, that with more engine RPM, the A/C compressor turns faster and SHOULD cool better. We generally raise engine speed to recharge a dash A/C so it can move more Freon. Have you felt the hoses to the heater core? More engine RPM also means more coolant circulation and if the valve is not completely closed, this could cause your condition.

While I disagree with some of what EPA does lets be sure to credit them with the advances in gasoline engines over the last couple of decades. Having spent my career in the automobile business, I have watched "from the inside out". Sure, pollution is down. But, more importantly for consumers MPG is WAY up and HP is WAY up. Heck, close to half the cars today have 0-60 MPH times equal to the muscle cars on the 1960's and get 3X the MPG. Without the EPA, there would have been zero reason for vehicle manufactures to ever leave carburetors, mechanical/vacuum distributors and frequent tuneups.

I agree. Covering them protects them from UV light, not ozone. There may be a "test" that at least gives us some useful information. Look at duals-- the inside tire is not exposed to UV light, but does run hotter than the outside tire and likely will have been exposed to more petroleum products (nearer sources of grease and oil and never cleaned off). Compare cracking on them.

The engine is ONLY working with the engine on, so driven miles are all that counts.

OK, moma uses the bathroom door. REAL MEN use the refrigerator door-- just to make sure you can get your BEER one-handed.

Carl, That would work, ASSUMING that tire degradation is linear. Suspect it is not and that when new, they are better protected by the emoluments.

Well, with Roger (Tireman9) being a retired tire forensic engineer, guess I would kind of go with his observation on this. Not sure how he or anyone else can give definitive proof on tire longevity-- many variables and not sure there are"sample sizes" of RV's with covered vs uncovered tire life. But, I don't think any would question that minimizing harmful influences would increase tire life. Both UV and heat have long been known to negatively influence tire life. SOOO, anyone volunteering to cover one tire on the side of the coach that receives sun light and leave the other uncovered??