kenk0001

omg...this is a nightmare. A simple problem. NOPE. Sorry, this is the sound of frustration. I took all the batteries out. trickle charged them full. let them set AGAIN. I had one house battery show bad reading on charge level. I replaced it. Charge all three again. Hydrometer test all three again. all three read fine. I go to the control panel on the dash and check the battery level. It reads 1/2. Is it possible, that a defective disconnect switch could be causing all my problems? The disconnect registers a light on when I turn the Chassis battery on/off to on. It gives me a good reading of 13.8.... the other half of the disconnect switch (for the house batteries) has two positions, on/off and the ability to push it in to get a reading on the current level of battery charge stored. The light does not come on, and no reading is shown... Any thoughts?

I have the two 12 volt batteries currently. I am thinking about changing to four six volt and using Trojan batteries. I always had good luck with them in golf carts. Any ideas or thoughts? lol..yes, I am gleaning as much information as I can from a bunch of guys who know their stuff....!

Well, I believe the light at the end of the tunnel has just gotten brighter. I pulled both coach batteries out. The salesman originally told me they were new. Then it became "they are less than a year old", that translate to reality-- the batteries are two years and a few months old. I had left them on an automatic trickle charger and had brought them up to fully charged, and then let the batteries stand for about 8 hours. Using a brand new hydrometer, I tested each cell and found ONE good cell. That was it. They still showed a charge when tested with a volt meter but, the hydrometer says they are bad. These batteries are from Auto Zone and they are actually a marine deep cell battery. I called and there isn't any prorated warranty because they said they were purchased in another state-- go figure! Anyway, I am checking into batteries now and expect to invest in two brand new ones. Anyone have any recommendations for new batteries at or under $200.00 dollars each? This still doesn't mean the electrical issue is resolved, but this is one piece of the puzzle that has to be fixed.

Well, I think its a possibility. I am going to pick up a hydrometer tomorrow and head back out to the farm. Herman, I think you may be on to something, and buy the way, you spelled sulfated correctly... lol, or at least right enough for my simple mind to follow what you were getting at!

Thanks Brett! That was the one of the questions I was trying to figure out; Chassis battery and house batteries can be recharged off the alternator. Chassis battery and house battery can be recharged off the generator. BUT...that doesn't necessarily mean that chassis battery can be drained by house battery. That's the question of the hour in my mind now.

Do you know if there is any problem with changing out a 100 amp alternator with a 160?

Okay....I spent about four hours checking wires yesterday. checked cables again. Cleaned and recleaned. Checked the batteries again. THIS time, something new. After having them (house batteries that are approximately a year old, good water levels) on a 2 amp trickle charger (I had two trickle chargers going and disconnected the batteries from each other entirely) After charging all night and a portion of the morning, One wouldnt pass the load test. One passed, one failed. I guess (stateing that rather quizzically) that the battery that failed the load test must have been drawing current out of the chassis battery and causeing the lights to dim.... I say that, but I really dont have a clue.

Yes I did! The pictures are worth a thousand words! I appreciate the time you took to do that for us less than educated mechanics!

lol..sorry for the ambiguity there! So, if the alternator is charging both banks, then the alternator cant be the problem right? Is it possible that running both overhead ac units off of the generator (50 amp output), while the motorcoach was running, could have possible drained the chassis battery? Any particular clue as to where I would look for this elusive beast?...for that matter, what it might look like? This is making me feel like quite the idiot. lol...and I really am mechanically inclined!

Now I am confused. The alternator was the only thing running. The generator was not running and the voltmeter indicated that the house batteries were coming up in charge.

OKAY...change number 200112; Today was another new symptom. BEFORE I ever started the engine, before I did anything, I had the thought that the generator SHOULD charge the chassis battery. I did not know if the battery was low. It was just a thought. So, I went and opened the generator storage box and was going to manually start the generator. NOTHING. I thought well, maybe the disconnect has to be on (the chassis side because the disconnect still doesnt show anything from the house side) So I go and throw the disconnect to power use. I go to the drivers seat thinking I would remotely start the generator. Still nothing. Now when I had quit pulling my hair out earlier, I KNOW the batteries were charged. The disconnect was in the storage position (chassis side only). So, I decided to start the engine and see what the "in dash" voltmeter would show. The engine cranked a little slowly, but started. The charge hand immediately went from showing about an 8.? to 13.8, and it began to charge the chassis battery. I went and grabbed a battery tester w/volt indicator and put it on the house batteries. They were more than half way down but starting to slowly recharge. Okay, so here we are; The battery connections are all tight and cleaned thoroughly. The alternator tested good. The regulator tested good. The house batteries are 1 year old/filled with water and takeing a charge. BUT...they drained down, and I believe they were in the process of draining my chassis battery. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks so much for the confirmation! I did check the grounds and they were good. The battery connections were all clean and tight. The thing that threw me was the two different voltage readings. I know they did not do a load test, rather they just checked to see what the output was, and as both of you pointed out, the alternator was cold during both tests. Easy to see where the test could have been wrong. It has an internal regulator and I believe the easiest thing for me to do now is to simply replace the alternator and then see what happens. I will keep you informed and follow this forum more closely! Thanks again!

wow...I am learning just listening/reading to this post.... Thanks for all your knowledge guys!

ohhh..forgot to mention; The dwindling reading was the reason I pulled the alternator to have it tested. When it tested good, I didn't believe it. I took it to another shop and had it retested again. Again, same results.