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ktconners

Charging Battery

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If you are parked at a campground and plugged into shore power for an extended period of time (over a month), is it necessary to start your Class A to charge the battery? I am not clear on this and would hate to have departure date arrive, only to find the vehicle will not start...

 

Thank You!

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Not a simple answer.

Yes, your house battery bank should remain charged by your converter or inverter/charger.

But, not all coaches have a means of charging their chassis battery from shore power.

 

Safest answer is, after a couple of days, check voltage at both battery banks with a digital voltmeter.  That will give you the FACTS for your coach. And, if the chassis battery is not being charged, there are several common remedies that do include running the main engine.

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That would be well down my list of how to address this.  Running any engine under no load allows moisture build up in the crankcase. That in addition to using a lot of fuel to turn a lot more cylinders than are needed to spin the alternator.

If you don't have a digital voltmeter, a good idea to get one.  They start under $20.

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Like Brett said "first find out if your  batteries are being charged." If they are you are done. If they are not being charged let us know and we can offer a simple fix. Where are you now? Is the coach plugged in?

Bill

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Looks like you are covered.

But, since we don't know what coach and/or converter or inverter/charger you have, be aware that if it is an inverter/charger, it is programmable.

If you have an inverter/charger, let us know what you have and we can help you to "fine tune" it for your batteries.

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I have a 2017 Fleetwood Bounder 36H. I know it does have an inverter but no idea what kind. On my control panel there is a box that says “Magnum Energy”. It reads out my voltage, 13.1,  followed by “float” not sure  if that is the inverter or not?

Sounds like I am OK for now though and appreciate your help...

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With a new coach, you should have an owner's manual for your Magnum inverter/charger.  It will give the (easy) steps for programming the inverter/charger.  If no manual, go to Magnum's website where you will find an on-line manual. Do NOT ASSUME that it was properly programmed at the factory.

You could also call Fleetwood with your VIN and they can tell you exactly what inverter/charger you have.

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24 minutes ago, ktconners said:

I have a 2017 Fleetwood Bounder 36H. I know it does have an inverter but no idea what kind. On my control panel there is a box that says “Magnum Energy”. It reads out my voltage, 13.1,  followed by “float” not sure  if that is the inverter or not?

Sounds like I am OK for now though and appreciate your help...

From the information you posted and the Magnum is displaying some good information.

Now, if you have the owners manual and can fill in the model of magnum you have that way we can help fill in the gaps a little for you.

Magnum Power is the most common name I know your equipment by.

Rich.

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