House Battery / Solar mystery - 97 Coachmen Mirada

[kpoinville]

We have a 1997 Coachmen Mirada with a Renogy solar panel kit with the following:  2 - 100 watt PV panels, 1 - 40ARover MPPT charge controller, and 2- 12v 100Ah deep cycle pure gel batteries.  Both the panels and the batteries are wired in parallel to maintain the 12v voltage, but increase the Ah capacity.  The panels are charging the battery bank, but I cannot my interior lights, fans, etc. to run off of the battery bank when I am not connected to shore power or when the engine is not running (or the key is not in the run position).

I have an Intellitec dual battery disconnect switch that appears to work, but only when the RV engine is running (or when the key is in the run position).  See pic below. 

> ignition key in run position or engine on:  red LED light of the battery disconnect switch will turn on, the house lights and fans work, and all is well with the world.  When I push the COACH rocker switch to "STORE", then I hear the battery disconnect motor make a soft noise for a second and then the red LED light goes off, and the house lights and fan go off as well.  When I push it back to "use", the red LED comes back on and the house lights, etc. work.  Nothing happens when I press the CHASSIS rocker switch to "STORE":   I do not hear the soft noise made by the disconnect motor and the CHASSIS red LED light always remains on.  

> ignition key not in run position: Chassis red LED light is on, but nothing happens when I press the COACH rock to "USE" position.  The house lights and fans will not work.

In what may or may not be a related problem, the Onan 4000 generator will not start unless the RV engine is running or the ignition key is in the run position. Once the generator is running, it will stop running when the ignition key is moved from the run position.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Ken O'Brien

 

[kaypsmith]

It sounds as though your battery disconnect switch on the house batteries is doing its job. Battery disconnect means just that, it disconnects the batteries for storage and thereby stops any parasitic drain. This switch is often referred to as the salesman switch. Now for the generator, it appears that it is wired to use the chassis batteries for starting and running, it may have came that way from the factory, or someone has rewired it to behave this way, hard to say without wiring schematics for your coach. The soft motor sound that you hear is probably a solenoid that engages when you turn the rocker switch to use and disengages when in store mode. Also the house lights and fans sound as though they are wired correctly because you stated that work in use position and do not work in the store position. Hope this is helpful for understanding your coach.

[kpoinville]

Thanks, kaypsmith.  I guess the question I have is how can I get the lights/fan to run solely off the house battery bank?  I thought that is what would happen if I pushed the COACH rocker switch to "USE", but that only has the desired effect when the ignition key is in the run position or the engine is actually running.  I would like to have lights and fans while I boondock without using the generator, and thought that the battery bank would allow me to do that without having to have the ignition key in the "run" position.  (By "run" position, I mean the position when the dash lights turn on, but the engine has not yet started.). That is where I am stumped.

 

[kaypsmith]

 When I push the COACH rocker switch to "STORE", then I hear the battery disconnect motor make a soft noise for a second and then the red LED light goes off, and the house lights and fan go off as well.  When I push it back to "use", the red LED comes back on and the house lights, etc. work.  Nothing happens when I press the CHASSIS rocker switch to "STORE":   I do not hear the soft noise made by the disconnect motor and the CHASSIS red LED light always remains on.  

I think that you are misreading coach and chassis. COACH actually represents house batteries in this case, and CHASSIS represents the truck (for lack of a better word) batteries, at least here in Alabama it's that way.  There may have been an issue at some point in time with the chassis disconnect and someone may have discontinued use of that switch, or the solenoid may have failed. Many times I have seen chassis disconnects bypassed because with age they become weak and will not pass enough current the crank the engine. Good luck with it and understanding it also. Kay

Actually "USE" means just that, when on it is ready to use, "STORE" means that you are putting it away, ready for storage, this is to keep those 12 volt items from working or pulling those batteries down. If your solar cells are working and the unit is parked in sunlight, they should be able to keep your lights on for a pretty good length of time, 200 watts @ 12 V is about 16 amps, and depending on what type of lights you have. LED will last longest, fluorescent about mid, and Incandescent depending on wattage probably the shortage. I would recommend either getting someone, or learning how to remove the run condition of the generator from the ignition circuit of the chassis, I would certainly want to be able to run the generator without having to leave the ignition switch of the vehicle in the run position.