dickandlois Report post Posted February 13, 2015 I just was posting on the forum and had this flash back, regarding the fact that because there are coaches that have the batteries for the coach and the chassis tucked into some interesting locations-road service personal see many more cars that need a boost / jump start at times then RV's. The key to not having a low battery issue in a coach turn into a nightmare is to ASK the dealer or your service center show you and explain how it should be done for your coach! Been at a convention or 2 where the owner(s) needed to call for a jump start and the service looked at what they perceived as a good spot to connect some jumper cables ONLY to blow out some very large fuses with out realizing what happened. Then with some luck they succeed in finding a good connection for the job of starting the coach. The owner is happy and travels on down the road to a destination, park and hook up for the night an then realize that many items no longer work. Leveling Jacks, Slides, Inverter and the list can become very long. So please do yourself a favor and find out just how to do the job and pass it on to the person trying to help. Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted February 14, 2015 One of the approved methods is to connect the positive jumper cable to the positive battery cable and then connect the negative jumper cable to the frame. If there is any sparking, it is far from the batteries. When disconnecting remove the negative jumper cable first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted February 24, 2015 I have been thinking about this lately, our coach is parked for the winter against the side of the garage on its pad and the battery access is not accessable (up against the wall), it is plugged in so the Coach batteries are being charged, but I have to admit I am loosing sleep over if it will start this weekend when I pull it out. Worse case I will have to use the transfer switch and start the engine with the Coach batteries or jump it at the starter. Next year I am going to put a charger on the Chassis battery bank that will maintain them also, too much stress worring about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted February 24, 2015 Yes, if the chassis batteries are dead, you will need to use the BOOST SWITCH/BATTERY COMBINE SWITCH. That puts the house bank in parallel with chassis bank. If you have a constant duty solenoid for a combiner, you can turn the boost switch on occasionally to allow the charger, through house bank to charge the chassis battery bank. Do not do this is all you have is an intermittent duty solenoid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted February 25, 2015 Better yet is to install an echo charger so you keep the chassis batteries charged along with your house batteries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted February 25, 2015 I agree with Ray. Make some provision for charging the chassis as well as house battery bank. Either a separate charger or an Echo Charger which charges the chassis battery when the house battery is being charged by the on-board charger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted February 25, 2015 Guys, thanks for the info in the "Echo Charger" I just ordered one, for $112.00 including shipping that is a cheap piece of mind for me. Thanks again! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Showinoff Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Doesn't the chassis batteries get charged by the converter when you're plugged in? The alternator charges the house batteries when the engine is running. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Doesn't the chassis batteries get charged by the converter when you're plugged in? The alternator charges the house batteries when the engine is running. Sadly, not on many coaches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted March 1, 2015 Usually the engine charging is through the solenoid or diodes to both battery banks and the charger is wired to the house batteries only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gbrinck Report post Posted March 3, 2015 Fleetwood and American Coach brand coaches will charge the chassis batteries when on shore power. Winnebago & Itasca diesels since about 2008 will also do that (I'm not positive of the date). National RV brands coaches also charge from shore power. There may be others, but those are the ones I have some personal knowledge about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltompkins653@gmail.com Report post Posted March 3, 2015 I have a 2005 Dutchstar (Newmar Corp.) 40' diesel pusher. It has a solar charger on the roof that gives a continuous charge to the chassis battery as needed. It came from the factory with it. I believe it is standard with the coach. It is slick and there is an indicator light on the dash that shows when it is charging. My batteries have never failed me in 10 years. I replaced my first battery after 7 years. You can also buy solar chargers and install on your roof. They aren't very big so I doubt that they cost that much. Larry Tompkins, Minnesota Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted March 8, 2015 Solar is nice and I have it, however it does not work in a garage. When plugged in, my house batteries stay at 13.6v, but unless I turn my starter batteries off, they will drop to 12v over a month or longer time and I need to use house batteries for starting. I now have a separate system...so far, so good! I needed a "jump" once and used it to start generator, then used house batteries to start engine...later found out that I had a dead cell in engine battery. I can get at one to check, not the other. Before going to Madison for FMCA, I will replace both with AGM. Since all my 6v batteries are in 1 bay, no problem! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
