Coach Battery Charge Indicator 1994 Winnebago Chieftain

[AaronJ]

I have a 1994 Winnebago Chieftain. I just recently purchased it and am working through the bugs.

The Magnetek converter was bad when I got it and was frying my batteries. I don't have a volt meter available to know what level it was charging at. It did cause a fuse to blow in my refrigerator as well as burn up the eyebrow circuit board.

I have upgraded the converter and all seems to be working well, except the coach battery charge indicator is showing less than 9 volts (lowest reading) even with a new battery.

Everything seems to work well on battery power, Any ideas? do you think the converter fried the monitor?

Any help is appreciated.

[Lenp]

Without a voltmeter, you really don't know what the voltage is. Go get one ASAP and learn how to use it. Most valuable tool in the tool box!

Lenp

[wolfe10]

Lenp is absolutely correct. A digital voltmeter (they start under $20) is one of the most critical tools in any RV.

[AaronJ]

Will have to try to pick up one in the next couple days. Was hoping to find if this was a common problem or if there was a way to narrow down where to look.I will let you know what I find

[wolfe10]

Aaron,

When you get the voltmeter, check voltage at the battery, then at the gauge in question. That will tell you if you have a battery/charging problem or just an errant gauge.

BTW, the 12 VDC lights would be REALLY dim if voltage was really 9 VDC.

[AaronJ]

Ok I picked up a volt meter this evening. Its pouring rain tonight, so I plan on looking into things in the morning

[AaronJ]

Ok guys, this is what I have found so far- at the battery, the converter, and wires leading to the monitor I have just over 13 volts. The faulty Magnetek converter must have messed it up. I believe it was working correctly when I brought it home, but now it just lights up the lowest light (<9 volts). Now my question is does this affect any other equipment?

[wolfe10]

Aaron,

Tell us what monitor you have.

Also, if you can tell, what other things are on the circuit (the wires) to the monitor.

[AaronJ]

It doesn't have a brand on it. It is just in the control panel under the microwave. There is a rocker switch that says "test" with two white wires. The white wires hook into the circuit board along with a red that is picked up from a white with red stripe going to the pump switch. There is a plug on the other end, but I am unsure of which wire is which.

[wolfe10]

What does the voltage read when you test across those leads with your digital voltmeter?

[AaronJ]

When crossing the red and white from the test switch, it reads 12.73

[wolfe10]

12.73 VDC is a perfect reading if you are not plugged in/generator running (i.e. converter not on).

If converter is on (you have 120 VAC), the next step is to measure voltage at the battery and compare with the above reading.

With converter on, voltage should be 13.2-13.5 VDC.

Were it me, since you know that the reading by the idiot lights is not correct, I would just ignore them. Another option would be to install an inexpensive digital voltmeter in place of the idiot lights.

[AaronJ]

I don't really need the idiot lights since I don't run off battery power often. The reading was with the shore line plugged in though so it is reading a little low. The reading at the battery is 13.5 volts.

[wolfe10]

The is a little more "line loss" than desirable. Start by cleaning connections (both positive and ground) between the battery and main distribution panel.