Re: Question about battery charging, etc. Problem Fixed!

Thanks to all who shed some light on this. I just found the problem.
The converter was unplugged .... actually, just hanging in the outlet,
which is on the rear of the fuse panel. This probably happened as
I was installing a whole house (whole motorhome?) surge protector
a few weeks ago. I probably loosened it, but it was probably just
touching, so it worked for a while. Saturday, I drove the unit a few
blocks .... the wiggling must have moved the plug just enough to stop
it.

As for Fleetwood comments, I really can't say. Things seem to work
ok. There were a few problems, but they were taken care of by a
dealer. I say "a" dealer because my dealer's service department was
the worse I have ever seen. They (Crystal Valley RV) kept the unit
for 7 weeks and really didin't fix anything; and I mean obviously broken
stuff. They argued with me that it was working "per spec!" What
idiots. I would recomment never buying from them. I would pay to
have something fixed rather than going back there.

Art Todesco wrote:
Nate wrote:

"Art Todesco" <actodesco@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:z33Ag.1779$kO3.431@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have to admit, I'm new the this MH stuff. I have new Fleetwood



I'm sorry.

31M MH. It

is now parked in my driveway because I'm adding all the little essentials. Anyway, the frig has been on since Friday, due to a failure of our indoor frig but that shouldn't be a problem. BTW,I have it running on LPG and I know that it does use some 12V for control. I also have the Aux battery on and have the MH plugged into AC power. Yesterday it was near 100 here and it was about 110 inside the MH so I opened a back window and turned on the Fantastic Fan, which is near the front. I meant to shut it off last night, but forgot. This morning I went into the MH and the FF was running at super slow. The house battery was very low. I started the vehicle engine, and after a few minutes, the battery seemed to came up. Now, I thought that when the converter was on, it should keep the house (Aux as Fleetwood calls it) charged. Right? BTW, the converter seems to be powering all the lights, etc. now, so what could be the problem? I checked the control panel and the Aux battery, when the FF was running slow, was at minimum; now it is up to 3/4. Also, the vehicle battery (they call it Main) is only at 3/4). I am really baffled????



You are correct that the batteries should charge when shore power is plugged in. Since some of the 12 volt accessories are working on the converter and some are not I have to wonder if this unit was rewired by a previous owner. BTW...the converter is not the battery charger...although it can charge the battery, it can also over charge the battery. A real battery charger will control the rate of charge so as not to ruin your batteries. If you don't have one, I would suggest getting one. You can replace the entire power distribution center with one that has a regulated charger built into the converter or you can add a charger and rewire the whole mess, which probably needs to be done anyhow.

My funny comment above about Fleetwood needs some explaining. Fleetwood is an entry level rig. I've owned one and not had any problems with the rig other than the fact that it was too small for our family. It was cheaply built to keep the entry level cost down. But it was built well enough that it never fell apart. I would have never used it for a full time rig though. Too many corners cut to save costs that ti just would not make a good choice for full timing. But it's a great weekend warrior camping rig...and you do get more camper for your money.

But many on this group will agree...it is going to have problems since it is built by one of the cheapest manufacturers out there. Be prepared to work on it. If your handy enough you can fix anything the assembly plant did wrong. It's really not as big a deal as some might make it out to be.

Nate

Thanks for the quick reply. We never intended to do full time, so cheap was
good. Also, this unit has a multirate charger/power unit built in. BTW, the
house battery seems to charge ok from the engine. At this moment, I have
it running for a few minutes to bring it up. I might put an external battery
charger on later it it is still down. I will check the batteries (2-6volt) with
a SG tester later today ..... if it's not too hot.
.

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