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Old 02-05-2016, 05:18 PM   #1
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THOR #3436
battery - axis 24.1

we have a new thor axis 24.1.
Our unit is sitting in our carport, not being used, and electric is plugged in to house. The battery button is in store position.
Cannot start it, the battery is dead. The jump start feature will not start it. Put on a battery charger for 10 minutes and it starts.
What is draining down the battery and why isn't jump start button not helping?

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Old 02-05-2016, 05:22 PM   #2
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Leaving it plugged in on Store will not charge any batteries.

In addition, the chassis battery isn't charged via the converter.

Your best bet is to put it in Use and let the converter charge up the house battery--then at least the jump start button will help.
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Old 02-05-2016, 06:07 PM   #3
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THOR #1765
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
Leaving it plugged in on Store will not charge any batteries.

In addition, the chassis battery isn't charged via the converter.

Your best bet is to put it in Use and let the converter charge up the house battery--then at least the jump start button will help.
That is true as long as the "dead man" switch has not been tripped. That is the circuit breaker on the left hand side of the battery box. If that has been tripped, plugging it in will not charge the house batteries either.
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Old 02-05-2016, 06:42 PM   #4
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Question -- when you say cannot start it, I'm assuming the "it" is the generator correct? Like Jamie said to ensure the house battery charge when plugged into shore power the USE/STORE switch must be USE. When this switch is in STORE the house batteries are isolated and no power from the converter gets to the house batteries to charge them.

If on the other hand the "it" is the engine, then you have a different problem because the chassis battery is not holding a charge. In addition as Jamie points out, the chassis battery does not charge from the converter so being connected to shore power won't help charge the chassis battery.

When you talked about the jump start feature, that would be the emergency start switch. It "jumps" the house batteries to the chassis battery if the chassis battery is down to jump start the engine. If the chassis battery is fully charged and the house batteries are weak, you can push the emergency start switch to jump the chassis battery to the house battery then by simultaneously pressing the generator start switch while depressing the emergency start switch you should be able jump start the generator. But before this can happen someone must depress the USE/STORE switch to USE so that the house batteries are enabled.

After you put the charger on the chassis battery, does it hold a charge? If not, you might have a bad chassis battery.
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Old 02-08-2016, 07:47 AM   #5
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I believe that the chassis battery is being charged by the power center. My unit has not been started in over two months since I've been in the campground.

My house batteries are at 13.1 volts and my chassis battery is at 13.0 volts. After two months, I would expect the chassis battery to be measurably lower than the house batteries if they were not being charged by the power center.

Bruce in NoLa



Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
In addition, the chassis battery isn't charged via the converter.
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Old 02-08-2016, 01:52 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Bruce View Post
I believe that the chassis battery is being charged by the power center. My unit has not been started in over two months since I've been in the campground.

My house batteries are at 13.1 volts and my chassis battery is at 13.0 volts. After two months, I would expect the chassis battery to be measurably lower than the house batteries if they were not being charged by the power center.

Bruce in NoLa
That is interesting. I put a meter on my chassis battery when I was plugged into shore power and while the house batteries were charging, the chassis battery was not. I will have to see if the chassis battery charges after the house batteries are fully charged?
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Old 02-10-2016, 05:46 PM   #7
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Battery wiring on 24.1 Thor motorhome

Quote:
Originally Posted by tcshr5@yahoo.com View Post
we have a new thor axis 24.1.
Our unit is sitting in our carport, not being used, and electric is plugged in to house. The battery button is in store position.
Cannot start it, the battery is dead. The jump start feature will not start it. Put on a battery charger for 10 minutes and it starts.
What is draining down the battery and why isn't jump start button not helping?
Check the battery wiring on the coach batteries. I found that the factory had wired our batteries wrong.See the attached file and verify your connections.
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Old 02-10-2016, 07:29 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johncarolyn View Post
Check the battery wiring on the coach batteries. I found that the factory had wired our batteries wrong.See the attached file and verify your connections.


Did you forget to attach the file?
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Old 02-10-2016, 08:22 PM   #9
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JPG missing

Did you get my email, and if not give me a good email address and i will send you what i have.
Attached Files
File Type: doc TH-1020 Troubleshooting guide.doc (34.5 KB, 2225 views)
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Old 02-10-2016, 08:39 PM   #10
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Did you get my email, and if not give me a good email address and i will send you what i have.

Thanks, I received your email
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Old 03-09-2016, 06:58 PM   #11
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2016 Axis 24.1 It appears our Chassis battery is dead. Everything had been working ... now it will not start. It will not start using the Emergency Start button, presuming we are attempting to use the function correctly. Every electrical item in the 'house' is working well. I noticed the Axxera radio would not come on this morning...and thought I had accessed it the other day. That is when we found we had no juice up front.
I have printed out all the info from Ed and Thor for Ron to view when he has time...anyone have additional thoughts ?
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Old 03-09-2016, 07:32 PM   #12
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Can you leave it plugged in on "Use" for a while. That should charge up at least the house battery for a bit. Then hold in the emergency start switch for a minute or two, then, while still holding the emergency start switch, attempt to start it. If you can't leave it plugged in, put it in "Use" and start the generator. Let that run a while then try the emergency start again.

If the house is working well but you can't start it then you may have it plugged in but on 'Store' (thus everything is using the converter for power, not the house battery and the converter can't supply the current required to start the engine).

I had my chassis battery drained while in storage; I've since put a knife disconnect switch on it and always disconnect the battery in storage.
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Old 03-09-2016, 08:46 PM   #13
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battery

thank you Jamie ... the rv has been plugged in for over a week...perhaps we did not understand how to use the emergency switch properly .. will follow your instructions ... when Ron had 'the hood' open this morning, we now know what everyone has said about things being tight in there...have you charged your battery from the front...or have you removed the 'desk' and approached it from that direction?

UPDATE...went out and depressed the Emergency Start button a full 2 minutes..attempted to start rv ..still dead ... I checked the little box to the left of the house batteries..and the little tabbie is in the 'out' position .. I can return it to where it is inside the box..and then when I push on the button it appears again...where should it be ? I doubt either one of us has played with it until I did this afternoon...and it, now, is in the position it was in before I changed/reversed its position.
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Old 03-09-2016, 09:56 PM   #14
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In the new Axis there is a 100 amp circuit breaker that disconnects the coach battery. Mine is located in front of the battery, between the two black hoses. It says "Hi Buss 100 amp" on it. If you can see the yellow lever, it is tripped. Push the yellow lever back up, but if it trips again, you have a short and you need to find it before trying to start the engine. If you have a meter, see if you have power in the battery. The positive post is easy to reach and (on my Axis at least) the small canister in front of the battery is connected to the chassis so you can use where it is attached to the chassis as a ground. The negative post is way back there and difficult to access.
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Old 03-09-2016, 10:58 PM   #15
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Thank you ONeil ! Ron looked at that this morning, but did not play with it as he had not found any info regarding use. Will post his findings.
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Old 03-09-2016, 11:43 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vkb View Post
thank you Jamie ... the rv has been plugged in for over a week...
What, a dead chassis battery? I thought there was a post about the BIRD charging the chassis battery as well as the house batteries. If what folks were led to believe is true one should never have a dead chassis battery when plugged into shore power.
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Old 03-10-2016, 12:42 AM   #17
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I bought a lithium power bank when I got my Vegas. So far I've used it three times to get me out of newbie mistakes as a jump starter. Towed my dinghy with the key in ACII position, oops, dead dinghy battery at a rest stop 50 miles from the RV dealer. 2nd time I forgot and left the key in the tow vehicle overnight at a campsite... dead tow vehicle battery again. The latest was having a dead chassis battery after leaving my Vegas plugged in at home to keep it warm with a small electric heater for two freezing nights..... wouldn't start with the emergency start or generator on so I used the lithium pack again. It's a good backup to have on hand and is about the size of a paperback. Lots of different brands are available on Amazon.
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:28 AM   #18
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I carry a B & D 500 watt power station. Haven't had to use it in the 4 years it has been traveling with me. My luck would be the first time I leave it home, bingo.

Black & Decker 500 Watt Power Station - Walmart.com
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:36 AM   #19
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I also carry a 12V backup power station. Picked one up after the toad's battery went dead.

So far I've only used it to see if I could jump the house battery and start the genny with it (yes I can).
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Old 03-10-2016, 03:51 AM   #20
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Full cells, full charge ... happy batteries. In all my RVs I've monitored cell water consumption and replace/upgrade my charger if cells are noticeably low after 3-6 months. Once components are right, water boil off becomes minimal and batteries last many years with a little topping off of water levels once or twice a year.

I started using easy fill systems many RVs ago and really like them but their downfall is that you can't see when just one cell is excessively lower than the others. I try to listen closely when pumping the bulb to top off cells because usually I can hear a distinctly louder flow to one of the cells. I mark the cell I think it is and check the bank visually 3-4 months later. If one cell is noticeably lower than the rest I replace the RV ... ha ha (sort of)... err I mean plan for replacing the battery bank.
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