2016 Axis 25.2 Radio power issues?

up4306 · 02-15-2016, 12:30 AM

Hello,
I am trying to get my mind around how the radio works in regards to it's power source. I believe the radio is responsible for a dead chassis battery on multiple occasions.
Here is what has happened the last time around with the dead chassis battery.
The Axis was in for service Friday. On the ride home the house power switch was in the on position. The Axis was in for a new driver side mirror as the camera stopped working. The radio was switched on so I could see that the new mirror solved the camera issue. It did. When I arrive home and before I turned off the motor I plugged in the the Axis into a 30 amp outlet. I also plugged in a ceramic heater to keep things from freezing.
After a few minutes I shut down the engine. As I prepared to leave and lock up the Axis I noticed the radio was still on. I pushed the button to turn the radio off but it did not go off. I thought that because the radio was being powered from the shore hook up/house batteries I thought nothing of it and locked up the Axis.
This morning I went into the Axis just to check on things and noticed that there was small blue light on the radio flashing. I tried to start the Axis only to find the battery dead. This is the 3rd time this has happened. Each time the Axis has been connected to shore power.
In this case the ceramic heater was still working just fine.
So, I hooked up the chassis battery to a battery charger for 30 minutes and was able to start the Axis engine. With the engine running for a few minutes I noticed that the radio was off.
My question is, is the radio powered from the chassis or house batteries?
My confusion comes from the fact that you have to have the house battery switch on to get the radio to work but turn signal activation brings up the camera view on the radio screen. I was under the impression that the dash controls were chassis battery powered with the exception of the radio. If the turn signal lever can activate the radio screen does this mean that chassis battery power from the turn signal lever links chassis battery power to the radio?
I am trying to narrow down where the drain on the chase battery is coming from. I suspect the radio but am not sure.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time, too!
David

JamieGeek · 02-15-2016, 03:10 AM

First: Which radio do you have (Jensen, or Axxera)?
Even if the blinkers switch the cameras the radio can still be powered from the house battery--the switch for the camera is just an input, not a power source.

The radios have two power leads: an always on lead and the switched lead. It is very possible Thor connected the always on lead to your chassis battery. The switched lead could be connected to the house battery (thus when you put it into store the battery is still drawing from the chassis battery). You'll most likely have to pull the radio to determine the source of each lead.

Note that you could have used the emergency start switch to start your engine without needing a charger (if your house battery had charge on it).

Runeasy · 02-15-2016, 05:15 AM

If your radio is a Jensen JRV-212 or 215 it is normally connected to receive full-time power from the chassis battery but only to operate the clock memory - very minimum drain, like at the milliampere level. Switched power (RUN/STORE switch) from the coach (house) batteries operates the remaining functions.

The radio - if wired and operating normally - should not drain a healthy chassis battery. I've owned two coaches with Jensen radios wired this way and never had such a problem.

Mr Sunshine · 02-15-2016, 11:48 AM

Have you called Thor with this question? They have been great when I have called them.

While you have them, ask if the Axerra radio is the only one being installed. I believe they quit using the Jensen a long time ago. Please post their comments back here!

up4306 · 02-15-2016, 12:27 PM

All,
Thank you for the replies and information.
On the very first outing when the battery failed I called Thor and spoke to a fellow there who walked me through using the emergency start switch.
Try as we might that did not work either. Good Sam sent a company to jump the Axis and we were running again. So, once the radio issue is addressed I will pursue the Emergency start issue.
I do believe the radio is the newer AXXERA. The comment that they power lines maybe switched is an easy check for me to do.
I will most certainly post what I find.
Again, thank you for the comments. Greatly appreciated.
David

Oneilkeys · 02-15-2016, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by up4306

Hello,
I am trying to get my mind around how the radio works in regards to it's power source. I believe the radio is responsible for a dead chassis battery on multiple occasions.
Here is what has happened the last time around with the dead chassis battery.
The Axis was in for service Friday. On the ride home the house power switch was in the on position. The Axis was in for a new driver side mirror as the camera stopped working. The radio was switched on so I could see that the new mirror solved the camera issue. It did. When I arrive home and before I turned off the motor I plugged in the the Axis into a 30 amp outlet. I also plugged in a ceramic heater to keep things from freezing.
After a few minutes I shut down the engine. As I prepared to leave and lock up the Axis I noticed the radio was still on. I pushed the button to turn the radio off but it did not go off. I thought that because the radio was being powered from the shore hook up/house batteries I thought nothing of it and locked up the Axis.
This morning I went into the Axis just to check on things and noticed that there was small blue light on the radio flashing. I tried to start the Axis only to find the battery dead. This is the 3rd time this has happened. Each time the Axis has been connected to shore power.
In this case the ceramic heater was still working just fine.
So, I hooked up the chassis battery to a battery charger for 30 minutes and was able to start the Axis engine. With the engine running for a few minutes I noticed that the radio was off.
My question is, is the radio powered from the chassis or house batteries?
My confusion comes from the fact that you have to have the house battery switch on to get the radio to work but turn signal activation brings up the camera view on the radio screen. I was under the impression that the dash controls were chassis battery powered with the exception of the radio. If the turn signal lever can activate the radio screen does this mean that chassis battery power from the turn signal lever links chassis battery power to the radio?
I am trying to narrow down where the drain on the chase battery is coming from. I suspect the radio but am not sure.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time, too!
David

If turn signal activation turns on the radio screen when the switch is in the "store" position, it looks like that part if the radio system is tied to the chassis battery. That did not happen in my first Vegas and it does not happen in my new Axis. The rocker switch must be in the "use" position for the turn signal to activate the radio and cameras. I have always thought that for safety, the cameras should turn on from the turn indicator even if the rocker switch is in the "store" position, but in my Vegas and Axis, they do not.
Your radio is apparently miswired and it is draining the chassis battery. I would also check the condition of the chassis battery. The chassis battery is not a deep cycle battery so unlike the house batteries it will take being discharged down to nothing only a limited number of times before it will no longer hold a charge. It seems likely that every time the coach has been run since it left the factory, the chassis battery has been fully discharged when it is turned off.

gmc · 02-15-2016, 03:55 PM

There seem to be variations on how the radio is powered from experiences we've related on here..
There are 2 power leads into the radio... One intended to be continuous to maintain memory functions - and one intended to be on with accessory to power radio itself.
On some units - the continuous power comes from chassis, and the accessory power comes from coach.
On my 2014 Hurricane - appears all power comes from the coach - as no setting are retained when the coach is in STORE mode - and no issue with chassis battery drain.
On my 2000 Infinity - all radio power came from the chassis battery (that unit also had a chassis disconnect switch). The radio didn't work at all unless chassis power was on and key in accessory position.

To me, I'd rather have it all come from the coach as in my Hurricane - no issues of draining chassis battery, and radio works when camping without key. Of course have to have the coach battery in USE to have the rear/side cameras work.

Not difficult to change connections to draw power where you want it to come from...

Oneilkeys · 02-15-2016, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmc

There seem to be variations on how the radio is powered from experiences we've related on here..
There are 2 power leads into the radio... One intended to be continuous to maintain memory functions - and one intended to be on with accessory to power radio itself.
On some units - the continuous power comes from chassis, and the accessory power comes from coach.
On my 2014 Hurricane - appears all power comes from the coach - as no setting are retained when the coach is in STORE mode - and no issue with chassis battery drain.
On my 2000 Infinity - all radio power came from the chassis battery (that unit also had a chassis disconnect switch). The radio didn't work at all unless chassis power was on and key in accessory position.

To me, I'd rather have it all come from the coach as in my Hurricane - no issues of draining chassis battery, and radio works when camping without key. Of course have to have the coach battery in USE to have the rear/side cameras work.

Not difficult to change connections to draw power where you want it to come from...

The only problem with all power coming from the coach is that you have to reset the clock and any other settings every time you use the "store" switch. Keeping the settings with the chassis battery fixes that and in a normal car operation the battery drain is small and you never notice it. The problem comes with long term storage. Then the small battery drain over time drains the chassis battery. The fix for that is either to disconnect the chassis battery for long term storage or (as I do) install a small solar panel to the chassis battery to counteract the battery drain.
I still think that for safety purposes there ought to be a switch that is hooked up to the turn signal and reverse gear that turns on the radio (either thru the chassis or coach battery) when the rocker switch is in the "store" position. That way you would have the backup and side cameras even if you forgot to engage the coach batteries.

JamieGeek · 02-15-2016, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneilkeys

The only problem with all power coming from the coach is that you have to reset the clock and any other settings every time you use the "store" switch. Keeping the settings with the chassis battery fixes that and in a normal car operation the battery drain is small and you never notice it.

That depends on the radio and your use. When I wired up the Jensen 215 I connected both wires to switched house power. We rarely listen to the radio and thus I don't care if the station settings are stored or not (I think they are stored in flash memory anyway) and the clock is set via the GPS receiver in the unit--about a minute after it powers up it has the clock (and it knows what timezone you are in).

bevedfelker · 02-15-2016, 06:30 PM

I agree with Jamie. The correct wiring is to have chassis power for the continuous on to maintain the radio preselects and to keep the clock time and date correct. The radio power should be wired to the house batteries. So placing the USE/STORE switch to store should disable the house batteries and you should not be able to listen to the radio until the switch is put in USE.

If the radio operates when the switch is in store it sounds like Thor wired both radio power switches to the chassis battery.

The power drain to maintain the radio preselects and to power the radio clock will eventually drain the chassis battery, but it sounds like yours is draining way faster than normal.

Oneilkeys · 02-15-2016, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

That depends on the radio and your use. When I wired up the Jensen 215 I connected both wires to switched house power. We rarely listen to the radio and thus I don't care if the station settings are stored or not (I think they are stored in flash memory anyway) and the clock is set via the GPS receiver in the unit--about a minute after it powers up it has the clock (and it knows what timezone you are in).

That's neat. I don't have the gps chip in mine - I use a separate Garmin, so my clock does not reset. In my Vegas I installed a cut off switch for the radio for dry camping because it drained the coach batteries even when turned off. I have not done that in my new Axis. It looks like the new radio turns completely off with the off button ... but I will have to see on my first real trip.

VictoriaEP · 03-12-2017, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by up4306

Hello,
I am trying to get my mind around how the radio works in regards to it's power source. I believe the radio is responsible for a dead chassis battery on multiple occasions.
Here is what has happened the last time around with the dead chassis battery.
The Axis was in for service Friday. On the ride home the house power switch was in the on position. The Axis was in for a new driver side mirror as the camera stopped working. The radio was switched on so I could see that the new mirror solved the camera issue. It did. When I arrive home and before I turned off the motor I plugged in the the Axis into a 30 amp outlet. I also plugged in a ceramic heater to keep things from freezing.
After a few minutes I shut down the engine. As I prepared to leave and lock up the Axis I noticed the radio was still on. I pushed the button to turn the radio off but it did not go off. I thought that because the radio was being powered from the shore hook up/house batteries I thought nothing of it and locked up the Axis.
This morning I went into the Axis just to check on things and noticed that there was small blue light on the radio flashing. I tried to start the Axis only to find the battery dead. This is the 3rd time this has happened. Each time the Axis has been connected to shore power.
In this case the ceramic heater was still working just fine.
So, I hooked up the chassis battery to a battery charger for 30 minutes and was able to start the Axis engine. With the engine running for a few minutes I noticed that the radio was off.
My question is, is the radio powered from the chassis or house batteries?
My confusion comes from the fact that you have to have the house battery switch on to get the radio to work but turn signal activation brings up the camera view on the radio screen. I was under the impression that the dash controls were chassis battery powered with the exception of the radio. If the turn signal lever can activate the radio screen does this mean that chassis battery power from the turn signal lever links chassis battery power to the radio?
I am trying to narrow down where the drain on the chase battery is coming from. I suspect the radio but am not sure.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time, too!
David

Hi all, I just had the same thing happen with my 2016 Vegas. The radio would not shut off (for a couple of weeks), but was not draining my battery so I figured I'd get it fixed later. When I pulled into a campground last week, the media unit flashed for awhile and then totally died, and now my battery is dead. I cannot start it using the emergency start on the dashboard. I have been plugged into shore power - I'm in a campground. I found on another forum thread that the battery is under the passenger desk. Before I try to take that out (not at all mechanically inclined), can anyone tell me whether it's possible to jump the battery using a portable power pack with the battery in place? Sure hope I can because neither Good Sam road service nor I have had any luck finding a mobile mechanic, though the park rangers gave me some numbers to try tomorrow.
Thanks!
Victoria

gmc · 03-12-2017, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictoriaEP

Hi all, I just had the same thing happen with my 2016 Vegas. The radio would not shut off (for a couple of weeks), but was not draining my battery so I figured I'd get it fixed later. When I pulled into a campground last week, the media unit flashed for awhile and then totally died, and now my battery is dead. I cannot start it using the emergency start on the dashboard. I have been plugged into shore power - I'm in a campground. I found on another forum thread that the battery is under the passenger desk. Before I try to take that out (not at all mechanically inclined), can anyone tell me whether it's possible to jump the battery using a portable power pack with the battery in place? Sure hope I can because neither Good Sam road service nor I have had any luck finding a mobile mechanic, though the park rangers gave me some numbers to try tomorrow.
Thanks!
Victoria

Access to the terminals may be an issue (someone with an Axis/Vegas can better comment) - but no reason you can't try to jump start it - or find a camping neighbor with a separate battery charger to hook up...

If you were at a campground plugged in - the chassis battery should have been charging - you may have an underlying problem of an issue in the BCC (Battery Control Center, BIRD, and/or Trombetta depending on which your particular coach has (all described in Ed's manual).)

There are times a battery is so dead that the emergency start won't work - or that could be another symptom of your real problem (as that also involves tieing the 2 batteries together...)

Oneilkeys · 03-12-2017, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictoriaEP

Hi all, I just had the same thing happen with my 2016 Vegas. The radio would not shut off (for a couple of weeks), but was not draining my battery so I figured I'd get it fixed later. When I pulled into a campground last week, the media unit flashed for awhile and then totally died, and now my battery is dead. I cannot start it using the emergency start on the dashboard. I have been plugged into shore power - I'm in a campground. I found on another forum thread that the battery is under the passenger desk. Before I try to take that out (not at all mechanically inclined), can anyone tell me whether it's possible to jump the battery using a portable power pack with the battery in place? Sure hope I can because neither Good Sam road service nor I have had any luck finding a mobile mechanic, though the park rangers gave me some numbers to try tomorrow.
Thanks!
Victoria

One question at a time. If you are plugged into shore power then your coach batteries should have power. Even if they do not, they are not used to start the engine except in an emergency using the emergency start - which connects the chassis and coach batteries. When you used the emergency start did you keep the switch open as you tried to start the vehicle? It is best to push that switch for a couple of minutes and then try and start the RV while continuing to push the emergency start button leaving the two battery banks connected. That gives the coach batteries time to bring the chassis battery back up to start the vehicle. If that does not work, You can try to jump start the vehicle - if that is what you mean by "jump the battery"using jumper cables or your portable power pack on the battery in the engine under the front grill. Open your front grill and the battery is on your left. However, it bothers me that the chassis battery was dead immediately when you entered the campground. If you had driven any distance, the alternator should have charged the chassis battery enough to start the engine. It could mean that you have a problem with your engine alternator system. If the RV starts and the chassis battery does not charge with the engine running, I would have your alternator and wiring checked.

Oneilkeys · 03-12-2017, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictoriaEP

Hi all, I just had the same thing happen with my 2016 Vegas. The radio would not shut off (for a couple of weeks), but was not draining my battery so I figured I'd get it fixed later. When I pulled into a campground last week, the media unit flashed for awhile and then totally died, and now my battery is dead. I cannot start it using the emergency start on the dashboard. I have been plugged into shore power - I'm in a campground. I found on another forum thread that the battery is under the passenger desk. Before I try to take that out (not at all mechanically inclined), can anyone tell me whether it's possible to jump the battery using a portable power pack with the battery in place? Sure hope I can because neither Good Sam road service nor I have had any luck finding a mobile mechanic, though the park rangers gave me some numbers to try tomorrow.
Thanks!
Victoria

Ref battery terminal access, the positive terminal is easily accessible in the Axis and you can use any point on the frame for the negative jumper cable. The other question as gmc indicates is why your engine battery is not charging while you are hooked into shore power or running the generator. It should, but it is a common issue that some new Axis/Vegas are wired incorrectly at the factory.
See http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...js=1#community

For a very recent discussion on this issue. However, this issue is secondary to getting you jump started and home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmc

Access to the terminals may be an issue (someone with an Axis/Vegas can better comment) - but no reason you can't try to jump start it - or find a camping neighbor with a separate battery charger to hook up...

If you were at a campground plugged in - the chassis battery should have been charging - you may have an underlying problem of an issue in the BCC (Battery Control Center, BIRD, and/or Trombetta depending on which your particular coach has (all described in Ed's manual).)

There are times a battery is so dead that the emergency start won't work - or that could be another symptom of your real problem (as that also involves tieing the 2 batteries together...)

VictoriaEP · 03-12-2017, 08:51 PM

Thanks, Greg. I think there is an underlying issue -- the converter (or at least I think it's the converter) -- was running a lot until the battery died. Now I don't hear it at all. A neighbor said he has a generator that has alligator clips. If my device doesn't work, I'll try his -- if I can get to the battery terminals. Looks like someone else who answered has info on that.

VictoriaEP · 03-12-2017, 08:53 PM

Put my response in the wrong place-- see the rest of the message stream

VictoriaEP · 03-12-2017, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneilkeys

One question at a time. If you are plugged into shore power then your coach batteries should have power. Even if they do not, they are not used to start the engine except in an emergency using the emergency start - which connects the chassis and coach batteries. When you used the emergency start did you keep the switch open as you tried to start the vehicle? It is best to push that switch for a couple of minutes and then try and start the RV while continuing to push the emergency start button leaving the two battery banks connected. That gives the coach batteries time to bring the chassis battery back up to start the vehicle. If that does not work, You can try to jump start the vehicle - if that is what you mean by "jump the battery"using jumper cables or your portable power pack on the battery in the engine under the front grill. Open your front grill and the battery is on your left. However, it bothers me that the chassis battery was dead immediately when you entered the campground. If you had driven any distance, the alternator should have charged the chassis battery enough to start the engine. It could mean that you have a problem with your engine alternator system. If the RV starts and the chassis battery does not charge with the engine running, I would have your alternator and wiring checked.

I guess I was unclear. The battery wasn't dead immediately. I was plugged in for a couple of hours before the media unit started flashing. It did that for a few hours before dying. I only knew that it was dead because the switch to lower the shade wouldn't work. So, the elapsed time was 4-5 hours.

I only depressed the emergency start switch for a minute before trying to start the engine. And I don't recall if I kept it depressed while turning the key. I'll try holding it down for longer and try again.

A bit more info:I depressed the emergency switch for 10 minutes and turned the key while continuing to hold it down. Nothing. On the battery- It's not visible on the left. On the right side, there are two points that look like a battery terminal. The one on the left has a solid red cable. The one on the right is red wrapped in yellow and looks like there are several wires connected to the terminal. The solid red is what I need to connect the jumper cables to, right?

VictoriaEP · 03-12-2017, 09:48 PM

Trying to upload photo

Edit--it's upside down

Mo_Mike · 03-12-2017, 10:22 PM

I had a dead chassis battery on our 2016 VEGAS, emergency start did nothing...

Found a 100 AMP breaker under the "hood" was thrown. Reset the breaker and used an external charger to charge the battery.

As soon as the battery was charged, everything was good. I made sure I now carry long enough jumper cables to reach from the coach batteries to the chassis batteries "just in case".

I did not try the emergency start after I reset the breaker, but that could have been my problem. I also found that the chassis battery DOES charge from shore power as long as I don't try and start the engine while connected to shore power. If I turn the engine off, THEN connect to shore power, the chassis battery DOES charge from shore power. I figure there might be a relay miswired somewhere, but haven't tried to trace it down. When I questions THOR on this, I was told that shore power does not charge the chassis (which I know is incorrect, but not worth arguing about)

Like I said there is a 100 AMP breaker (mine was yellow) and when the "flag" is thrown, it needs to be reset. I think there is also one in the coach battery compartment

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