All batteries drained

[gmc]

Originally Posted by PeteBailey

...I know the 110 was working as the inside lights worked fine. ...

Of course the inside lights are 12v... so normally powered off coach battery and not 110...
Exception would be when coach battery is in STORE - then MOST of our rigs get 12v power from the converter when plugged into shore power.

Originally Posted by PeteBailey

Pretty sure I left it in store. I’ll switch it to use and see if that’s the problem. Thanks!

That should fix it - USE will allow the converter the CHARGE the coach batteries.

Originally Posted by Tupelo Kid

...
Anytime the coach (ACE) is connected to shore power (110 all the time at home) the USE/STORE switch should always be in USE to allow the charging of "all" batteries?
...
Please confirm.
Thanks.

Yes that is good practice... Anytime you are plugged into Shore power - the switch should be in USE...
Unfortunately there is little indication that you are in STORE until you find the coach batteries dead - as the converter supplies 12V to rig - just not to the batteries...
Only one person here has reported his STORE switch disconnects 110V as well - so would be obvious there.. (Mercedes Sprinter chassis)

[Bob Denman]

It really seems easier to just put bayonet disconnects on the coach batteries, and then hook everything up to Battery Tenders.

[sage]

I’m going thru the same problems that others in this thread have. I went on a weekend trip a month ago and everything was fine. Put the Vegas back into the community storage year and came back three weeks later, planning to run the genny and AC, and make sure everything was ok. Opened the doors, hit the USE/STORE switch and everything was dead.

I am having a hip replaced in a couple of weeks and that has kept me from dealing with this as quickly as I’d like. But yesterday I borrowed a heavy duty extension cord long enough to get me plugged into the park maintainence shed 110v outlet and I let the rig charge overnight.

This morning I have most of my power back, lights, TVs, water heater, etc. I started the genny and AC and let them run for a while. Then I tried starting the engine but didn’t even get a battery click. And the Emergency Start switch did nothing as well.

I’m going to let it continue to charge for another day and see what I have tomorrow morning. So I’m finally to my question:

If I still have no luck starting the engine tomorrow, what is involved in getting to the chassis battery terminals to try jump starting the engine? I’ve heard horror stories about the Vegas battery being buried and difficult to get at and I’m wondering if I would be better off calling Good Sam’s Roadside Assistance and letting them deal with it?

[SuperD]

This is courtesy of Jerry (halfprice). Thank you Jerry for this Great write up!!!

Quite a while ago i installed a battery disconnect to stop the ghost power draw. I hooked it up the the ground post on the battery closest to the compartment door.

Well ive been having some problems with it. After turning it off the coach still had power. To kill power i had to push the emergency power button on the dash. This button connects the coach and chassis batteries.

I thought the battery isolation manager, BIM, was going bad.

I called bim tech and was told to move the disconnect to the positive post.

There are 4 cables between the 2 batteries. Didnt kbow which cable controlled the coach power. After a call to thor i got the answer. Here it is if anyone needs to know what the cables power.

Rear battery has a cable running to an 100 amp fuse. Its either gen and power jacks or transformer. Second cable goes to 50 amp fuse which runs to the vreaker panel ubder the bed. Front battery has cable to another 100 amp fuse and one to the bim. The last cable is attached to both batteries tying them to each other.

The cable that needs to be disconnected is the 50 amp going to the breakers.

So i swithed the disconnect to this cable and all is well now. No more ghost draw and no need to worry about dead batteries.


I now have a very good ubderstanding what and how the bim works also how to trouble shoot problems with it.

The company was great to deal with and they have a 5 year warranty on the bim.

From what i understand thor switched to the bim a few years ago and they have been working better than the bird.


Jerry used a Marine disconnect switch and rather than using a knife switch for the disconnect I suggest anyone wanting to truly disconnect their batteries pony up and use a Marine disconnect switch, about $20 on Amazon. Better switch, terminals are isolated, and made to use around water.

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by SuperD

This is courtesy of Jerry (halfprice). Thank you Jerry for this Great write up!!!

Quite a while ago i installed a battery disconnect to stop the ghost power draw. I hooked it up the the ground post on the battery closest to the compartment door.

Well ive been having some problems with it. After turning it off the coach still had power. To kill power i had to push the emergency power button on the dash. This button connects the coach and chassis batteries.

I thought the battery isolation manager, BIM, was going bad.

I called bim tech and was told to move the disconnect to the positive post.

There are 4 cables between the 2 batteries. Didnt kbow which cable controlled the coach power. After a call to thor i got the answer. Here it is if anyone needs to know what the cables power.

Rear battery has a cable running to an 100 amp fuse. Its either gen and power jacks or transformer. Second cable goes to 50 amp fuse which runs to the vreaker panel ubder the bed. Front battery has cable to another 100 amp fuse and one to the bim. The last cable is attached to both batteries tying them to each other.

The cable that needs to be disconnected is the 50 amp going to the breakers.

So i swithed the disconnect to this cable and all is well now. No more ghost draw and no need to worry about dead batteries.


I now have a very good ubderstanding what and how the bim works also how to trouble shoot problems with it.

The company was great to deal with and they have a 5 year warranty on the bim.

From what i understand thor switched to the bim a few years ago and they have been working better than the bird.


Jerry used a Marine disconnect switch and rather than using a knife switch for the disconnect I suggest anyone wanting to truly disconnect their batteries pony up and use a Marine disconnect switch, about $20 on Amazon. Better switch, terminals are isolated, and made to use around water.

Attachment 10851

This is something I learned the hard way. All the battery cables have a black plastic covering with a red lug on the battery clamp. And since they are in a storage area, down low, it's a PITA to find the neg and pos side of the battery. To solve that, just open up the split on the plastic covering and you can see black, which is neg and red, which is positive, color on the cables. Oh yeah, Thor sent a wiring diagram when I called and that helped too. Another thing is I got some plywood, cut it to size and put it under the batteries to move them easier.