Jerry's Hurricane mods

[halfprice]

Plans for a/c are to use a 30 amp plug and cord. At the pedestal ill add a 30 to 20 amp adapter to plug in

My reason for this is cg all have different plugs at their pedestals Sometime the cg only have 50 and 30. Othe just 30 or 30 and 20. You get the idea

With the two 30s, main rv power and second ac, i can use a 30 to 20 adapter or a 30 to 50 adapter. It will depend on what the cg has

The cost factor between 30 and 20 cord isnt a big deal if fact i have two 30 cords now

I have to decide if i want a straight plug in or twist lock plug for the ac at the mh



And suggestions???? Likes dislikes please

Jerrylet me know

[Rich&Cathy]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Plans for a/c are to use a 30 amp plug and cord. At the pedestal ill add a 30 to 20 amp adapter to plug in

My reason for this is cg all have different plugs at their pedestals Sometime the cg only have 50 and 30. Othe just 30 or 30 and 20. You get the idea

With the two 30s, main rv power and second ac, i can use a 30 to 20 adapter or a 30 to 50 adapter. It will depend on what the cg has

The cost factor between 30 and 20 cord isnt a big deal if fact i have two 30 cords now

I have to decide if i want a straight plug in or twist lock plug for the ac at the mh



And suggestions???? Likes dislikes please

Jerrylet me know

I like you agree every campground is different. I went with the 20 amp inlet plug on outside coach, bought a 20 amp 25' cord I then got a 20 amp female plug and a 15 amp male plug 25' of cord and made that up. I also bought a 50 amp by 30/ 30 y adapter with a separate 30/15 amp adapter to use with the y. I think I have just about every scenario covered. 🤞

[DinoC41]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Wont hapoen in Oct steaks maybe but not ribs. They take 4 to 5 hours

A/C probably wont be for several months. Dont have the time now and still trying to decide what ac to buy

Sounds good to me Jerry!

[halfprice]

More work today.

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

[halfprice]

Pic of the bim. On the 29m its located behind the batteries bolted to the wall closest to the front. Only way to remove it is to take out the batteries.

To trouble shoot and/or test you need to check voltage. Only way i could get to it was crawl under the mh and reach up with the volt meter. Had to feel around with my fingers to find all the post to to get reading.

Jerry

[DinoC41]

Originally Posted by halfprice

More work today.

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.

JerryAttachment 10742

Very understandable post Jerry...Well done!!!

[DenverTransplant]

I'm not sure if I have a BIM on my ACE, but I did have an similar interesting problem that I traced down to my Emergency switch. I had also installed a battery disconnect switch on the negative pole on my batteries and was having an issue with lights in the coach still working with the disconnect switch in the disconnect position and the Use/Store switch in Store.

I tried toggling the Emergency switch and the problem went away. Best guess is that something hung up (BIM or BIRD - now I have to chase that down) and that a either a return path to the frame was being provided despite the switch at the battery being open or the chassis battery was actually proving power to house battery circuits. Toggling the Emergency switch cleared that problem - at least for awhile. I haven't noticed the same behavior again.

One very positive aspect of having solar on the roof now is that I'm no longer concerned about the fugitive loads that still might be on when the Use/Store switch is in Store. I do set the Use/Store switch to Store, but don't bother with the disconnect any longer.

The solar bypasses everything and keeps the batteries topped off all of the time. I've been watching the battery water levels and got through the winter without having to top any of the cells off and a hydrometer says they are all great.

[halfprice]

That's the problem I had also battery disconnect off use store switch on store and I still had power

Well I called the company that manufactured the Bim I was told you can't break the ground cable you have to break it at the positive cable. If you break it at the negative cable the Bim senses 0 voltage to the batteries and will cause the chassis batteries to send power over. that's why the lights we're coming on

So now that I broke the power at that 50 amp fuse everything works like it's supposed to

I don't think you had any problem with your BIM or the emergency start button it was just that you are interrupting the ground power and that's the problem

Jerry

[jb1911]

I'm one of the lucky ones. My USE/STORE switch works as it should with no power drain at all.

[DenverTransplant]

Originally Posted by halfprice

I don't think you had any problem with your BIM or the emergency start button it was just that you are interrupting the ground power and that's the problem

Jerry

Jerry,

Finally a tangible reason in the long discussion over breaking positive or negative. I’ve got to start rearranging cables which is going to require a bit of planning given the terminal bars, shunt, Trimetric cables, solar cables, etc that I’ve put in the battery compartment. I sense full clean up coming

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by DenverTransplant

Jerry,

Finally a tangible reason in the long discussion over breaking positive or negative. I’ve got to start rearranging cables which is going to require a bit of planning given the terminal bars, shunt, Trimetric cables, solar cables, etc that I’ve put in the battery compartment. I sense full clean up coming

Im a firm believer in breaking the ground not the positive on the battery. BUT in this case because of the BIM it has to be the positive.


You do have a lot of cables in there. I also had install the disconnect on the same side of the battery box as you did. Best spot closest to the ground terminals. What I found the easiest to do was move the disconnect to the other side. I didnt want to mess with the connection at the 50 amp fuse . SO the rear battery, on my rv, had the cable going to the 50 amp fuse. Removed it from the terminal, its a long cable and was coiled on top of the batteries. And attached the cable from disconnect to the battery terminal.

Once I uncoiled the cable and removed a bunch of electrical tape that was used to hold several cables together I found there was a fair amount of room to work.

I would suggest you change yours to the positive terminal. The BIM will like it better


Jerry

[halfprice]

Second A/C coming sooner than I planned.

My buddy that ran the starter wire in the wall called and said to start buying everything needed for the job. Hes ready to do it.

Hes a very busy guy and its hard for him to find a free day. And I wont do the install without him. This guy can do everything from house remodel electrical plumbing you name it he can do it. Plus hes a perfectionist. Hes a retired 30 year on the job cop. Great guy.

So I started ordering/buying stuff. 10 gauge wire, 30 amp cord with 20/15 amp adapters, Power outlet to plug cord into. Bought the same one that on the mh now but in white. Progressive industries 30 amp hardwired ems. Most likely Ill get a 20 amp breaker also.

Now its time to pick the ac. Still undecided but most likely the Coleman Mach 3 13500.

Might be busy the next week or two

Jerry

[halfprice]

Just bought the mach 3. Ill call them in the morning and see what they expect shipping will be. Hopefully we can get it installed before we head out to kernville. Im sure the temos will be in the 100s

[Classictint]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Just bought the mach 3. Ill call them in the morning and see what they expect shipping will be. Hopefully we can get it installed before we head out to kernville. Im sure the temos will be in the 100s

So jealous !
About the Ac and Kernville !

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by Classictint

So jealous !
About the Ac and Kernville !

SHort trip to Kernville. Wednesday to Sunday Going in a few weeks.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Just bought the mach 3. Ill call them in the morning and see what they expect shipping will be. Hopefully we can get it installed before we head out to kernville. Im sure the temos will be in the 100s

Coooool, literally!!!

[Classictint]

Originally Posted by halfprice

SHort trip to Kernville. Wednesday to Sunday Going in a few weeks.

The trout are hitting salmon eggs
Early am and late afternoon

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by Classictint

The trout are hitting salmon eggs
Early am and late afternoon

Lance,
Were you fishing right at Rivernook or did you go up/down the river. Power Plant???

Jerry

[halfprice]

Kind of busy day today. My buddy with the fleetwood and i insulated the dog house of both coaches. The fleetwood was a pain in the butt. Much different dog house than thor

I bought an extra box of hoodliner. Plan to install under the passenger side floor. Maria says the floor is hot when driving. I dont notice it because i wear shoes while driving. Maria never does.

So tomorrow ill try to squeese between the engine and install the hoodliner. Not sure ill fit. I need a small helper


Then i have to climb on the roof and remove the vent. Need to get it prepped for tge ac. New ac will be here thursday and hopefully we'll get it installed friday.

Jerry

[Classictint]

Originally Posted by halfprice

Lance,

Were you fishing right at Rivernook or did you go up/down the river. Power Plant???



Jerry

We were at Camp Kernville I believe its before the power plant
I’ll be at Rivernook late July for 6 days