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Old 04-26-2017, 06:00 PM   #1
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THOR #6513
Axis 24.1 Battery dead/recharge Issue

Went out to my unit yesterday and no lights. Checked the batteries - 4.5 volts. Severe discharge to say the least. Plugged in the unit but no charge to the batteries.

Discovered the 100 Amp breaker had tripped. Reset it. Still no charge from coach unit.

Fired up the engine. Got a charge condition, 13 to 14 volts. Shut down the engine and no joy, camper unit would not charge the unit.

Tried the bypass switch to joint chassis to coach. Did not work.

Finally I opened the 100 Amp breaker to isolate the batteries and put a charger on overnight. Next day I disconnected the charger since the batteries were now charged.

Reset the 100Amp breaker. The coach now is taking over and charging the batteries.

Anyone else ever had this problem? A word to the wise better have a charger that will work on a discharged battery because apparently the coach charger won't charge a fully discharged unit????

As to why the 100 amp breaker tripped I have no idea. Did have a front end alignment the previous week and possibly they accidentally did it. Don't know.

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Old 04-27-2017, 02:07 PM   #2
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The converter isn't meant to charge from that deep a discharge - to it it would appear no battery is present...
I expect the alternator from the engine would have worked if given enough time - certainly would need more than a few minutes.

I do carry an independent battery charger in my coach - just in case...
Had to use it on my previous rig when I had an alternator/wiring issue - and drained the chassis battery while traveling.
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Old 04-28-2017, 01:21 AM   #3
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The converter isn't meant to charge from that deep a discharge - to it it would appear no battery is present...
I expect the alternator from the engine would have worked if given enough time - certainly would need more than a few minutes.

I do carry an independent battery charger in my coach - just in case...
Had to use it on my previous rig when I had an alternator/wiring issue - and drained the chassis battery while traveling.
Evidently not. Gone are the days when a battery charger could charge any battery, not just a good partially discharged battery. This is the first RV that I've owned (I've had 12) that would not. I suspect its the BIRDs programming that might be the actual culprit. It is my first motor home so battery handling is vastly different compared to an camper/trailer. Anyone reading this and thinking about getting a standby battery charger. Test it first. 99 percent of off-the-shelf chargers will not turn on and charge a dead battery

One major issue here if my experience is typical. If the coach battery is discharged you cant start the generator. Nothing in the coach will work. No lights etc. No bypass switch etc. I need to try this again tomorrow when I am at the campground.
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Old 04-28-2017, 01:37 AM   #4
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...
One major issue here if my experience is typical. If the coach battery is discharged you cant start the generator. Nothing in the coach will work. No lights etc. No bypass switch etc. I need to try this again tomorrow when I am at the campground.
One possible bypass switch... The 'Emergency start' switch is a two way street... Allows you to boost the chassis battery from the coach to start the engine - but also allows you to boost the coach batteries from the chassis to start the genny. There are cases where things are so dead it may not work - but it is worth a try.
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Old 04-28-2017, 01:45 AM   #5
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I tried that. Nothing. Did not work, at the time. How ever I plan on trying all of this again by disconnecting the batteries using that 100 amp breaker. By the way just for info the chassis battery also has one of those 100 amp breakers under the hood on the cable that feeds the coach.
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Old 04-28-2017, 01:58 AM   #6
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Note that if the battery is completely dead you may also have to hold the emergency start switch in long enough to get some charge on the battery before you attempt to start the engine or genny.

Just like when you jumpstart a car you may have to rev the assist car for a few minutes with the cables on before attempting to start the dead one.
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Old 04-28-2017, 02:08 AM   #7
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Note that if the battery is completely dead you may also have to hold the emergency start switch in long enough to get some charge on the battery before you attempt to start the engine or genny.

Just like when you jumpstart a car you may have to rev the assist car for a few minutes with the cables on before attempting to start the dead one.
Good point. When I pushed it I could not hear a click from the solenoid however. Only way to test that one would take 2 people. One to hold the bypass switch while the other measured the voltage at the coach. Again a lot of scenarios to try out. The more I understand this the better I'll be able to fix the problem in the future.
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Old 04-28-2017, 12:39 PM   #8
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... I suspect its the BIRDs programming that might be the actual culprit. It is my first motor home so battery handling is vastly different compared to an camper/trailer. ...
Very possible the BIRD could prevent the alternator from charging a completely dead coach battery... Its intent is to protect from a problem in the coach draining the chassis battery (and reverse)... When joining the chassis with coach - and dead coach battery - it could pull the overall voltage down to the point the BIRD isolates the batteries again (below 12v for 1 minute). Depends how quickly the voltage can stabilize between the batteries.

The BIRD would not be in the path of the converter/charger and the coach batteries - so that would be a function of the converter recognizing it is connected to a dead battery...
It would be in the path of the converter/charger to the chassis batteries.

Ed's Axis/Vegas manual has a writeup on the BIRD (Appendix 10) - and most other RV systems... A great reference if you haven't downloaded it already - even if you have a different model.
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f10...nual-4961.html
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Old 04-29-2017, 05:40 PM   #9
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GMC and JamieGeek. Thanks to both for all the input.

I do have that manual from Ed Felkers. Wow, isn't that a fantastic piece of work!! He really put in some time on that.

So much for all my plans to test all of it out this weekend. I am loaning my truck and truck camper to my son and his family for their first big campin trip out west. Its his first time RVing on his own so we spent all of the time on "How to do it". Plus I had the grand daughter along too. Time went fast.

I'll have to test it all out at home.

I now have another problem though. Somewhere there is a propane leak. When I got to the campground the tank was empty. Again. Some where there is a super sloooooow leak. Never once a smell of propane. It Happens at home while sitting for a month or so. The first time I thought camping world had left the bleed valve open a tad. Evidently not. More trouble shooting.
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Old 04-29-2017, 09:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeDS
I now have another problem though. Somewhere there is a propane leak. When I got to the campground the tank was empty. Again. Some where there is a super sloooooow leak. Never once a smell of propane. It Happens at home while sitting for a month or so. The first time I thought camping world had left the bleed valve open a tad. Evidently not. More trouble shooting
Check the filler: Ours frequently freezes and leaves a chunk of ice in there preventing the check valve from closing (it really messes with the guys filling it).
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Old 04-30-2017, 10:49 PM   #11
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Check the filler: Ours frequently freezes and leaves a chunk of ice in there preventing the check valve from closing (it really messes with the guys filling it).
Ive pondered that Jamie. At first it didnt make since to me due to the hot weather (Now) but obviously it has set up thru the winter. Where does the water come from to begin with? Condensation? Did it cause the tank to leak or only gave trouble when filling?
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Old 04-30-2017, 11:05 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by JoeDS
Ive pondered that Jamie. At first it didnt make since to me due to the hot weather (Now) but obviously it has set up thru the winter. Where does the water come from to begin with? Condensation? Did it cause the tank to leak or only gave trouble when filling?
In our case, so far, its only given us trouble when filling. I would suspect the water comes from the humidity in the air and condenses when the propane expands (endothermic reaction drawing heat from the air).
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Old 05-02-2017, 01:35 AM   #13
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Found the leak in the propane. Its the tank. They did not properly seal the threads on the fill gauge. Wonder how long it will take to get that fixed. I may not get a chance to go on vacation at the rate I'm going.


By the way the inside tires are loosing pressure. Valve extenders are defective. Cant even add air.
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