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Old 07-30-2022, 11:39 PM   #1
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Windsport 35M engine battery

Is there anything special you need to do with the house batteries before you jump, or charge your engine chassis battery?

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Old 07-30-2022, 11:41 PM   #2
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No.
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Old 07-30-2022, 11:48 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Megatron View Post
Is there anything special you need to do with the house batteries before you jump, or charge your engine chassis battery?

Did you try the Emergency Start Button?

Always wonder if it works in our 35M
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Old 07-31-2022, 11:49 PM   #4
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I never thought to try that. I'll let you know if that works. If not I'm going to pull the battery out and see if it is bad or not. It is 4 years old.
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Old 07-31-2022, 11:55 PM   #5
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I never thought to try that. I'll let you know if that works. If not I'm going to pull the battery out and see if it is bad or not. It is 4 years old.
I tried it and that didn't work. Never even tried to turn over.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:15 AM   #6
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I tried it and that didn't work. Never even tried to turn over.
Depending on how dead the battery is (as well as the house battery state), you may need to keep it held for several minutes and continue to hold it as you try to start the engine.

When our chassis battery went bad out of the blue at a gas station I started the generator which did two things:

Increased the house battery voltage from the converter charging

Automatically connected the house and chassis battery banks together through nth BIRD/Trombetta relay so the chassis battery came up much faster.

After about 5 minutes I was able to start the engine.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:53 AM   #7
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Depending on how dead the battery is (as well as the house battery state), you may need to keep it held for several minutes and continue to hold it as you try to start the engine.

When our chassis battery went bad out of the blue at a gas station I started the generator which did two things:

Increased the house battery voltage from the converter charging

Automatically connected the house and chassis battery banks together through nth BIRD/Trombetta relay so the chassis battery came up much faster.

After about 5 minutes I was able to start the engine.
I tried starting the generator, but I couldn't get it to turn over. The house batteries seem to be ok. We are plugged in to 50 watt electric. But it was the chassis battery that just gave up the ghost all of a sudden.
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:50 AM   #8
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I tried starting the generator, but I couldn't get it to turn over. The house batteries seem to be ok. We are plugged in to 50 watt electric. But it was the chassis battery that just gave up the ghost all of a sudden.

What year is your rig?
What make is your control panel, firefly?
Did you mean you are plugged in to 50 amp?
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:57 PM   #9
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I tried starting the generator, but I couldn't get it to turn over. The house batteries seem to be ok. We are plugged in to 50 watt electric. But it was the chassis battery that just gave up the ghost all of a sudden.
You obviously have multiple issues.

And a 50 watt electric won't even light a standard household lightbulb. You probably mean 50 amp Shore Power (SP).
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Old 08-01-2022, 07:29 PM   #10
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You obviously have multiple issues.

And a 50 watt electric won't even light a standard household lightbulb. You probably mean 50 amp Shore Power (SP).
I meant 50 amp. I pulled the battery and it is fine. All green in the window. But, the generator and the emergency start won't work either. I checked house batteries and they are fine.
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Old 08-01-2022, 07:41 PM   #11
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I meant 50 amp. I pulled the battery and it is fine. All green in the window. But, the generator and the emergency start won't work either. I checked house batteries and they are fine.
If Both the house and chassis batteries are "fine" but neither the engine nor the generator will start, then you have multiple problems as they are completely separate systems. All the EMERGENCY START button does is tie the two battery banks together when you hold the button down.

What has changed since things worked?

It appears you've had electrical issues since at least March of this year:

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I have a 2018 Thor Windsport 35m. My leveling jacks, sunshade, vehicle a/c, windshield wipers, headlights, power seat, driver/passenger fans, and backup camera don't work. But, radio, appliances, interior lights, generator switch, and hazard lights all work. I've replaced the 55 amp power converter and checked the fuses and circuit breakers inside and are all fine. Looked at vehicle fuses under the hood and didn't see anything. Couldn't check the black circuits in fuse box. What can this be?
Has anything been resolved? Has anything worked since then?

Hard to help you when we don't have the full picture. Give us some history.
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Old 08-01-2022, 10:52 PM   #12
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Depending on how dead the battery is (as well as the house battery state), you may need to keep it held for several minutes and continue to hold it as you try to start the engine.

When our chassis battery went bad out of the blue at a gas station I started the generator which did two things:

Increased the house battery voltage from the converter charging

Automatically connected the house and chassis battery banks together through nth BIRD/Trombetta relay so the chassis battery came up much faster.

After about 5 minutes I was able to start the engine.
I tried the generator and it just clicked also and wouldn't start. I've checked the house batteries and the chassis battery and they are all fully charged. Could the starter solenoid have anything to do with the generator not turning over and making clicking noise?
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Old 08-02-2022, 12:23 AM   #13
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What year is your rig?
What make is your control panel, firefly?
Did you mean you are plugged in to 50 amp?
It is a 2018, yes I meant 50 amp and it is an Xantrax Freedom X panel.
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Old 08-02-2022, 12:26 AM   #14
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I tried the generator and it just clicked also and wouldn't start. I've checked the house batteries and the chassis battery and they are all fully charged. Could the starter solenoid have anything to do with the generator not turning over and making clicking noise?
Yeah, the starter solenoid on the Generator, not the one on the front engine starter.

Have you checked your ground connections on the battery cables? And instead of saying "the battery tested fine" tell us what voltage the battery is at and has it been load tested?
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Old 08-02-2022, 05:08 PM   #15
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Yeah, the starter solenoid on the Generator, not the one on the front engine starter.

Have you checked your ground connections on the battery cables? And instead of saying "the battery tested fine" tell us what voltage the battery is at and has it been load tested?
I cleaned the battery terminals and made sure it was tight. Battery was at, I think, 13.7
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Old 08-02-2022, 06:56 PM   #16
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The other end of the cable is the ground connection.

13.7 VDC is a false reading when charging or shortly after. A fully charge battery at rest is 12.6 to 12.8 VDC but even that can be misleading if the battery has not been load tested.

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Old 08-07-2022, 01:05 AM   #17
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I used my emergency start for the first time last week. Worked wonderful. I have a 34P Windsport. Had to hook up my negative contacts to house battery before attempting. I always disconnect when storing.
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Old 08-07-2022, 11:55 AM   #18
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My emergency start never worked on my 2000 Infinity 35D. But never thought about holding it down for 5 minutes. Did the battery disconnect get pushed somehow?
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Old 08-07-2022, 12:05 PM   #19
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You’re on shore power and not charging. Hmmm…

Near the chassis battery is a little breaker. 50 amp and blue I think. If the flag is up, push it down. Now go to the house batteries. Should have a yellow, 100 amp breaker. If flag up push it down.

If the above is not the case, that’s the extent of my troubleshooting.
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