Tranquility/Sanctuary

[LCCRUISER]

One other issue that I discovered is that the Mastervolt EasyView 5 won't power up the screen.


I spoke with Thor Support and the gentleman I spoke with was very helpful. He answered a lot of my questions, even those unrelated to my issues.



He told me that if the batteries get too low they won't recharge unless it is connected to shore power and that it is preferable that it be kept plugged in when parked at home. The separate alternator will not charge the battery if they are too discharged. He said the solar wasn't sufficient to keep the battery topped off. In cold weather the battery heater will come on placing an additional drain on the battery. Both the battery and inverter are in constant communication which is an additional drain.


He said the MasterVolt not powering up wasn't a factor in causing my problem but that I should go back to the dealer to have that unit diagnosed.



The odd thing is that I haven't been running anything electric in the coach since I took delivery and I've driven the van daily since then. I wouldn't think that the coach battery would discharge enough over a few days to get to the point that it won't accept a charge except from shore power especially since it is being driven daily.

[CaliRVR]

You're welcome LCCruiser. I was taking some measurements of the voltage at the house battery and at the alternator. My house battery is at 13.36V with the Van off. When the engine is on I'm getting the same reading of 13.36V at the alternator. There needs to be a higher voltage coming from the alternator. My MasterVolt some time will show positive Amperage with the engine running but after a few minutes it drops to nothing. Must be something wrong with my alternator.

Can someone post readings they are getting from the alternator and their house battery?

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by CaliRVR

You're welcome LCCruiser. I was taking some measurements of the voltage at the house battery and at the alternator. My house battery is at 13.36V with the Van off. When the engine is on I'm getting the same reading of 13.36V at the alternator. There needs to be a higher voltage coming from the alternator. My MasterVolt some time will show positive Amperage with the engine running but after a few minutes it drops to nothing. Must be something wrong with my alternator.

Can someone post readings they are getting from the alternator and their house battery?

My van doesn't appear to be charging the house battery while driving either since the battery voltage keeps dropping from the time it is unplugged from shore power. My MasterVolt doesn't power on at all so it is of no use to me in diagnosing my power issues.


My house battery got down below 5 volts (see picture) while driving and the Solar Controller started beeping sporadically. Eventually the screen started flashing on and off as the voltage kept dropping and finally went black. At that point I had no power in the coach. Obviously the solar panel was insufficient to keep the charge up. What's the lowest your voltage has dropped to if you don't plug it in?

Are you physically taking a reading of the voltage on the house battery terminals themselves?

I have yet to determine where my battery is. Here's a couple pictures of the compartment where my 3K inverter is located along with what appears to be some sort of switching box. Does anyone know what that is? My battery is the MLI Ultra 12/5500. It is 24.5 x 7.8 x 14.0 dimensionally and it has a shipping weight of 132 pounds. That's a little big to be hiding somewhere. I have a generator so it is definitely not under the floor. Where exactly is the battery for those of us who have this configuration?

The rep at Thor couldn't tell me where it was and said that wouldn't matter anyway since in his opinion there's no reason to be doing anything with it. Any problems should be taken to a dealer. I think it would be useful to know where it is in the event I have to recharge it while I'm away from ShorePower. I hope nothing goes wrong with it, since they sell for $6000!

Exactly where are you taking the readings from the alternator?

[TK_MT]

The battery isn't in a big black box where the spare tire should go?

Also interesting that you have a lithium battery and a generator. I thought they came either one or the other. I do not think the generator is being offered any longer.

[CaliRVR]

Originally Posted by LCCRUISER

My van doesn't appear to be charging the house battery while driving either since the battery voltage keeps dropping from the time it is unplugged from shore power. My MasterVolt doesn't power on at all so it is of no use to me in diagnosing my power issues.


My house battery got down below 5 volts (see picture) while driving and the Solar Controller started beeping sporadically. Eventually the screen started flashing on and off as the voltage kept dropping and finally went black. At that point I had no power in the coach. Obviously the solar panel was insufficient to keep the charge up. What's the lowest your voltage has dropped to if you don't plug it in?

Are you physically taking a reading of the voltage on the house battery terminals themselves?

I have yet to determine where my battery is. Here's a couple pictures of the compartment where my 3K inverter is located along with what appears to be some sort of switching box. Does anyone know what that is? My battery is the MLI Ultra 12/5500. It is 24.5 x 7.8 x 14.0 dimensionally and it has a shipping weight of 132 pounds. That's a little big to be hiding somewhere. I have a generator so it is definitely not under the floor. Where exactly is the battery for those of us who have this configuration?

The rep at Thor couldn't tell me where it was and said that wouldn't matter anyway since in his opinion there's no reason to be doing anything with it. Any problems should be taken to a dealer. I think it would be useful to know where it is in the event I have to recharge it while I'm away from ShorePower. I hope nothing goes wrong with it, since they sell for $6000!

Exactly where are you taking the readings from the alternator?

I have a 19L so my configuration is setup differently. My battery is located in a compartment inside a steel box. It's where the the spare would have been or a generator on some models.
My battery reading was taken at the positive buss bar where the alternator Positive cable runs to and the battery cables are attached. The alternator reading was taken at the alternator terminal themselves. I spoke to a Thor Tech rep who gave me the Balmar voltage regulator test procedure (which I also got from Balmar).
https://www.balmar.net/wp-content/up...ion-Manual.pdf

The regulator uses a charging program at different voltages depnding on the state of the batteries. Unfortunately, I can't find the regulator box to make the various measurements to see if the regulator is the problem. It's probably located in the battery compartment. I'm not going to fool around and take that apart so I'm just going to bring it to the dealer although I have heard nothing but horror stories about the service center.

[CaliRVR]

Finally found regulator for alternator. It's under the passenger seat compartment. I ran the tests from the Balmar Troubleshooting procedure and it failed miserably. It has you run a series of voltage measurements with the vehicle off, vehicle ignition on (but engine off) and engine running. The unit didn't even turn on when i put the ignition (but engine off) so it just gave me the same measurements as with it off. Anyways, the battery voltage was definitely not correct when compared to the MasterVolt and actual reading I took at the battery. Other measurements were all over the place. The battery voltage reading was 2 volts lower when I did the tests with engine running so something is really wrong.

I did happen to find a possible culprit. The wire harness for the regulator that runs to the back of the van was crushed as some idiot tried to fit way too many harnesses through a support clamp, crushing the harness that carries the regulator wires. Just can't believe it.

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by TK_MT

The battery isn't in a big black box where the spare tire should go?

Also interesting that you have a lithium battery and a generator. I thought they came either one or the other. I do not think the generator is being offered any longer.

The generator is where my spare would be.

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by CaliRVR

Finally found regulator for alternator. It's under the passenger seat compartment. I ran the tests from the Balmar Troubleshooting procedure and it failed miserably. It has you run a series of voltage measurements with the vehicle off, vehicle ignition on (but engine off) and engine running. The unit didn't even turn on when i put the ignition (but engine off) so it just gave me the same measurements as with it off. Anyways, the battery voltage was definitely not correct when compared to the MasterVolt and actual reading I took at the battery. Other measurements were all over the place. The battery voltage reading was 2 volts lower when I did the tests with engine running so something is really wrong.

I did happen to find a possible culprit. The wire harness for the regulator that runs to the back of the van was crushed as some idiot tried to fit way too many harnesses through a support clamp, crushing the harness that carries the regulator wires. Just can't believe it.
Attachment 35826

Thanks for all the info. I did pull that panel once under the passenger seat and closed it back in a hurry when I saw all the colored spaghetti. I guess I'll have to look again.


Those wires should be OK in that clamp since those are just covers to protect them from rubbing. If you are worried or they are worse than I see then undo the clamp and pull the black wrap back a bit to check the wires inside.


The fact that there are so many configurations even within just the 19P makes it harder for all of us to be on the same page figuring stuff out. Hopefully someone has the gen in the spare tire well and the lithium battery like mine so I can find my battery.


I did get a personal message from THOR today and it said they were going to set me up with a rep account. Not sure if that means S**T List or not.



I must be on one of those with the dealer as well since my emails get rejected, they rarely answer the phone, they haven't found the TMC Owners Packet for me and I still don't have the paperwork I need to register the van.

[LCCRUISER]

Looking at your picture again I see that there is a hole where there was probably a rubber plug. I can even see a bare circle around the hole where the manufacturer sprayed the panel with the plug in place. Does that lead to outside?

[LCCRUISER]

Does anybody know what this is? I found it on the floor and I don't see an opening anywhere. It has velcro on the back so it is supposed to stick on something somewhere.

If no one knows I'll just add it to my collection that started with the chrome tabs falling off the mirrored doors in the bathroom. Who wants chrome on an expedition van anyway?

[LCCRUISER]

THOR called me to go over some of my issues, glad they are being proactive. They asked me to take a picture of the regulator so they can verify thge connections. It is under the passenger seat.



I asked about the battery location and they explained my battery is in fact where the spare would be and that I don't have a generator despite what I was told at the dealer. I took a look underneath and sure enough, it is under there. I feel pretty dumb for not bothering to look there earlier.



Since it has been quite cold since we took delivery, the heating pad for the battery has probably been running constantly. That's an added drain on the battery.

[kamccormick]

Originally Posted by LCCRUISER

Does anybody know what this is? I found it on the floor and I don't see an opening anywhere. It has velcro on the back so it is supposed to stick on something somewhere.

If no one knows I'll just add it to my collection that started with the chrome tabs falling off the mirrored doors in the bathroom. Who wants chrome on an expedition van anyway? [emoji3]

We have one and I haven’t ever figured out where it belongs [emoji23]

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by kamccormick

We have one and I haven’t ever figured out where it belongs [emoji23]

Too funny!

[LCCRUISER]

After we learned today that we don't have a generator, my wife and I are concerned about our ability to go offgrid for any period of time.

It takes 600W of solar panel to recharge a 400AH battery from 50% to 100% in 5 hours in ideal sun conditions. The 190W panel we have would take just under 16 hours.

I was told by a Thor rep that if my battery charge got too low I wouldn't be able to recharge it while underway or with the solar, I could only do it with shore power.

What are other peoples experiences who park offgrid without running their rig as to how long they can retain power? And have you found that your rig will recharge a flat lithium battery when running?

[kamccormick]

Originally Posted by LCCRUISER

After we learned today that we don't have a generator, my wife and I are concerned about our ability to go offgrid for any period of time.

It takes 600W of solar panel to recharge a 400AH battery from 50% to 100% in 5 hours in ideal sun conditions. The 190W panel we have would take just under 16 hours.

I was told by a Thor rep that if my battery charge got too low I wouldn't be able to recharge it while underway or with the solar, I could only do it with shore power.

What are other peoples experiences who park offgrid without running their rig as to how long they can retain power? And have you found that your rig will recharge a flat lithium battery when running?

We camp mostly off grid in Southern California. Last month 5 days in the desert with mostly cloudy skies. By day 4 we were at 42%. We turned on the engine for an hour and were back up to 78%. Last week at the beach 4 days 3 nights partly cloudy skies we were at 58% on day 4. We aren’t big battery users mostly just refrigerator, lights, water pump as needed and keeping our phones and kindles charged. We always have our inverter turned off unless we want to use the microwave. We have found that leaving the inverter on drains the battery pretty fast if we aren’t driving each day. We haven’t used the air conditioner.

We did have our battery down to about 20% before we figured out to turn off the inverter and the engine alternator charged it with no problem.

I think basically in the lithium set up you can turn on the engine to charge the coach battery and in the other you can turn on the generator to charge the battery. The generator uses propane which concerns us. Propane may not be as easy to find in some remote places we go. Would not want to run out of propane. Either way both are noisy [emoji846]

[Jay McClellan]

Originally Posted by LCCRUISER

Does anybody know what this is? I found it on the floor and I don't see an opening anywhere. It has velcro on the back so it is supposed to stick on something somewhere.

If no one knows I'll just add it to my collection that started with the chrome tabs falling off the mirrored doors in the bathroom. Who wants chrome on an expedition van anyway?

I have similar covers on my 19P, but with less Velcro, to cover rectangular access openings inside to the left and right of the back doors. Mine keep falling off too, and apparently Thor tried to fix that by using more velcro. Apparently it didn't work.

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by kamccormick

We camp mostly off grid in Southern California. Last month 5 days in the desert with mostly cloudy skies. By day 4 we were at 42%. We turned on the engine for an hour and were back up to 78%. Last week at the beach 4 days 3 nights partly cloudy skies we were at 58% on day 4. We aren’t big battery users mostly just refrigerator, lights, water pump as needed and keeping our phones and kindles charged. We always have our inverter turned off unless we want to use the microwave. We have found that leaving the inverter on drains the battery pretty fast if we aren’t driving each day. We haven’t used the air conditioner.

We did have our battery down to about 20% before we figured out to turn off the inverter and the engine alternator charged it with no problem.

I think basically in the lithium set up you can turn on the engine to charge the coach battery and in the other you can turn on the generator to charge the battery. The generator uses propane which concerns us. Propane may not be as easy to find in some remote places we go. Would not want to run out of propane. Either way both are noisy [emoji846]

Thanks for the info.



How do you turn off the inverter without turning off the main power switch next to the door?

[kamccormick]

Originally Posted by LCCRUISER

Thanks for the info.



How do you turn off the inverter without turning off the main power switch next to the door?

On the master volt control panel first screen, swipe right and there is a second inverter control you can touch to toggle on/off

[LCCRUISER]

Originally Posted by kamccormick

On the master volt control panel first screen, swipe right and there is a second inverter control you can touch to toggle on/off

Thanks. Unfortunately, my Master Volt doesn't turn on.

[TK_MT]

Mine seemed stuck on off for a while. I held the power for maybe 10 sec(? Seemed like a while) and it came to life.