Battery not holding charge

Carle · 08-31-2020, 04:35 PM

Hi all ... we have 2016 Vegas 24.1 with 35K miles on it. The last few days the chassis battery has been dead on me and I have had to use the emergency start on the dash to get going. The battery is very hard to get at and I may have to replace. But I cannot tell if it is a battery I have to maintain with distilled water or not. Does anyone know? I maintain the coach batteries and have not thought about the chassis battery. So bad me. Anyway, thanks for any assistance.
PS. All Thor had to do was put a storage door under the passenger window and we could easily access the battery. But no, they want you to cut a hole in the dash. Argh

Larry · 08-31-2020, 05:09 PM

The OEM battery is a lead acid battery which requires a check of the levels occasionally and adding distilled water. This can be done rather easily with a Flowrite battery system that can be purchased thru Amazon.

My chassis battery was replaced a couple of years back by turning the wheels all the way to the right and removing the cover over the wheel. Took a couple of people to do it this way but is do-able.

Hope this helps.

macdaddy1111 · 08-31-2020, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carle

Hi all ... we have 2016 Vegas 24.1 with 35K miles on it. The last few days the chassis battery has been dead on me and I have had to use the emergency start on the dash to get going. The battery is very hard to get at and I may have to replace. But I cannot tell if it is a battery I have to maintain with distilled water or not. Does anyone know? I maintain the coach batteries and have not thought about the chassis battery. So bad me. Anyway, thanks for any assistance.
PS. All Thor had to do was put a storage door under the passenger window and we could easily access the battery. But no, they want you to cut a hole in the dash. Argh

had the same rig, battery probably crapped out, thor doesn't use high in ones, take off passenger side table top, finish cutting out access panel, and can get to battery. 6 to 8 screws hold table top down.

I made some metal slats to secure plywood cover back to dash. then used metal tape to cover over seams and signed my name! MacDaddy Was here! HA

oh, don't forget to zip tie your cables together before un bolting them.

lwmcguire · 08-31-2020, 05:24 PM

You certainly want a sealed or an AGM for the replacement, good luck

Beau388 · 08-31-2020, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdaddy1111

had the same rig, battery probably crapped out, thor doesn't use high in ones, take off passenger side table top, finish cutting out access panel, and can get to battery. 6 to 8 screws hold table top down.

I made some metal slats to secure plywood cover back to dash. then used metal tape to cover over seams and signed my name! MacDaddy Was here! HA

oh, don't forget to zip tie your cables together before un bolting them.

Thor does not supply the chassis battery Ford does. It is under a Ford warranty. It doesn't last long because of self-discharge. The longer a flooded battery sits with some discharge the shorter the life.

Carle · 09-01-2020, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the replies. Given the location of the battery it is difficult to see it has cells to top up. There appears to be a flat plate of some sort that might pop off to reveal and access the cells. Unlike the coach batteries where it is obvious.
Good thing we have the emergency start button on the dash.
Cheers all.

**EA37TS** · 09-01-2020, 03:43 PM

2016 coach with batteries you are not aware require maintenance, the batteries are toast so go out and buy a new one.

Has anyone ever cleaned the battery cables and terminals? If not spring for new ones as well.

Carle · 09-01-2020, 10:49 PM

I was able to get a good charge on it over night while camping and will deal with it when I get home. Thanks for all the help ... replacement time with a good quality one.

Lt Keefer · 09-01-2020, 11:20 PM

5 year old OEM chassis battery means it's time for a new one.

Bill in Redlands · 09-02-2020, 02:43 AM

After hearing all the stories about battery access on the Axis, I went ahead and opened up the access panel under the passenger side "desk". This way I can see the water levels and do routine maintenance from inside the cabin. It is not a big deal. The battery is pushing five years and under 20k miles so I am watching it closely.

BASSMAN · 09-12-2020, 06:58 PM

I got a good laugh out of a YouTube video of changing out the battery on the Thor Axis by removing the right side top of dash and the plywood cutout under the dash, I added some aluminum angle to it and now it goes back in with a few screws, its also the best way to add oil if you do your own oil changes

alajeu · 09-12-2020, 07:38 PM

I have a 2018 Thor Vegas and second the reply from Bassman. Go to You tube and type in "how do you replace a battery in a Thor Vegas RV. There are at least 3 videos showing how to do it. Still not an easy task but doable.

Alajeu

Carle · 10-10-2020, 11:49 PM

Re Battery being done ...
Replaced it after returning from our trip. Although the process of going through the dash is a pain, once all done I found it quite easy to do. I did have to reroute some hoses permanently to keep them out of the way. And I was able to get it out and then on my own. Thor could have easily placed a storage door on the outside so it was dead simple to get out. But I guess that would have cost them a few extra dollars. Oh well.

On another note. It is my understanding that when the unit is plugged into shore power, it will charge my chassis battery so I don't have to put it on a trickle charger. Is that correct? And regardless is it better for the battery to have it on a trickle charge while stored? In my case this time will be 6 months.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Cheers
Carle

Beau388 · 10-11-2020, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carle

Re Battery being done ...
Replaced it after returning from our trip. Although the process of going through the dash is a pain, once all done I found it quite easy to do. I did have to reroute some hoses permanently to keep them out of the way. And I was able to get it out and then on my own. Thor could have easily placed a storage door on the outside so it was dead simple to get out. But I guess that would have cost them a few extra dollars. Oh well.

On another note. It is my understanding that when the unit is plugged into shore power, it will charge my chassis battery so I don't have to put it on a trickle charger. Is that correct? And regardless is it better for the battery to have it on a trickle charge while stored? In my case this time will be 6 months.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Cheers
Carle

Correct. The coach's charger SHOULD charge all the batteries IF the use/store (master power) switch is in the use/on position. If you are not sure, please check the chassis battery and the house batteries' voltage with a voltmeter. If the chassis battery charging, the voltage will read greater than 13.0 volts. If the chassis battery is less than 13.0 volts the chassis battery is NOT being charged.

Carle · 10-11-2020, 04:20 PM

Thanks

Bob Denman · 10-11-2020, 04:46 PM

Congratulations on getting it changed-out.

I keep my coach batteries charged with shorepower, and the chassis battery gets hooked up to a solar battery charger panel.

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