Inverter low V alarm

[Cabinetmkr]

Was driving down the interstate and started hearing a chirp... turns out my inverter control panel was showing 11volts.. its always been fine.. even during a long drive, as I’ve always heard the house batteries are charged by the alternator too while driving .

I was only about 45 min from home, so wife just turned inverter off... as fridge would be fine ... instead of a generator start. I do have the auto start on generator if needed... never have needed it even on a 10hr drive ...
1 year old batteries , full of water ...

Shouldn’t they stay charged by alternator?

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Cabinetmkr

.. {smip}
Shouldn’t they stay charged by alternator?

Yes, the house batteries should be charged by the engine's alternator; if the system is working correctly and the use/store switch (master power) is in the use/on position. If the radio and cameras work, the use/store is in the use position when not connected to shore power.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Cabinetmkr

Was driving down the interstate and started hearing a chirp... turns out my inverter control panel was showing 11volts.. its always been fine.. even during a long drive, as I’ve always heard the house batteries are charged by the alternator too while driving .

I was only about 45 min from home, so wife just turned inverter off... as fridge would be fine ... instead of a generator start. I do have the auto start on generator if needed... never have needed it even on a 10hr drive ...
1 year old batteries , full of water ...

Shouldn’t they stay charged by alternator?

Depends on what coach you have. Almost all As do, some Cs do, and no Mercedes do.

[Cabinetmkr]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Depends on what coach you have. Almost all As do, some Cs do, and no Mercedes do.

32n hurricane. V10F53

I guess I’ll disconnect shore power, let appliances drain batteries... and then start engine with meters attached... I have found corrosion on the motor battery terminal .... that could be problem...

Meter will tell ... hopefully

[OldWEB]

I will hazard a guess that you have the FW-2050 BCC in your Hurricane. This is what connects (or disconnects) the two battery systems. Here is a link to RV Custom Products and a good write-up on the BCC. It is located on the drivers side firewall on the Hurricanes and is a tight squeeze.


Edit: We were just discussing the FW-2050 here

[javelin]

I was thinking initially why the AGS would not have started the Gen when coach batteries hit a certain low voltage set point.....assuming OP had it set up for that low voltage operation point. "If" the BCC coach disconnect latch relay failed open during the trip.....then perhaps the AGS electronics was disabled? In that situation, even if the AGS somehow started the Gen (off coach batteries), with open coach battery latch relay, no converter charge current would reach the coach batteries anyway. If this BCC latch relay was a problem, then other items should have stopped working too (like radio, cameras etc), but I am not familiar with Hurricane configs. Maybe some other simpler problem like bad connection(s) caused this; perhaps all battery terminals should be cleaned and tightened if one looks degraded.

[javelin]

Bad battery interconnect (emergency start relay) inside the BCC would not allow alternator charge current to charge the coach batteries, of course. It is controlled by the circuit board voltage comparators inside the BCC also. One way to test interconnect relay is the emergency start switch by the driver. So then if AGS was set up for low voltage start.....should have worked while under way automatically.

[Cabinetmkr]

Originally Posted by javelin

I was thinking initially why the AGS would not have started the Gen when coach batteries hit a certain low voltage set point.....assuming OP had it set up for that low voltage operation point. "If" the BCC coach disconnect latch relay failed open during the trip.....then perhaps the AGS electronics was disabled? In that situation, even if the AGS somehow started the Gen (off coach batteries), with open coach battery latch relay, no converter charge current would reach the coach batteries anyway. If this BCC latch relay was a problem, then other items should have stopped working too (like radio, cameras etc), but I am not familiar with Hurricane configs. Maybe some other simpler problem like bad connection(s) caused this; perhaps all battery terminals should be cleaned and tightened if one looks degraded.

My generator, auto start on low voltage was turned off on panel... so no need to test emergency switch?? Correct ?

[javelin]

Hi, well for some reason it sounds like your coach batteries were not getting charged from the alternator as you were driving. I am not actually sure if all Hurricanes were equipped with the RV Custom Product BCC (Battery Control Cabinet (or Center). If you have the BCC box (front engine bay, Driver side), then there are some components inside it that could fail, which would prevent your coach batteries from charging.

You could “confirm” no charging is occurring by running the engine (no shore or Gen on) with coach disconnect relay (use/store) “on” and use a voltmeter across your coach batteries. You should measure approx 13vdc or higher if the alternator is charging them. In fact the alternator output is typically over 14vdc, but if your coach batteries are badly discharged the charging voltage might be drawn down a bit by high charge currents for a while. A normal wet cell battery is about 12.6vdc fully charged; full discharge is about 11.9 vdc.
One note here is the electronics in the BCC senses voltage on coach and chassis batteries and will operate the interconnect relay (emergency start relay) automatically to connect chassis and coach batteries together after a few minutes, if working normally......so when you measure coach battery voltage with engine running, wait 5 minutes or so after starting the engine, to make sure the interconnect has time to operate (if it is working). You can also manually force the interconnect relay in the BCC to operate with the emergency start button by the driver seat.


OldWEB has provided some links in his response to more details on the BCC and its function. The schematic and writeup on the BCC is very useful for you (and all RVers with the BCC) to read through.

[Cabinetmkr]

Excellent info!! Thanks!
Is it possible the inverter drain on the 2 house batteries is greater than the recharge rate.. hence the low voltage after 10running hours?

I will confirm what is under the hood today .. I think I mentioned I noticed a large amount of corrosion having built up on my engine battery terminal .. it appears there’s quite a connection of multiple wires on the battery post.. I can only assume one of those might be feed to house battery supply.

I’ll post post late today when I get under the hood !
Thanks !! Kc

[javelin]

Well the alternator is "probably" capable of more than 150 amps at 14vdc....don't know the exact stock Ford spec, but running a fridge and a TV on inverter would not likely overcome that alternator output. I would be more concerned about clean battery terminals/connections (both coach and chassis) and the condition of the coach batteries. Have they been damaged by many deep discharge cycles; electrolyte solution below the top of the plates causing sulphation and reduced capacity etc. This is an opportunity to take some time and check things out, batteries, connections, voltmeter test all charging situations on both coach and chassis batteries.....while on shore power; Gen power; alternator power, and make sure your BCC is and other things like converter are working as they should. It's a great way to learn your electrical systems so if something goes off the rails on the road you know where things are and understand how they should work. Happy Camping.

[javelin]

I forgot to mention in my last post that all major DC power cabling goes to/through the BCC. So the cabling terminals on one side of the BCC connect your various battery strings, converter output/DC fuse panel; engine ignition; ground etc. Find the schematic of what is inside the BCC on one of the reference posts......down the left side of the schematic are all your key terminations noted above. The BCC is basically the smarts to control how and when those devices connect together.....along with your input from the two door switches (chassis disconnect and coach disconnect - if you have them) and the emergency start switch by the driver. Like all things in life, when its all working well its a beautiful thing.....when something goes wrong is when you learn the most about things.

[Cabinetmkr]

Here’s where I’m going to start .. once I pulled back the cover , this was underneath..
lots of corrosion.. ughhh

Of course it’s not an easy reach .

The house battery water level was perfect ..

I’m cleaning the terminals, going to have engine battery checked , probably just replace since I’m doing all this, it’s 4 yrs old .

[reminckv]

I also have a 2016 Hurricane 32N. On my first trip a few weeks ago I had the same problem. I found that the alternator was not charging the house batteries. Our coaches have the BIRD system and a battery isolation relay tucked way behind the house batteries. If your alternator is not charging the house batteries, I would start there. After reading many threads on the subject, I confirmed a bad relay and replaced it. You can find my summary on a thread called "Another Battery Isolation Relay Question" if you are interested. I can also post some pics and links if that's where your problem is.

[Cabinetmkr]

Originally Posted by reminckv

I also have a 2016 Hurricane 32N. On my first trip a few weeks ago I had the same problem. I found that the alternator was not charging the house batteries. Our coaches have the BIRD system and a battery isolation relay tucked way behind the house batteries. If your alternator is not charging the house batteries, I would start there. After reading many threads on the subject, I confirmed a bad relay and replaced it. You can find my summary on a thread called "Another Battery Isolation Relay Question" if you are interested. I can also post some pics and links if that's where your problem is.

I can’t find your post you mentioned.
I did clean all terminals, had batteries tested , all fine. With engine running .. I’m not getting any increase in voltage .. so no charging taking place. I’ve seen 2 connector boxes in house battery storage .. one on front upper wall next to hi-amp 100amp buss fuse the other larger one in rear, clear panel that says Blue Sea Systems
Kc

[reminckv]

Here's what you are looking for. Mine was on the floor waaaay behind the batteries.

[reminckv]

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f8...ion-21620.html

[trowan]

Little known circuit breaker under bed. It's so small you would not see it. I've drilled a hole next to it so I can stick my finger in to reset it eliminating the need to take the bed apart.

[trowan]

Originally Posted by Cabinetmkr

Was driving down the interstate and started hearing a chirp... turns out my inverter control panel was showing 11volts.. its always been fine.. even during a long drive, as I’ve always heard the house batteries are charged by the alternator too while driving .

I was only about 45 min from home, so wife just turned inverter off... as fridge would be fine ... instead of a generator start. I do have the auto start on generator if needed... never have needed it even on a 10hr drive ...
1 year old batteries , full of water ...

Shouldn’t they stay charged by alternator?

Circuit breaker under bed. Exactly fix to reset. Mine pops all the time.