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Electrical Problems......

Yahoo Message Number: 15325
Electrical? Find it and fix it. Ok, yet another adventure in the days of Captain Jerry and the 2014 Thor Super C, a bit of Captain Morgan, Coke Zero, two multi-meters, and all is now well in Paradise. Some of yaw'l call it Texas or Texuuss. You might recall that I added solar panels to the RV to supplement the power when off grid. My system is set up to run a "house" fridge that pulls about 6.5 amps max at 120V. The first issue was the 2 house batteries with 240 total amp hours. This was not enough to run the fridge for long and the gen would often start 'cause the voltage was low. This was not a problem driving down the road since the 6.7L Diesel engine was charging the batteries when running. I added the solar, and 2 more gel batteries for a total 360AH, STILL not enough for my satisfaction. The Solar helped but STILL not how I felt it should be performing. Then, I had a voltage stabilization issue that was traced to one of the battery terminals being loose - I tightened it and fixed the issue. Fast forward est 1 year. I added 2 more batteries for a total of 6 with 540AH, NOW we are getting close. Yeah~! Well, well..... things NOT to do..... I was off grid near Austin Texas and needed to charge a golf cart. I assumed I could use the inverter and that was a bad idea. I managed to over load the system and it shut off. I then disconnected the cart charger, reset they system and all seemed well. Fast forward again about a month. I am now having issues with the voltage not being 12 volts or being in the low 12's. Ok, search, search, search.... One multi-meter on the 2 house batteries under the steps and one meter on the 4 in the back hatch... 1.3V difference??? What? Not possible if all batteries are in parallel. Seems the small 12V breaker had tripped, isolating some of the batteries. The charger was charging of the batteries and the solar was charging the others. THAT is why it was difficult to discover.......the second set of (4) batteries went direct to the disconnect and not through the breaker... ahaaaa, THAT is why I still had 12V power although the tiny breaker was tripped. Which I did NOT have the first time this tiny breaker tripped. THEN... due to the low voltage, the 120V breaker for the inverter had also tripped. So, that being said, I reset the tiny 12V breaker and reset the 120V breaker. The power is now showing 13.5V, which is what it should be showing. All is fixed and I will be on my way shortly. Upon my return to Texas, I will change out the POS tiny breaker for a heavy duty unit that will fix the problem. I will also move the wire from direct to the disconnect to the location where it is supposed to be. I hope this info helps anyone that seems stumped when it comes to pain in the.... electrical issues. To be continued............ after Canada.

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15326
Good report Jerry.
Do you have a controller on the solar panels?
Best
Ron Hall

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15327
Update on Electrical issue... Coach went to the shop her in Bay town today for a Ox Sensor and sat outside ALL day, with zero gen, zero, shore power, and the batts were 12.3V at the end of the day... WITH the home fridge running all day, and "still" making ice.... ahhh, time for something with ice in it. Captain Jerry in Baytown, Texas

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15328
Ron Hall... re; controller on the solar... duh, yeah... :) One simply cannot run solar, etc without a controller or risk a serious overload, over charge issue. That being said, I do have a "battery maintainer" for a work tractor that does NOT have a controller since it is considered a "maintainer" only, and works GREAT. Captain Jerry in Baytown, Texas.

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15329
Jerry,

What RV shops in the Baytown area are you getting good service?

Thanks,
Greg


On Wednesday, June 29, 2016 8:51 AM, Greg Brown  wrote:

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15330
Hi Jerry,

I'm also in Baytown/Crosby area. Nice to see another Super C hanging around. Grey Endura 6340.

Greg


On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 9:06 PM, "jerry7111@... [SuperCrvgroup]"  wrote:
 

Re: Electrical Problems......

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 15331

Lindsey's on Bayway does good. Channelview RV Supply is ok. Few locations can service it since it is too large. I do most of my own maintenance. Jerry Fallin