Bill Hamilton
Ohio
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Joined: 11/27/2005
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I have a 2005 Fleetwood Tioga Sl class C motorhome on a E450 Ford chassis.
I am having problems with the chassis battery and hope that someone here can give some insight.
The problem is this: when the motorhome is either plugged in or has the genset running, I have no problem. If the motorhome sits for a day without being plugged in or having the genset run, the engine will turn over very hard and barely start. Sometimes, it will not turn over enough to start. I cannot find anything draining the battery that is obvious. Can the chassis battery be going bad? Can it be the two 6 volt Trojan batteries draining the chassis battery? Or...
Any help would be greatly appriciated.
2005 31W Fleetwod Tioga SL
1996 Jeep Cherokee Toad
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midnightsadie
ohio
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take the battery and have it load tested at any car parts store .
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Crazy Ray
Monroe,La
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Bill take btry to Auto Zone and they will load test it for you. How old is it????
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MNtundraRet
Bloomington, MN
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The isolator separating the chassis-battery from the house-battery bank may be stuck/failed with the chassis battery in the circuit. If the battery disconect switch is not working properly, the chassis battery would run down first since since it gives up amps more freely than the deep-cycle house batteries. And as suggested, the chassis battery may be failing. Do you use your disconnect switch when storing the motor-home? The switch isolates the house-batteries, but a failed isolator between the chassis and house 12v circuit would leave the chassis battery running monitors, etc. on this circuit.
Mark
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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MNtundraRet wrote:The isolator separating the chassis-battery from the house-battery bank may be stuck/failed with the chassis battery in the circuit. If the battery disconect switch is not working properly, the chassis battery would run down first since since it gives up amps more freely than the deep-cycle house batteries. And as suggested, the chassis battery may be failing. Do you use your disconnect switch when storing the motor-home? The switch isolates the house-batteries, but a failed isolator between the chassis and house 12v circuit would leave the chassis battery running monitors, etc. on this circuit.
Mark I agree with this possibility.
Check the battery as advised. If it's good, charge it, then simply disconnect it from the chassis until you resolve the trouble with the battery isolator.
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Bill Hamilton
Ohio
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Thanks for all the replies. The battery is the original one on the 2005 motorhome, so I would assume that it is of 2004 vintage. To be honest, I never really have used the disconnect, but I checked it this morning and I can hear a relay or however they work kick in and out as I push the button. I am going to take the battery for a check today. Thanks again for all the help.
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smkettner
Southern California
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I would put in a new battery.
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Not a Clue
Southern Ca
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Bill Hamilton wrote:Thanks for all the replies. The battery is the original one on the 2005 motorhome, so I would assume that it is of 2004 vintage. To be honest, I never really have used the disconnect, but I checked it this morning and I can hear a relay or however they work kick in and out as I push the button. I am going to take the battery for a check today. Thanks again for all the help.
We have a 2006 Tioga and we had the same problem. Had it checked and the battery had a bad cell. Replaced battery problem went away.
Linda B.
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Cool Mike
Mendocino. Calif.
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Some battery's last a lot longer than others, of the same brand, so I agree its time to replace the original battery.
But you can also check the chassis battery for parasitic load by taking off the + lead when its parked and not plugged in, and touch it to the + battery terminal and look for a spark, this would indicate power being drawn by something, and draining the battery, if no spark, your good to go.
I have had new starting battery's last 12 years and others 12 months, so I would replace it.
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Three to four years is the typical life of an OEM "maintenance free" starting battery.
My experience with this battery type, since they started being standard equipment in the '80s, is that the usual mode of failure is a cell shorting out under heavy loads, so that it will seem to charge OK, give bright lights when fully charged, but it becomes a 10-volt battery whenever the starter tries to draw 200-400 amps. This usually comes on suddenly, as opposed to the gradual loss of capacity over 3-8 years we would get with a well-maintained, maintainable battery.
A battery shop will have a tester than can confirm whether this is happening, but his price on a replacement will probably be higher than the price at a discount store.
Tom Test
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