chassis batteries going dead

[Dave Cunningham]

Hi everyone, having a problem with the chassis batteries in my 2000 Marquis, every time I leave it for a few days ( plugged in to shore power ) I go to start it and have to use the coach battery switch to get it to turn over. Doesn't the Xantrtex , charge both the house and chassis batteries? there must be some type of draw on the chassis batteries, not sure what it could be , nothing is running or turned on.
PS. the starting batteries are almost brand new.

thanks,

Dave

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dave,
Inverter should be charging both chassis and house units. Check inverter panel to be sure it indicates it is in charge mode. Problem could be bad battery, poor connection at chassis batteries, or a constant draw on chassis batteries. I would check for a bad battery first. If OK, clean connections (although they are probably OK as you recently replaced units). Be sure connections are tight. Check voltage at batteries when inverter is charging. You should see around 14V. (Ed or Gerald probably know exact voltage). If OK, this tells you inverter is working properly.
Steve

[Dave Cunningham]

thanks, Steve

[Dick Simonis]

If your Maquis is set up like my PT, there is an echo charger that maintains the chassis batteries.  Mine was dead on purchase and BCS mailed me a new one.  First however is to check the fuse as I've had mine blow several times.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dave,
Dick is correct. The inverter applies a charge voltage to the house batteries and the Echo Charger relays that to the coach batteries. If the Echo Charger is not working you will probably see a significant difference in charge voltage when checking house and chassis batteries.
Steve

[John Hennessey]

Check your echo charger.  If the green light isn't on it isn't charging your chassis batteries.  We replaced ours with the same model from West Marine

[Gerald Farris]

Dave,
The drain on your chassis is caused by the ECM (engine control module). This is normal on your coach and it is not an issue if the Echo Charger (located on the wall of the battery compartment towards the rear of the coach) is functioning properly.

Gerald

[Dennis Crawford]

Dave,
All previous answers are correct.  While plugged in, check the voltage at both battery banks.  The readings should be identical.  Probably 13.5 volts.  If the chassis batteries' voltage is not the same as house, I would also suspect the echo charger.  Now remember, the echo charger will not do anything if the coach is sitting idle and not plugged in to shore or gen-set.

Hope this helps.

Dennis

[Dave Cunningham]

thanks guys, I am on my way up there to check that Echo Charger, I have seen it there but never took any notice of it, there Is a massive solar panel on the roof, how do yo tell if it is working ?

DAVE

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dave,

You can observe solar panel output on your CMP panel. The solar panel is wired to charge the house batteries, not the chassis batteries. There are a number of threads regarding solar panels, FYI.

Steve