Dead Magnum Battery Combiner

[Dick Simonis]

Bit of a surprise when I tried to start the engine yesterday...wouldn't quite start until I used the parallel switch.  Turns out the Magnum combiner is dead and showing a red and amber light.  Reset did no good and the fuses are OK.


Looking back, on Friday the folks at BCS washed the coach for me which included pressure washing the battery compartment where the combiner is located and that, I believe, damaged the unit.

So, now ordering a new one and making a big mental note, DO NOT PRESSURE WASH BATTERY COMPARTMENT.

I noticed that new coaches have the combiner in the Electrical Bay which makes a lot of sense.  I should look and see if there is both chassis and house power that I could use and just install the new one is that location.  Might be simple...if one can get lucky.

[Joel Weiss]

Dick:

I assume this does the same job as the Xantrex Echo Charger my coach has.  Is there any particular difference between the two that you know of?  Since our coaches are the same year I was curious if your Magnum is a replacement or if it was OEM.  Mine came with the Echo.

Joel

[Dick Simonis]

Mine came with a Magnum but it was DOA when I bought the coach and BCS replaced it with another.  In retrospect the same thing might have happened when BCS detailed it for delivery four years ago.

[Gerald Farris]

Joel & Dick,
Both of your coaches originally came equipped with a Xantrex Echo Charger. If Dick's coach had a Magnum unit in it at the time of his purchase, it was an aftermarket replacement.

Gerald

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

Dick,

I am not familiar with the Magnum unit, but I killed my Echo Charger with a spray of water while washing the battery compartment.  The replacement instructions say to mount it out of the elements.  The Echo Charger has an unsealed circuit board which is visible through cooling vents on the sides.  It seems odd to mount the unit in the battery compartment exposed to a corrosive atmosphere and subject to water spray.  I never used a nozzle on the hose in that compartment again.  

Larry

[Gary Wolfer]

Not to change the subject or steal this thread but I have under the bed on the back wall toward the front of the coach next to my echo charger another small box. It has a bright red led light that is on all the time. Does anyone know what the function of it is? It is smaller than an echo charger and measures about 2-3 inches square. If I look thru the radiator cover at the engine I see two lights one green from the echo charger and one red from this unit.

[Grant Ralston]

Gary,
On our 1998 Contessa the solar panel controller is mounted in that location with a LED that provides the status of power from the roof panels.

Grant

[Edward Buker]

Gary,

You would need to post a photo to get any rational answer. Just not enough info....

Later Ed

[Gary Wolfer]

Grant I think that is it. Is the red light supposed to be on or is that a signal it is not working? It looks like the photo.

[Grant Ralston]

Gary, the controller is from Specialty Concepts:      http://www.specialtyconcepts.com/special_home.html

The following is in their instruction manual.  

“CHARGING” LIGHT: - The "CHARGING" light will be on when the battery is
charging. When charging, virtually all the power available from the solar array will
pass through to the battery.
The “CHARGING” light will be on when there is voltage from the solar array and the
battery can use more charging. This could result in the "CHARGING" light being on
(bright or faint) when the panels are in very low light conditions (i.e. night time with
moonlight).

I am not sure if our 16 year old controller still works the same, but ours will glow red even when the coach is in the shade, never at night.

Grant

[Gary Wolfer]

Thanks Grant I will check it out tonight. Every time I look to see if the echo charger is on the red light has been on in the daylight