Battery Charging from Engine Alternator

[Bart Mix]

We have just traded coaches & am trying to ensure I have most of the features in which I am used to. We do a fair amount of dry camping. How do I determine & ensure Both sets of batteries get charged from my alternator? I don't see a Big Boy relay like I had on my Beaver & not sure about other similar devices? I have found a Progressive EMS-HW50C, A Magnum ME2012 Invertor Charger & an IOTA ITS-50R mounted in the ceiling in a central storage bay, but no other big relays like the Big Boy? How should I proceed?
No Solar system yet but I intend to add panels soon - mainly to keep up all batteries while in open storage w/o shore power.
Thanks!
Bart from VA
2007 HR 42PLQ
400HP Cummins

[Jerry Pattison]

You must be careful not to start the engine after a long boondock.  Start the generator first, then the engine, otherwise the alternator will try to charge all the batteries, chassis and coach.  The alternator is probably not rated for that amount of current.

[Bill Sprague]

Building on what Jerry wrote, I had the good fortune to attend a lot of rallies when Beaver/Monaco was in business.  At those rallies we had our choice of many seminars.  One was on dry camping and lead by a guy who was in the warranty department.  He explained that they replaced a lot of alternators.  He maintained that the load needed to recharge to starting batteries and 4 to 6 near dead house batteries would get the alternator hot enough to damage the lubricant.  Then the bearings would fry. 

Following that advice I did what Jerry said about using the genset or shore power to charge dead from dry camping house batteries. My alternator lasted 12 years and 126,000 miles.

To see if your alternator does feed the battery, use a volt meter.  If the alternator is charging you should see a little over 14 volts at the battery.  It may be that the start batteries charge first and then the house batteries follow.   

[Bart Mix]

Jerry/Bill - Thanks! I am aware of the charging issue & even with 6 solar panels on my Beaver, if my house batteries were low from use overnight I would always start my generator first & run it for awhile. I also upsized my alternator from a 160 amp to a 210 amp 3 years ago & it did a great job!
My charging question comes from talking to the dealer tech when I picked up my new HR coach. My Beaver had the Aladdin & I could see both banks of batteries charging as well as the Solar input. My new HR has the Beaver Jr. & not the same screens I am used to, so when I looked for my normal charging screen I couldn't find it so I asked the dealer tech if my generator charged both batteries? He used a VOM & said it didn't look like it but the coach had been on shore power for 24+ hours so maybe the coach/house batteries didn't need any additional charge when we tested. In any case, over the years I have followed some conversations in which some other owners noticed their coach/house batteries did not charge while on the alternator & were trying to find an aftermarket solution. So, I am just trying to figure out if I need to find an aftermarket solution as well or if something is not properly working as intended or if a setting has to be changed, etc. in order for my coach/house batteries to be properly charged while in transit? When I recently installed a residential refrigerator in my Beaver I always ran it off of my Invertor which was also supplied power via the alternator (Big Boy) in addition to the solar panels & when I stopped for the day I had full power on my coach/house batteries.

[Gerald Farris]

Bart,
All of the 2007 HR coaches were designed to charge both battery banks with the engine alternator. So you are OK unless the is a system malfunction that needs to be repaired, but no alternative system is needed. Just take a volt meter and check the battery voltage on both battery banks after the engine has been running a little while to verify that there is not a system malfunction.

Gerald

[Bart Mix]

Gerald - well, that is good news for me! I just need to understand how & where to look to ensure the proper charging sequence. Now, in what manner & through what devices is that determined? We had the engine running for 30+ min after having it on shore power for 24+ hours. I asked the tech if the alternator was supposed to charge both banks of batteries while running? He wasn't sure for my coach. When the tech put a VOM on each bank the Chassis bank showed 14.2V while the Coach/House bank showed 12.5v? Seeing this the tech said it didn't look like the alternator was charging both banks?
Is there a Magnum screen setting in the coach I can reference to check this out like I could on my Beaver?
Many Thanks!
Bart from VA
07 HR 42PLQ Scepter

[Gerald Farris]

Bart,
From the readings that you listed, the engine alternator was not charging your house batteries. You 2007 Holiday Rambler should have a "BIRD" system to accomplish this, and if so, it is not working. I would check out the system and make repairs as needed, or if it cost more than $200 to repair I would change the system to a Blue Sea ACR. The Blue Sea system is much more dependable.
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Automatic-Charging/dp/B001VIXLRO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1511838002&sr=8-10&keywords=blue%2Bsea%2Bsystems&th=1

Gerald