Electrical issues

[Eric Maclean]

Marc
Fred can chime in here but I think the two red wires on the propane detector should be one which is powered off the coach battery and the other off the chassis battery ( the chassis wire maybe switched with the ignition).
Eric

[Fred Brooks]

   Marc, Just for giggles, check the voltage of each of the red wires coming from the cabinet that were tied together going to the lp detector, should be different (house & chassis). Eric, the original detector had 2 energy sources. That was eventually superseded by the house battery only. The picture proves my point of an ignorant installation tying both energy sources together.
   Marc, is the dash switch momentary, on-off, or on-off-momentary and how is it identified? Here is how the echo charger is engineered: It gets its power from the HOUSE battery thru the yellow 15 amp fuse (solid red 14ga wire). When it senses 13.1 volts it then knows the house batteries are being charged (solar, shore power, ect) It then trickle charges the CHASSIS batteries thru the yellow 15 amp fuse (red wire with yellow stripe) This will never take the place of a 200 amp solenoid. The green LED will indicate operation.
  All solar panels must have a controller to regulate output (no controller equals fried batteries) Mppt controllers do the best job but are more expensive.
   Perhaps someone out there in Forum land could chime in that owns a 98 Ticonderoga and send some pictures of the original configuration on the engine side of the bed pedestal.

[Eric Maclean]

Fred
I'm inclined to agree with you on the lack of charge controller for the chassis battery no controller equals over charge.
But my 1997 Patriot had no controller for the chassis panel the panel is about 12 inches square .
The coach panels are two 50 watt panels and are about 16 inches by 36 inches and they do have a charge controller.
I checked the 1998 Patriot brochure and it mentions the dual 50 watt panel with regulator and it only says there is a chassis solar panel no mention of regulation .
That 12 inch panel I'd assume would maybe make 6 watts IN FULL SUN which would equate to around 500 milliamps or half an amp
I believe this is why they didn't bother with a controller for it ( that and cost )
On my coach I am going to remove all the panels to make way for 6 x 100 watt panels and a new charge controller
With the battery combiner there is no reason to have a separate chassis panel
It's funny these older coaches didn't come with the capability to automatically combine the batteries ( no echo charger)
Eric

[Fred Brooks]

     Eric, 1997 was right at the time they were coming up to speed about the benefits of solar. In 1998 h,eart Interface came out with the "Echo Charger" This allowed the Solar panels to charge the house batteries and when they were up all the way, then it would latch onto the chassis batteries.
   Marc is dealing with a serious issue when people do not seek professional consul or understand the ramifications of the repairs they make. I appreciate your input and care trying to help him out. Blessings & Joy, Fred

[Eric Maclean]

I finally got the picture of my isolation panel on the firewall in the engine compartment
you will notice that both main fuses have been bypassed (bad idea) i have new ones to install maybe tomorrow
it looks like the diode bank has been replaced
the 10 GA wire you see connected to the chassis side of the diode bank is a voltage sense wire coming from the regulator on the alternator
this coach did not have an echo charger so yours may have been some what different.
in your original picture i see the tabs where the wire ties used to hold the cables to the isolation board

anyway this is a 1997 but i think your 1998 would have been close to the same originally

i think that the original diode bank burnt someone replaced it with the battery separator you have now which has the electronic control to combine the two battery banks which will in a round about way do the same thing the diode bank did and as a bonus it should be bidirectional to allow the inverters charger or the solar to charge both battery banks.

[Marilyn Ruta]

Guys...propane detector- did not test 2nd wire with ignition on, will try that tomorrow. What I did notice was when I reconnect the wires the gas shutoff opens. Unit is dated 2004, should I just trash it and buy a new one?
Dash switch to link batteries in momentary, have to hold switch down to work. Switch has a picture of a battery on it. I hooked the switch to the new separator and when held down voltage on dash voltmeter changes. Good news, I think.
Echo charger- 1315-200 separator relay closes when it senses 13.2 volts charging both battery banks, does this eliminate the need for the echo charger?
Solar panels- my plan was to hook panels to batteries before disconnects to allow solar charging with disconnects open when the coach is parked, not in use, and not hooked to shore power. Could I hook the echo charger directly to the batteries or am I making this more complicated than it needs to be. In the past my batteries were almost drained after sitting for a week.     Thanks. Marc

[Eric Maclean]

Fred
 I hear you on the uninformed mods as you can see from the picture in my last post someone has removed the 250 amp fuses and by last them . I've pick up new ones and will replace them soon.
Eric

[Eric Maclean]

Marc
That sounds like a good idea but I'll let Fred speak on the function of the echo charger and it's hook up.
As for the small chassis panel I would just disconnect it as the coach battery combining solenoid will charge both banks anyway.
It's important that all solar panels in a parellel system be of the same size to work properly so hooking the small chassis panel in with the other two is not a good idea as it would actually low the output of the combined set.
Good luck and stay safe
Eric

[Fred Brooks]

   Marc,
Have you resolved your original issue with the batteries combined together? We seem to be going down various rabbit trails and it would be far easier for me to talk with you. Gerald offered and now I am so please call me at 520-309-1260 so we can move past this adventure. Thanks Fred