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I learned more about our coach this summer.
We were doing some work on a rental house we own up north this summer and had to leave the coach there for about 50 hours, unattended, with no shore power. I did not want to leave the coach on generator with the WatchDog starting and stopping the generator while we were gone, so I decided to “put the coach to sleep”. I have learned that the WatchDog, while reliable, allows the Lifeline batteries to drop below a minimum voltage level than they should. So I try to minimize the amount of times the WatchDog starts the generator to recharge the batteries.
After running the generator (with the Guest/Marino smart charger wired into the chassis batteries) to ensure the house batteries were up to full power, I turned off the 12 and 24 volt master switches for the chassis systems in the engine compartment. Then I turned off the inverter/chargers for the house batteries, pulled the plug on the WatchDog, and turned off the 12 volt and 24 volt house masters in the electrical bay. (We have a 24-volt house system.)
Upon our return to the coach I turned on the 12/24 chassis master switches, turned on the 12/24 volt house master switches in the electrical bay, plugged in the WatchDog, and finally turned on the house inverter/chargers.
What I didn’t do was go to the touch screen and turn on the generator Auto-Start. I didn’t realize/know/remember that when the WatchDog has been unplugged or the house power turned off the generator Auto-Start needed to be reset. I discovered this when after working on the rental house for a while the generator hadn’t come on as I expected and when checking the touch screen the generator Auto-Start icons were not lit up. I hope that next time I put the coach to sleep I’ll realize/know/remember this fact.
I have since learned that if the house electrical system is turned off, the Allen-Bradley boards might lose their “memory” and programming. In the situation above, the A-B system came up and was fully functional. How long house power has to be off before there’s a problem with the A-B system, I don’t know. I hope I don’t find out.
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8 Replies
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You do not want to find out how long that memory will hold…Depends on the A/B system….However they do have a battery on the computer itself that I am sure should be changed…
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I don’t want to find out how long the batteries last!
I vaguely remember when you zeroed out the coach in April/May of 2014 that “a battery in the computer” was replaced. Probably a good opportunity to replace it this week!
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Stumbled across this old post while researching “Watchdog”. Can you provide an update regarding replacing the computer battery?
In my 07 Liberty H, two batteries (residential alarm system size backup batteries) that Liberty installed when the coach was built that serve as backup batteries if all power is lost. They are external to the computer. Are these the batteries you mention? Thank you, Jeff…
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There is one on the A/B board itself, left side of the rack…
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Dick, what was your battery voltage after turning everything back on?
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Tom: Huh? Say again?
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Thank you Jeff… Can the battery on the board just be removed and replaced, or is there a specific procedure to follow? THANK YOU, another Jeff…
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Corrected above, freaking auto spell.
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