[Archived]

Wave, you really have me confused. You show chassis batteries. You mention a very low voltage and that the coach will not start, but then you talk about the house and having 12 and 24 volts as though the house is affected by the chassis batteries.

On a 98 Liberty you may have a charger above the chassis batteries. If so turn on the switch in the panel to see if the batteries can be charged. You don’t provide any information about if the batteries were not used for a long time or if the low voltage is something that happens quickly, as in overnight.

Not clear on what the house has to do with starting? If they are low the generator or shore power to the coach should enable the inverters to charge the house.

[Archived]

House side seems to show 13 v but nothing on the chassis. It is my belief that those four batteries are all there are except one to start the gen set so I assumed two of the four were chassis. The coach has two 4k inverters . Do you think there are other batts in another location?

Wave

[Fred]

has not been operated for several months. Shore power the entire time. 24 v charger was off but now on several hours without any effect.

Wave

[Archived]

there are house batteries, more than likely behind entertainment bay wall, some where in tag axle bay passanger side.

[Archived]

Thanks, I have never seen the house batteries I guess. I looked at DKOs pictures on his battery change project on the 2nd page of electrical and found mine are the same set up as his- so I am looking at four chassis batts. As Jon said. Mine are apparently group 31 as well.

Wave

[Archived]

Wave,

You need to take some time to develop a basic understanding of your coach, how the systems are set up and what you need to know and monitor. Your enjoyment of the coach will be greatly enhanced because with a good base of knowledge you can understand what you have to do to keep the coach operating, and what you need to monitor to prevent failures,

I suspect your batteries (if left uncharged when voltage got low from sitting) are dead. They need to be replaced. But you also need to verify the condition of the other batteries. They are just the tip of the iceberg, but are a good place to start in learning the coach.

One word of caution………do not assume that something on another conversion is going to be like your conversion. We all share some designs in common, but the differences between conversions are significant and what holds true for a Liberty may not be the same for another conversion.

[Archived]

Wave,

I tried to answer the email you sent last night but it got kicked back by and automatic reply asking me to register.

In responding to your email question I was replying something like this: The house batteries are installed by the converter so they could be any where. According to Jeff above, Liberty often places them behind the bay entertainment center. I have a Vantare conversion with 8 4 D batteries all hidden behind walls. Follow the wires from you inverters.

Concerning Chassis batteries as you noticed on the thread from January 2012, changing the 4 group 31s is not a difficult job. Take lots of picture before disconnecting anything and draw a diagram. Label everything and tape the ends of leads and your tools to prevent sparks. From what I understand the most common mistake is hooking them up incorrectly. That would be very easy to do if you do not document very carefully how they are wired.

Davy

[Davy]

Depending on the age and model Liberty the house batteries could be behind the passenger side tag axle, behind the entertainment center or in the case of my 87 coach located on a rack above the chassis batteries.

Depending on the model of the coach they could be in a 12/24 configuration or a 12 volt only.

The way to tell on a Liberty without seeing the actual house batteries is if the coach has 2 alternators (the large 50DN and a smaller one) the house is 12 volts. A single 50DN indicates the house is a 12/24 volt configuration.

[Archived]

Wave,

When you change out your chassis group 31 batteries using your Napa card for discount of course, remove the ground cable from your equalizer. That way, if you make a boo boo, you won’t fry the equalizer. Be sure to turn off the 12 & 24 switches in the engine compartment.

Here’s where my house batteries were located on my Liberty behind the entertainment compartment:

[Archived]

ok, I learned something today. I wish I had more time to spend with this coach. Understanding would make it more fun and less frustrating-you are correct.

Just for clarification, the chassis batts.. were dated 1/10 , i assume they can be charged two ways, one by driving and the other by the 24 v charger. Since I have not driven it much, I occasionally turn on the chgr but I did not leave it on continuous. There is apparently no charging from shore power because it has always been on shore power when not in use. Is there more I could have done?

Ps: thanks to all of you

Wave

[Archived]

Wave. This is Liberty specific advice and I am guessing a little about your coach. You are correct in that driving the coach charges the batteries. Both sets, plus the generator battery.

The 24 volt charger is intended to charge only the chassis batteries. Depending on the type that was installed it will be detrimental to leave it on continuously.

The house batteries are charged via the inverters and Liberty prefers you leave the inverters on 100% of the time when on shore power. The inverters are powered through the “battery charger 1” and “battery charger 2” switches in the electric panel.

If I had to guess your chassis batteries are toast, but the house batteries are nearing their end of life unless you have been maintaining them. It might be in your best interest to replace them all and during periods of non-use learn how to moinitor their condition. I can tell you that even if only one battery in a set is bad it will drive you crazy trying to sort out what is wrong so it is always best to keep a close eye on your batteries.

[Gerald]

Tom, you haven’t snuck out and bought a Liberty behind our backs have you? That or you just were going through your pictures of previous coach dreaming of having a bus air coach again…….

[Archived]

Wave
– If you leave it for extended periods and don’t have a smart charger
(3 stage) you could shut off the 12 and 24 cutoff in the engine
compartment. Or, periodically turn on the 24v charger, but don’t
leave it on, it will fry the batteries by constant full tilt
charging. Have you looked at your charger to see if it’s a 3 stage?
Maybe someone changed out the single state charger.

Jeff
– For the record, I now remove my rear fender, 3 minutes, to check my
batteries instead of removing the entertainment center. I now remove
12 screws in a panel to reach my stacked Cruiseairs, 5 minutes,
instead of removing my entertainment center. I now open a bay door to
reach my aux compressor, 1 minute, instead of removing the
entertainment center. Oh, should I go on, I’m just getting started?:)
What was your question?

[Sid]

Jeff, see what you started?

[Archived]

Tom, please dont get me started on what that does to the weight of the coach over the drive axle passanger side…..