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To Jeff Rowe..Chassis battery problem.
Jeff, my understanding is when the 24v and 12v switches are off, then there can be no current draw from the chassis batteries? Is that right?
I have had no problem with my batteries, leaving switches on, bus sitting for a week or more, everything fine.
About 2 weeks ago, my batteries were down, jump started it, engine ran for about 4 hours, batteries charged up fine, been cutting switches off since, and each time I started since, no problem until yesterday, turned switches on and there were too low to start the engine.
The batteries are only about 6 months old, I know one can turn bad, I haven’t unhooked cables yet to check each battery seperately, been too cold, lol.
If there can be no draw when switches are off, then the only alternative I see is a battery being bad.
Any thoughts?
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8 Replies
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There is a small current draw which is a direct electrical line from the batteries to the 3 circuit breakers that feed DDEC. That power is to retain the fault code memory among other things.
However, unless someone has addied loads outside the master disconnects it is possible you have a bad battery. Previous owners sometimes add things and they do not always consider documenting it or labeling it so future owners might have to be detectives to figure out what is going on.
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I had new chassis batteries (Interstate) installed in April or May. One of them failed in October. We chased everything but a bad battery. If the battery cluster won’t take a charge at this point, its probably a failed battery. As I’ve posted elsewhere, Interstate distributor told me “it can’t be a bad battery, has to be something else, but bring the batteries in and we’ll full charge and test them.” Even when I took them in the tech tested the voltage and said he didn’t think the voltages pointed to a bad cell or something like that. Four days later when I called they said, “One of the batteries is bad. We’ll replace it free of charge under the warranty.”
I had about 20 or more hours (could have been 40, I didn’t keep track) screwing around, replacing the original 24 volt chassis battery charger (aka “boat anchor”) that Liberty installed with a new Guest Mariner charger, four or five phone calls to Jeff Rowe who installed them, and finally removing them, hauling them 25 miles to the distributor, going back to the distributor to pick up, and reinstalling them.
Be very, very, very careful unhooking the batteries and removing them. Remove all your jewelry (including navel rings and toe rings), no metal belt buckles, tape all your tools with duct tape, take pictures of the wiring, diagram the wiring, number the batteries (1, 2, 3, 4), tie-wrap everything on a post together, label each cable end (2+ or 3- as appropriate), prepare to tie all the cables off/up to keep them from touching anything, wrap shop rags around the cable ends and duct tape them, duct tape the bare posts, wear old clothes (you’ll have holes in them by the time your are done), and have someone with you in case something wrong happens.
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Very good advice. Folks don’t think how much amperage these four batteries connected together can generate.
Will weld a tool to a ground faster than you can jerk it away.
It will also work wonders on a watch or rings.
Make sure no cables are touching a grounded metal object. If so I would wrap several layers of electrical tape around it or find some rubber material to put under it to isolate the cable from rubbing through.
Also applies to the house batteries for sure.
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Good advise. Years ago, when I was a teenager…OK, MANY years ago when I was a teenager living in a really small town, I was standing with my father as he was putting gasoline into the left tail light of his 56 Chevy Nomad Station Wagon. Those of you who know the 56 will understand. We heard a scream come from the work bay of the Shell station (the only station in town) and my dad ran to see what had happened. Very quickly my dad had the man and his left hand wraped with a rag and yelled to me to stop the gas, put the nozle back and remember the numbers while he put the man into the front seat of the car. We drove the guy to the doctor’s office a few blocks away. About an hour later we took the man home minus his left ring finger. Seems he had reached up under the dash and his wedding ring shorted across two wires, or a wire and ground. The ring instantly turned white hot burning all of the skin away down to the bone and included burning the bone. The doctor had to amputate his finger just above the joint next to the palm. I will never forget that little episode in my life and I ALWAYS remove my ring(s) before I do ANY work on a vehicle. NEVER reach into a blind area, such as deep beside a motor, or under a dash with any jewlery on. Those DC batteries have a lot of Amps just waiting to be let out.
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You have one or more bad batteries Larry. Suggest replacing them all with Napa using the PC discount.
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Larry, One more thing.
If you decide to replace your starting batteries with NAPA brand call NAPA and request 4 fresh ones on there overnight stock order. Your date codes will all be the same.
AL
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when you thaw out let us know what happened however unless something is loose at the batteries, or they really aren’t getting charged up then it sounds like bad battery….
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Tom and Al, the batteries are 6 mo. old, so they are still in warranty.
It is warming some this weekend Jeff. We have been trying to leave for 3 weeks now, seems one thing or another keeps stopping us.
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