Chassis master switch for a 2005 Winnebago 36' Journey

Hello
I am new to this forum and would appreciate your advice.
Six mouths ago I purchased a low milage 2005 Winnebago 36' Journey with the Cat C-7 chassis 350HP.
This is my first diesel and 3rd motorhome (MH).
We have enjoyed many trips and appreciate the power, brakes and towing capacity of this MH in comparison to our previous gas MH's.
I accidentally left the ignition switch on the AUX position and killed the batteries.
When I installed new batteries I noticed a significant spark which possibly indicates that there must be a constant draw on the chassis batteries with the ignition, lights... turned off.
I noticed that the electric trailer brake control never goes off.
So I went looking for a master chassis battery switch like my Monaco gas MH had in a storage compartment and could not find one.
The owners manual does not mention a chassis master switch that I could find.

Is it normal for there to be a constant  draw on the chassis battery?
Is there a chassis master switch on the Cat chassis somewhere?
Is there and easy way to install battery disconnects?
How long can these batteries last with a constant draw before starting becomes an issue?

It does not take but a few minutes to disconnect the chassis battery grounds, but a switch would be nice.
Seems like it would take come serious switches to handle the draw of 2000 cold cranking amps.

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Herman Pahls
Coquille, Oregon

That vintage Winnie should have a chassis battery disconnect switch. On my Ultimate it is just inside the entry door with the step switch and several others. When storing my rig without shore power, the chassis batteries will go dead in 30 days or less. The Smart steering wheel, radio memory, some of the detectors, and several other things are pulling power from the chassis batteries in addition to the steps and slide/jack motor running off the chassis side.

Actually, there is a house battery disconnect switch, but no disconnect switch for the chassis batteries.

cbeierl said:

Actually, there is a house battery disconnect switch, but no disconnect switch for the chassis batteries.

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Uh ... yep, that is correct. Sorry for any confusion. Been a lot of years since I stored my rig w/o power.

My 2005 has both and is one of the first models to have it. From 2006 on I believe they all had chassis and house battery disconnects

Harry B said:

My 2005 has both and is one of the first models to have it. From 2006 on I believe they all had chassis and house battery disconnects

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Pretty certain Harry is correct. The Horizon/Vectra was the queen of the fleet from 2004 to 2007 when the models were dropped. The Horizon/Vectra got all of the goodies that later trickled down to other models.

You can measure the parasitic draw from your chassis batteries if you are curious, I believe it is in the neighborhood of 200 milliamps or so.

One other point, unless a prior owner added a Trik-L-Start (or Echo~charge), your chassis batteries are NOT charged while on shore power.

My 2006 (built in early May of 2005) Journey 36G with the Cat 350 has a chassis battery cutoff switch. It is located above the left side of the rear radiator and is a large red rotary type switch. My Journey did not come with the Trik-L-Start that was supposed to be on all 2006's, but I have installed one to help keep the chassis batteries charged while plugged in and parked. The house battery disconnect switch is located inside on the right side of dash with the other switches (generator start, etc.).

Clayton

Hello Forum
I appreciate your responses helping me find a chassis master switch for my 2005 Winnebago 36' Journey.
I have house disconnect switch on the dash next to the generator switch but could not find a chassis switch by the radiator.
I am familiar with the large red rotary switches since my gas MH had one for chassis(only 1 battery) and one for the house.

I will check to see if I have a Trick-L-Start to maintain the chassis battery, but I doubt I will find one assuming it is in the same compartment the converter and inverter are in.
I am careful to not leave the converter plugged in for more than a few days for fear of cooking the house batteries.
I assume the same holds true for the Trik-L-Start for the chassis batteries?
How long due you leave these trickle chargers (days or weeks) on or are there timing devices to prevent over charging the batteries?

The easiest and fastest option for now is to unbolt the positive connections to the 2 chassis battery's if the coach will sit for more than a few weeks due the the constant draw that is on the batteries as was confirmed by this thread.
If I do decide to install a rotary switch it does not seem to be so simple because of there being 2 batteries and the several smaller wires that are feeding off of  the positive posts of both batteries.
It sure seems like it be simpler and cleaner if all those smaller wires were attached to a common post before the batteries.

Any ideas how others have dealt with switching 2 batteries and the several extra wires?
What is the consensus of the engine, transmission and other devices being shut down for weeks or months?
Thanks again
Herman

Adding a master disconnect for the chassis batteries wouldn't be a big deal - mount it somewhere near the batteries and wire the ground cables to the switch.

If your battery charger is original, you should replace it with a good three-stage charger, this way you can safely leave the coach plugged in and the batteries will have a continuous float charge. We have several threads about chargers and I think there's a link or two in our Winnebago and Chassis Resources thread near the top of this board. Look for the link to Winnebago Service Tips, one of the articles details how to install a Trik-L-Start. If your unit has one, it might be located near the battery mode solenoid or the battery banks.

The Trik-L-Start is smart enough to not drain the house (or source) batteries, it will shut down at a certain voltage.

We leave our coach parked and plugged in when not on our usual summer trips but we do try to take it out at least every six or eight weeks for exercise. We have the auto gen start configured to exercise the generator every month.

Was it possible the pre-2005 was a combined switch (both chassis and coach)?  It doesn't seem right that they didn't have a master for the chassis.

Anyway, with a relay or solenoid doing the hard work by the batteries, you can install any kind of switch you need up front - even the lighted kind they used in the later years.

Mile High said:

Was it possible the pre-2005 was a combined switch (both chassis and coach)?  It doesn't seem right that they didn't have a master for the chassis.

Anyway, with a relay or solenoid doing the hard work by the batteries, you can install any kind of switch you need up front - even the lighted kind they used in the later years.

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My 2005 Winnebago Vectra (top of the line in 2005) built in Feb 2005 has a coach battery disconnect switch, but no chassis battery disconnect switch.

Mile High said:

Was it possible the pre-2005 was a combined switch (both chassis and coach)?  It doesn't seem right that they didn't have a master for the chassis.

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My 03 Ultimate Advantage has many, many features other 03 models did not have,  but no chassis battery disconnect.

Mile High said:

Was it possible the pre-2005 was a combined switch (both chassis and coach)?  It doesn't seem right that they didn't have a master for the chassis....

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No, they would not be combined. Normally you want the chassis batteries on-line to operate the steps and to maintain whatever the transmission control module and engine control module learned.

John Canfield said:

No, they would not be combined. Normally you want the chassis batteries on-line to operate the steps and to maintain whatever the transmission control module and engine control module learned.

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I don't think that is the reason.  I have a chassis and coach master switches from the factory, and the step still retracts when they are off and I leave it in storage, and I've found no memory loss with my engine or transmission other than the date and tme on the information center

I was just curious if they were combined.  I recall one guy on the forum that had a combined master on his newer Winnie and he was trying to figure out how to split them up.  If they weren't, they werent.

The steps operate from the chassis batteries. As far as losing learned values in the TCM and ECU, it will happen but you would not realize it.

That's fine - I'm just saying that Winnebago figured out how to install a Chassis battery disconnect switch but the step still operates with it off.  As far as losing learned values in the engine, if Winnebago didn't care, I guess I don't either.

Thanks again for the additional comments.
Sound like chassis battery disconnects are not universally installed.
Your comments have informed me that there are smart trickle chargers for both coach and chassis batteries that allow the coach to be plugged in full time without overcharging the batteries.

I was intrigued by the device that cycles the generator every month.
Which brings up my next question.
Should I start a new thread?
I have an Onan diesel 7.5 generator that quits on its own, sometimes after a few minutes or after an hour.
Does not seem to make a difference if it has a load or not, hot or cold weather.
It will always start back up immediately.
I have checked the fluid levels and and all is well. I live 3 hours from an Onan service center so any ideas before I make an appointment?
Herman

herman pahls said:

....
I was intrigued by the device that cycles the generator every month.
Which brings up my next question.
Should I start a new thread?
I have an Onan diesel 7.5 generator that quits on its own, sometimes after a few minutes or after an hour.
Does not seem to make a difference if it has a load or not, hot or cold weather.
It will always start back up immediately.
I have checked the fluid levels and and all is well. I live 3 hours from an Onan service center so any ideas before I make an appointment?
Herman

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Yes, please start a new thread about your generator problem in the General Discussion or the Tech Talk board.

Thanks John
I will start a new thread
Herman