Electrical Problem no 12 Volts

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08ItCam26A

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Nov 23, 2009
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I have a 2008 Itasca Cambria. When plugged into shore power everything seems to work okay. When not on shore power I switch on my auxiliary battery disconnect switch and I get little to nothing (tank level lights very weak, other 12 volt items no power). Checked breakers and fuses and they all seem to check okay. Went outside to check breakers behind cover and they all are okay (not tripped). Checked batteries: #1 reads 13.13 volts, #2 reads 13.22 volts. Hydrometer readings on all cells read 1.3 SG. Battery terminals are all clean and cables tight. Could I have a problem with the battery mode solenoid or battery disconnect relay???? What do I do next ????? I thought I would check here first before calling my RV service department.

Thanks, Ron
 
08ItCam26A said:
I. When not on shore power I switch on my auxiliary battery disconnect switch and I get little to nothing (tank level lights very weak, other 12 volt items no power).
Click to expand...

Did you try switching your disconnect switch to OFF?

"On" might mean "disconnect is on" which means you're disconnected from the house battery.

-Don- SSF, CA​

 
Ron - operate your house battery disconnect switch a few times and listen for an operating solenoid.  Check the voltage on both sides of it.  Download your 12V wiring diagram and start at the batteries and work toward the house circuits, however the solenoid does sound suspicious.
 
Did you check batteries when plugged in to shore power (13+ reading seems to indicate)?  If so unplug turn on a few lights and wait a few min THEN read batt.  Will get a better reading of batteries themselves NOT the incoming charge.   JM2?
 
Sounds like a bad connection that lets a little current through (the monitor panel draws very little current) but chokes off as soon as you turn something else on that tries to draw more current.

The problem could be in the disconnect solenoid.  Try cycling the disconnect a few times to see if that will clean the contact.   If still no luck, turn on an interior light (even though it doesn't light, turn the switch on) to try and draw current through the solenoid.   When the solenoid is in the disconnect position you should read 12 volts from the battery on one side and 0 volts on the other.  With the disconnect turned on you should read 12 volts on both terminals if the solenoid is good.

Another way to do this is to put the voltmeter across the two terminals to read the difference in voltage between them - put one lead on the battery terminal, the other on the house terminal.   With the solenoid on you should have 12 volts on both, which will show up as a difference of 0 volts on your voltmeter.

You can check the ground connection on the battery the same way.  If you read 0 volts from the negative terminal to a known good chassis ground the connection is OK.  If you read voltage you have a problem in the ground line.
 
I reconnected the batteries. SG on all cells read 1.3. With my meter I read across the batteries and got a reading of 12.6 volts. Ground connection was on so tight I could not move it. I cleaned and sprayed with battery spray. All connections to batteries are tight, clean and sprayed. Turned on and off Aux battery switch and could hear solenoid click. Power came on. So I started turning on each group of lights one at a time. When I turned on one set the system died again. Turned off the aux battery switch again and power was restored again. When I turned each item on again everything seem to work okay and did not trip out. After turning on and testing I took another reading across batteries, 12.36 volts. I have to stop at this point till next week. I have Christmas program to do. What do I need to do next?

Thanks, Ron
 
I think you just proved Lou Schneider's analysis.  The disconnect solenoid is not making good contact.
 
Ron:

I too have a 08 Cambria. You need to have the batteries turned on while on shore power for them to charge - they do not charge from the converter on shore power unless they are turned on.  They will charge while driving from the engine alternator but it appears yours are not getting them fully charged from that source. I'm not sure if you realize it but the steps are powered by the Chassis battery which is NOT charged by the converter while on shore power. You might want to consider adding a Tril-L-Start which diverts some of the converter output to the chassis battery while on shore power so you don't find your chassis battery depleted after a few days on shore power.

Bob
 
THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Your help WORKED. I found a very very loose connection on my Battery Disconnect Relay. It also connected to the Battery Mode Solenoid. I tightened the nut and sprayed with battery terminal spray. Not corrosion was noted on any of the terminals. Everything seems to work just fine. Batteries read 12.6 volts when disconnected. When connected they go down to 12.55 volts. With batteries disconneted from each other and the system the SG on all cells read 1.3.

Thanks again for everyones help on this problem.

Ron in Florida.
 
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