Hi everyone! I'm a first time motorhome owner and a first time poster. My coach is a 1999 Coachmen B Van on a GMC 2500 Savana Chassis. I've had a couple of problems in this first year of ownership so far: leaky roof and blown head gasket. Both have been resolved and I haven't minded because I love my van and am willing to work with it.
I've got a new situation where I'm hoping y'all can help. I haven't found a clear next-step in about 30 minutes of googling so here goes:
1st Problem: My van died on the road. I lost power steering and power brakes and was thankfully able to pull of to the side. The engine started right up immediately after I came to a complete stop. This came about 2 minutes after having a no-turnover no-start in the parking lot (first time for that too). Popping the hood to verify the chassis battery was secure was enough to get it started with no lag after the key turn. I'd noticed that the voltage gauge on the dash had dropped down to 13v or so earlier that day. Always in the past year it was reading over 14v.
2nd Problem: My house battery isn't charging while the engine is running. Just the day before I replaced the Magnetek 6345 with a PD4645. All seemed well with the upgrade - my house battery charges on shore power and the wizard light indicates the house battery is charging.
This morning after all of the above the chassis battery was at 12.6v with the vehicle off, and was back at a full 14.4v with the vehicle on. The dash gauge was showing over 14v too so that issue may be intermittent. The house battery was 12.4v with the vehicle off and 12.4v with the vehicle on and the Intellitec BD0 in "use".
My hunch from reading online is a problematic alternator. Could that cause the issues with my house battery charging? Could an alternator mess up my battery disconnect?
Another question - should the house battery charge with the vehicle on even when I have the BD0 in "store"? I always assumed that it didn't charge but I really don't know either way.
Thanks,
Trent
I've got a new situation where I'm hoping y'all can help. I haven't found a clear next-step in about 30 minutes of googling so here goes:
1st Problem: My van died on the road. I lost power steering and power brakes and was thankfully able to pull of to the side. The engine started right up immediately after I came to a complete stop. This came about 2 minutes after having a no-turnover no-start in the parking lot (first time for that too). Popping the hood to verify the chassis battery was secure was enough to get it started with no lag after the key turn. I'd noticed that the voltage gauge on the dash had dropped down to 13v or so earlier that day. Always in the past year it was reading over 14v.
2nd Problem: My house battery isn't charging while the engine is running. Just the day before I replaced the Magnetek 6345 with a PD4645. All seemed well with the upgrade - my house battery charges on shore power and the wizard light indicates the house battery is charging.
This morning after all of the above the chassis battery was at 12.6v with the vehicle off, and was back at a full 14.4v with the vehicle on. The dash gauge was showing over 14v too so that issue may be intermittent. The house battery was 12.4v with the vehicle off and 12.4v with the vehicle on and the Intellitec BD0 in "use".
My hunch from reading online is a problematic alternator. Could that cause the issues with my house battery charging? Could an alternator mess up my battery disconnect?
Another question - should the house battery charge with the vehicle on even when I have the BD0 in "store"? I always assumed that it didn't charge but I really don't know either way.
Thanks,
Trent