Voltage Issues and Weird Light Happenings

Eamonn McG · Post by **Eamonn McG** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:53 am

Hello all,

Well it seems to be that time again. The time of year when things start to act a little funny with my van. It seems every time the weather turns a little wet for more than a few days things act strange. Maybe its because I just had it out for almost 3 weeks living in it, ( thats the longest trip to date ). Anyway while I was traveling everything was fine. I was super happy with how smooth everything went. The only issue I had was the stereo would stop playing but the faceplate would say the cd was still going, just no sound. This only happened when I had the thing cranked up all the way. A friend of mine said that maybe the battery wasnt providing enough juice because i have a 500 watt amplifyer with sub woofer and powered speakers all hooked up to the front battery. I know the alternator charges the battery while driving but this battery is about 5 years old and sat for almost 3.5 years before getting my b190 back on the road. I'm definitely replacing it. The weird thing is yesterday when i went into the van and tried to turn the top light on ( ceiling light ) it wouldnt turn on until I started the motor. While the motor was running everything worked fine however when I stopped the motor and tried to turn the stove light on with the main ceiling light, everything shut off. I dont understand why this keeps happening because as I understand it all the coach lighting is run off the back (deep cycle) battery which i replaced in July.

This happened a while back each time i tried to turn the fan on it would trip something and all the lights would only turn back on after I waited about 20 minutes. I replaced the deep cycle and everything acted normal. Is it possible that the front battery would create a voltage difference and make things act weird? I've had issues in the past where low battery levels seem to mess everything up...even things that dont seem to have anything to do with the battery.

I dont really know what else it could be...unless there's a short somewhere but i really dont know how to even go about finding that and i really dont want to shell out a couple hundred bucks getting it diagnosed.

Any help as always is appreciated.

Keystone · Post by **Keystone** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:36 am

Do you have one of these nifty voltage meters (http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3721-Batter ... +voltmeter)? You can quickly see if your battery voltage (coach or starter) is low, and what the charging voltage is. Cigarette lighter in the dash reads the starter battery, dc receptacle in the back by the microwave gives you the coach battery voltage. This information may help you track down the problem. Good luck!

Keystone

Eamonn McG · Post by **Eamonn McG** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:05 pm

makes sense, I had a voltage meter until my dog decided it was better suited as a snack. Sure i can track one down to borrow from a friend. Thanks for the tip

Wakeslayer · Post by **Wakeslayer** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:27 am

Is this happening only when you are unplugged from shore power? Or either way? I think your sound system could be pounding the daylights out of your house battery. Your converter may not be able to keep up with it. You may simply need another battery, or a bigger one. A lot of 12v accessories these days just don't work much below 12 volts, and some little things draw a lot more power than you would think. Clean your terminals and tighten your battery connections too. They may seem clean and tight, but can still have a crappy connection. I had a problem in my daughter's Mini a year ago and it was a seemingly clean and tight battery connection causing a no start intermittently. Messed with it a few times and could not find the problem. Tried twisting the negative connection on the side of the road. Tight but it moved an eighth of an inch when I put some hard force on it. Fixed the problem permanently...
I consider myself 12V stupid, but any time I ever have problems in my boats or other vehicles it normally boils down to something fairly simple in the system. Find a buddy with a good volt meter who knows how to use it to give you a hand tracking it down. Look for the "no way..." stuff.

Eamonn McG · Post by **Eamonn McG** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:04 am

when I'm plugge in to shore power everything works fine. It def. has to be something with the converter or battery. like i said with the motor running there was no issue. the thing i dont understand is the sound system is connected to the front batter ( the one that starts the engine ) the deep cycle is what powers everything else in the back, including the lights. I dont understand how the front battery could effect the light situation in the cabin.

Wakeslayer · Post by **Wakeslayer** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:50 am

Perhaps they are tied together? The PO of our Bus has a cable running between the batteries. I have not gone over it yet and disconnected as we just got the van this summer and I was busy using it. I imagine they did it to keep both charging off the alternator. Is your house battery in the engine compartment like mine? Or is it under the couch like in some others?

Eamonn McG · Post by **Eamonn McG** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 11:52 am

Yeah the battery is in the engine compartment. The engine battery is on the driver side and the coach battery is on the passenger side. I know they're definitely tied together because i ran the coach battery dry one time and the 2 hour drive home charged it up no problem.

Wakeslayer · Post by **Wakeslayer** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:49 pm

I would pop the battery out and get it load tested. I have a load tester here and am going to do that to mine this fall after we are done with the Bus for the fall. We are going to take it just regular camping a time or two now that festi season is done.

Eamonn McG · Post by **Eamonn McG** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:15 am

yeah i think thats the plan. The thing is my last festi is the NY harvest fest....lineups not the greatest but i know the guy running it and i'm helping out. anyway im glad she held up for my trip but i need to get it fixed before the winter bc i take it snowboarding a lot. its always somethin

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