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ak2handr

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Everything posted by ak2handr

  1. Tom & Dick, Gentlemen, thanks very much for the quick responses! Tom, I shall isolate the two batteries from one another & the chassis, to charge and test them individually. And Dick, I shall peek under the caps to check water levels -- and *then* trot down to my local CW shop with pics to speak to the manager....and maybe call the owner's hotline as well. I'll let'chas know what happens. Gratefully, Barney, from Alaska but now in NC
  2. Two issues herein... After having my dealer do a fluids & filters service (around $1,100) I asked them to check the chassis batteries because of occasional (apparent) insufficient cranking performance. They replaced the two, 12-volt chassis batteries with RV deep cycle, sealed batteries. I'm a long-time radio comms tech (commercial & amateur) so engines aren't my forte. I thought I understood the difference between construction & service demands for RV batteries. The dealer assured me that, "They're what we use for everybody." Really? Uhh, OK. In case they're right, on to my problem: So after a cross-country (NC -- WA) in 2018, "Bertha" sat at the dealer a year for body repairs (hit & run by a DOT forklift) about 13 months. Six months after I got it back, when it was time to renew the registration, I charged the house batteries after properly filling them all properly. That was via the shore power line & equipped inverter/charger, and all went well. Next day I walked confidently to the battery bay, ensured the master was off, & attached my ~15-amp charger to the two paralleled 12-volt Deep Cycle RV batteries that had recently been installed by the local dealer as chassis batteries. My confidence was jarred somewhat at the exciting ten-second light show I caused by having hooked up the terminals *backwards." After waiting an hour, I hooked the charger up *correctly" this time. The outboard charger showed max charging current (somewhere around 18 amps) for the ensuing 12 hours. Next morning the charger was still cranking out around 9.5 amps. When I read the open-cell voltage on the two batteries, it read 11.1 vdc. It didn't occur to me to uncouple the paralleling jumper, so I don't know if I killed both new batteries, or just one. So, two questions, I guess: Did my "big chain dealer" dump the wrong style batteries on me, figuring I wouldn't know the difference? And, Assuming these *are* acceptable chassis batteries, what'cha think my next troubleshooting step(s) should be? Many thanks & 73 de Barney KL7HNY/4
  3. Hiya, all. The chassis battery master is somewhat mechanically sloppy; it can turn from 90° (on) CCW past 0° (off) to about 300°. As I'm having chassis-side electrical issues, (covered in separate post) and I've read that the stock switches are kinda cheesy, I was going to replace at least this switch, and probably the house side as well. I've read references in this forum to Blue Seas Systems switches and have found a couple of vendors. Question: which model have folks here been using? There are switches rated for 300A, 450A, and 600A. The largest rating shows a 30-second crank spec of about 1,760A. My engine is a Cummins 300 ISB, and I don't know how much current the starter should typically demand. . From the 300A version to the 600A is only about $60 difference -- each. I don't mind purchasing the higher-rated unit, but if this engine & related chassis circuits will never draw anywhere near 900A short-term loads, nor over around 300A, I could use those $60 for two or three gallons of diesel ..... So which version do y'all folks (they talk like that here) recommend? Related battery issue follows in separate post. Many thanks & 73, Barney KL7HNY/4
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