Ivylog

I have studied what’s best for Lithiums. I’m currently discharging the Lithiums down to 60% SOC as it will be a month before getting on the road. Also didn’t charge the cells up since buying them several months ago until this past week to check the operation of the 6 BMS that have led indicator lights for their status... indicates when it’s reached 14.6V and stopped the charging. I’m using the second charger strictly for topping the Lithium’s up and I can turn it off using the block heater switch... no float charging.

During the winter while on FHU (or in long term storage) I’ll keep them at 50% SOC.

As Vito said ^^^ it’s normal for the light to come on when you have 2 charging sources.

I called Magnum (Sensata) about upgrading my ME-RC50 remote revision 1.6 to a version (2.9+ with custom settings) for Lithium... one that old cannot as supposedly it needs hardware changes. Not sure it’s worth $175 to buy a newer version as I’m topping the Lithium off with a separate PowMax charger plus the BMS stops the charging when the voltage gets to 14.6. 

17 minutes ago, waterskier_1 said:

As Richard said, the disconnect switches are there to disconnect the load, not the charging source.  The chassis battery disconnect does not disconnect theengine alternator either.  I think the other consideration is that when in storage one might switch off the house loads, but still want the capability to charge the batteries.  When you installed the solar, you should have included shutoffs from the panels to the controller and then protection from the controller to the battery cables. 

I did install install circuit breakers with manual on/off levers. I just found it strange that with the “salesman switch” the 12V to/from the inverter is always hot.

DW wanted the large drawer saved under our NoCold in our 04 Dynasty. Hoped the 65” tall 21 Whirlpool would fit but had to lower the floor 1”. Actually cut the floor out and replaced with 2” wide supports on either outside edges... foam insulation between to seal off the drawer below.

Unfortunately some of the photos were not saved in my writreup:

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28435086/print/true.cfm

Thanks Richard for info ^^^. The only time I turn the disconnects off is when working on the system.  I hooked my solar 12V at the inverter thinking it was powered off having opened the disconnect ... fortunately no sparks.

I didn’t replace my AGM house batteries, yet, and mounted the 600AH if Lithium inside. Used a 2 battery switch thinking I could switch between AGMs or Lithium into the inverter BUT, with the inverter hard wired, I’ll have to run power (charge) the AGMs. 

Removing a side window is simple, remove the inside screws and only cost is new window sealing tape...$10.

Slid the new refrigerator in off a forklift... wife and me.

I would look into a  21 Whirlpool wrs321sdh as it’s only 66.25” tall BUT it’s not counter depth. I had to remover the driver’s window and lower the bottom platform 1”.

While not exactly on subject, I just learned that my inverter/charger is NOT on the house battery disconnect switch. I can’t find that it’s on any switch.... it’s always connected to the house batteries. Could be because my house batteries are in front of the wet bay and the inverter is in the same bay.

Anyone else have this situation?

When adding my DIY 600AH of Lithium’s I used a B Sea 900E 2 battery switch as I didn’t replace the house AGM’s that still have some life left in them.

Got a good deal on 26 100AH Lithium cells for $900. Built two 300AH batteries with 6 BMS... $1200 total and probably 8 hours.
We do some dry camping in cold weather and putting them outside in the battery compartment would require insulation and a heater plus the house AGMs still have more years in them...haven’t removed yet.

Found a compartment with a AquaHot radiator/fan under the washer dryer in the BR  with room for the 2 Lithium batteries. Built 2 wooden platforms to level the area and cut a rectangular hole in the floor for the wiring to the rear run box which is right behind.... short wire run to the battery banks.

Added a 500A fuse and a battery switch ... off, 1, 2, 1&2. Already had a 100A charger that I’d  previously mounted above the RRBox...will use it to finish charging the Lithium’s higher voltage.

Instead of a dc-dc alternator limiter I’m mounting on the alternator, a switch that opens at 200 degree turning the alternator off. I already run the generator after dry camping before getting on the road.

1st picture is the batteries partially completed.

2nd picture is the 2 platforms the batteries rest on.

3 picture is batteries shoehorned into place.

Good luck getting your welder to chip in $$ on the repair. If the original item broke, the welded repair will too without adding something... in this case gussets. Fortunately my 08 has them.

There is some good news... you made it, barely, to your destination and you are now closer to Josam’s than NC.

I did everything  Dr4’s did in the post above plus a Amish cooling unit, finally replaced with a 21 Whirlpool through the driver’s window... BEST mod ever. Most residential refrigerator coils are on the bottom or the back and the Whirlpool was almost an exact fit...1/2” to tall. One battery will run it 20+ hours...draws 8 amps DC (40% of the time) measured before the 1000W PSW inverter I added and 1.2-1.3 KW/day or 16 cents.

OP, what are your axle weights with the bike on?
If your hitch is the same as a 04 Dynasty or 08 Navigator (2 cross tubes forming a H, not a single cross tube forming a T) it was rated 15K/1500 on 09 Signatures if you didn’t raise the tag. I’ve grossly overloaded my hitch for 100+K miles.

OP stumbled on this site with lots of info on a 06 Camelot 42’ with weight transfer info and axle loading: Copy and past the below https://community.fmca.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id= and then add 7289 after the = for all of the article. Even has some possible replacements for the throttle if yours has a oval plug with 6 contacts in a row.

“On average our fridge uses 1800 kilowatts per day.”...pretty sure it’s 1.8 KW/day. The 21 cuft Whirlpool I installed draws 8 amps (measured before the 1000W PSW inverter) and uses 1.2-1.3 KW/day with the ice maker turned off.

The connection in my fuel bay is for low pressure propane, not air. I connect my air hose to the quick connect for towing (supply air) under the front cap, passenger side. It is usually a type C male, pictured below and not that common... can’t buy at Harbor Freight.

Since the OP successfully changed out the breaker several times (yes, not knowing a GFI function raised some questions) but I think he’s still with us so he knows to turn the breaker off... OH wait, it won’t stay on so it’s off on it’s own.

WARNING...OP, once the breaker doesn’t trip, BE SURE to turn it OFF,  before hooking the outlet back up and going to another outlet downstream.

I would not bother trying to find direct replacements... I have repeated problems with the wire that moves the locking tab coming off and it’s a pain to get it back on. I would replace with 2 of these simple sliding locks... a little harder opening and closing but not going to break. You will have to decrease/ grind the end so it will fit in the track and drill a second screw hole.

Welcome to the new and improved world of GFIs. Based on the diagram provided above and your picture, #7 (Bath, Rear GFI) is for the rear outlets (10+ outlets) in your rig. I assume it trips without anything plugged into these outlets so it’s a process of elimination.
 

I would start by disconnecting the white/black wires on an easy to access outlet in the toilet area. This will divide the outlets in half...does the GFI still trip? If so your problem is before this outlet.

If it still trips, disconnect the P/S night stand outlet...if it  still trips (worse case situation) I would replace the #7 GFI breaker with a regular 20A and put a GFI outlet in the P/S night stand outlet... it will protect the downstream outlets.

Good Luck, you do not need an electrician having already changed the GFI breaker several times.

Yep, bottom 3/4 bolt CW to raise.

Bill, my role model is a  couple that bought a new 45’ Beaver, drove across country in 3 days to a Beaver Rally (back in the day). She was limping from a broken leg snow skiing... both were 84. We’ll be at the Gillette pre rally too.

This is not a cheap sport, even doing all of my own repairs and maintenance, but worth it to BOTH of us. Fortunately we are able to use ours 5-6 months/year. Bummer that the wife keeps working... is it a money thing, health insurance, or a habit. A detached retina (poor depth perception) got me out of the habit of running my equipment every day... hard to break habits with just willpower.

In hindsight, one of the best things (not at the time) that happened when I was 24, my 61 year old father went from excellent health to dead in 6 months... pancreatic cancer. I said then, I’m not waiting to retirement age to travel and being self employed, we have...50 states and 80+ countries. 

If you can’t get the wife to come around, now is a good time to sell a RV... cheaper than a divorce I’ve been told.
 

I replaced the 2 diodes on the BIRD board 10 year’s ago when it was back feeding 12V power to the fuel shutoff... engine would not shut off.

A year ago I had to replace them again but this time they exploded. Didn’t have the correct amp diodes so put 3 smaller ones in parallel. This lasted until a month ago when one exploded again and melted the solder connection to the other 2.

Called M & M about having them re-work the Bird board...$95 to troubleshoot and another $350 to repair...NOT. Did my own troubleshooting and discovered the Big Boy was drawing 9 amps... one of the small coil wires was shorted to the case/ground... Yes, I’d replaced one of the 7.5 amp fuses with a 10A.

Tried the 40MT starter solenoid I have but the Bird would not energize it... requires almost 15 amps. So much for it being a replacement... only good as a $25 source of new contacts. Thought about going the Blue Sea route but ended up buying a $150 Big Boy which  takes 4 amps to energize. 

Only been a couple days but everything is working.

I come up with a Denso 228000-5310... $118

https://www.amazon.com/1995-2005-228000-5310-228000-5311-228000-5902-2509687C91/dp/B01N9EC1WO/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=denso+Denso+228000-5310&qid=1621298911&sr=8-3

Applications:
Bluebird truck all models (by engine) Cummins ISC denso with 
Thomas Built mvp-ef Cummins 6C STD dry clutch system . 4.0 kW with dry clutch 
Thomas Built mvp-ef Cummins ISC STD. 4.0 kW with dry clutch 
Thomas Built TL960 Cummins 6 C STD. 4.0 kW with 
Thomas Built Type D dry clutch - saf-t-liner-er Cummins 6 CG STD. 4.0 kW with 
Thomas Built Type D dry clutch - saf-t-liner-er Cummins ISC STD. 4.0 kW with 
Thomas Built Type D dry clutch - saf-t-liner-hdx Cummins ISC STD. 4.0 kW

Didn’t say your solenoid was rebuildable. My point was a starter solenoid should last thousand of hours and as a side note, a Big Boy uses the same contacts as a 40MT solenoid. Buy one and take the contacts out if needed to rebuild a Big Boy.

And a side,side note: had hoped I could use a $35 40MT solenoid to replace a $180 Big Boy BUT it draws 10+ amps to engage which is more than the BIRD can supply... won’t work as a replacement.

So, back to your solenoid, did it fail because it didn’t engage (burnt coil) or because it didn’t make a electrical connection (bad contacts)?

Seriously look into replacing with a Denso gear drive starter...less than $200 and spins a engine faster than the Delco you probably have.