Tom Wallis

Okay, I wasn't familiar with that particular tester so I did some research. It seems that it should be a pretty accurate indicator. The only caveat was that you should be sure to get the lowest possible impedance reading that you can for an accurate reading. That may require removing the terminals and putting the meter on a clean battery post. If you still get similar readings it's possible your battery has exceeded it's best before date. Like I said before, if it's still starting good I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace them. You may squeeze a little more life from them and if you get in a bind you have your house batteries as a backup. To your other point about alternator voltage, those batteries seem to be fully charged. I can't say if that's because the converter charger topped them off or if your alternator did, but they are full.

Do I understand that this is the chassis battery voltage at rest, with nothing charging? If so it means your battery is fully charged and in excellent condition. I'm not sure what changed that gave you a second higher reading or what the percentage graph is representing.

I always say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". In other words, if you're not having a problem then don't worry about it. Typically it should be around 14v or more at least some of the time.

13.4v from the alternator sounds very low. Are you sure your chassis battery is charging properly?

I polished mine in place several times. It doesn't seem to last long. According to the YouTube videos you need to spray it with a clear coat if you want it to last. I plan to replace the whole thing this time around.

Chasing wires through the looms is usually the very last resort. I think this is how I would go about diagnosing it if possible: disconnect the lamp wire from every switch (I'm hoping they are spade connectors). Then remove the fuse and place an ammeter across the fuse connectors. Hopefully you're at 0 amps now. If not you're probably OK if it's less than an amp or so. Otherwise there are more lights or something else hooked up. This will be the worst case scenario because you'll have to keep searching. If you are down near 0 amps you can begin hooking lights up one by one. When you reach one that has to large of a draw it should be obvious. BTW do this with the dimmer rheostat turned all the way up.

I agree with Ray. I doubt your problem has anything to do with the grounds. Here's a thought, the dimmer circuit is only intended to power the lights on the switch. Is it possible that somehow one of those switches is using the dimmer wiring to power the accessory that the switch controls. That could definitely overload the dimmer.

Sorry, I misspoke. Mine is over the stove also but it does slid into a hole with support underneath. Probably not helpful.

I replaced mine 2 years ago. It fits into a hole above the refrigerator so I needed something that was really close to the same size. I think it's different from yours though. , After much searching this is was the only one I could find that would fit. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMZPJNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I realize this is an old post but I've been very interested in all of the various dual battery system configurations and I ran across this. As I get older I find it's not a good idea to be dogmatic about anything because sometimes I'm wrong. So hopefully this is helpful or else I will learn something. My motorhome came with an IRD so it only charged in one direction. I have since modified that so it charges both ways. The way mine was designed if both the engine and generator were running the two battery systems would stay connected together and having done that many times I had no trouble. So when I made my modification I made no provision for disconnecting them in those circumstances. The way voltage regulators on both converter/chargers and alternators work is the same. As battery voltage increases they begin to decrease their amperage to maintain a constant voltage. If they are both trying to charge then whichever one is set for a higher voltage will do the lions share of the work and the other one will start cutting back. They don't actually fight each other. I hope this is helpful. Tom

Sorry, I missed that they were AGMs. The AGM chart that Ivylog posted will be more appropriate for those. All the testing methods should still be relevant though.

The most accurate way to to read battery voltage is at the battery with all loads disconnected and about an hour after being fully charge and the charger turned off. Lead acid batteries will hold what's called a surface charge for short time after charging and this is not accurate. A fully charged 12v or 2 6v batteries (flooded lead acid) in good condition should be at 12.6 or above. Battery voltage can tell you the state of charge but it can also indicate the condition of the battery. If you know the battery has charged for a sufficient amount of time to be full and sat long enough to remove the surface charge and your readings are much below 12.6 volts then your battery is in poor condition and probably nearing the end of its life. Here is a state of charge chart for flooded lead acid batteries: Also, when using a voltmeter to read state of charge you'll need to wait a bit after any large discharge for the voltage to normalize. I don't like to take my batteries below 50% but when I use the inverter all night with a heavy load they will get down to 11.9 volts. If I turn the inverter off for a half hour the voltage will come back to 12.1 which is the more accurate reading. I hope this is helpful. Sorry I somehow enter the chart 3 times.

To be honest I'm not familiar with that unit but here's what their website says: What is InvisiBrake? InvisiBrake is a fully-automatic supplemental braking system that uses the electrical connections already in place on your towed vehicle (the towed vehicle's electrical harness) to brake when you brake the motorhome — the same electrical signal that activates the towed vehicle's brake lights also activates InvisiBrake. This would indicate they use the brake light wire to activate it and not the electric brake wire. The electric brake wire may in fact not be hooked to anything.

What type of brake system do you have on your toad? Some systems don't use that wire.

I can't speak for all systems but my motorhome came with a continuous duty solenoid that connects the chassis and coach batteries together when the engine is running. It's the same solenoid that the dash switch energizes that you refereed to earlier. You can see mine in the photo I posted. If you have that it should charge when the engine is running unless something is wrong.

My 2003 Monarch was designed with a solenoid that charges the coach batteries while driving but doesn't charge the chassis battery while plugged. I guess that was a common design. I used something under the dash switch for years in order to keep my chassis battery charged while sitting. The solenoid is continuous duty because it's always on while driving. I got tired of that arrangement and bought a voltage controlled relay on Amazon that solved the problem. It's adjustable but when it senses coach voltage is high enough (around 13 volts) it turns on the solenoid and charges the chassis battery. It works great, it's pretty easy to install and cost about $13. I did have to put a diode in the original signal line to the relay to prevent a feedback issue but that is less than a dollar. I'm surprised your coach batteries don't charge while driving. I wonder if there is some other problem there. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DS33JVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For what it's worth, I had to replace a thermal fuse on my son's motorhome. His refrigerator was a Dometic not a a Norcold. When it went out the whole refrigerator went completely dead. It was on the back near the burner. However, if there's no power at all to the unit, you most likely have a different problem.

I have a 2003 Monaco Monarch. Here's a photo:

I'm not sure what bulbs to recommend and I'm curious to hear what others have to say. My headlight are poor even after I put better bulbs in. Part of it is because my headlight housing is cloudy so I'm getting ready to upgrade them to the new style. It's easy on mine because they are actually 87 to 91 Ford pickup headlights. There are several options to choose from on Amazon but haven't decided which would look best on the motorhome. Here is a link to an excellent video on aiming your own headlights on a board or a wall. We had one of the boards like they use in the video in our shop and it was handy when regular headlight aimers didn't fit. The board is nice but you can use a wall, some masking tape and a tape measure as long as the ground is flat. Tom

I think the issue is with your inverter. A digital gauge should be able to read the inverter voltage accurately. 104 volts is pretty low and my not be good for some of your electric accesories.

When I'm in that situation I just leave the heater on at it's lowest setting, I think mine is 40 degrees. Provided your batteries are in good condition it should be good for several days before the batteries will need a charge.

My Monarch was made the same way. My chassis battery did not charge on shore or generator power. I have a few accessories up front that are wired to the chassis battery and will drain it over time. There is a continuous duty solenoid that ties the two battery systems together while driving or when the dash switch is compressed. I found this little board on Amazon for $13 and wired it in. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DS33JVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It senses the voltage on the coach batteries. When they reach a determined voltage (it's adjustable and I set mine for 13.2v) it turns on the solenoid and both sets of batteries charge. When the voltage falls below a certain number (I set this one for 13v) it releases the solenoid and the batteries are separated. It works whether on shore power or generator power. One glitch that I ran into was easily solved with a diode. After driving, when the engine was turned off the my new setup was back feeding the solenoid wire from the ignition causing part of my ignition to stay on until the voltage dropped below 13v which takes a few minute. I just installed a diode between the solenoid and the ignition wire and that stopped it from back feeding. Then whole conversion cost less than $20 and it works perfect. It's not hard to wire it in either. If anyone would like pictures or more detail let me know.

It's a matter of preference or convenience. Either method will work for you. I prefer the battery maintainer because if anything it will have a positive effect on your battery.

Sorry if I didn't explain well. The bypass valve with the circled nut will unscrew from from the Tee only not where it's located. You would have to turn the whole bypass valve and there's not room to do that where is. After removing the red hose you'll be able to rotate the bypass valve and the Tee together and unscrew the Tee from the check valve behind it in the tank. It's a good idea to replace the check valve while you have everything apart because they do clog up and go bad and then you'll have no hot water. When you have the new Tee screw it back into the bypass valve and reverse the process. It's best to get a new piece of the red pex house and the proper clamps. That hose is very stiff so when you're tightening the Tee bypass assembly into the check valve stop just a bit short of where it should stop. That way you can put one end of the red hose on the bottom and have room to align the hose an nipple at the at the top before you turn the threads in the Tee the last little bit. I hope this is helpful.

The circled nut is part of the ball valve. The check valve is screwed onto the water heater and the plastic Tee is screwed into it. You will probably have to cut the red hose and replace it. Like Michael Powell said, you'll need a crimp tool in order to get do that.