Martinvz Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 This morning we found the awning wound not retract and on testing I found a very low voltage. All the fuses appear to be fine. The steps will not retract and confirms the low voltage on the engine battery. We are on shore power here in FL. We had moved the coach to a different site less than 3 weeks ago and it started without a problem. As you can see from my signature i have a W24 Workhorse chassis meaning I do not have a diesel engine but a Gas Engine with a 12V starter battery. The 12V battery was replaced in December 2023. It appears that I do not have a BigBoy but rather a KIB LR9806 Latching relay, which does something similar to the BigBoy. With the drain on the battery, the volage is down to about 5V and I suspect I am in the market for a new battery, again. Right now it is on the battery charger hoping I can get some life back into it. I have a electrical diagram for a 2005 LaPalma but have not been able to find a 2006 version. The front driver side bay has the relay and fuses as can be seen in the attached photos. My question is how to test the latching relay and is it the same as for the BigBoy as described in the post below? Below are the applicable photos The Latching relay is in the bottom lefthand corner of the first photo and a close-up in the other photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Generically, based on your information and post and a wee bit of knowledge about the systems. A latching relay works a bit different from the Big Boy….but some similarities. The latching relay gets a SIGNAL…to ONE of the small terminals…then the coil is energized…BTW….that fuse is in the circuit….bad or blown FUSE….no joy. OK…when the signal comes….it is a “pulse” or like holding a slide switch briefly….once that signal is received….the relay is energized and then the contacts close….the coil THEN has no continuous pulse or voltage. Then the coil needs to “OPEN or UNLATCH”, there is ANOTHER signal….it goes to the Opposite control wire lug…. On a continuous duty cycle like a big boy….you have voltage (actually pulsed…but a VOM will read it like a reduced voltqge). So the opposite wire or signal now OPENS the relay or solenoid and it is latched in that mode. NOW….the way MOST folks trouble shoot….test each big lug or cable to GROUND. If it is latched…..then there should be voltage on both….measured to ground. Now, you NEED to use the VOM, on VOLTS and measure across the big studs. The voltage, assuming it is on BOTH sides, should read almost ZERO volts or maybe 0.1 - 0.2 VDC….anything higher….pitted or worn contacts….thus a high resistance connection and that robs power. NOW…. Your Battery….if it reads with NOT BEING hooked up, in the 5 VDC range….NOT GOOD. That means, on a 12 VDC battery, which has 6 internal cells, in series, that you have a shorted cell. Shorting means that the Lead Dioxide coating on a cell has flaked or fallen off. The plates are NOT PURE LEAD….but a “substrate” that was coated with Lead Dioxide. There ain’t no fixing that. The metal that flaked off is now built up in the bottom of the cell(s) and the battery is toast….the plates are connected to the positive. The negative is connected to a plate in the bottom. The electrolyte is Sulfuric acid. The current is passed or charged between the negative plate on the bottom and through the acid into the plates….when the plates peel….then the negative on the bottom is shorted out…as the metal is piling up and is high enough to reach the positive plates….there is NOT a Galvanic circuit….or the battery ain’t a battery anymore. That’s the way it works. In our DP, we have TWO deep cycle batteries in series. Let a cell short out…that battery will NOT properly charge…and it measures around 4.5 VDC or in the 2’s it is 2 cells…. Then, neither will its mating battery, the one in series. Hope this helps… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wallis Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 (edited) If your battery is reading 5v because it has discharged to that level and hasn't been charged yet then it will probably be fine once you charge it. If you try to charge it for a while and then it reads 5v it could be what Tom Cherry is describing. Running a lead acid battery dead doesn't usually destroy it but just shortens it's life a little. If it charges up okay it will probably be fine. My chassis battery has been inadvertently run dead several times and it is 7 years old and still going. I say this assuming that your battery is not charging while on shore power. My monarch wasn't designed to charge the chassis battery from shore power until I modified it. I don't now if your was designed to or if it failed. Edited February 19 by Tom Wallis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinvz Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Tom C, thanks for all the info. I will get stuck into it tomorrow. Tom W, we did not have an issue in the past with the battery not being charged and I believe that we do have the latching relay installed but need to confirm it in the documentation. On the dash is a battery boost switch that I had used in the past. At the moment it is on a charger and I will check the status in the morning. This group is always amazing with the depth of knowledge and willingness to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cherry Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 16 minutes ago, Tom Wallis said: If your battery is reading 5v because it has discharged to that level and hasn't been charged yet then it will probably be fine once you charge it. If you try to charge it for a while and then it reads 5v it could be what Tom Cherry is describing. Running a lead acid battery dead doesn't usually destroy it but just shortens it's life a little. If it charges up okay it will probably be fine. My chassis battery has been inadvertently run dead several times and it is 7 years old and still going. I say this assuming that your battery is not charging while on shore power. My monarch wasn't designed to charge the chassis battery from shore power until I modified it. I don't now if your was designed to or if it failed. I respect what @Tom Wallis posted. I would suggest that you read this, This site has some good down to earth info…and I have used and quoted it in the Battery-101 file…it is mostly aimed at deep cycle, but SLA’s are similar. https://www.batterystuff.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-your-battery-is-bad.html The 5.0 VDC is troublesome….yes…if it pops back or recharges…. A SIMPLE TEST….recharge the battery, fully. Put your VOM on the battery….have someone start it and you watch the VOM. It SHOULD be above 10.5 VDC or higher….anything lower, on a fairly new battery….bad…. NOW…there is also some good news. MOST starting batteries have longer warranties and MOST have a FREE replacement within the first year. Personally, after a little though, I’d take it back to the vendor…. It ran down. Have them test it or recharge it. I had s parasitic drain in my 08 H3 Hummer…. Interstate put in a new one, under warranty…twice. Interstate usualky has a local distributor that has a “back room” and can recharge and test. If you have a good charger….try to charge. If you have power for storage, then get a good “Battery Maintainer”. i use that brand (Amazon has them) as well as Pulse Technology. Both make good chargers. These are NOT to be confused with Walmart cheap chargers. If you use one of those, it will overcharge and dry out the electrolyte….that is a KILLER. So find a maintainer or charger that has a 3 stage cycle….that is what our DP inverter/chargers do… SO….get the battery working or recharged or replaced….then start to understand and fix the issue…. Good luck… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution Martinvz Posted February 21 Author Solution Share Posted February 21 Well, I put the battery charger on the battery last night and the battery voltage this morning was 12.9V and 4 hour later it settled to just over 12.8V with which I was very happy. I received help from Nick (@K9 EXEC) who offered to come and help as he was in the area. we checked the volage and the battery and the voltage would change when the pressure on the screw in terminal was changed. Nick was concerned about this and we replaced the battery because on inspection in the store it was clear that the battery case was bulging. We also opted for different screw in terminals that would make better contact with the battery cables. After installation the engine charging was correct and after shutting down the parasitic draw was very low. The conclusion is that the battery was faulty and needed to be replaced. As far as the Latching relay, we agreed that is for the 'salesman switch'. We also confirmed that there was not a Bird relay installed and that the battery was not charged when on shore power (oh, well, easy enough to charge it up periodically) and it took me only 11 years to learn that. Thanks to all for the great advice and specifically Nick for his help and con versation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Look into a DC-DC charger like an AMPL -start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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