Lost my start batteries...

[bevans6]

Well. not lost, exactly - they are in the middle of my shop floor where I left them earlier today so they wouldn't freeze in the bus.  We went out for a lunch picnic in the bus today - four hours of running the furnace and a space heater got the temp up to a nice cozy 60 degrees - and I popped the master switch on to see if I needed to charge the start batteries.  Two weeks ago I charged them for a few days.  Gauge today showed zero.  So I opened the door and checked each one - the lower one was .07 volts, the upper one was 1.2 volts - not so good.  I have a 24 volt charger, so I had left the main disconnect switch on to make it easier to connect the charger.  All I can think of is with the master switch on, the Vanner was connected, the "lower" battery in the chain may have lost a cell, so the Vanner, trying to keep it up at the same charge as the "upper" battery discharged both of them.  There are no other loads in the bus that I have been able to find with the master switch off.  anyway, two 4 year old 8D's are now toast.  I have a charger on one to see what happens, the other one pops the disconnect in the charger.

Brian

[buswarrior]

Repeat after me:

I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.

Still have a PA amplifier in there?

Try hooking it all together with jumper cables with another half decent battery in the mix to see if you can fool the charger to stay on at its lowest setting?

Yes, maybe toasted.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[bevans6]

yeah, the battery disconnect...

I had been chasing a slow discharge in the summer and thought I had figured it out.  I had been leaving the batteries connected for a few weeks at a time with no issues.  I installed a car radio that needs continuous power to maintain it's memory, and that seemed to work fine as well, no problems.

Then on my trip, I had a few times when the voltage meter showing alternator voltage dipped down a few times, and once or twice at idle the no-gen light flickered.  I suspect that the batteries had some kind of an issue, I checked the water levels and had to add a fair bit of water, close to a litre between the pair.  I guess in the spring a full diagnosis of the alternator and regulator will be in order, plus new batteries.  4 years for discount store batteries that the PO didn't maintain isn't a tragedy, but it is a PITA.  I think one was failing for some time, whenever I checked them with the good meter they did not have a full charge, usually 12 to 12.2 volts only, even when they should have been up there.

Brian

[Ednj]

Repeat after me:

I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.
I will always pull the battery switch.



happy coaching!
buswarrior

>
>
Yes, "BUT" check the current going through the disconnect.
Mine never really opened all the way or closed all the way, with some of the same symptoms.
Replaced the switch with the same new one and no more problems.

[belfert]

On my bus, pulling the disconnect doesn't disconnect everything.  The passenger clock and radio both get power no matter what.  I think the DDEC and WTEC also get power all the time.  Strangely enough, the hazard lights also get power no matter what.

I killed a set of four Group 31s over one winter before I figured this out.  I now have a Battery Tender Plus on the batteries when the bus is not in use.

[buswarrior]

It is your coach, if you want the disconnect to be a disconnect, re-wire it to be one!

The needs of a commercial coach operator are not the needs of a busnut who puts the coach into "storage" more than it gets driven.

The only cautionary question we need answered is why did MCI (and Prevost does it too) wire it that way?

happy coaching!
buswarrior