Dash Voltage Meter/Switch not working

[Jonbbrew]

Oh...and here is the isolator I have they mounted behind the front grill.


http://www.allbatterysalesandservice.com/browse.cfm/4,3252.html

I am thinking if i need to rewire it so i can get my voltmeter and Mom switch to work again, i may just relocated it to the batter bay......??

[Elandan2]

The momentary switch will only operate through a solenoid like the one in the battery bay.  The voltmeter should be operative with that isolator in the circuit.  On mine, I find that the ammeter will not work with the electronic isolator, but the voltmeter works just fine.  Rick

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Using these two drawings you should be able to get things back to original and retain the diode battery isolator.  Just remember that the B+ output of the alternator has to go to the diode isolator "A" terminal.    In this configuration, the diode isolator acts as the "DUAL" position of the DUAL/NORM/MOM switch.  You can leave the DUAL/NORM/MOM switch in the NORM position.  You can still use the MOM position for using the AUX battery for jump starts if the chassis battery is drained down.  The original owner apparently decided to eliminate the constant current solenoid when he added the diode isolator.   By keeping the  DUAL/NORM/MOM switch in NORM and only using the MOM when needed you will be OK.

[Rickf1985]

You are confusing two different switches and functions here, the volt switch and the momentary switch. They have totally different functions. All the volt switch does is tell you the condition of the battery on the bank you have selected. The aux/mom switch has the capability of charging the batteries in the coach from the alternator, it also has the capability of jump starting the chassis from the coach. An isolator will charge the coach batteries after the chassis battery reaches a certain voltage, which makes it automatic. This is nice since there is no switch to forget.

IF an isolator is wired in correctly then you can have all of the above. You just have to stop confusing the functions of the different components.

[HamRad Mobile]

Good morning, Johnbbrew; 

     The photograph of your blue heatsink battery isolator.  I am curious about the state or quality of the wire going to the left side terminal in the photograph.   

     From the perspective of the photograph, it almost looks like there has been a problem with the wire from the lug on the threaded terminal over to the edge of the fin of the heatsink.  It really looks like there was a short from the wire to the edge of the heatsink fin at that point. 

     If there was no battery attached to the other end of that smaller diameter wire, then most of the power coming from the alternator might have gone from the threaded terminal through that short distance to the heatsink fin and down to the body panel or frame where the heatsink of the isolator is mounted. 

     If there is a problem with the insulation on that small wire at that point, you can probably cure that minor part of the problem with some good heat shrink tubing, but you will also need to check the diode on that side of the isolator, and also check that the alternator itself is still OK and can still make its full rated output.   

     Just something that I noticed in the way that the photograph of the isolator looks. 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph 
          Latte Land, Washington