No power from House Batteries

Greg · January 21, 2021, 04:10 PM

I am very frustrated. I do not have power when using the house batteries. Everything works when plugged in or generator running. But once the generator is off or unplugged, no lights. I've checked all fuses. I took it in and they said I had bad batteries. I took them out and fill with water and charged but still nothing. The batteries do not charge while plugged in either. When driving and I flip the switch to charge the house batteries, the battery light going on and my Amper meter goes all the way up above 18.

there seems to be some disconnect between the batteries and rest of coach.

Any ideas???

Thank you!

Elandan2 · January 24, 2021, 07:14 PM

I take it you mean the volt meter on the dash. If it goes up to 18 volts, that indicates that the batteries are completely dead. I think I would start by trying to charge the batteries with a portable charger to see if they will take a charge. If they won't take a charge, they are probably finished and need to be replaced.

Winnebago Man · January 24, 2021, 09:40 PM

Is it just the 12-volt lighting that won't work from the battery's, or all of the 12-volt accessories? Water pump, roof vent fans, etc.
After making sure the batteries are good and hold a charge, check for corroded connections and terminals. If you have a multi-meter or basic 12-volt test light, start probing around from the battery compartment into the coach to see if you can find where you stop getting power. Not sure about others, but my 72' has a circuit breaker between the house battery to the rest of the coach located in the battery compartment. That could cause an open circuit. Also if your using a lead-acid battery you should check the water level in the battery. Pop the caps off the top of the battery and the water level should be above the lead plates. If the water level is very low and it has been for a good amount of time, the battery is probably toast. Let us know what you find.

Greg · January 27, 2021, 10:07 AM

Thanks for the response. I did previously pull the batteries, added water and fully recharged both batteries, (Marine) and still nothing. ill probably still replace them because I dont think they ho;d a charge long enough, or they are being drained by something else.

The 12 volt lights do not work. I can start the generator and my electric steps all work. Just no lights. I have checked my fuses but tempted to just replace all of them. They look like original fuses.

Oz · January 28, 2021, 06:14 PM

Could be a bad ground or bad wire at the beginng of the light circuit.

Rickf1985 · February 01, 2021, 08:11 PM

Have you turned on the main power for the coach on the dash? There should be a switch in the vicinity of the left of the radio with a small light to the left of it. If the light is not on then the coach power is turned off. I have a picture of the switch but it is on my other computer. Will post it later.
Found it

The switch that says Aux battery.

Ericb760 · February 01, 2021, 11:29 PM

Hi, Rick! Thinking about your post I went digging through my pictures because I knew for certain that my "Aux" switch does not have a light next to it. The gennie switch does, however. Just pointing out that there seems to be a million different configurations for these old rigs, even within the same year, and OP may not have that light either.

Rickf1985 · February 02, 2021, 03:46 PM

But it is in the same position. That alone is also a rarity! Mine no longer has the light after the dog raked it with a paw.

Greg · February 03, 2021, 08:09 PM

I do have the switch but there is not a light. That switch is turned on and still no luck. I think I may have to get into the wires and see if there is a short somewhere. Not sure what that entails, but if I took it to the shop the charge would probably huge for the hours it could take for them to rummage around. Thank you!

Oz · February 03, 2021, 08:57 PM

Oh, they certainly would!

Rickf1985 · February 03, 2021, 09:19 PM

That switch controls a latching relay under the hood and there is a fuse on the side, or both sides, I don't remember, of the relay. The power to move the switch comes from the house batteries so they do have to be charged. When you move the switch one way or the other you should hear then relay clunk, It is physically latching into the opposite position. It will not move again until you tell it to go the other way. Did you try moving it off and then on?
Here is a picture of the two latching relays on my Pace Arrow.. This is just to show you what one looks like. There are two there, one over top of the other. You can see the fuse on the side of the one. The one on the Winnebago is in the center front if I remember correctly. You need to make sure the battery cable coming from the house battery has power. Then check to see if power is coming out the other side. If you have it coming in but not out then the fuse is bad, the switch is not working for some reason or the relay is bad. If you do have power on both sides then the issue is in the fuse panel.