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dead house and starting batteries.

July 21, 2011, 08:29:58 pm

I can't believe I forgot to turn off the isolator switch separating the house and starting batteries!  Gotta replace that indicator bulb.  I had to store my wonderful rig for 4 weeks, and everything is dead!  Tomorrow, I am planning on having AAA jump the starting  batteries and  then drive it to a local RV park to plug into 50 amp. What else do I need to do to get these 1 yr old batteries back as much as possible?  Also could I jump start the generator from the starting batteries and then start the engine while the gen is running?  I am hesitant to try to start the engine directly from the jump start.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Bill
2000 U270  2006 Jeep Liberty

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Re: dead house and starting batteries.

Reply #1 – July 21, 2011, 08:39:02 pm

Bill,
Don't worry so much about starting the generator if you'll be plugged in at 50 amps at the park.  The inverter/charger will take care of charging both the house and start batteries (remember to turn the boost switch on).
 
Next time you go to store the coach, you'll remember this instance quite well.
 
ps.  Remember that with all the batteries dead, your alternator will be working very hard once the engine turns over.  The best deal is to charge the batteries w/o the engine running.  Why don't you jump the generator and charge both battery banks with the genset first, then run the engine to get to where you're going?

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Re: dead house and starting batteries.

Reply #2 – July 21, 2011, 08:44:25 pm

Bill,

Yes, it is easier to jump start the generator than the coach engine (a LOT fewer amps needed).

Then run the generator for an hour or so to charge the batteries (using boost switch if that is the only way the chassis batteries are charged on your coach).  Then start the engine.

Brett

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Reply #3 – July 21, 2011, 09:34:51 pm

By all means, get the generator running, close the boost switch, let generator run for 4  or more hours, it takes about 3 hours to bring up the house batteries on my coach from the 12.0 VDC to the recommended level. Give the generator a chance to charge it back.
Then when able to start the main engine, get to the 50 amp plug to finish charging and then you can determine if you have batteries worth keeping.
Good luck

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Reply #4 – July 22, 2011, 12:15:34 pm

Thanks for the help.  I have a game plan now.

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Reply #5 – July 25, 2011, 06:11:57 pm

Get a good quality electronic de-sulfator and hook it up for a few days and it should bring your one year old batteries back up to decent capacity.

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