2018 Seneca - low voltage problems

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Mark S

On last summer’s trip my transmission starting throwing faults and going into limp mode. I would turn it off, restart and it would be fine until the next time we sat for a couple days.
It turned out that the chassis batteries were going bad after only 2 1/2 years.
Apparently low voltage causes all kinds of issues in these RVs.
I replaced the batteries and all was well again. Your batteries are now at least 3 years old. Don’t be surprised if more gremlins start poping up.

Mark has a good point here... The breaker over the batteries could be tripping because of weak Chassis batteries. And if you have issues with the Steps, Jacks and Power cord reel - that gives an indication of chassis batteries (with some exceptions due to the BIR (Battery Isolation relay) that can be overridden by the dash button.

If your chassis batteries are really low, and you push the dash button - that could be more than 100A and trip that circuit breaker over the batteries, especially if you are trying to start the engine.

[javamon]

Originally Posted by Mark S

On last summer’s trip my transmission starting throwing faults and going into limp mode. I would turn it off, restart and it would be fine until the next time we sat for a couple days.
It turned out that the chassis batteries were going bad after only 2 1/2 years.
Apparently low voltage causes all kinds of issues in these RVs.
I replaced the batteries and all was well again. Your batteries are now at least 3 years old. Don’t be surprised if more gremlins start poping-up.

Hi Mark,

Mine was manufactured in Oct '16 and since I picked it up in April '17, the batteries have been idle maybe 6 hours total at most. No indications of any problems but I've got a month long trip coming up in Sept and I sure don't want to deal with replacing them on the road. I am a strong believer in Murphy's Law.

How were yours replaced (DIY or dealer)? What replacement batteries did you use? Cost figures if you don't mind sharing?

I'm really on the fence about doing this now and at least have some peace of mind.

Thanks!

[SloPoke]

Here is my experience with our Seneca Chassis batteries:

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ies-61484.html

[Mark S]

Originally Posted by javamon

Hi Mark,

Mine was manufactured in Oct '16 and since I picked it up in April '17, the batteries have been idle maybe 6 hours total at most. No indications of any problems but I've got a month long trip coming up in Sept and I sure don't want to deal with replacing them on the road. I am a strong believer in Murphy's Law.

How were yours replaced (DIY or dealer)? What replacement batteries did you use? Cost figures if you don't mind sharing?

I'm really on the fence about doing this now and at least have some peace of mind.

Thanks!

Hi Dave,

Here South in south Florida we are lucky to get three years out of a battery with our heat. Mine was starting Ok but would show 11.7 volts for several minutes after starting and in about 10 minutes on the road the transmission would fault and go into limp mode. I mentioned the voltage to the dealer and the only thing they found was low the voltage. Replaced the batteries and the problem has not returned.

The batteries are “Alliance” which I never heard of and surprisingly were only about $150 each. Since it was at the dealer I had them replace and honestly, after looking at the space for the batteries I’m glad I did.

As far as replacing, your batteries are on borrowed time. If it were me I would definitely replace the batteries before the trip.

[javamon]

Originally Posted by Mark S

Hi Dave,

Here South in south Florida we are lucky to get three years out of a battery with our heat. Mine was starting Ok but would show 11.7 volts for several minutes after starting and in about 10 minutes on the road the transmission would fault and go into limp mode. I mentioned the voltage to the dealer and the only thing they found was low the voltage. Replaced the batteries and the problem has not returned.

The batteries are “Alliance” which I never heard of and surprisingly were only about $150 each. Since it was at the dealer I had them replace and honestly, after looking at the space for the batteries I’m glad I did.

As far as replacing, your batteries are on borrowed time. If it were me I would definitely replace the batteries before the trip.

Thanks Mark. I think you're right about doing it now. SloPoke's excellent post will make it much less intimidating

[miles ahead]

I have all of the same issues on my 2018 S2RV; does anyone know where the battery reset breaker switch is on this model?

Thanks