House batteries not charging

[Larry Pruitt]

Good afternoon

I have a 22 Senaca 37k and the house batteries will only charge from the alternator of the engine. It won’t charge by running the generator or by plugging in the shoreline. Is there a reset switch on the transfer switch and more importantly where is the transfer switch located?

Thanks in advance

[Markb5900]

I don’t know about motor homes but in my Jayco trailer, I had the same exact thing when my battery disconnect was “pulled”

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by Larry Pruitt

Good afternoon

I have a 22 Senaca 37k and the house batteries will only charge from the alternator of the engine. It won’t charge by running the generator or by plugging in the shoreline. Is there a reset switch on the transfer switch and more importantly where is the transfer switch located?

Thanks in advance

There are a number of circuit breakers behind a panel in the compartment to the rear of your battery compartment. Sometimes one of them "opens" and can prevent the charging current from your converter (part of your power center) from reaching the batteries. I have also included a picture of the cover over those components and a picture of a Buss breaker showing the little arm that pops out when the breaker has overloaded and opened. They just push back to reset.

Check the 12-volt breakers in the attached picture first; it they are both good we'll have to dig deeper.

[JimD]

The converter is responsible for charging the battery when plugged in or on generator. It basically converts 120 volts down to 12. When charging the battery, the voltage will typically be in the mid 13s to the mid 14s.

In my Greyhawk there is a circuit breaker in the panel so that would be the first thing to check. Cycle it off and then back on. The 120 volts is fed to the converter through the breaker panel.

The converter may have fuses on it that should be checked. If the battery was hooked up backwards for a second, there usually is a fuse on the converter to protect it.

To verify that 120 volts is actually getting into your rig through the transfer switch, simply look at the microwave (if present) and see if it is lit up when plugged in or on generator. If it is on then you can eliminate the transfer switch and a few other things as your problem. If it isn't lit then your problem could be the main breaker in the panel (30 or 50 amp), a loose wire inside the transfer switch, or some other things.

Poke around and let us know what you find.

[Larry Pruitt]

Thanks

I will check those breakers today
Does the charging cable from the engine alternator go through the transfer switch to get to the batteries?

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Larry Pruitt

Thanks

I will check those breakers today
Does the charging cable from the engine alternator go through the transfer switch to get to the batteries?

No.. Transfer switch is only for 120 shore & geny power.

[JimD]

The positive post of the battery will have multiple cables on it. One cable will go directly to the alternator charging system, another cable should go directly to the converter. Other cables may feed the levelling jacks and steps. This is all on the 12 volt side of your power.

As Grumpy said, the transfer switch is only for 120 volts. It will have inputs from shore power and the generator. It then simply selects which feed to send to its output which feeds the entire 120 volt side of your power system.

Side note - breakers are used for 120 volts and fuses are used for 12 volts. There may be 12 volt breakers buried in major 12 volt lines instead of fuses.

[Larry Pruitt]

Thanks for all the help
I think I found the problem. When I changed oil in the generator I hit the circuit breaker on the generator. As far as the shore power is concerned, I was trying to supply power through a portable generator at only 30 amps. Getting ready now to hook it up to my 50 amp outlet by my shop to see if the shore line will charge the batteries

Thanks again for all the help

[Rustynuts]

Originally Posted by Larry Pruitt

Thanks for all the help
I think I found the problem. When I changed oil in the generator I hit the circuit breaker on the generator. As far as the shore power is concerned, I was trying to supply power through a portable generator at only 30 amps. Getting ready now to hook it up to my 50 amp outlet by my shop to see if the shore line will charge the batteries

Thanks again for all the help

Depending on the portable generator, many of then need a ground neutral plug plugged into them, otherwise, they wont put out ant voltage. That may have been you issue on the portable one.


https://www.amazon.com/Hughes-Autofo...-search&sr=8-1

[Cornpop]

I have the same problem just make sure the inverter is cut on it's a little push button on the bay right beside your batteries