Power Distribution of Batteries on a 37FS

[rgolding]

Drove about 350 miles today with much on my mind about Gremlins.
Read here, if you want to more about this -

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...tml#post703224

The bride and I had many discussions as to how we were going to boondock until we get these Gremlins resolved. And that brought questions.

There are vehicle batteries and camper/house batteries.

1. Are both sets charged by the the Freightliner engine when going down the road?

2. Are both sets charged when the Seneca is plugged in to "shorepower"?

3. Are both sets charged when generator is running?

4. If you run down the "house batteries" by using too much power, this does not impact the starting of the Freightliner engine, right? And that goes back to question number 1. Will all batteries be recharged when driving down the road?

5. I know there is a switch under the dash on the left side of the steering wheel. I've never used it, but am told you can get the Freightliner engine running off the "House" batteries if you run down the vehicle batteries too far. What about the other way around, if you run the "house" batteries down too far, can you start the generator off the Freightliner batteries or can you start the generator off the Freightliner engine running?

Just wanted these questions in the Forum, so I can refer to the answers during those frustrating times of "Gremlins".

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by rgolding

Drove about 350 miles today with much on my mind about Gremlins.
Read here, if you want to more about this -

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...tml#post703224

The bride and I had many discussions as to how we were going to boondock until we get these Gremlins resolved. And that brought questions.

There are vehicle batteries and camper/house batteries.

1. Are both sets charged by the the Freightliner engine when going down the road? Yes, provided that the Battery Isolation Manager (BIM) is working properly

2. Are both sets charged when the Seneca is plugged in to "shorepower"? Yes, the converter will charge the engine batteries, also via the BIM.

3. Are both sets charged when generator is running? Yes, the converter doesn't know the difference between shore power and the generator.

4. If you run down the "house batteries" by using too much power, this does not impact the starting of the Freightliner engine, right? And that goes back to question number 1. Will all batteries be recharged when driving down the road? Yes.

5. I know there is a switch under the dash on the left side of the steering wheel. I've never used it, but am told you can get the Freightliner engine running off the "House" batteries if you run down the vehicle batteries too far. What about the other way around, if you run the "house" batteries down too far, can you start the generator off the Freightliner batteries or can you start the generator off the Freightliner engine running? The button momentarily "ties" the two sets of batteries together via a solenoid. It works both ways, it can help start the chassis engine from the house batteries. Likewise it can start the generator from the chassis batteries if the house batteries are depleted.

Just wanted these questions in the Forum, so I can refer to the answers during those frustrating times of "Gremlins".

BIM information attached, and I hope the above answers help!

[rgolding]

Great! answers. Thank you. Now may I never need to know more about the BIM.

[SloPoke]

Just remember that the 100A circuit Breaker on top of the chassis batteries is BETWEEN the BIM and the Chassis batteries. Often it will be tripped because of the difference in charge between the House battery bank and the chassis battery bank with the BIM relay closes. Be ready to check your Breaker if things act weird... (Steps are the first symptom)