You don't need any room, just lean in through the hatch. It's right on top.
Drinking the Koolaide... š
- Thread starter Tybalt39
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You don't need any room, just lean in through the hatch. It's right on top.
15 minutes should be no problem. Do it in the middle of the day when you don't need to run the headlights or heater.
I would also check battery voltage while running, no telling what the previous owner may have messed up or wired around.
I would also check battery voltage while running, no telling what the previous owner may have messed up or wired around.
The alternator job is done from inside the coach. I think it's a little tight on a 455, but looks real easy on a 403.
And if the generator runs, plug in the buzz box and jumper around your boost relay to charge the chassis battery from the house battery. As long as the headlights aren't needed you could go forever at least until the gas runs out.
I'll take a look at it next time I get the chance. The vehicle is currently residing with the PO. He doesn't want me to take it and pay for it until I'm 100% certain that it's drivable because he has to see me everyday at work.
I have yet to test the generator. Lower priority. But that's an interesting idea...
What I have found so far...
- The original wiper system has been replaced by an electric motor (haven't yet found the control for it and don't know if it's intermittent/pulsed).
- Front and rear through-bumper hitches.
- There is a very low-wattage generic inverter (probably modified square-wave).
- Alternator appears to have an issue (as previously noted)
- Battery isolator has some extraneous wires connected to it (I'll have to trace/eliminate). I think a PO used that as a take-off point for 12V for various projects.
- As expected, the wiring up front is a rat's nest. I will have to sort/organize and wrap.
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Not trying to be contrary, but that takes more space than swapping the alternator. If space is your constraint, don't let it stop you from troubleshooting the charging system. Most of that work is done from the engine hatch inside.
Also, there are failure modes for alternators that can cause a significant current draw when the vehicle is off. Something to watch out for. Now that you have a fresh engine battery, check the current draw with everything shut "off". You know it's not charging, but it would also be good to know whether it'll go dead just sitting there doing nothing. Hopefully, running the engine is the only thing drawing down the battery.
Through-bumper hitches are nice! I'd be curious to see what the construction of the front one looks like. That'd be a first for me. I've got those on some offroad rigs so I can put a detachable 12k winch on there. Could come in handy if a GMC doesn't have an LSD...
These originally had hydraulic wipers that were plumbed in series with the power steering box. They're a strange animal. No delays, just speed control, and you can make them wipe super slowly so they look like an electric motor that's dying.
A point of clarification, power converters go from 120VAC to 12VDC, and power inverters go from 12VDC to 120VAC. These were originally equipped with big, loud, power converters endearingly referred to as buzz-boxes. The most common upgrade I've seen is switching to an Intellipower brand converter, often done between ten and twenty years ago. I've seen a lot of those in coaches, and haven't seen one that was problematic. I want to say they're typically 40A?
These originally had hydraulic wipers that were plumbed in series with the power steering box. They're a strange animal. No delays, just speed control, and you can make them wipe super slowly so they look like an electric motor that's dying.
A point of clarification, power converters go from 120VAC to 12VDC, and power inverters go from 12VDC to 120VAC. These were originally equipped with big, loud, power converters endearingly referred to as buzz-boxes. The most common upgrade I've seen is switching to an Intellipower brand converter, often done between ten and twenty years ago. I've seen a lot of those in coaches, and haven't seen one that was problematic. I want to say they're typically 40A?
Are you referring to the battery charger/DC power source built into the coach? I haven't looked at that yet. I mean, there's one in there, because when I've looked at the vehicle it's been plugged into shore power and the interior lights have been on. I'm referring to the 12 volt to 110 volt inverter. And from the looks of it, it's probably a modified square-wave rather than a pure sine-wave. It's going to go....
When I get to the point of redoing the power systems in the coach, I'm either going to piece something together from Chinese products purchased on Amazon, or simply go all Victron. There's also the new Ecoflow RV Power Kit. It seems to be having some teething pains, but it's still a fairly new product. We shall see.
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There wasn't an inverter on these coaches originally, so yours was added, not replaced.
Ahhh.. I had assumed the 110v was from an inverter from the factory. I take it it is only from shore or generator power? Interesting. But I guess no longer an issue these days. I have modified the original post. Thank you for that info.
Correct.
Mine has a 2500w inverter/charger added by the previous owner, which also replaced the 'buzz box'.
I am in the process of adding 200aH of lithium, 400w of solar, a DC-DC charger and a dedicated 110v charger for the lithium as the existing inverter/charger could possibly damage the lithium battery.
The interior lights are all 12VDC, plugging into shore power isn't related to the lights working
The way these work, and basically all RVs actually, is that all the house systems are 12VDC. 120VAC receptacles are powered by either shore or generator.
The 120VAC shore or generator power feeds a 12VDC convertor (originally a buzz box) that provides something like 30A at almost 15VDC, great for bulk charging your house battery and then boiling the water out of it and ruining it in short order
Indeed. The interior light comment was to illustrate there was 12v present from the onboard 110ac to 12vdc converter, as the batteries were not connected.The interior lights are all 12VDC, plugging into shore power isn't related to the lights working
The way these work, and basically all RVs actually, is that all the house systems are 12VDC. 120VAC receptacles are powered by either shore or generator.
The 120VAC shore or generator power feeds a 12VDC convertor (originally a buzz box) that provides something like 30A at almost 15VDC, great for bulk charging your house battery and then boiling the water out of it and ruining it in short order
Oh yes, good point. With the batteries disconnected it's indirectly running on shore power. You're right.
I swapped the buzz box converter out for an intelli-charger after investing about $200 in new coach batteries. The buzz box is on a shelf, I have grand plans to create a super duper battery charger out of it. It just needs an enclosure, a hand dolly to mount it on, and a pair of decent cables and clamps. I'll probably just toss it in the trash someday, I have way too much stuff.
The Ecoflow stuff looks interesting. It would be a choice for OEM's or DIY if that person was not electrically knowledgeable and wanted plug and play. However its all proprietary and when something goes wrong you are at the mercy of the manufacturer.... who will usually say "product is no longer supported".
I have a Samlex EVO Charger/Inverter/Transfer switch since 2017. Samlex isn't a popular brand amongst RVer's, however I was in electronic business for 40 years and used thousands of their products, most running 24/7 for years and their failure rate was near Zero (I can only think of one which was installed at 300ft tower site which was hit with lightning). Compared to the high end Motorola recommended chargers that had a failure rate of over 40% in 15 years, the Samlex units running in the same system charging backup batteries and powering 20A @24V of equipment current had zero failures.
The EVO is completely programmable for most types of batteries including LFP and lead acid.
EVOā¢ Series Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter/Chargers | Samlex America
Samlex EVOā¢ Inverter/Charger for work trucks, RVs, boats, cabins, and backup power. Robust 3-in-1 power inverter, battery charger and transfer switch.
samlexamerica.com
I'm a big fan of plug 'n play. When camping (glamping), I used to carry batteries, inverter, charge controller, and rigid solar panels. It took lots of space, was cumbersome, and annoying to transport. I switched to a pair of Ecoflow Delta 1300s and folding solar "blankets". MUCH easier to transport and setup. I hope Ecoflow figures out their current issues with their RV setup, as that would be a very convenient and easily expandable system.The Ecoflow stuff looks interesting. It would be a choice for OEM's or DIY if that person was not electrically knowledgeable and wanted plug and play. However its all proprietary and when something goes wrong you are at the mercy of the manufacturer.... who will usually say "product is no longer supported".
I have a Samlex EVO Charger/Inverter/Transfer switch since 2017. Samlex isn't a popular brand amongst RVer's, however I was in electronic business for 40 years and used thousands of their products, most running 24/7 for years and their failure rate was near Zero (I can only think of one which was installed at 300ft tower site which was hit with lightning). Compared to the high end Motorola recommended chargers that had a failure rate of over 40% in 15 years, the Samlex units running in the same system charging backup batteries and powering 20A @24V of equipment current had zero failures.
The EVO is completely programmable for most types of batteries including LFP and lead acid.
EVOā¢ Series Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter/Chargers | Samlex America
Samlex EVOā¢ Inverter/Charger for work trucks, RVs, boats, cabins, and backup power. Robust 3-in-1 power inverter, battery charger and transfer switch.
Gotcha. I was thrown off since you said the "original inverter". I don't believe these ever came with inverters.
Edit: I'm now seeing above this has already been answered, so disregard.
On another note, I've got a Xantrex inverter/converter that I've been enjoying. It's nice to have one box that does both things. Remote panel for monitoring of battery health, adjustable for lead-acid/AGM/etc for battery maintenance and longevity, etc. We had a member here who got a whole bunch of them that needed repair somehow, fixed them up, and gave some of us a good deal on them. I think it's one of the few things I'll be robbing from my old Glenbrook and installing in our new Palm Beach.
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