Lanier
GM did publish a field modification bulletin (I have not seen it) that
effectively goes something like the following. Locate a 50 or 60 amp
Circuit Breaker near the rear battery & route a large copper wire (6 AWG
or bigger) thru the CB into the coach's interior & attach to the large
wire that is providing power from the front of the coach to the House DC
Distribution Bus. This will permit charging of the rear battery from the
engine's Alternator as well as from the house AC/DC convertor. GM left
the front House battery in parallel with the rear house battery. IMHO
this is not desired & the front battery should be disconnected at the
time the Rear battery becomes the House/Onan battery. Batteries in
parallel are only as good as the weakest battery since the stronger
battery will discharge into the weakest battery when they are not being
charged. Best to have ONE 12 v House Battery made of TWO 6 v GOLF
batteries (one 12 v battery pack) in the rear near the Onan. If you
insist on having multiple house batteries, then charge them together, but
discharge them into the load one at a time (switching is required).
This single house battery arrangement works for me & I have a Mid Year
'73. Dry camping for 2 weeks in the Mountains of California has never
been a problem while using DC power as desired, not limited. I do have a
Gas Refrigerator (no chance with DC Refrigerator).
Duane of Orange, CA
PS: Don't forget to clean the ALL battery cables...both ends of all
battery cables for proper charging as well as providing power to the
load. This should be done by ALL configurations every 2 years or so !!!!
GM did publish a field modification bulletin (I have not seen it) that
effectively goes something like the following. Locate a 50 or 60 amp
Circuit Breaker near the rear battery & route a large copper wire (6 AWG
or bigger) thru the CB into the coach's interior & attach to the large
wire that is providing power from the front of the coach to the House DC
Distribution Bus. This will permit charging of the rear battery from the
engine's Alternator as well as from the house AC/DC convertor. GM left
the front House battery in parallel with the rear house battery. IMHO
this is not desired & the front battery should be disconnected at the
time the Rear battery becomes the House/Onan battery. Batteries in
parallel are only as good as the weakest battery since the stronger
battery will discharge into the weakest battery when they are not being
charged. Best to have ONE 12 v House Battery made of TWO 6 v GOLF
batteries (one 12 v battery pack) in the rear near the Onan. If you
insist on having multiple house batteries, then charge them together, but
discharge them into the load one at a time (switching is required).
This single house battery arrangement works for me & I have a Mid Year
'73. Dry camping for 2 weeks in the Mountains of California has never
been a problem while using DC power as desired, not limited. I do have a
Gas Refrigerator (no chance with DC Refrigerator).
Duane of Orange, CA
PS: Don't forget to clean the ALL battery cables...both ends of all
battery cables for proper charging as well as providing power to the
load. This should be done by ALL configurations every 2 years or so !!!!
