I have an electrical question for the experienced RVers. I recently took a trip and my "Bad Boy" isolator was clicking every 45 seconds ( I assume on/off. I could only get it to stop by cycling the battery disconnect switch or the shore power breaker.
Soon after that, I started noticing my house batteries are always charging and when disconnected from power they loose their charge really quick. The batteries were purchased new March 2011 and were kept on a trickle charger all winter in a heated pole barn. I also checked them with a hydrometer and all tested good.
I also noticed that my battery boost switch shows a light like it is activated.
I own a 2006 Coachmen Encore 40 ft. diesel pusher with a cat C7 motor.
My question " Is it possible that my "Bad Boy" isolator is bad?" I tried reading other posts about the "isolator but I am not an electrician and cannot follow the conversations.
mebethel21,
Some of what you're saying is confusing, at least to me anyway. Let's see. You say you took a trip and the "Bad boy" isolator was clicking. I'm not familiar with the "Bad Boy" isolator so, I'm not sure I can help with that model and or it's issues, if it has any.
1. Was it clicking when you were parked? I kind of assume is was while you were parked.
2. Were you on shore power or not when the clicking was happening?
3. While camping, or at an RV park etc, have you checked your house battery voltage during the clicking?
4. Does it go up or down during the clicking?
5. Do you have any heavy 12V appliances on during the clicking,i.e. lots of lights, heater, fans, and or anything else?
6. If the answer to #2, yes, does it stop clicking if and when you disconnect from shore power?
7. When on shore power, what kind of voltage is getting to the house batteries, that is when you're not using any 12V appliance in the coach?
8. What kind of voltage is getting to the chassis batteries during shore power, that is if you have any at all, which, many of the coaches did and do not, have any and, the owner has to alter the charging system so they do.
What I'm getting at here is, you need to know what your system is doing or, what it should be doing normally before you think it's acting up. And, I agree the isolator is acting up. I certainly don't know about all Diesel Pushers but, normally, ( I think ) 99.9% of them have an "Inverter" that also handles the duties of charging the house batteries when plugged into shore power and/or, while the generator is on. So, now I'm sure I will be corrected here if I'm wrong but, the "Isolator" does not come into play, if and when the coach is parked and not running. The isolator, if I'm thinking correctly here, is only used for isolating the house batteries from the coach batteries during the charging cycle from the alternator of the engine. And it brings them all together for charging but, when the engine is shut down, it separates them or, "isolates" them from each other.
Now, there's various ways of these systems to operate but, that's what I think is the basic system. So, for your system, you need to know what's what in terms of what's doing the charging while being plugged into shore power and, is it supposed to charge both the house and chassis batteries? Do you have an Inverter and, is it a dual duty unit? Knowing your system, and how it works, is most of the battle and then you can determine what, if anything is wrong with any portion of it. Hope this helps some.
Scott
Scott and Karla SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 White Honda CRV EX-L,4WD w/NAV Toad 2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing KI60ND
mebethel21 wrote: I have an electrical question for the experienced RVers. I recently took a trip and my "Bad Boy" isolator was clicking every 45 seconds ( I assume on/off. I could only get it to stop by cycling the battery disconnect switch or the shore power breaker.
Soon after that, I started noticing my house batteries are always charging and when disconnected from power they loose their charge really quick. The batteries were purchased new March 2011 and were kept on a trickle charger all winter in a heated pole barn. I also checked them with a hydrometer and all tested good.
I also noticed that my battery boost switch shows a light like it is activated.
I own a 2006 Coachmen Encore 40 ft. diesel pusher with a cat C7 motor.
My question " Is it possible that my "Bad Boy" isolator is bad?" I tried reading other posts about the "isolator but I am not an electrician and cannot follow the conversations.
Can or does someone have any advice for me?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark
Sounds like you have a major 12V short of some sort
Batteries and trickle chargers may be a "bad mix". It may have been better to charge them fully, disconnect the negative cables and leave them in the RV.
When you checked the electrolyte what was the specific gravity reading? (numbers please).
Are these six volt or twelve volt batteries? What size and capacity (in amp-hours)?
Do you have a volt meter and if so do you know how to use it?
your isolater is a "battery combiner" type relay circuit
it combines two functions, emg jump start and battery charging via alternator/isolation
it might even have bi-directional charging of both chassis and house batteries from shore or alternator
and yes it sounds like the control circuit/board is bad
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All,
Thanks for the posts. I am new to the Diesel pushers and what is referred to as a combiner. What is happening is it appears there is a "call" for the combiner to engage which is causing the "click". 45 seconds later, the combiner clicks or disengages again. This continues for a couple of cycles. It only happens when the RV is plugged into shore power. At first, I thought the combiner is bad, then I thought the switch on my dash was bad and calling the combiner to engage. I disconnected the switch and there is still a call for the batteries to combine.
I sent an e-mail to Magnum thinking there may be a problem with my inverter/converter because the batteries will drop to low before charging begins. The Tech stated that it is not the Magnum ME2012 but something else calling for power from the batteries and engaging the combiner.
Sorry but I do not remember the gravity reading but I do know is was normal. The batteries were bought new last year and were tested soon after I posted this problem. The batteries are 6v interstate deep cell batteries just like what was in the coach when I bought it in 2009.
Basically, other than the switch on my dash, what else in or on the RV can be calling for battery power causing the combiner to engage?
I hope this helps explain a little more about my problem.
It may not be a problem with your "Big Boy" (not Bad Boy) relay. They call it Big Boy because it is BIG and it can handle several hundred amps of current when closed. The Big Boy relay is typically preset (different OEMs can specify their own model and settings) to close when the house batteries are charged to aproximately 13.3-13.4 VDC in turn charging the chassis battery. If the house bank batery voltage is just staying right around this voltage sometimes it can cause the relay to cycle open and closed.
Check the house battey voltage and see what it reads. One test is to discharge the house batteries by turning on some loads down to around 12.2-12.3 VDC. Then plug into shore power and make sure the charger goes to "Bulk" charge mode. This should raise the house battery voltage to around 14.5 VDC and you should only hear the relay close one time at around 13.3-13.4 VDC.
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