| Re: Royal Batteries Question [message #214181 is a reply to message #214172] |
Fri, 12 July 2013 20:43  |
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mike miller
Messages: 3576
Registered: February 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
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| MikeT wrote on Fri, 12 July 2013 17:31 |
Question on the batteries on a 77 Royal. Two up front passenger side and one in the gen compartment in rear. I did not want two up front so I only put one in front and one in rear like my 77 Palm Beach. So I hooked front single battery up and left second front battery cables dangling. Well, wouldn't you know it the dangling cables were hot. Does that mean my isolator is bad? I wouldn't think that the dangling cables would be hot except maybe if the boost switch was pressed.
Any expert advice appreciated.
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Royales came with the "oddest" battery set up. I KNOW that the person making the final call on it was NOT an engineer. (Most likely it was marketing and bean counters.)
It looks like they started with a three battery system a lot like the early GMC's. (One engine starting battery and a house battery up front. Plus a single generator starting battery in the rear.) Due to the issues the early GMC'ers had keeping the generator battery charged, some bright person at Coachman decided to connect the front house battery with the battery in the rear... directly in parallel with a LONG cable. While they did have batteries of the same size, unless done correctly, paralleling batteries is NOT good for battery life. (An they did NOT do it correctly!) But, I suspect, the think was: "If you can afford a GMC, you can afford a couple of batteries ever year or so."
End result:
Yes, the battery cables on either the front or rear "house" battery will be "hot" with a battery connected in the other end of the coach... or with the engine running or the converter plugged in.
You are correct in wanting to change from the Coachman set-up. It isn't a very good set-up for battery life or capacity. But just disconnecting a battery doesn't really fix the issue... plus you have the hot cables. (A safety concern.)
I would also recommend something closer to the later GM set-up. (1975 on.) Just use a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries in the rear. It does need the long cable that Coachman installed, but check it for routing and chaffing. You'll also need a second boost solenoid and circuit breaker like the GM coaches.... and a battery tray.
Note: While you could make a rear battery house system "work" without the additional parts, you'll loose a safety factor and/or the boost feature.
Mike Miller -- Hillsboro, OR -- on the Black list
(#2)`78 23' Birchaven Rear Bath -- (#3)`77 23' Birchaven Side Bath
More Sidekicks than GMC's and a late model Malibu called 'Boo'
http://m000035.blogspot.com
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