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Ggroth · 01-22-2014, 10:37 AM

I share a 2013 Interstate with two others. It is parked in a heated garage (Wisconsin). Apparently, whoever was last to use the Van (could have been me), failed to plug it in to AC power when it was last put in the garage, about 7-8 weeks ago. I stopped to check on the Interstate today. I couldn't even unlock the doors with the remote key. Had to unlock manually. Seems all batteries are completely dead (no lights work). I plugged the Interstate into AC power. Will that eventually recharge the batteries? If no, and I jump start the vehicle, do I just let it run for a couple hours to recharge?

Bikerbill · 01-22-2014, 01:56 PM

Plugging back into electric will recharge the motorhome batteries but not the Mercedes starting battery. If you open the hood, there is a red plastic "stud" for connecting on a battery charger. Now to access this connection you will need to push back on the red plastic to expose the metal connection for the red-positive 12 volt connection. You can use a jumper vehicle or battery charger and there is a bare ground connection over in the corner of the fender on the driver side. The red connection post is about in front of the driver. I would not run the motor for a couple of hours to recharge the battery. Get a portable charger and plug it into 110 volts.

Now the other thing to remember is that you may have done some damage to the batteries for both the engine and the motorhome by draining them completely. Probably will shorten the overall life of the batteries but I have no idea how much.

Since electric is available it is really easy to check once you plug it in. Look in the side door and see if the microwave clock is illuminated. That is an easy way to check.

And some members will say to turn off all circuit breakers and the inverter but that requires more "memory" which it may appear that one of the 3 owners may not have.

I am a prior owner of large motorhomes with multiple inverters and multiple batteries (much larger than what Airstream uses) and we ALWAYS kept our units plugged in unless we were driving or running the generator while dry camping. AGM batteries and good inverters like 110 volts.

And consider buying a small "battery maintainer" or "battery tender" to provide a maintenance charge for the engine battery. Connect to the red post under the hood. And there are other battery maintainers that need to be installed under the driver seat which utilize the 12 volts from the motorhome batteries to keep the engine battery charged properly. These battery tenders are available from motorcycle dealers or from the internet.

Protagonist · 01-22-2014, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bikerbill

Now the other thing to remember is that you may have done some damage to the batteries for both the engine and the motorhome by draining them completely. Probably will shorten the overall life of the batteries but I have no idea how much.

For budgeting purposes (figuring out when you'll have to scrounge up the money to buy more batteries) the rule of thumb I use is… Each complete discharge takes one year off the battery's life. So a nominal five-year battery becomes a four-year battery.

There's no scientific data to back up that estimate, but it's a pretty safe bet that by the time you've completely discharged a five-year battery five times, it's a goner.

toskeysam · 01-22-2014, 03:34 PM

Bill....I may be mistaken, but I think the Magnum Inverter/Charger will charge both coach and chassis battery banks. Ggroth can confirm that when he plugs in for awhile and checks battery status (Main and Aux). All I can relate is that my solar seems to keep both up when stored outside, and/or both stay up when on shorepower.

toskeysam · 01-22-2014, 03:37 PM

of course...that assumes his coach has the Magnum unit....I assume it was a mid-year change since my manual says Tripplite, but the coach has Magnum

Protagonist · 01-22-2014, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toskeysam

Bill....I may be mistaken, but I think the Magnum Inverter/Charger will charge both coach and chassis battery banks. Ggroth can confirm that when he plugs in for awhile and checks battery status (Main and Aux). All I can relate is that my solar seems to keep both up when stored outside, and/or both stay up when on shorepower.

The Battery Isolation Module may keep the two systems separated once either of them goes down completely, so it's not a foregone conclusion that you could resurrect dead house and chassis batteries at the same time.

I'm interested in seeing how that works out.

toskeysam · 01-22-2014, 04:28 PM

Good point. There may be a reset function that may or may not happen automatically. I am also interested in how this works out

Boxster1971 · 01-22-2014, 04:28 PM

Plugging in either Magnum or TrippLite should also charge the Sprinter engine battery as it is tied to the PCI Battery Isolation Manager (BIM). This is the unit you can't turn off and it allows for charging the coach batteries when driving.

See attached file for explanation of how the BIM works.

Protagonist · 01-22-2014, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Plugging in either Magnum or TrippLite should also charge the Sprinter engine battery as it is tied to the PCI Battery Isolation Manager (BIM). This is the unit you can't turn off and it allows for charging the coach batteries when driving.

See attached file for explanation of how the BIM works.

I read the manual a little differently. To me, it seems that the chassis battery needs to be above 13.2v and below 15.5v OR the house battery needs to be above 13.0v and below 15.5v for the relay to come on. With BOTH chassis and house batteries below 11.4v (dead) the relay will be off. So as I understand it, the house system will charge first, and once the house system has recovered, THEN the relay will kick on to allow the chassis system to recharge. But it won't allow you to charge both at once.

Ggroth · 01-22-2014, 08:57 PM

Thanks for all the advice. The inverter is a Magnum. I will check the Interstate tomorrow, and will have a battery charger in hand just in case the Mercedes battery still needs charging. Also, one comment received was in regards to whether the microwave clock was illuminated. It was, after I plugged into shore power. Also, one thing I found strange, when I put the key in the ignition, I could not turn the key. Is that due to the battery being discharged?

Curious, if the Interstate had been plugged in to shore power all along, would that have kept both sets of batteries charged (for future reference)?

Bikerbill · 01-22-2014, 09:03 PM

When the Mercedes battery is too low in voltage, the key is a problem. And I'm still not sure about this PCI Battery Isolation Manager and being plugged in charging both MB and Interstate batteries. Boxster1971 posted the file and I've looked it over somewhat but not sure yet.

Protagonist · 01-22-2014, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ggroth

Also, one thing I found strange, when I put the key in the ignition, I could not turn the key. Is that due to the battery being discharged?

The key has an RFID chip in it. The ignition switch has an RFID chip reader. If there isn't enough power to the chip reader, it won't recognize the key as being the right one, and the anti-theft device locks the ignition. Not so strange. If you jump-start the vehicle, the key will work as soon as the jumper cables are hooked up.

K9CarCrate · 01-22-2014, 10:08 PM

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have plugged the Interstate to shore power to charge up the coach batteries, can't you just push the ignition assist button on the lower left side of the dash to start the engine rather than having to use jumper cables?

73shark · 01-22-2014, 11:14 PM

Yes but you probably don't want to idle the engine that long to charge the battery.

Protagonist · 01-23-2014, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73shark

Yes but you probably don't want to idle the engine that long to charge the battery.

Agreed. If you jump-start it, plan on disconnecting shore power and going for a drive.

Boxster1971 · 01-23-2014, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protagonist

I read the manual a little differently. To me, it seems that the chassis battery needs to be above 13.2v and below 15.5v OR the house battery needs to be above 13.0v and below 15.5v for the relay to come on. With BOTH chassis and house batteries below 11.4v (dead) the relay will be off. So as I understand it, the house system will charge first, and once the house system has recovered, THEN the relay will kick on to allow the chassis system to recharge. But it won't allow you to charge both at once.

Protag is correct that is the way I read how the BIM will work.

But then there is another issue I didn't think of earlier. The coach batteries may be so low that they won't even charge. I've had this happen before on a car that ended up with a drained battery -- zero volts. I tried attaching a normal battery charger and it would not charge. I had to jump start it to get it going again.

Ggroth · 01-23-2014, 10:12 AM

I stopped in to see if there was any charge progress on the Interstate this AM.....all is as it was when I left yesterday. I am plugged into shore power...the microwave clock is illuminated....the Magnum Inverter is illuminated and can be scrolled through the menu options.....when I flip up the "Tank Heater" switch, it turns red....other than that, nothing else operates electrically (lights etc.). I suspected there might be a main circuit breaker tripped, although I assume there are separate circuit breakers for the Airstream side and the Mercedes side. I checked as many manuals (that I could tolerate) that came with the vehicle and I cannot locate the circuit board panel that is referred to in the Airstream Owners manual.

I did not start a charge on the battery as I didn't think, at this point, with everything shut down (except the items I mentioned), that it would have a positive impact. I'm heading to knee surgery tomorrow so probably won't be exploring any other "remedies" till next week. I'm tempted to call the dealer and have him stop out and trouble shoot.

Protagonist · 01-23-2014, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ggroth

I suspected there might be a main circuit breaker tripped, although I assume there are separate circuit breakers for the Airstream side and the Mercedes side. I checked as many manuals (that I could tolerate) that came with the vehicle and I cannot locate the circuit board panel that is referred to in the Airstream Owners manual.

There are no breakers on the Mercedes side; it's all 12vDC, so it's all fuses.

Bikerbill · 01-23-2014, 11:13 AM

If you have a rear sofa as opposed to side couches, there is a panel with 2 chrome button-pulls just behind where your legs dangle when sitting on the sofa. You push the chrome and out pops the knob to open the door. Behind that door is a brown panel with a push area at top. Push that small area and that door pops open and viola there are your 12 volt fuses and 120 volt circuit breakers for the Airstream side of the motorhome.

Also, have you made sure the Master Power switch is on? That is the black switch with the red indicator light mounted at the rear area of the sliding door frame. Its kinda like behind the elbow of someone sitting in the 2nd passenger seat. That might have been turned off. It is electrically operated. And there is also the manual method of the Master Switch behind the electrical access panel described above. There on the left side is a red knob that turns from OFF or ON for the battery disconnect. If that is OFF all of the 12 volt items except Propane Leak Detector and Radio Memory are off (there may be another item but not sure what it is--maybe CO detector). If that is OFF then no 12 volts i.e.: lights will work, water pump will not work.

I did speak this AM with AI factory for my own knowledge. Yes, the BIM--Battery Isolation Monitor (PCI Battery Isolation Monitor as talked about with an earlier posting) does also charge the engine battery ONCE the voltages have been reached on the motorhome batteries. In simple terms, if the motorhome batteries are satisfied then the engine battery will also be charged when plugged into shore power

Yes, once you have ample voltage in the motorhome batteries you can then use the "emergency boost/start" button on the left side of the steering column to assist the engine battery by adding the motorhome batteries into the engine starting circuit. BUT again, don't let the engine sit and idle for an hour charging the battery. Either take it for a LONG drive or put an additional small battery charger on the red post under the hood or leave it plugged into shore power and let the Magnum inverter and BIM charge the engine battery once the motorhome batteries have reached the proper voltage as described in the BIM sheet.

Right From the PCI-BIM instructions........
Key Feature.....
a. Charge Coach Battery when Alternator is charging Chassis Battery
b. Charge Chassis Battery when Converter is charging Coach Battery (this would be receiving 120 volts from shore power or generator power into the Magnum inverter-charger.)
Isolate Batteries to prevent discharging or overcharging of Batteries, or when neither battery is being charged

joemikeb · 01-23-2014, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bikerbill

If you have a rear sofa as opposed to side couches, there is a panel with 2 chrome button-pulls just behind where your legs dangle when sitting on the sofa. You push the chrome and out pops the knob to open the door. Behind that door is a brown panel with a push area at top. Push that small area and that door pops open and viola there are your 12 volt fuses and 120 volt circuit breakers for the Airstream side of the motorhome…

Not quit all the Airstream fuses are in the panel at the back. I found out — the hard way — that there are fuses for Airstream installed equipment, such as the awning power and alarm, located in the jam packed breaker panel underneath the driver's seat in my 2013 lounge model. Not only are there a LOT of fuses in there, but the only way to access them is from outside with the driver's door open and, of course, it was pouring rain and cold.

When I got to the dealer, I asked if they had any clue what all those fuses were and which was which. His comment was, "I wish we did, but we don't."