Kyote's '81 Excella 280 TD

[bkahler]

Kyote,

When your engine is running the alternator voltage output at the alternator can be as high as 14.5 volts. Typically the alternator connection at the battery isolator terminal you should see the actual output of the alternator. At the other two terminals on the battery isolator (one going to each battery) you will see around a .5 to 1.0 voltage drop.

So if the connection for the alternator is reading 14.0 volts then the two terminals that feed the batteries will read between 13.0 and 13.5 volts. This is normal. However at the batteries you should also see the same 13.0 to 13.5 volts or very close to the same number.

If you read less than that then you're having parasitic voltage loss between the battery isolator and your batteries. Wire size, poor connections, etc will cause voltage drops and in general create charging problems. Grounding problems can also add to the problems causing voltage loss and poor charging in general.

I found a really good online article a year or so ago that really did a good job of explaining things. I'll have to see if I can find it and post the link again.

Brad

[bkahler]

Here's the link to the article I was referring to with lots of good stuff and goes into good detail about remote voltage sensing that is used by our alternators.

Here's the link to the rest of their automotive electrical tech articles.

Brad

[mayco]

Those plugin meters are good for reading voltage at a specific spot but there cam be quite a few variables between the socket and your distribution panel. Voltage drop is common due to a number of different things. Youre interested in reading at the battery to start with, them move on from there

[kyote]

The starter battery went from 13.2 to 12.6 in 3 weeks. So yeah, probably a parasitic draw somewhere , but I don't have time to deal with it at this point. I've put it on a 12v plug-in 5w solar trickle charger and it is holding 13 or so.

mystery machine, still unsolved!http://www.airforums.com/forums/f45/...it-165571.html

pics 1 and 2: mystery door under carpet? I have seen discussion about removing the OSB for access to the air bags (that do need to be done), but this is squarely over the fuel tank?

[Boom Sounds]

Is it so that you can access a fuel pump sender in the fuel tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Isuzusweet]

If you haven't done your rear airbags yet, now's the time to cut a hole out in the subfloor to do that as well.

I have included a link to my subfloor fuel tank area....post #6

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f311...me-106269.html

Cheers
Tony

[kyote]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

If you haven't done your rear airbags yet, now's the time to cut a hole out in the subfloor to do that as well.

I have included a link to my subfloor fuel tank area....post #6

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f311...me-106269.html

Cheers
Tony

Nice work on that subfloor. Amazed at how fast you did it all!

I'm debating this. It may not leave my property for an indeterminate amount of time while my father in law (76yo) lives in it. So, in the dry hot southwest, I am thinking it would be better to wait to replace rubber?

From looking on the forums, it looks tricky, but impossible to do without cutting into the floor...? And, the compressor sounds like it is compressing, but I assume there are leaks in the system as none of the bags inflate. So, deeper into the hole. If I have the time before father in law moves in, I will try to do in the most practical order.