# 91 Fleetwood Southwind: charging issue



## Nealio (Nov 20, 2019)

1991 Fleetwood Southwind. Chevy 454 engine.

Problem: 

Battery will not charge.

Diagnosis:

Two dead house batteries. Brand new battery on ignition. Startup battery reads 11.7 volts on meter with engine on or off. Driving a few miles eventually drains battery. All house breakers off.

Replaced original alternator, which had bad squeal when manually turning the pulley. Replaced starter battery, left two dead house batteries connected. Same result. 11.7volts on the meter with engine on or off. Draw switch on meter drops the volts to 11. Revving engine to 2200 rpms, no change on meter; 11.7 with no draw, 11 with draw.

With new battery, new alternator, and jumper cables hooked up to separate vehicle, meter on starter battery shows 12.7 volts. Revving separate vehicle to 3000 rpms, meter doesn't move. Steady at 12.7 on meter.

Removed positive and negative from the two dead house batteries. No change. 12.7 volts on meter when jumped from separate vehicle. 11.7 volts on meter when not jumped. No change when engine revved.

My Conclusion:

Battery is not getting charged from RV charging system or from jumped vehicle charging system.


Checked 12 v cables at starter, both isolator solenoids, battery terminals, alternator, ground points. All check out good.

Any suggestions on where to go from here to diagnose? Is it possible to by-pass house batteries/charging circuit and create an isolated ignition circuit so the RV is driveable?


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