underhood generator

[booster]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

zion battery just gets charged by 'engine generator'

all other models use bothalternators -that was what i was told

That is interesting as it goes against what Avanti found out about Sprinters not liking to have big loads going away from the MB electronics. It would be interesting to know, that is for sure.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by booster

That is interesting as it goes against what Avanti found out about Sprinters not liking to have big loads going away from the MB electronics. It would be interesting to know, that is for sure.

i specifically asked Dawn at roadtrek because the spare serpentine belt i got was so small.

she sent back that all roadtreks used a combination of the standard alternator plus the engine generator.

then she e-mailed me 2 hours later saying she was wrong about the new then zion. unlike the other models the zion had its own separate belt and the engine generator exclusively charged the house battery. the zion -at least the agm version-has no battery seperator

[booster]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

i specifically asked Dawn at roadtrek because the spare serpentine belt i got was so small.

she sent back that all roadtreks used a combination of the standard alternator plus the engine generator.

then she e-mailed me 2 hours later saying she was wrong about the new then zion. unlike the other models the zion had its own separate belt and the engine generator exclusively charged the house battery. the zion -at least the agm version-has no battery seperator

Are you sure they weren't talking about the shared belt that the other units use, and not combined electrical output?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by booster

That is interesting as it goes against what Avanti found out about Sprinters not liking to have big loads going away from the MB electronics. It would be interesting to know, that is for sure.

I agree with Avanti as does Advanced RV. It would seem strange to be be charging from two alternators with one controlled by Balmar and the other by MB computer electronics. The second alternator is one of the benefits to divorce house battery charging from MB computer electronics. I would guess also, that MB does not have provisions for charging large battery banks but only small auxiliary battery situations in work vans that they had always made provisions for. MB does recognize the need for second alternators as they do sell kits and brackets for them.

[DCHitt]

I thought the under hood generator in the e-treks were 24 volt.If so you only need 150 amps to make 3000 watts.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by booster

Are you sure they weren't talking about the shared belt that the other units use, and not combined electrical output?

Dawn is not an engineer and i was asking technical questions. with the zion she kept findout out things were different than their other models.

the info could be wrong or i may have taken it wrong.

However Jim Hammill was actually the one that said the zion had no seperator not dawn-that was in another of my exchanges

[prfleming]

We recently purchased a 2016 Roadtrek 210 with the underhood generator. Really like it so far. While boondocking, I have cooked a meal which required using the convection microwave for several hours, ran the engine at idle. Worked well.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by gerrym51

Dawn is not an engineer and i was asking technical questions. with the zion she kept findout out things were different than their other models.

the info could be wrong or i may have taken it wrong.

However Jim Hammill was actually the one that said the zion had no seperator not dawn-that was in another of my exchanges

With respect to RT, I believe any model that employs an engine generator, AGM or lithium, does not have a separator. The systems operate independent of each other.

[obgraham]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

With respect to RT, I believe any model that employs an engine generator, AGM or lithium, does not have a separator. The systems operate independent of each other.

My '15 CS Etrek has a separator.

[Arlo]

My 2013 Etrek also had a separator. It was removed by RT as part of the warranty service associated with installing a battery equalizer. Tech stated there had been reports of it causing Sprinter error codes. Not something I had experienced.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by obgraham

My '15 CS Etrek has a separator.

When I installed our second alternator, I left the existing separator in place, but disconnected its connection to the "Engine Running" signal. Its only remaining purpose is to allow my "battery boost" switch to continue working.

It, and our Trik-L-Start are the only remaining electrical connections between the chassis and the coach power systems.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by obgraham

My '15 CS Etrek has a separator.

I made this inquiry to RT in July 16 and was advised that a separator was not employed if the GU underhood generator option was chosen. What model separator does your CS have, and which alternator feeds the separator? Is your Etrek equipped with lithium or AGM coach batteries?

[obgraham]

Cruising, you should know by now that RT is not reliable when they tell you what is "in" a particular rig. They change so often that they can't keep track of it themselves. That's why they continue to supply owner manuals for equipment they stopped providing ages ago.
My rig (8 AGM type) is at the other end of the country right now, or I would post a pic of the separator. I'm pretty sure it is a separator because it says "Battery Separator" in big letters.
I would prefer to see the chassis and house systems completely separate, each being fed by its own alternator. But they aren't in my case.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by avanti

When I installed our second alternator, I left the existing separator in place, but disconnected its connection to the "Engine Running" signal. Its only remaining purpose is to allow my "battery boost" switch to continue working.

It, and our Trik-L-Start are the only remaining electrical connections between the chassis and the coach power systems.

Can you provide a rough diagram of the existing setup? Thanks.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Can you provide a rough diagram of the existing setup? Thanks.

Roughly:

2014 Legend wiring.jpg

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by avanti

Roughly:

Attachment 3811

I see the Tricklestart supporting the engine battery at rest but what is the the charging source for the chassis battery on the road?

[avanti]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

I see the Tricklestart supporting the engine battery at rest but what is the the charging source for the chassis battery on the road?

The chassis (starting) battery is charged by the normal Sprinter alternator/charging system (not shown in the diagram).

The coach batteries are charged while underway by the second engine alternator.

N.B.: I should note that the system as shown is a bit dangerous: If the BlueSea disconnect switch were opened while the engine is running, it would remove the battery load from the second alternator, which would probably damage it. In my actual system, there is an extra relay on the "enable" line (controlled by the "OFF" feedback line from the BlueSea switch) which would disable the Balmar regulator if this were to happen.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by avanti

N.B.: I should note that the system as shown is a bit dangerous: If the BlueSea disconnect switch were opened while the engine is running, it would remove the battery load from the second alternator, which would probably damage it.

I posed this question to Balmar a few months ago, i.e. if the regulator experiences an associated battery disconnect, will it shut down the alternator field winding current. The tech who was supposed to know was away and I never received a return call one way or the other regarding this. I'll follow up on it.

[booster]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

I posed this question to Balmar a few months ago, i.e. if the regulator experiences an associated battery disconnect, will it shut down the alternator field winding current. The tech who was supposed to know was away and I never received a return call one way or the other regarding this. I'll follow up on it.

You may get a few different answers from Balmar on that question, I have. The regulator is supposed to cut the field voltage when it loses battery reference, but the question is if it can do it fast enough to prevent a huge voltage spike in the alternator before the cutoff of field, which can take out the diodes in the alternator output. Most alternator folks will say it is a fairly common occurrence.

Blue Sea does make a manual disconnect switch that has a delay on for the field wiring, and also an early off for the field wiring. It is designed to specifically address this issue.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

With respect to RT, I believe any model that employs an engine generator, AGM or lithium, does not have a separator. The systems operate independent of each other.

i believe they all have seperators except the zion models