battery's

[bampie]

Hi, I have a 1997 safari serengeti (3706).The dealer put in two new starting batterys two weeks ago.I was at a c.g last week and left the safari there, i was gone for three days,when i got back i found out that i had not fully pluged in the m.h,And the batterys were dead, The heater was on for the time i was gone(cold here)The m.h wont start with out a jump,but once it is running the trans locks out. Im only showing 8 volts on the dash gage, if i keep the jumper cables hooked up i can shift it.So i must have to have at least 12 volts to run the trans,(allison 6 speed)Is this normal and do u think i killed the batterys? or can i put a charger on them and bring them back to life?sorry such a long post but i thought i would give all the info u might need to help me out,Thank for all your help and happy camping.Billy:confused:

[whodo]

Can't say if your batteries are ruined or not, but I would charge them then check them with a hydrometer. If there history you will have to replace them. Here is a link to answer every question you could have concerning batteries, just scroll down and click on the different links to a couple hundred pages of information concerning batteries. http://www.batteryfaq.org/

Now concerning the transmission, yes it requires 12volts or a little better to function properly. Computerized transmissions are not like the automatic transmissions of yesteryear.

[kareninthewoods]

Hi, I have a 1997 safari serengeti (3706).The dealer put in two new starting batterys two weeks ago.I was at a c.g last week and left the safari there, i was gone for three days,when i got back i found out that i had not fully pluged in the m.h,And the batterys were dead, The heater was on for the time i was gone(cold here)The m.h wont start with out a jump,but once it is running the trans locks out. Im only showing 8 volts on the dash gage, if i keep the jumper cables hooked up i can shift it.So i must have to have at least 12 volts to run the trans,(allison 6 speed)Is this normal and do u think i killed the batterys? or can i put a charger on them and bring them back to life?sorry such a long post but i thought i would give all the info u might need to help me out,Thank for all your help and happy camping.Billy:confused:


Hey Billy... two things:

First - Our Safari is one year older than yours, and ours came from the manufacturer with two solar panels on the roof. One larger one for the 4 coach batteries and one smaller one to keep the 2 chassis batteries charged. If they put in new chassis batteries, did they forget to clamp on the wires in the compartment from the solar chargers? (as best we can guess, we don't have a solar controller on ours anywhere that we can find, the thin wires coming into the battery compartment are all that charges the 2 chassis batteries from the tiny solar panel)

Second- Your furnace in the rig should never have worn down your chassis batteries, only your coach batteries. They are supposed to be wired separately. Did someone add a *connector* somewhere between the two different battery banks that would have depleted them all? Or was a dash item such as radio, cell phone charger or cb radio left on that would have drained your chassis batteries? 3 days would not deplete them even with phantom loads of engine computer boards, clock on the radio or other tiny drains.

Hope you are able to selvage those batteries, check fluid levels and check acid with gravity hygrometer (sp?) and hopefully be able to equalize them and charge them up again to a usable level?

Good luck!