How is generator battery charged on an 82 FC?

[freewill2008]

The genset battery was set up at the factory to charge from the
convertor or the 3208 alternator. A solid state battery isolator is
mounted in the battery compartment to prevent the generator battery
from discharging along with the coach batteries. (Only two of the
three terminals are used on the isolator because the isoloater was
not used for the coach batteries.) From the isolater there is a
cable that runs along the streetside frame rail until it crosses over
to the generator tray. On its way to the genset, the charge cable
from the isolator stops at the combiner relay which activates from
your dash switch. (From the other side of that combiner relay another
cable runs to the 3208 cranking motor. This is where the power comes
from to start the genset when you hit the dash switch.)

The factory design was not exactly intuitive. It takes some time with
the wiring diagrams to realize how their design works. Some coaches
have been modified in an attempt to "fix" the way BB wired it
(although it was not broken in the first place). You need to be sure
the original setup or some viable substitute is in place and working
or the genset battery will end up dead.

Also, lots of coaches have been upgraded for separate house and
cranking batteries. If this has been done, charging current for the
genset might have been overlooked in the re-design.

Bob Griesel '84 FC31 WLII WA

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "davidkerryedwards"
wrote:
>
> Thanks. I'll assume that's the case until I find out otherwise. I
haven't run the generator
> much at all so that would account for the low battery.
>
> Kerry
> 82 Fc 35
> Denver
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "chet geist"
wrote:
> >
> > Kerry,
> >
> > On my Perkins/kohler generator the generator battery is charged
by the
> > generator itself. It is done through he control box with
rectifier and
> > other electronic gadgets. You can probably tell if this is your
setup by
> > looking at the control box and see if it has an ammeter on it.
It will
> > probably only have a max of about 10 amps. There was a
modification on some
> > of the old birds adding a diode near the solenoid under the step
to allow
> > main batteries to charge the generator battery if the generator
wasn't run
> > enough to keep it's battery charged.
> >
> > Chet Geist
> > 1981 FC33, Austin, Texas
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> > [mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
davidkerryedwards
> > Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 1:10 PM
> > To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] How is generator battery charged on
an 82 FC?
> >
> >
> > My one year old battery on the generator was discharged enough
to not turn
> > over the motor
> > this spring. I could start the generator by pushing the button
that
> > connects house and
> > generator batteries. I assumed it was low from sitting all
winter but
> > after driving about 75
> > miles, battery is still weak. I assumed the main engine
alternator would
> > charge the generator
> > battery. Is this assumption mistaken? Is the generator battery
only
> > charged from 110 volts?
> > It doesn't seem likely that a battery would fail in just one
year
> > (although not altogether out of
> > the question).
> >
> > Kerry
> > 82 Fc 35
> > Denver
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>