'89 Winnebago Chieftain
Spokes
questions:
Where can he get an owners manual?
Are there any support groups on the internet?
The generator only runs with the ignition in the on position. Is this
normal? Isn't this hard on the ignition?
The coach lights also only work with ignition in the on position. Same as
above.
There's a switch in the dash that says auxiliary and main. The auxiliary
position is spring loaded and when pressed, the generator shuts off. What's
the purpose of this switch. (I my RV, I have a switch on the dash that lets
me start the motor off the coach battery.)
I think I got all of his questions.
Anyhow, any insight would be appreciated.
Bob
John A. Weeks III
<spokes@_REMOVE_ipa.net> wrote:
> A friend of mine just got a 1989 Winnebago Chieftain, 32ft. He's got a few
> questions:
>
> Where can he get an owners manual?
They really didn't have a single manual, per se, rather, it was a
binder. The binder had the literature and manuals from each of the
components that made up the coach. You could try Winnebago (in
Forest City, Iowa), or John Deere (they made Winnebago during that
era).
> Are there any support groups on the internet?
>
> The generator only runs with the ignition in the on position. Is this
> normal? Isn't this hard on the ignition?
No, not normal.
> The coach lights also only work with ignition in the on position. Same as
> above.
Again, not normal.
> There's a switch in the dash that says auxiliary and main. The auxiliary
> position is spring loaded and when pressed, the generator shuts off. What's
> the purpose of this switch. (I my RV, I have a switch on the dash that lets
> me start the motor off the coach battery.)
I had a 90 Supercheif. There were 3 different switches on the dash that
had to do with the electrical system.
One was a (main,aux), and it controlled whether the in-dash stereo
system ran off of the chassis battery or the coach battery.
A 2nd one was used to feed power from the chassis alternator to the
coach charging system so you could charge the batteries while underway.
This switch was to be engaged only while engine was running, generator
off, and no shore power.
The 3rd switch would lock in one direction, but was spring loaded in
the other direction. In the locking position, it turned on the 12 volt
electrical system and batteries for the coach. When you flip this
switch, a large relay or selenoid trips to engage the coach batteries.
If the batteries are too far down, the relay or selenoid will not
activate. In that case, you need to charge the batteries (using the
shore power since the generator likely will not start either with the
low battery). Once the coach batteries are charged up, you need to
reconnect them to the electrical system using a magic sequence of
switch presses, with the spring loaded switch position being part of
the sequence. I don't recall the process.
I have a feeling that your coach batteries are flat. Test them out.
If so, you will need to charge them, or replace them, and then get that
magic set of button presses to reconnect the batteries to the house
electrical system. This stuff is all neat when it works, but it is
a pain when something goes flaky. These coaches were common enough
that any decent RV tech will know how to do this work. I took my
coach to Camping World to have a similar problem worked out.
-john-
--
====================================================================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 jo...@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
====================================================================
Alan Robinson
"Spokes" <spokes@_REMOVE_ipa.net> wrote in message
news:0b0442ec9aadb669...@news.teranews.com...
> A friend of mine just got a 1989 Winnebago Chieftain, 32ft. He's got a
few
> questions:
>
> Where can he get an owners manual?
>
good about it.
> Are there any support groups on the internet?
>
> The generator only runs with the ignition in the on position. Is this
> normal? Isn't this hard on the ignition?
>
This is NOT normal, and indicates that either the coach batteries are bad or
miswired.
> The coach lights also only work with ignition in the on position. Same as
> above.
>
See above. Basically, there is a solenoid that links the coach batteries
with the chassis battery when the ignition is on so that the engine
alternator will charge them all when driving.
> There's a switch in the dash that says auxiliary and main. The auxiliary
> position is spring loaded and when pressed, the generator shuts off.
What's
> the purpose of this switch. (I my RV, I have a switch on the dash that
lets
> me start the motor off the coach battery.)
>
This is _intended_ to do the same thing as your RV - but, as noted above, it
appears the coach batteries are either dead or miswired.
Lone Haranguer
> In article <0b0442ec9aadb669...@news.teranews.com>, Spokes
> <spokes@_REMOVE_ipa.net> wrote:
>
>
>>A friend of mine just got a 1989 Winnebago Chieftain, 32ft. He's got a few
>>questions:
>>
>>Where can he get an owners manual?
>
>
> They really didn't have a single manual, per se, rather, it was a
> binder. The binder had the literature and manuals from each of the
> components that made up the coach. You could try Winnebago (in
> Forest City, Iowa), or John Deere (they made Winnebago during that
> era).
>
See if you can find the customer service contact at www.winnebagoind.com.
John Deere made SOME chassis for Winnebago in '89, usually those with
the Ford 460. Most were Chevy P-30s with the 454. (At least that is my
memory.)
>
>>Are there any support groups on the internet?
Try any RV forum on Yahoo.
>>
>>The generator only runs with the ignition in the on position. Is this
>>normal? Isn't this hard on the ignition?
>
>
> No, not normal.
I've had 4 Winnebago products, '83, '88, '95 & '99. The ignition was
never involved with the generator start procedure.
>
>
>>The coach lights also only work with ignition in the on position. Same as
>>above.
>
>
> Again, not normal.
Sure isn't.
>
>
>>There's a switch in the dash that says auxiliary and main.
That's for the dash radio, as I recall/
The auxiliary
>>position is spring loaded and when pressed, the generator shuts off.
Sounds like the dash mounted genset switch to me.
What's
>>the purpose of this switch. (I my RV, I have a switch on the dash that lets
>>me start the motor off the coach battery.)
It connects the coach batteries to the engine battery if needed.
>
>
> I had a 90 Supercheif. There were 3 different switches on the dash that
> had to do with the electrical system.
>
> One was a (main,aux), and it controlled whether the in-dash stereo
> system ran off of the chassis battery or the coach battery.
>
> A 2nd one was used to feed power from the chassis alternator to the
> coach charging system so you could charge the batteries while underway.
> This switch was to be engaged only while engine was running, generator
> off, and no shore power.
I forgot I had that on the '88 Itasca.
LZ
Neon John
>A friend of mine just got a 1989 Winnebago Chieftain, 32ft. He's got a few
>questions:
>
>Where can he get an owners manual?
Rots o ruck! Winnebago/Itasca acted like I'd farted in the White House when I
asked where I could obtain manuals. They kinda forget they made anything over
a few years old.
He can get individual appliance manuals on the net or by calling the mfrs.
That's the major info he'll want. Winnebago wiring is pretty easy to figure
out. That's about the only thing a house manual would be useful for. If it's
a chevy chassis, and maybe if it's a Mopar, he can get a service manual from
http://www.helm.com. They go way back.
>
>Are there any support groups on the internet?
>
>The generator only runs with the ignition in the on position. Is this
>normal? Isn't this hard on the ignition?
>
>The coach lights also only work with ignition in the on position. Same as
>above.
House battery is bad or missing. The house/chassis interconnect relay is
connecting the house to the chassis battery. This is to charge the house
battery when underway.
>
>There's a switch in the dash that says auxiliary and main. The auxiliary
>position is spring loaded and when pressed, the generator shuts off. What's
>the purpose of this switch. (I my RV, I have a switch on the dash that lets
>me start the motor off the coach battery.)
That should be a center-off switch. In main, the house and chassis batteries
are connected together when the switch is on so the house battery can be
charged. The aux position is to allow the house battery to boost off the
engine when the chassis battery is dead. It will also let you crank the genny
from the chassis battery if you've run the house battery down so far that it
won't crank. Handy thing to have. Leave it in "main" normally.
---
John De Armond
johngdDO...@bellsouth.net
http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/o/johngd/
Cleveland, Occupied TN
Steve Wolf
do NOT want to leave the ignition on. The wiring is screwed up at a starter
relay that is used to connect the engine alternator to the batteries when
you're underway. Get a hold of Winnebago and order the manual, service
manual, and the wiring manual and you'll have all you need to fix your box.
That's why I have a newer Winnie. Winnie keeps me in parts even if my rig
is 20 years old. In fact, on that unit, the people that made the cruise
control had just gone out of business and they went way out of their way to
help me find a replacement. Winnie was good to me.
Steve
www.wolfswords.com
Spokes
them. Next time, I'm going set up newsgroups on his computer!
Bob
"Spokes" <spokes@_REMOVE_ipa.net> wrote in message
news:0b0442ec9aadb669...@news.teranews.com...
Spokes
Bob, Thanks for the help with this matter. Lesson learned- never assume a
new battery is a good battery. the coach battery was dead as a door nail
and would not even take a charge! Even though I knew it to be new. Then
tried a battery that i had charged and assume it to be good too, no luck.
Replaced with a known good battery and viola it works as it should. All
systems go!!
"Spokes" <spokes@_REMOVE_ipa.net> wrote in message
news:0b0442ec9aadb669...@news.teranews.com...
bb.i...@gmail.com
Technobarbarian
<bb.i...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a7503273-1d66-40e0...@googlegroups.com...
> batt.is the volt gage bad or what how do i check it.
suspect that it's just wired that way. If there's a switch that would
indicate that it isn't I'd start by checking that switch and wiring.
Personally I'd put good batteries in the thing and not worry about it until
the idiot light came on. Hey. it's an old rig. Give it a break. YMMV
And before you ask it's doubtful that a wiring diagram exists for
that beast. Particularly on older rigs if the original owner got one it was
often just a generic diagram that wasn't all that helpful. That's just the
way it is for a lot of RVs.
TB
nothermark
>Battery condition switch only works for aux.batt.shows nothing for main batt.is the volt gage bad or what how do i check it.
is good. If there is a main/aux switch check the wiring to the
switch. If there is no switch then it never checks the main batts so
you need to address that. If what you call main are the starter or
chassis batteries there may be a dashboard meter. It sounds like you
will need to draw your own schematic as you go.
phillips...@yahoo.com
Technobarbarian
<phillips...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:e2a4ef30-616d-4c82...@googlegroups.com...
> cables to main terminalsck 5A fuses ,where are they located,yes I am a
> women first time out,PLEASE HELP ,I shouldn't have to jump everytime
auxiliary batteries are not being charged as expected.
These old beasts rely on either a mechanical relay or a diode based
"isolator" to supply power to your auxiliary batteries when the engine is
running and only when the engine is running. Otherwise you would run down
the engine's battery when you're using the auxiliary batteries. To
troubleshoot this you need to follow the wiring from the generator to the
batteries and figure out where you have power and where you don't have
power. You either have an open short somewhere or the isolator has failed.
With the diode based isolators it's likely that a diode has died. This is
easy enough to check. Is there power going from the generator to the
isolator? If yes, is there power at the terminal connected to your auxiliary
batteries when the engine is running? If not that's your problem.
(It looks like this post is probably a response to a post from
2004.)
Technobarbarian
"Technobarbarian" <Technobarbar...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:mt4cjv$1j2$1...@dont-email.me...
there will be a big wire from the generator to the relay and a similar wire
from the relay to the auxiliary batteries. Those wires carry the current to
your auxiliary batteries. There will be a smaller wire from your ignition
switch. That wire supplies the power to close the relay when the engine is
turned on.
If all of this reads like Greek I'd suggest finding someone who
understands basic 12 volt wiring to help you.
You also need to check and maintain your batteries on a regular
basis.
Lone Haranguer
your batteries? Cleaned corrosion off the terminals?
Charging auxiliary batteries can be done in several ways.
1. If converter is working, plug into shore power.
2. Running the engine should also charge them but check any
battery switches you may have on the dash.
3. Running the generator (if you have one).
Have someone check state of batteries AFTER charging, using a
hydrometer.
Here is some info on batteries.
http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-information/deep-cycle-battery-info
LZ