Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: low voltage (Read 1792 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

low voltage

Yahoo Message Number: 329
I have a 99 Magna and my voltmeter reads about 11 volts. I have had it serviced and tech says it

is reading 13 at battery when engines running. When I first got coach I never recall the voltmeter dropping below 12 but one tech says on CCs its common. anyone else have this experience?

Re: low voltage

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 330
Quote from: Boldebook"
I have a 99 Magna and my voltmeter reads about 11 volts. I have

had it

Quote
serviced and tech says it > is reading 13 at battery when engines running. When I first got

coach I

Quote
never recall the voltmeter dropping > below 12 but one tech says on CCs its common. anyone else have this > experience?
I think you have nothing more than a lazy or defective voltmeter meter movement. Remove the back side of the dashboard so you have access to the terminals of the voltmeter. You will need a good quality volt/ohmeter, preferably digital placed on the dc volt scale.
If you have an analog meter like from Radio Shack that will work also. (with my old eyes digital is easier to see) With the engine running put your meter leads across the dash meter. I am sure you will have something close to 13v. If that is the case you need to replace the dashboard voltmeter.

My Datcon brand voltmeter in my 1998 Intrigue was doing something similar and changing the meter cured the problem. If you do end up changing the meter, shut off your chassis batteries before you change it out.

Re: low voltage

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 331
--- > I have a 99 Magna and my voltmeter reads about 11 volts. I have had it

Quote
serviced and tech says it > is reading 13 at battery when engines running. When I first got

coach I

Quote
never recall the voltmeter dropping > below 12 but one tech says on CCs its common. anyone else have this > experience?
CC folks seem to have assorted ideas on batteries. We've had questions about ours and were told that when it drops into the 11 range we need to charge it up. We bought a multimeter and measure at the batteries now and are keeping track of the battery charge there rather than at the inverter (Invertrix) which is a bit goosey still with its readings. I would suggest that you do the same. There seem to be lots of folk with battery problems who check in here, so hopefully they'll give some input too. However, as basic as my recent knowledge is, 11 is too low! Jan

Re: low voltage

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 333
I have a 99 magna with a 350 cummins and I fought the problem of the low readings on the volt meter when I first purchased the coach. What I found and had proved to me by more than one mechanic is that there is a voltage drop from the engine to the gauge and that in fact the gauge reads low. I purchased and had installed one of the electronic box's like they are installing on the new magna's and it proves that the output of the alternator and the voltage of the batteries are where they are supposed to be. dave spain cocoa beach, fla. I also installed a link 2000 on the heart inverter which has also given me lots of peace of mind.

Re: low voltage

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 334
Dave, could you please give me more info on the electronic box you refer to that they are installing on new magnas..so I can inquire about it. What puzzles

me the most is when I got the coach new it always read over 12..usually 13 at the dash voltmeter..and now its much lower. I did check the voltage at the batteries this morning and Im getting 12.92 , which if the batteries are full, is probably

okay. Thanks for your answer.
 

Re: low voltage

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 336
the electronic box i referred to is the silverleaf vms 200 el which gives you all of the engine readings right off the engine. It took the guy at the ft myers rally about 30 minutes to install. they are made in albany or at 888 741 0259 or www.simply-smarter.com i do not have any idea why your readings would change from when coach was new to now. dave spain