HOW TO CHECK THE COACH BATTERY(IES)' VOLTAGE ON A ROADTREK THAT HAS A TRIPPLITE

 With the battery switch on, when you press the test button on the monitor panel in Roadtrek the battery column of LEDs light up to show you how much charge is in the coach batteries, The top C green LED indicates that the Roadtrek is charging (if plugged in, running the generator, or running the engine). The next LED down - G amber LED - if  lit indicates that the voltage is approximately between 12.5 and 12.7 volts (12.7 is considered full charge). The next two LEDs down to the bottom of the column - both RED LEDs - indicate from the one below the G to the one on the bottom that the batteries are 12.4 volts for the upper one and 12.3 volts for the bottom one. When the upper red LED is lit at 12.4 volts the batteries are at half charge - and at this point the Roadtrek needs to have the batteries charged by either plugging in for 12 to 24 hours, running the generator (which is the slowest way to charge), or taking a two to three hour continual drive on a limited access road at the speed limit.  BUT with the monitor panel battery column what you are seeing is not exact but an approximation of the level of charge. If you want to see an exact battery voltage level you need a multi-meter - an electronic device that will read both AC and DC voltage (separately) by putting a positive and negative probe on the battery terminals. You want a multi-meter with a DIGITAL display.  Using one with a dial and needle is not going to be easy to read. These can be found in Home Depot or Lowes or any electronics store or auto store - or on line. A digital meter will cost about $40 or more but is well worth it both for the Roadtrek and at home. Prior to 2011, Roadtrek had the battery(ies) in a slide out tray inside an outside cabinet on the passenger side of the van. This was either one or two cabinets - when there were two cabinets there was a battery in each. When there is one cabinet both batteries are in that cabinet.  When these cabinets has sliding trays it was easy to slide the tray out and have access to the battery terminals.  In 2011 Roadtrek changed from using deep cycle RV wet cell battery(ies) to no maintenance AGM batteries. With no way to open an AGM battery and no need any longer to check battery fluid levels - there was no need to access the top of the battery(ies) and since Roadtrek did not want you to even attempt to do that - they took away the slide. Here is a photo of my 2011 190 Popular with AGM batteries with the battery cabinet door open - 

With this getting to the terminals of these two 6 volt AGM batteries wired in series to output 12 volts DC to the Roadtrek is a major pain as the batteries need to be lifted out as it is awkward to get to the terminals needed to take a reading with a meter. 

BUT - there is a simpler way!  For Roadtreks equipped with a TrippLite Inverter/Converter/Charger you can easily get a reading right from the battery connections going into the TrippLite. This works with both the earlier TrippLite 600 and the TrippLite 750 that Roadtrek uses later. 

This is the TrippLite 750.  This is located in the back of the Roadtrek behind the passenger side cargo door.  To see where this is and how to access it - in many Chevy based Roadtreks - but Roadtrek over the years had a way of putting things in different locations so it is possible yours may be elsewhere - this linked article will help you get to it (with photos)  in the same location mine is.  One thing for certain it is inside near where the battery(ies) are outside. 

Take a look at this photo on the bottom left. There is a black cable and a red cable - the black cable is the negative battery cable coming DIRECTLY from the battery(ies).  The red cable is the positive battery cable coming DIRECTLY from the battery(ies). The TrippLite is directly connected to the battery(ies). IT BYPASSES THE BATTERY DISCONNECT/CONNECT SWITCH ON THE WALL INSIDE THE ROADTREK. THESE TWO CABLES HERE ARE ALWAYS LIVE - THEY HAVE POWER GOING THROUGH THEM EVEN WHEN YOUR BATTERY SWITCH IS OFF AND/OR THE ROADTREK IS COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN. 

NEXT - take a look at the top of the BLACK cable in the photo - SEE THE SCREW HEAD THERE. That holds the cable into the TrippLite. There is the  another of that SCREW HEAD on the top of the red cable (hidden in the photo by the red cable - but it is there just as easy to reach. (Don't touch the two at the same time with your fingers - these are live connections.)

 

NOW - Take out your multi-meter - set it on DC - if there is a voltage range set the range to include 12 volts. There will be a probe with a red wire and a probe with a black wire that you plug each into the meter. Some meters have a button to hold the reading on the screen once the reading is taken and this makes it easy to look at once you have crawled out from where the TrippLite is located, stand up outside and read what it says - especially if you have a Roadtrek with a power sofa bed and the TrippLite is under the bed and the bed frame is in the way of the TrippLite. Once your meter is all set - and you can get it set up even before you start - you can take your reading.

 

HOLD each probe, each in a different hand and put the metal tip of the probe on the top of the corresponding battery cable screw head.  Hold the probes away from the metal tip on the end of each prob. Do this not plugged in, best if the battery wall switch is of inside so there is no draw on the batteries when taking the reading, van engine off, generator off. Inverter wall switch OFF . Instantly the meter will display the exact voltage of both batteries - or your single coach battery on its display screen. 

That is all there is to it. No struggling with battery(ies) in a small cabinet - no need to slide out anything. You just use this easy access method to see what the exact voltage of your Roadtrek coach battery(ies) is.

 

This is the meter I have. I bought it either in Home Depot or Lowes. This meter comes with the standard probes but it also has a temperature probe used to show the temperature coming out of a air conditioner, etc. It uses batteries to run but I do not keep those batteries in the meter unless I am using it - as I am not using it often. The pouch came from Walmart - though I have not seen these there in awhile. In the pouch it is an easy grab and go with everything needed inside to use it. I keep it in the house and it is on the what to pack into the Roadtrek before a trip check list. It is easy to find a place for it inside the Roadtrek!

 

 

 

 

THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX

 Most know that the Roadtrek fuse box containing the fuses and circuit breakers for the Roadtrek RV appliances and components is on the wall of the Roadtrek next to the passenger side door into the Roadtrek. This is where you will find the main 30 amp circuit breaker for the coach, the breakers for various other 110/120 volt electrical components like the air conditioner, the television, etc.. Also in this box on the wall are all of the fuses for the 12volt components  of the Roadtrek such as the hot water heater, the furnace, the water pump, the lights, etc..  In the photo below it is the large black panel below the generator switch, the hot water heater switch and the monitor panel with the battery disconnect switch, the test switch, and the water pump switch.  You open this panel by pulling up on indentation in the center, pulling toward you and out.  On the back of that panel is a diagram that shows what circuit breaker and which fuse goes to what. (Some Roadtreks do not have that diagram. It is in the manuals of some Roadtreks and apparently in most recent Chevy Roadtreks it was not put into the manuals (why is a good question).)

That box contains everything for the Roadtrek part of the van. Nothing in this box is connected to anything in the Chevy part of the van. 

There are two fuse boxes that have the fuses for the Chevy. One is in the engine compartment. The second fuse box is hidden. The hidden fuse box is under the driver's seat. If this were just a Chevy Express van it would not be hard to find and get to that fuse box, but when Roadtrek removed the stock Chevy seats, installed swivel mechanisms under them to allow them to swivel around to be lounge seats for the Roadtrek, and then put in Roadtrek's own front passenger and driver's seat, accessing the hidden fuse box becomes a mystery. Like some other parts of the Roadtrek it is a puzzle that is a challenge to solve. 

We have solved that puzzle for you and will give you the steps for you, too, to be able to get to and into that hidden fuse box.  Some Roadtrek manuals will tell you that to get to the fuse box all you have to do is turn the driver's seat counterclockwise. That sounds very simple, but it is not quite that simple. 

HOW TO GET TO THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX:

1) Put the back of the driver's seat straight up. Pull the large handle on the right side of the bottom of the seat. 

2) Remove or move anything you might have behind the seat. In the "Popular" models of the Chevy Roadtrek  there is a wardrobe cabinet right behind the driver's seat that is fairly close to the back of the driver's seat. We keep a small folding table behind the seat and I removed that before I did the following steps. The "Versatile" models of the Chevy Roadtrek have a seat behind the driver's seat. If there is nothing on the floor between that seat and the driver's seat, then you should not have anything to remove or move.

3) Using the bar below the front of the seat cushion, move the seat about half way back on the slide so that it is in the position the seat is in the photo below. You can be sitting in the driver's seat of you can be standing outside the open driver's door, just pull up on that bar and slide the seat to where it needs to be. 

4)  Look again at the photo above.  Leave the armrest down. The black handle in the center below the side of the seat facing you looking from the open door inside is the handle that swivels the seat. This handle is on a spring and also is connected to a latch that locks the seat in place so that it will not swivel while you are driving. With one hand or two, pull that handle UP. You will hear the latch unlatch and you will be able to now swivel the seat COUNTERCLOCKWISE -  do that the front of the seat comes toward you.  If it gets stuck on the curtains that hang down from behind the door post, just move the curtains.  Below you see the front of  seat facing you! 

5) In the photo above you can see the slide handle for the seat right below the seat cushion. With one hand pull that handle up and with the other hand push the seat back as far as it goes on its slide. Let go of the handle and the seat locks into that position.  If you look to the left on the floor at the black box on the floor - YOU HAVE REVEALED THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX!

6) The box cover has two clips that keep it closed. They are on the sides at the top - on facing the driver's door and the other facing the passenger side.  Reach in under the seat and  feel for them. It is a simple move and release clip. They are hard to see and it was not possible to photograph them in place. Release each clip and the cover will come right off. Putting it back on is just as easy. line up the edge of the cover with the front of the box and put it on top and it just gently pushes down and clips into place.

 

7) The photo above is the extent of what you can see in the hidden fuse box. You pretty much have to reach in from the open driver's door getting your head and eyes around to see the inside of the fuse box from the floor below the steering wheel.  It is far from convenient and very awkward.  There is some reaching and eye straining to see and get the the fuses further back in the box. The Chevy Express owners manual will identify what each of the fuses in the box are. There is NO chart on the cover of the box.  There are also no labels other than the amps on each fuse. These are "MINI FUSES". There are also what the manual calls "J CASE FUSES". These are You should be able to find them in any auto parts store. These are smaller than the fuses that are in the "Roadtrek side" fuse box. There are also 6 relays and 2 circuit breakers. One of the circuit breakers is for the power seats and the other circuit breaker is for the power windows. Some fuse spaces are left empty.  

8) To put it all back together again just reverse the steps.  Use the slide handle to pull the seat back to where you started in Step 3. When the set is swiveled it will continue to swivel until it is facing front to the steering wheel again. To do that all you have to do is swivel the seat back to the front without pulling up on the swivel handle again. The seat will lock in facing the steering wheel. Move the seat forward or back to where you like it when you drive. That is it!

If you do not have a Chevy Express Manual for your year Chevy Express van - and remember that the Chevy Express is not always the same year as your Roadtrek is, so you go by the Chevy year and not the Roadtrek year as far as the Chevy Express manual is - there are a several websites that have manuals for all cars and vans of various years and they will let you download the manual for free. It is a good idea if you only have a downloaded manual to put the PDF file for the manual in your smart phone or other device you have with you on trips. 

So now you too can find the hidden fuse box and get to it whenever you need it. Let's hope you never have to get to it. 😃

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