Recommended shops or experts in the bay area?
Hi All,
Looking for recommendations of a shop (or person) that can solve some electrical issues I've got. I live in the California San Francisco Bay area - Redwood City to be specific & am looking for someone to either (a) help me fix this bloody issue or (b) just fix it for me. Yes I will pay dearly for this.
What's the issue? Short version: I've ran thru 4 house batteries in the past 4 years & I know it's not because I'm running them below the recommended 12.2V. I'm pretty sure there's a draw somewhere I don't know about or something is not working/hooked up properly. Brief description of the van:
- Ford E350, V10, 2005 (I think).
- Converted by SMB West in 2011.
- House includes: Heater, water pump, propane switch, fridge, a few lights, inverter, battery, separator switch, and a UB-4D house battery, solar.
Long version:
We have it hooked into shore power when home & are super careful about conserving power when on trips (10-12x per year), which includes not running the inverter at night, turning down the fridge overnight, etc. So we're not crazy stupid about sucking down the amps.
This past weekend, I woke up & turned on the heater (without looking at the voltage). As soon as the heater turned on - I knew the battery was done (the fan was getting quiet - not a good sign). Turned it off immediately. Battery voltage at 10.5ish. Damn it, another 400 dollars.
Later that morning,- battery was heading north of 12V. Thanks solar. Went to turn the van over and my van batteries were dead. Not good and puzzling. Engaged the switch that allows the house battery to start the van & it just squeaked out enough juice to get things going.
This has got me thinking that there's got to be some sort of draw on the house battery and/or the house & van battery aren't as separate as they're supposed to be. I'd love to spend several days investigating the root cause & learning the intricacies of RV electrical systems & maybe even electrocute myself (one can only hope), but I have a job & I'd rather take those days of my life enjoying the van and not working on it.
I could take it to SMB West, but with the time and money I'd spend doing that seems like I could spend it better with someone or some shop here in the bay area.
Any advice is on reputable shops or reputable people would be appreciated. Thanks!
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