With the inverter replacement, the relocation of the transfer switch, and all associated AC and DC wiring wrapped up, the next step was to review the existing DC wiring to make sure it would work with our new battery bay layout.
The battery compartment received a major upgrade. Originally, it housed three MK Gel 8D batteries, each rated at 225Ah. While that gave a combined capacity of 675Ah, the recommended safe depth of discharge (DoD) for gel batteries is around 50%, leaving roughly 335Ah of usable power.
The heart of the monitoring system is the Victron Cerbo GX, which links all components together. The Cerbo provides monitoring and control via a 7” touchscreen. You can also access it through Victron’s VRM Portal as long as the Cerbo has a WiFi connection.
With the AC wiring in place, it was time to mount the Multiplus II, PD52V 5200 Transfer Switch, and the 50 Amp EMS/Surge Protector. When adding the AC wiring, we left extra to allow flexibility in mounting — whether on a single wall or split between both.
We wanted to replace our XanTrek ProSine 2.5 inverter/charger with something more modern. We also wanted to update the Heliotrope RV-30DE solar charge controller as well as replace the single 100Watt solar panel that we had. We ended up choosing a Victron based system as we liked the features as well as many system components they offer.
Our coach came equipped with the original crank-up powered Sensar antenna. Although functional, it showed its age with peeling paint, bent wings in several areas, and worn coax cables and boots that needed replacement.
We had many issues to address in our starting battery compartment. The primary thing we wanted to address were the slow starting of the engine, often requiring the use of the boost switch to prevent setting the engine light due to low voltage at the ECM (set during cranking).
After fixing the remote/key fob so the bay door lock actuators trigger, a simple wiring issue at the main connector, I figured I was done only to find out the actuators triggered but most were no longer working.
