Clicking noise under dash

Daryl Anderson

New member
I just bought a 2007 Adventurous. Love it.
However, occasionally there is a very noticable
clicking noise coming from under the center of the dash
(or maybe just on the other side of the firewall, haven't looked that far yet).

It clicks on and off about every 20 seconds or so. Sound like a large relay
cause it the click sound alternates between two different sounds like a relay
clicking on, then off.

I've noticed it driving, and also just sitting with the engine idling when I first
start it up. Doesn't always do it.

Any ideas what it is?

Thanx, Daryl
 
B

Brian T

Guest
Hi Daryl

Our Adventurous does that as well and believe it is part of the temperature sensing for cabin air. Ours is more of a light clunk sound and a change of position of the temperature selector stops it.
 

gkim

Member
You didn't mention but I just ran into a similar problem, but mine is Roadtrek RS Adventurous. Turns out mine is the Battery isolater, mounted on the firewall. I'm asking Rodetrek to replace it.
 

gkim

Member
F/U. . . .ended up not being the isolater itself, although it was clicking. the cause was undervoltage because I had, not one, but two bad batteries. They replaced them under warranty and I'm good. I took up an offer to pay half the cost of switching to AGM's instead of wet cell's. glad I did it.
 

Trekker

Trekker
The loud "click" from the firewall is the battery isolater. It is a relay that opens and closes as it senses voltage of the two batteries, the vehicle (main) starting battery and the house battery bank. I talked to Roadtrek and to the battery isolater tech service guy at SurePower and concluded that this is normal under certain circumstances. (Took a while to noodle this one out, as, of course, neither party completely understands the issue, regardless of what they say.) Namely, if your house and main batteries are discharged such that the total circuit voltage is below 12.8, the relay opens to charge only the main battery. When the main battery reaches 13.2 V or more, the relay closes to charge both sets of batteries. If your house batteries are really low, then the total circuit voltage will quickly drop below 12.8, whereupon the relay opens to protect and charge the main again. When it reaches 13.2, the cycle repeats. There is a time delay built into the electronic circuitry of the isolater to prevent chattering of the relay. So this cycle repeats over and over, and each time the relay closes the house battery gets a chance to charge, and it comes up a bit, therefore taking longer to draw down the total voltage. At first, the cycle interval is short, but gradually increasing in time until it stops completely when the house batteries reach 13.2 V. Then it continues to charge both sets. Maybe this analogy will help. It's kind of like if you were to put a fresh cell and a discharged cell in a flashlight. The dead one will drag down the total voltage and give a dim light.

I've experienced the click-clank sounds on several occasions, mostly after we are dry camping and using the house batteries for a few days without recharging. When we start driving again, the clicking goes on for about 30-45 minutes, then stops. Scary noise until you understand what's going on. Then it's reassuring, letting you know that your batteries are being charged.

So I would say there is nothing wrong with your unit, the noise is normal. In the case of gkim, if you have undervoltage because of bad batteries, the isolater will continually cycle. I too have replaced my OEM house bank with AGM's, but for a different reason. Be sure you switch the inverter/charger to the charge protocol for AGM batteries, they act differently than wet cells. See your Tripp-Lite owners manual for details.
 

jcc147

Member
My RT SS has similar noise from somewhere under dash. Can't identify exact location the noise coming from.
Sometime the noise is very audible and sometime not, even no noise.
The clicking-like noise on off every second.
I'll go back to check if it comes from the battery isolater.


Josh
 

alan_f

2006 Roadtrek RS
Not to be too picky, but I'm pretty sure the Sprinter-based Roadtreks have separators rather than isolators. Same basic function, but there are some significant differences. With an isolator, the house DC side won't charge the vehicle battery but it will with a separator -- if you are plugged in or your generator is running, for example.

In any case, I've had mine click too -- for me it was when my vehicle battery was dead. On starting the genny, it would click and the vehicle system would start getting some current. Turning on too much load would cause it to click again and separate the two systems. Once I charged the batteries back up to a normal state, the clicking isn't noticeable.

Hope this helps,
Alan
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
I do not have a Roadtek and have had an intermittant clicking sound since my 08 was new. 6 years later it still does it. I do not have an isolator on my DIY.
 

Roulemabosse

New member
Well, I think I have a problem with my separator (SurePower 1315-200). When I connect my Roadtrek to the external 120V, my separator starts to click every 30 sec. and never stops. I have made some voltage measurements. On the AUX side of the separator, voltage is 13.38V and then drops to 12.75V when it clicks and come back to 13.38V on the next click. I have disconnected the main battery from the separator and still clicks every 30sec. Then I have disconnected the AUX wire. Of course clicks stop and I measured 13.38V steady (no drops). As soon as I connect the separator, clicks restart and same for the voltage drop. My 2 house 6V battery are almost news. The main battery is old but I went to a mechanic, he tested it and told me it was still good. Any idea? thanks.
 

gte

2008 RS
Well, I think I have a problem with my separator (SurePower 1315-200). When I connect my Roadtrek to the external 120V, my separator starts to click every 30 sec. and never stops. I have made some voltage measurements. On the AUX side of the separator, voltage is 13.38V and then drops to 12.75V when it clicks and come back to 13.38V on the next click. I have disconnected the main battery from the separator and still clicks every 30sec. Then I have disconnected the AUX wire. Of course clicks stop and I measured 13.38V steady (no drops). As soon as I connect the separator, clicks restart and same for the voltage drop. My 2 house 6V battery are almost news. The main battery is old but I went to a mechanic, he tested it and told me it was still good. Any idea? thanks.
There are some 80 amp breakers inline with the output from the separator. You might check these to see if they are ok too. Another suggestion is to call Shure Power and speak to a tech. They were helpful when I had an issue. If you search the Sprinter forum for the following.
Roadtrek RS Sprinter parasitic drain
there is a lot of discussion about the separator which might help too. There are pictures in one post showing the breakers.
 

Roulemabosse

New member
Thank you GTE. Do you have any contact information for the SurePower tech. I tried to find it on the web but they are part of EATON group and I was lost on their site.

For the 80 Amp breakers, do you know where they are located?

Thanks.
 

gte

2008 RS
Thank you GTE. Do you have any contact information for the SurePower tech. I tried to find it on the web but they are part of EATON group and I was lost on their site.

For the 80 Amp breakers, do you know where they are located?

Thanks.
I will check on the phone number I called but the breakers are two small black plastic items connected by wires from the separator.
Also you can search the topic "Roadtrek Sprinter Parasitic Drain" in the Roadtrek forum as there is a good picture of them there.
 

gte

2008 RS
Thank you GTE. Do you have any contact information for the SurePower tech. I tried to find it on the web but they are part of EATON group and I was lost on their site.

For the 80 Amp breakers, do you know where they are located?

Thanks.
I cannot find the specific number I called but I did buy my new separator from Waytek in Minnesota. I may have called them first and that is why I bought it there and I could pick it up myself since Waytek is about 15 miles from my house. I do not remember. One suggestion is to call Waytek and ask to speak to a technical person about the separator if there is one in Minnesota or if they can give you a number elsewhere for a technical person.
Their numbers are ;
toll free 1-800 328-2724 or
local number 1-952-949-0965
 

Top Bottom