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Old 12-07-2019, 07:15 PM   #21
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 9
To find a draw disconnect your negative battery cable and hook up a test light between the negative post and the negative cable. Make sure that everything is off (doom light, radio, a/c, ...) if the test light lights up then you have a draw. Start pulling fuses, one at a time, and watch the light. If the light dims a lot or goes out then that system is where your draw is. If it dims then keep pulling fuses.

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Old 12-07-2019, 08:28 PM   #22
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Western Oregon
Posts: 876
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue-Bird
Chassis: TC RE 3408
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 12V Mechanical/Allison MT643
Rated Cap: Blue-Bird says 72 pass.
I could also use some advice about new bus batteries and related issues. The batteries that came with the bus are just barely able to hold enough charge to start. I'm looking at Duracell, which have the same footprint as my current batteries, but are sightly taller. The CCA are 975, and my current batteries are rated at 1000.
https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/sli4a

I don't envision too many trips to cold places, so I think 2 of these will do fine for starting batteries.

But I also want some house batteries that will charge from the alternator. I'm thinking about more duracell: https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/SLIGC115

So what mostly concerns me here is whether it would be a good idea or not to put 2 of the above starting batteries AND 2 of the above golf cart batteries into the same OEM battery box on my TC 2000 RE.

All 4 batteries will fit footprint wise, with a bit of room to spare. The golf cart batteries are a couple of inches taller, so I will have to fabricate some new mounting brakets, but that's no big deal.

It's the 222 lbs of batteries part that concerns me. I wonder if the OEM battery box will be up to that load or if it will need to be strengthened or something. I have not yet taken it apart for a good look but I will.

Thanks for reading. Comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
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Old 12-07-2019, 09:43 PM   #23
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Pensacola
Posts: 77
Year: 2001
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1949 View Post
The CCA are 975, and my current batteries are rated at 1000.

So what mostly concerns me here is whether it would be a good idea or not to put 2 of the above starting batteries AND 2 of the above golf cart batteries into the same OEM battery box on my TC 2000

It's the 222 lbs of batteries part that concerns me. I wonder if the OEM battery box will be up to that load or if it will need to be strengthened or something.

We bought 2 Duracell Group 31 batteries that had a slightly higher CCA than the previous ones (from 925 to 950)
They are working great, no issues.

222lbs sound would be super hard to pull out of my battery bay, and it would probably pull the wheels off of the track if/when I did pull it out, but yours may be more sturdy than ours is!
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Old 12-07-2019, 10:24 PM   #24
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Western Oregon
Posts: 876
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue-Bird
Chassis: TC RE 3408
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 12V Mechanical/Allison MT643
Rated Cap: Blue-Bird says 72 pass.
Thanks for your response. My battery box is a lot harder to push back in than it is to pull out, not sure why. I will disassemble it some time in the next month or so, inspect it and if I don't see any obvious defects I will apply ospho, paint, and grease in an effort to get it rolling easier and deal with the small amount of surface rust in there.

Then I will see how it rolls under heavy load. If it doesn't move easily enough to suit me, I will come up with a plan B on where to place the golf cart batteries. One alternative would be to get another battery box, and install it next to the OEM. Obviously that would be more hassle and expense.

The cheapest way to add these batteries would be to put them in with the starting batteries, but they're not maintenance free and I need to be able to check and add fluid.
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