www.iFourWinns.com

okay, I will look at batteries, you know, now that you say that. I seem to remember a wire that was connected, that I did not hook up.. Is that normal? that there is a separate wire that goes directly to battery?

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It is NOT uncommon to have more than one wire going to one side of any battery.

In removing them, I like to tape/wire tie the wires that come off of each battery post. So when I put them back, I am putting the same wires on the same battery post as before.

excellent idea, I really need to do these things, too many things happen lol
thanks again for your help!!

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Please, let me know what you find out!

Just to add...the charger will power the 12v system at a higher voltage than the battery will without the charger on. Just like an alternator puts out @13.5-14 volts with the engine running, the charger will usually put out a higher voltage than battery voltage. Point being, if you have a poor connection somewhere in your radio or lighting circuit, or a poor ground, dirty or weak fuse contacts, or anything that is causing a voltage drop, the higher charger output voltage may still result in a usable voltage being delivered to the device, where the lower voltage being delivered by the battery alone isn't enough to cut it, as it may be dropping down below the threshold voltage due to one of the above mentioned factors. Especially if it seems to be an intermittent problem, or an issue with circuits that don't seem to be related like the battery and the lights, usually it requires finding what is common to those circuits and work from there, like the fuse panel or the ground connections. Obviously, a disconnected wire will cause the problem as well, due to rule #1 - if it worked before you fixed it, what did you do? - but if that ends up not being the case, I would put my money on a loose or corroded wire at the ground bus or maybe bad fuse connection.

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Jack
2005 268 Vista - Sold

2001 Silverton 35C 8.1L Crusaders

Jack ,awesome information,, and I am betting you are right.. I was having connection problems with the batteries, and thought I took care of that issue with some corrosion cleaner and corrosion prevention spray. I also had blown a couple of fuses after installing the new stereo last season, and thought that problem was solved, but maybe more to it, than I thought. thanks for all that!!

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Am still betting that you have a diconnected wire. BUT, jgreve75's point is very will taken!!!

Other dead give aways that your charger is powering things. Are your lights flikering, non-LEDs? The cheaper the charger the more A.C. noise you will have.

Four Winns is none you under wiring thing that result in voltage drops. Just an FYI

Will the engine turnover when unplugged from shore power? (Didn't see the question asked)

Appears to me that your charger is powering your 12 v system when plugged in, so either your batteries are not taking a charge, or they are simply not connected (or poorly connected).

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2010 278 Vista
5.7 GXi DP

Past:
1999 225 Sundowner
5.7 GSi SX

yes it does start on its own.. I will be doing everything you guys have been suggesting, you all have been great help! I appreciate it!

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What Jgreve wrote made sense. I would use a voltmeter on the leads going into the radio and see what kind of reading you get. Do this with the shore power breaker off, and then switch the breaker on and see if you're getting different readings. If you're getting 0 volts with the breaker off I would guess that something is disconnected or wired wrong .. if you're just getting less than 12 volts and it isn't enough to power the radio then I would guess there is a bad connection.

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'99 258 Vista Cool Breeze II