12-19-2022, 08:09 AM
Good post Brad! Your willingness to share the “learnings” that you are going through is really what the gurus is all about. When I first started, Richard had to show me which end of the screwdriver to hold. 
I believe the relay he is talking about is in the panel below the passenger floor board. There is a legend on the back of the cover. One relay provided power to 6 or 7 fused circuits and was triggered by the ignition /ACC switch.
About using the voltmeter…
Newer voltmeters keep getting more and more fancy. In Brad’s case, the voltmeter automatically changes scales. That means you have to look at the number….AND THE UNITS on the display. Brad’s meter was reading 36. We know there is not a source of 36 volts on the coach. He took another look and found the units. It said 36 mV. (Milli volts = 1/1000 of a volt).
After I wrote the paragraph above…I realized that he was reading the voltage through a bad relay. The relay was probably “on” but the contacts were not fully engaging. That would account for getting “some” voltage but not the 12-14 volts he was expecting.
Because there lots of stray voltages running around on the coach, it is more likely than not to read a few millivolts even when you would think it should read zero. Again, the new meters are pretty sensitive and read a tiny voltage where older / analog meters would not.
It occurs to me that a “Stupid Volt-Ohm-Meter tips and tricks” would be an interesting topic at a future rally.
Bill
I believe the relay he is talking about is in the panel below the passenger floor board. There is a legend on the back of the cover. One relay provided power to 6 or 7 fused circuits and was triggered by the ignition /ACC switch.
About using the voltmeter…
Newer voltmeters keep getting more and more fancy. In Brad’s case, the voltmeter automatically changes scales. That means you have to look at the number….AND THE UNITS on the display. Brad’s meter was reading 36. We know there is not a source of 36 volts on the coach. He took another look and found the units. It said 36 mV. (Milli volts = 1/1000 of a volt).
After I wrote the paragraph above…I realized that he was reading the voltage through a bad relay. The relay was probably “on” but the contacts were not fully engaging. That would account for getting “some” voltage but not the 12-14 volts he was expecting.
Because there lots of stray voltages running around on the coach, it is more likely than not to read a few millivolts even when you would think it should read zero. Again, the new meters are pretty sensitive and read a tiny voltage where older / analog meters would not.
It occurs to me that a “Stupid Volt-Ohm-Meter tips and tricks” would be an interesting topic at a future rally.
Bill
Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama