I had a similar issue on my merge solenoid. I eventually determined it was a faulty switch.
Good to know. I am having some intermittent dash issues, gauges etc acting strange so I need to get in behind the dash and check on the grounds. I will also take a look at the switch. I also want to see about changing the lights to see if I can make then brighter.
Would anyone have a basic schematic of the battery wiring?
My house batteries, 6 of them in two compartments. 1 fore and aft of the rear axels. The rear bay has 2 batteries, each with leads heading out the back wall of the compartment. The forward bay has 4 batteries two up two down. I assume for this era of coach this is all standard.
I can see the cables coming out of the forward to get to the inverter bay. (two bays forward and on the left side of the coach.
What I am not able to see (due to my mobility) is the conductors coming from the rear battery compartment.
Where is the merge taking place? As in from the merge solenoid to the batteries?
(04-03-2024, 11:24 AM)TJ Clark Wrote: A somewhat related question.
Would anyone have a basic schematic of the battery wiring?
My house batteries, 6 of them in two compartments. 1 fore and aft of the rear axels. The rear bay has 2 batteries, each with leads heading out the back wall of the compartment. The forward bay has 4 batteries two up two down. I assume for this era of coach this is all standard.
I can see the cables coming out of the forward to get to the inverter bay. (two bays forward and on the left side of the coach.
What I am not able to see (due to my mobility) is the conductors coming from the rear battery compartment.
Where is the merge taking place? As in from the merge solenoid to the batteries?
thanks.
The merge solenoid on mine is in the rear engine access panel. The one you access from the rear hatch. It’s on the bottom right of the area.
I would assume the conductors run along the frame to get back there from the batteries.
So I did a quick mod to the operation of the merge solenoid, time will tell if it works to extend the life of it or not.
So I added a relay that does not allow the merge solenoid to be activated when you are starting the engine. I did this by inserting a bosch relay in the power line to the merge solenoid coil. I wired it through the normally closed contacts on the bosch relay. The bosch relay coil is fed from the start circuit, so when you start the engine it energizes the bosch relay which opens up the circuit going to the merge solenoid coil. This way you never have the merge solenoid activated while you are starting the engine. I suppose I should put a bypass on it in the event that I do need the help of the other batteries to start but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I was actually looking at a 1000a solenoid online the other day and though about replacing the merge solenoid with that, then it would not be a problem either way and it would also allow you to use the house batteries to jump start the engine.
Relay I was thinking about for the merge solenoid:
AArco SW865 Heavy Duty Diesel Solenoid 12V 1000 Amp Isolated Ground https://www.ebay.com/itm/233421663043
I really like your video's Jeff and a lot of thought put into your bypass relay. (thumbs up) I do have a question about the merge solenoid, so if your engine batteries are up to snuff (charged) and your coach batteries are also then there should be very small amount of current through the merge solenoid when the engine starts. So if the solenoid fried then that would mean either the engine batteries at one time were dead or the house batteries were dead when the engine was started and the merge switch was on and exceeded the current rating of the solenoid, your circuit will certainly take that solenoid out of the equation but if your engine batteries are low would that not defeat the purpose of the solenoid? I have a personal peeve with this the solenoid it should not be used unless you have a low engine battery to many times people use this all the time which causes other problems like if you have dead coach batteries, start the engine then turn on the switch the alternator has to charge both engine and coach batteries with a massive load and it could damage the alternator or leave it on all the time and damage engine batteries while boondocking. I think of that switch as a pair of automatic jumper cables that you don't have to hook and unhook but should only be used as such. I have dysgraphia so I'm sorry if I didn't make this better to understand.
Do you have that echo charger in the inverter compartment that trickle charges the engine batteries?
(04-26-2024, 03:51 AM)Jack Houpe Wrote: I really like your video's Jeff and a lot of thought put into your bypass relay. (thumbs up) I do have a question about the merge solenoid, so if your engine batteries are up to snuff (charged) and your coach batteries are also then there should be very small amount of current through the merge solenoid when the engine starts. So if the solenoid fried then that would mean either the engine batteries at one time were dead or the house batteries were dead when the engine was started and the merge switch was on and exceeded the current rating of the solenoid, your circuit will certainly take that solenoid out of the equation but if your engine batteries are low would that not defeat the purpose of the solenoid? I have a personal peeve with this the solenoid it should not be used unless you have a low engine battery to many times people use this all the time which causes other problems like if you have dead coach batteries, start the engine then turn on the switch the alternator has to charge both engine and coach batteries with a massive load and it could damage the alternator or leave it on all the time and damage engine batteries while boondocking. I think of that switch as a pair of automatic jumper cables that you don't have to hook and unhook but should only be used as such. I have dysgraphia so I'm sorry if I didn't make this better to understand.
Do you have that echo charger in the inverter compartment that trickle charges the engine batteries?
Thanks for your thoughts Jack and I guess what you are saying could be true. I think I am also fighting a parasitic load on my start batteries, I say this because if I do not leave the merge solenoid on the start batteries will drain pretty quickly. So really this is a band aid for now. I do not believe I have the echo charger but I have not really deeply investigated this issue. I need to dive deeper into why the start batteries are discharging.
I may do an experiment based on what you are saying and measure to see how much current if any is drawn across the merge solenoid during starting, that is when both sets of batteries are fully charged. My only thought there is that you have much greater capacity in the house bank as opposed to the start bank, 6 batteries vs 2 batteries. It will be interesting to see what actually happens if you leave the merge solenoid on when starting and to see how much current is drawn across the merge solenoid. I have a nice DC clamp on meter that goes up to 400a DC so I can take some measurements. I think it’s also time for new battery cables, mine are not looking in the best shape and I suspect they are corroded internally.
I removed my echo charger when I did the solar system and installed two victron MPPT solar charges and use them on the coach and engine batteries off my 48vdc batteries not the solar panels, it gives me information on what the charging current is and a history, as you can see I have a have .8 amp at the time but most of the time is .1 so there is a parasitic draw but I'm pretty sure its coming from the dash where I have my silverleaf plugged into a hot all the time circuit. The reason for the different voltage reading is the house batteries are AGM and the engine are lead acid and both have different charging profiles. When you measure current with your clamp on see what your draw is when the key is off. It should be minimal.
Just to add confusion to this thread, I have owned two Newells. The merge solenoid was wired differently in the two coaches. In the first 1995 # 390, the merge solenoid was activated any time the ignition was on. In the current 1999 #512, the merge switch is only activated by the merge switch on the console.
My point is that there either is some inconsistency in Newell’s thinking on this OR there was a change in thinking along the way.
It might be good to do a bit of testing on your own coach to understand the operation of the merge switch. Easy to do. Put a voltmeter on the activation terminal(s) and run through the different scenarios to understand when the merge is activated.
I should have watched your video first.
Anyhoo, I am using a 300 amp intermittent duty relay for the merge. I think you said yours was 75.
And what is the purpose of the second diode setup on the left side in the video. It only has one in, one out, and I can’t trace the out.
Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home )
(This post was last modified: 04-26-2024, 05:42 AM by Richard.)
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