[HoosierDaddy]

We got home from our trip today. After backing into the shop I plugged in the 50 amp and heard an odd noise. It sounded like a quick electrical buzz that lasted about 2 seconds. There’s no 12V at the master switch near the entry door or at the house fuse bank in the rear compartment. I’m not sure where to check next. There is 12V at one side of the solenoid in the rear box in the engine comp. But none at the small signal wire or the other large terminal.

[Richard]

You may have two of those solenoids in the rear panel. One is the battery merge, the other is solenoid for the starter.

On the merge, you should have 12VDC on both of the large terminals. Nothing on the small terminal unless the merge switch is activated.

Start with your house batteries. Pos to ground on the coach frame. Then check pos to to both sides of that monstrous fuse on the ground.

If you have 12VDC at those places, move to the rear panels in the engine bay, and measure the house side.

[HoosierDaddy]

House ground monster fuse is OK
13.4 showing on both sides of merge solenoid
My inverter monitor showing 13.3
The Newell installed voltmeter up front showing 0 V.
13.4 at the cable at generator start motor

[bikestuff]

On the isolator, you have three terminals?  One goes to the alternator, one goes to the house batteries and one goes to the merge solenoid.  Do you have a smaller gauge wire on the terminal that goes to the merge solenoid.  That 2 gauge wire should go to a 105 amp breaker  (like the little metal cans with two terminals).

If you can trace that wire, you should have 12v on both sides of the breaker.  The 2ga wire goes to the fuse panel under the passenger seat and supplies pretty much all of the 12V for the coach.

These breakers reset themselves so it might start working again.

Look at the photo of the electrical bay.  There is a blade resettable breaker  near the top (circled in blue) that could cause issues. 


Bill

   

   

[HoosierDaddy]

       
I found these two breakers. The smaller one is in the power cord bay and is 0V on both terminals. The larger one is on the engine firewall ,driver side and shows 13 V o both terminals. The #2 (?) wire that feeds the front fuse panel is 0V at the panel. I haven’t found a battery isolater.

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My panel looks different.

[Glenn and Laureen]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I do have a related question. In photo #7 above (last photo in Hoosier Daddy's last post above), there is an orange wire with one black stripe that goes from a box labelled Auxilliary Battery to the left post of what I think is the Merge Solenoid. My question is, What is the purpose of that orange wire? Does it have anything to do with a battery monitor gauge on my dash? I have an 84 Classic 6v92TA and that wire is not connected at my Merge Solenoid where I think it should go. I think Laureen and I can do some testing and figure it out but a shout out with the answer would save us some time. Thanks.

[bikestuff]

Do you have more stuff on the other side of that panel.  The pics that I sent were of the panel inside the engine hatch on right side.  I am not familiar with your vintage coach but Newell changed their approach very slowly.

[Richard]

Dean wont have a battery isolator on that year unless a PO added one. At that time newell depended solely on the merge switch to combine battery banks.

Dean, if you merge the batteries do you have 12v in the coach?

If you do not have 12v on bothe sides of the merge solenoid then the problem lies between there and the batteries.

[HoosierDaddy]

       
The smaller #2(?) wire from the left side of merge switch goes behind the panel and connects to a component called “converter” it is 13v. The other terminal on the converter is dead. I may have found the culprit….. I just don’t know what it is..? Richard, switching batt merge causes a click sound in the rear but doesn’t supply power to house .

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The back side of the converter

[HoosierDaddy]

Glenn, 
Here is the wire I’d label from my coach. Hope this helps you.