2001 Itasca Discovery electrical problem

[KentM]

I am trying to help an associate repair an electrical problem in his MH. The solenoid that ties the two battery systems together appears to have bad contacts. The engine battery does not charge when hooked to ac and the coach battery does not charge when driving. When the "Aux Start" switch is pushed, nothing happens. The isolator relay has this number on it but I can not find any source for it. The part number appears to be CAMDEC 18226_WR. Searching these forums or the internet produces no results. Does anyone have any idea where this relay can be purchased?
Thank you
Kent

[Richard S.]

This may help

Trombetta Motion Technologies LLC.(acquires stock and assets of Camdec Corp.)(Brief Article)


Diesel Progress North American Edition | July 1, 2001 | COPYRIGHT 2009 Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

[Jim Stewart]

Camdec was purchased by Trombetta, here is a link for distributor, you can probably get replacement info from them.

Trombetta 114-1211-020 DC Contactor

[ernieh]

I had a similar sounding problem on my 03 Journey. A connector in the cable between the aux switch and the solonoid was loose. The connector was behind the instrument cluster.

Have you checked the solonoid by using a "direct jumper"?

If you do have to replace, make sure that your replacement is rated for continuous duty.

[KentM]

Thanks to all the replies. I know the solenoid is closing as I can hear it and measure 12vdc across the coil when the 'Aux Start" switch is activated. I will check the Trombetta link.
I had this same problem in my 05 Dolphin and I now carry a spare.
Kent

[KentM]

Five minutes later, the part is on order at $40.00 delivered.
IRV2 comes through again....
Kent

[DAN L]

[QUOTE=KentM;597684]The engine battery does not charge when hooked to ac and the coach battery does not charge when driving.

on my moho, the engine start battery is not supposed to charge when the moho is hooked up to shore ac power. i use an external charger.
the coach batteries and the engine batteries charge through a relay from the engine alternator when the engine is running.

[KentM]

That question came up here as well as we can not find any reference to that in the MH docs. The main problem is the fact that the "Aux Start" switch will not start the engine when it is energized. We can feel/hear the relay close but it does not apply cranking power even though the house batteries are up. Another neighbor with a 2002 Winnebago has one of those Intellitec BIRD systems in it but we can't find anything like that in the MH in question. This fellow may just have to do as you are doing. It wouldn't take much of a charger to keep that engine battery topped off when connected to shore power. Do you leave yours connected all the time?
My 05 Dolphin has that system built in. It senses the difference in voltage between the two batteries and closes a large contactor to keep them charged by what ever source is available. The big contactor also serves as the "Aux Start" device.
Thanks for your input

[Shuffster]

I have found the solenoids on this vintage of MH are easy to repair. Just drill out the rivets holding it together, open up, and clean the slimey green stuff off the contacts. Replace rivets with screws.

[KentM]

Good idea. I had intended to do that just so he would have a spare. These problems have a way of occurring when you in the least likely location to repair them.

[hamguy]

Originally Posted by Shuffster

I have found the solenoids on this vintage of MH are easy to repair. Just drill out the rivets holding it together, open up, and clean the slimey green stuff off the contacts. Replace rivets with screws.

IIRC, I replaced mine with an exact part for $9. Easy and cheap!!

[cbeierl]

I'd recommend adding a TRIK-L-START to keep the chassis batteries charged whenever the coach batteries are being charged. Easy to install and works great! Winnebago made this standard equipment on all their Class A diesels starting in 2006.

[KentM]

Thanks. We will check this out.
Kent

[MrTransistor]

You may find this helpful.

Originally Posted by MrTransistor

I mentioned in earlier thread that I have talked with the Trombetta engineers about this problem. To date, I have had no response and as far as I know they have not re-designed the part to solve the problem.

The contactor that they sell to Winnebago is designed as a strictly 12 Volt continuous duty unit and when operated in a coach, winds up with 13.8 to 14.4 volts across the coil the whole time the engine is running. This causes it to draw too much current and severely overheat.

I replaced one contactor, overhauled it, and now keep it as a spare. By adding a 2 or 2.5 ohm 25 Watt resistor in series with the coil, the problem is solved. This allows the contactor to pull in at about 8 Volts yet keeps the power dissipation well within reason.

If you would care to do it, it's not too difficult to drill out the rivets, open it up and replace the rivets with screws when your done. That's assuming that the coil isn't too burned to salvage. All I had to do was clean the contacts.

I am including the part numbers for both the standard copper contact and much better silver contact parts. The resistor can be found at any good electronics store or even some Radio Shacks. I used a terminal block to connect the resistor.

The other option is as mentioned by Glenn and Harry. Replace the Trombetta unit with something else. I wouldn't go the battery splitter route since it supplies a reduced voltage to the batteries for charging, needs to handle the 150 Amp. alternator of the Diesel engine, and as you said, you loose the battery boost feature. Good luck.

Trombetta 262-251-5454
Tie Contactor
Copper contacts 114-1211-010-03 (Winnie PN)
Silver contacts 114-1200-020 (Trombetta PN)