Community Forums

PanJH · 08-08-2016, 07:31 AM

Now the Questions

1.) Anybody know where the water pump controller is mounted? And, what type of controller is it? Intellitec? I have the momentary rocker switches that "latch" light up when they are working. Not essential but convenient.

On our Dutch Star it's in the wetbay, close to the water pump. It is an Intellitec-- I carry a spare as ours went out last year at an inopportune time so now, the replacement will probably never fail !

YC1 · 08-08-2016, 07:50 AM

I am glad you are ok. Great report.

As a telecommunications technician, I have seen damage on mountain tops where towers are installed and hold dozens of antennas. At ground level the buildings are carefully built to withstand strikes.

However, I have seen devistation from the antennas to the radios inside. It can weld things and melt things.
What is amazing is how some things even survive. But they do.

park_ridge_dave · 08-08-2016, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanJH

Now the Questions

1.) Anybody know where the water pump controller is mounted? And, what type of controller is it? Intellitec? I have the momentary rocker switches that "latch" light up when they are working. Not essential but convenient.

On our Dutch Star it's in the wetbay, close to the water pump. It is an Intellitec-- I carry a spare as ours went out last year at an inopportune time so now, the replacement will probably never fail !

Thanks PanJH! I will get one on order 2Day!

Er.... maybe 2 ???? LOL

Cheers,
Dave

luvlabs · 08-08-2016, 08:41 AM

Sorry to hear of your problem. We met another couple who had a similar experience to yours and three months after the strike they were still finding areas of damage. Their Cuminns engine had to be completely rewired, the coach electrical system had to have major portions rewired, just a big mess. Don't be surprised that the repair process takes a long time and things crop up months later.

park_ridge_dave · 08-08-2016, 08:54 AM

For those who want to hear a different perspective on this go to my Wife's blog entry for the incident.

Dave-sue-rv's Travel Blog: South Sioux City, United States - August 1, 2016

Look at the photo of the tree (it is about 80ft tall). Notice that the strike stopped above the rig.
IMHO the metal "cage" protected us as my 1952 Plymouth Concord did when it got struck in 1960 (with me inside). OBTW no damage to that vehicle, there were NO Electronics (LOL) It didn't even have a Radio! That time my car was the tallest object around in the parking area. In the RV, if I hadn't had the shore power hooked up, the lightning would have jumped the tires as it did in 1960. The metal structure acts as a faraday cage and "shunts the current around the interior. That's why the safest place in an electrical storm is in a metal vehicle. (That is if there is no tornado activity

)

If we were in a wooden framed vehicle, We may have still been "struck" and I have witnessed what happens to wooden structures hit by lightning. It is not good. (One house caught fire and burned to the ground, One suffered some minor structural damage, and my uncle's house that had lightning rods suffered no damage).

I do believe that my rig did have the bolt travel through it to the tree (Yes lightning goes from the ground up see the videos posted here and elsewhere). I believe that the bolt jumped from the ladder on the RV to the tree. Ben Franklin got it wrong about "Positive Current Flow" and we electrical types have suffered greatly ever since

(EE humor couldn't resist SRI).

The bolt may not have actually traveled through my coach (even though I believe that it did) but the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that the nearby bolt induced would probably have been enough to cause the damage anyway.

The sparks and effects that I saw from nearby objects were incredible! Best fireworks ever!!

And in closing (wow how did I get sooooo long winded???) I want to thank all who posted on this topic! All input is appreciated. l will report anything important that I find out as I effect repairs.

Cheers,

Dave

park_ridge_dave · 08-08-2016, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvlabs

Sorry to hear of your problem. We met another couple who had a similar experience to yours and three months after the strike they were still finding areas of damage. Their Cuminns engine had to be completely rewired, the coach electrical system had to have major portions rewired, just a big mess. Don't be surprised that the repair process takes a long time and things crop up months later.

Sigh, I fear that you are correct (no I know that you are correct

).

So far it appears that all the freightliner control modules have been "fried". I know that some of the coach componentry has also "ceased to be" ( I am a Monty Python's fan too).

Cheers,

Dave

dexters · 08-08-2016, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasdad1

You were making the point in post #3 that if the OP was in a wood structure he wouldn't have been hit, that it was the metal box that contributed to the "attraction" of the lightning.

Shore power connections won't "attract" lightning either.....the danger with shore power is a secondary surge through the wiring because of the strike (even if it occurs nearby and not a direct strike)

I did not say he would not be hit.

Nor did I mention anything about shore power.