Community Forums

kartvines · 01-18-2011, 06:26 AM

When we bought this Pace Arrow many things did not work and one of them was the emergency start, and I think I would prefer to get it working just in case before our maiden voyage, I have read many post and most said it was cause by the solenoid, is that the one on the front firewall near the isolator or another one, and if this is the correct one how can I test to determine it is the problem. It looks no difference from the simple Ford starter solenoid as I have had in some of my older cars/truck.

Now I was also told that we could use jumper cable from the house battery to the starter battery if needed but it seems to be being they are all now wired in parallel it would be moot, being they are already wired together and there would be no benefit from doing that, all comments welcomed.

GOLDWINGER2 · 01-18-2011, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kartvines

When we bought this Pace Arrow many things did not work and one of them was the emergency start, and I think I would prefer to get it working just in case before our maiden voyage, I have read many post and most said it was cause by the solenoid, is that the one on the front firewall near the isolator or another one, and if this is the correct one how can I test to determine it is the problem. It looks no difference from the simple Ford starter solenoid as I have had in some of my older cars/truck.

Now I was also told that we could use jumper cable from the house battery to the starter battery if needed but it seems to be being they are all now wired in parallel it would be moot, being they are already wired together and there would be no benefit from doing that, all comments welcomed.

The first thing that you want to do is make sure that the relay is GROUNDED. Then test to see if you have power going to the terminals.
After that check out this site for detailed instructions on how to test the relay.

How to Tell If a Starter Relay Is Bad in a Ford | eHow.com
J

Glenn and Kathy · 01-18-2011, 11:20 AM

Now I was also told that we could use jumper cable from the house battery to the starter battery if needed but it seems to be being they are all now wired in parallel it would be moot, being they are already wired together and there would be no benefit from doing that, all comments welcomed.[/QUOTE]

Your house batteries and chassis should not be wired in parallel. The house batteries are parallel, and the chassis is seperate. If all three are wired together then the starter boost won't function because the wiring overides that functionand and the boost would always be on.

Glenn

kartvines · 01-19-2011, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn and Kathy

Now I was also told that we could use jumper cable from the house battery to the starter battery if needed but it seems to be being they are all now wired in parallel it would be moot, being they are already wired together and there would be no benefit from doing that, all comments welcomed.

Your house batteries and chassis should not be wired in parallel. The house batteries are parallel, and the chassis is seperate. If all three are wired together then the starter boost won't function because the wiring overides that functionand and the boost would always be on.

Glenn[/QUOTE]

This is our first motorhome and the PO said they are wired together so that everything is charge when plugged into shore power, so this is not correct?

whem2fish · 01-19-2011, 06:39 AM

on my 1985 southwind i may have a problem but when im on shore power mine charges house bat. but not starting, i ad a tempory jumper when im using the rv (another spring time job)

Retired and Happy · 01-19-2011, 01:36 PM

No. Wiring the batteries together negate the reason for having separate and different kinds of batteries. The house batteries should be deep discharge batteries and the chassis battery should be a regular heavy duty automotive battery. You also run the risk of depleting your engine battery and having no way to crank your engine. There should be a relay that ties the batteries together when the engine is running, but separates them when in camp. That way they do all charge on the road. Sorry, I don't know where the relay would be located, but it sounds like the PO has defeated its purpose, maybe because it ceased to work. Let us know if you find such a relay and if it functions.

kartvines · 01-24-2011, 12:56 PM

I removed all of the cable that connected the house batteries to the starter battery in to see if that made and differences, and it did not, it is still not working.

Old Bounder · 01-26-2011, 10:40 AM

The Isolator solenoid is also the solenoid (relay) that is used as the emergency start relay. It is also the path used to charge the HOUSE batteries from alternator when the engine is running. (Some older units used separate solenoids, but they would be located very near each other)

I suspect that the previous owner cabled the batteries together because that solenoid is defective. You can start the engine and check to see if the HOUSE batteries are being charged along with the chassis battery (solenoid activates). If NOT, then the solenoid is probably bad. If ALL batteries, and the emergency start still doesn't work, then you have an open circuit from the switch to that solenoid (it should be fused somewhere).