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smlranger · 06-24-2013, 07:51 AM

Yesterday I lost all 12v power to the coach. I still have chassis power but no interior lights, no power to T stats to operate AC, etc. I checked the 'house battery' switch at the entry door and that is on and lighted. I cycled it off/on and no luck.

Looking in the battery bay none of the breakers are tripped. My time to do detective work was limited but the house power solenoid/relay does not seem to be energized (checked the in/out lugs with voltmeter). I checked the 7.5 amp fuse that is part of the house battery switch circuit and that fuse is OK. I tapped on the solenoid and no go. On a long shot I guess it could be a bad house battery switch but haven't pulled it out to check it yet.

I am thinking the solenoid is stuck in the open position. Does anyone know if these solenoids are available from sources other than CC? Would most any similar automotive solenoid do the job?

Steve Ownby · 06-24-2013, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smlranger

Yesterday I lost all 12v power to the coach. I still have chassis power but no interior lights, no power to T stats to operate AC, etc. I checked the 'house battery' switch at the entry door and that is on and lighted. I cycled it off/on and no luck.

Looking in the battery bay none of the breakers are tripped. My time to do detective work was limited but the house power solenoid/relay does not seem to be energized (checked the in/out lugs with voltmeter). I checked the 7.5 amp fuse that is part of the house battery switch circuit and that fuse is OK. I tapped on the solenoid and no go. On a long shot I guess it could be a bad house battery switch but haven't pulled it out to check it yet.

I am thinking the solenoid is stuck in the open position. Does anyone know if these solenoids are available from sources other than CC? Would most any similar automotive solenoid do the job?

Monaco coaches use a similar "salesman switch" setup and the solenoid is failure prone. We Monaco folks usually just either pull one of the heavy ga cables off the solenoid and attach it to the heavy ga cable on the other side which effectively by passes the solenoid. You can also use a short length of battery Cable to jumper from one side to the other of the solenoid. Most folks don't use the switch at the door anyway. If you do this, take the small wires off their terminals and tape them up so you will not have any electrical draw from the unused solenoid.

If you want to replace the solenoid, they are common. Just get the numbers off yours and look on ebay.

deandec · 06-24-2013, 09:23 AM

Also, check for a 300A T type fuse in the battery circuit. I have one in the battery compartment and one near the inverter.

It should be shown in your wiring schematic.

smlranger · 06-24-2013, 09:38 AM

Steve:

Thanks for the suggestion for a simple fix. I had not considered bypassing the gizmo but that would certainly work. I guess the only time you might want to have the house power switch function is if you had to leave the coach somewhere in storage or for service, and wanted to shut down house power. I keep mine plugged into a 50amp service so that is not an issue for me.

Dean:

I do have a big 400amp fuse in the bay. However, since the left side of the solenoid is hot (according to the wiring schematic that feed comes from an 'inverter fuse'), I figured the fuses were all OK. The right side of the solenoid (labelled 'To 120 amo breaker for house power') is not hot, it must either be the solenoid or it is not getting a signal to energize from the switch at the entry door.

Thanks to you both for the help.

Gary