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va_capone · 08-10-2019, 06:37 AM

So I came back from my last adventure knowing my refrigerator cooling unit needs to be replaced. I parked my coach along side my house, leveled it and connected to shore power like always. I went out to take it to the repair center to begin the process of getting the fridge repaired, but when I turned the ignition switch nothing happened. No lights or noise as if the batteries were completely dead. I connected a battery charger and it indicated the chassis batteries were fully charged. Connected to coach batteries and it did charge them for less than an hour before it showed them as fully charged. It seems as though there is a safety switch of some kind interrupting power to the ignition. All battery switches that I know of are closed, and circuit breaker and fusses at batteries are closed. Am I missing some safety switch or procedure? ( usually that’s my issue) thank in advance.

Ray,IN · 08-10-2019, 07:39 AM

I have read of certain make MH's that have a neutral safety switch, that when shut off while in gear, lock out the ignition. Seems there was a specific procedure to correct that. Nothing more to add.

BigLar368 · 08-10-2019, 07:44 AM

Sounds like you may have bumped the salesman switch. Not sure what type of RV you have but in our RV under the drivers side there is a compartment full of the 12V electronics and such. There is a large 12V solenoid/relay in there. Most people just bypass it so it never happens again. I have no idea where my switch is located to turn it off but one day the solenoid stuck open and would not close. I just made a large jumper wire and bypassed it all together.

broadrun · 08-10-2019, 08:32 AM

Sounds like what happened to me last week, and a few years ago. Made me think my starter solenoid was going bad (it still may be).

I jumped from the Battery POS to the starter solenoid with the key in the run position and I heard the starter spin. Then I went back to the driver's seat and it started up normally.

Ljwt330 · 08-10-2019, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by va_capone

So I came back from my last adventure knowing my refrigerator cooling unit needs to be replaced. I parked my coach along side my house, leveled it and connected to shore power like always. I went out to take it to the repair center to begin the process of getting the fridge repaired, but when I turned the ignition switch nothing happened. No lights or noise as if the batteries were completely dead. I connected a battery charger and it indicated the chassis batteries were fully charged. Connected to coach batteries and it did charge them for less than an hour before it showed them as fully charged. It seems as though there is a safety switch of some kind interrupting power to the ignition. All battery switches that I know of are closed, and circuit breaker and fusses at batteries are closed. Am I missing some safety switch or procedure? ( usually that’s my issue) thank in advance.

The bold, above, is what jumped out at me.^^

I assume your statement means that there were no dash lights or any other indicators that power was getting to the chassis, correct? If so, the exact same thing happened to me. What it turned out to be was a bad connection from the battery bank to the fuse panel on the 2/0 positive cable. All connections looked good and the nuts on the batteries were tight, but I noticed some slight corrosion at the base of that large cable where the lug is bolted to the battery. After removal for cleaning, I discovered the ring lug itself was partially broken and very thin, as well as corrosion in the cable itself, among the wire strands. I cleaned up the corrosion as best as I could, made sure the lug was tight on the battery, and all power came back. I then replaced the entire cable with a new one.

In short, inspect and check the integrity of all the cables in the battery bank, both for the chassis and house. Pay close attention to the very large cables that go from the batteries into the fuse panel where they connect to the large fuses.

va_capone · 08-10-2019, 09:50 AM

yes you are correct that everything seems as though there is no power from batteries with exception to the fact that I have checked the battery positive wire in the fuse panel and voltage is present there. The problem presents as if there is no power going to ignition switch. Earlier post mentioned the possibility that I turned of the ignition with the transmission in gear. I usually level the coach while it is running, but I’m not sure I did it on this trip, but that sounds like a possibility as I was having no issues until I parked it and shut it down.

Ljwt330 · 08-10-2019, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by va_capone

yes you are correct that everything seems as though there is no power from batteries with exception to the fact that I have checked the battery positive wire in the fuse panel and voltage is present there. The problem presents as if there is no power going to ignition switch. Earlier post mentioned the possibility that I turned of the ignition with the transmission in gear. I usually level the coach while it is running, but I’m not sure I did it on this trip, but that sounds like a possibility as I was having no issues until I parked it and shut it down.

Your issue may be the with the transmission circuit, I certainly don't know. However, just to clarify a bit, I also could detect voltage at the fuse panel with a meter and that's what puzzled me. Only when a load was required did the failure happen. Not saying you have the same problem, but be aware that a simple voltage check may not reveal the issue.

Good luck and keep us updated on your solution.

**Spdracr39** · 08-10-2019, 01:24 PM

A safety interlock of any type would allow the dash lights to come on just no cranking. If you have no dash lights you are losing voltage somewhere. Start at the battery and check all connections from beginning to end. Where the power stops is the issue.

Outbound · 08-10-2019, 04:09 PM

Did OP ever say what MH, model and year coach he has? maybe I missed it.

twinboat · 08-10-2019, 04:48 PM

Its a 2007

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Outbound · 08-10-2019, 10:08 PM

I think I remember there being an ignition relay in the electrical panel outside below the drivers window, might be worth taking a look.

Arch Hoagland · 08-10-2019, 11:09 PM

I had a similar incidence on my 2004 LaPalma. Fooled around with it two hours and it finally started working. Don't know what I did to cure it as there was another camper helping me.

On mine there is a power control board located in the bin under the passenger seat. Try banging on the relays in there.

Also try running the slides clear out and then back in. Set the emergency brake. Disconnect from shore power.

Are the jacks deployed? Retract them. If not deployed...run them and then retract them again.

Mine only did this once and I worry that it will happen again. If you find the cause be sure to let us know.

153stars · 08-11-2019, 02:28 PM

Is there anything on chassis like headlights? That will narrow it to ignition switch to ignition relay and it's feeds.

pampero1 · 08-12-2019, 11:37 AM

I have a 2000 Windsor and I have all kinds of problems with the starting circuit. it started with me tripping the rear front/rear switch. (which I didn't know existed) but I lost all my dash light and would not crank. I played with anything imaginable; in the process of inspecting the ignition switch (trying to remove it), I damaged it so I replaced the switch ( Standard # US-24L and US-84 for future refereb\nce)
Once I had the back switch flipped I have dash light but no Bell warning and still don't cranking.
It seems like something is preventing to crank.
On the attachment files, there is a NO CRANK troubleshooting chart. On fuse panel #2 (left front under driver's window) there is a fuse #5 (5amps) and an ignition relay. If I remove the fuse I have Bell warnings but still don't crank. When I put the fuse or the ignition relay back there is a click (relay? on )the Allison transmission ECU.
I am thinking that I blew something while testing, but can't figure what.
I put the slide in and out just in case.
I don't know if is stuck in a different gear, I know I can move it
When I turn the key on I can jump the starter solenoid and run the coach, but I need to find the problem that most likely was caused by me.
Any suggestions?
This problem is related to a Monaco Coach or an HR, that they share the same circuit, if you have a different brand your information will not be usefull but always appreciated.