Auxilary Solenoid Question ??

[Breezeman]

First off. 2002 Fleetwood Terra 31H - P32 Workhorse chassis, 8.1L, 53,500 miles

OK, Here is my scenario. Ignition swithced failed on a recent trip. Had RV towed home (70 miles) Mechanic new exactly what problem was when dropped off. He fixed it the next day.
After that the electric step did not want to work. So he spent another week tracing wires and testing. He finallly come up with the auxilary solenoid was bad. Told me he by-passed that one for now because I needed my RV for this weekend. He is a very knowledgable electrical guy, so I do trust him but I would like to fix it back originally.
The step does work with the switch by the door now but not when the ignition is switched "on".
I'm going to climb around it this weekend while camping and check grounds wires and etc. Anyone have any other suggestions on what to check for? Does this solenoid "feed" any other things that I just haven't found yet?

Question is, Anyone know where I can get one of these solenoids and replace it? I am pretty mechanically inclined so I believe I can do this myself.

Sorry so long,
Thanks,
Larry

[Breezeman]

First off. 2002 Fleetwood Terra 31H - P32 Workhorse chassis, 8.1L, 53,500 miles

OK, Here is my scenario. Ignition swithced failed on a recent trip. Had RV towed home (70 miles) Mechanic new exactly what problem was when dropped off. He fixed it the next day.
After that the electric step did not want to work. So he spent another week tracing wires and testing. He finallly come up with the auxilary solenoid was bad. Told me he by-passed that one for now because I needed my RV for this weekend. He is a very knowledgable electrical guy, so I do trust him but I would like to fix it back originally.
The step does work with the switch by the door now but not when the ignition is switched "on".
I'm going to climb around it this weekend while camping and check grounds wires and etc. Anyone have any other suggestions on what to check for? Does this solenoid "feed" any other things that I just haven't found yet?

Question is, Anyone know where I can get one of these solenoids and replace it? I am pretty mechanically inclined so I believe I can do this myself.

Sorry so long,
Thanks,
Larry

[Joe Gilbert]

I do not have an answer however, being a retired electrical eng and a master electrician (does not make me an expert on RV electronics) I doubt that both your ignition switch and the solenoid failed at the same time. I believe there is a histoy of Workhorse ignition switch failures but not solenoid failures. I would sooner believe that a wire was disturbed or is not connected to the new ignition switch. My bet is you'll find the problem at the switch or close by.

Make sure the switch is the correct one and that none of the wires on the connector have been pushed into the connector such that they no longer make connection.

[Joe Gilbert]

Let me offer another suggestion. If you have a step manufactured by Kwikee, and there is a large likelyhood that you do, the problem could be a blown fuse. Most Kwikee steps have two power feeds. One is the main power via a 20 amp fuse. I expect this fuse is ok. The second 12V feed is supplied from the ignition switch (or circuit) which is "hot" when the ignition is on. This requires a 6 amp fuse. Sounds to me like this is the circuit/wire/fuse you need to locate. Kwikee says this is a yellow wire however, your coach maker may well have spliced almost any color wire onto the Kwikee wire to extend its length.

Good luck.

[tropical36]

Ummmmm....my problem is that...you can't depend on the step going in when you turn on the ignition or start the engine. Sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. However, the off on switch works everytime, so we make it a strong point ...so as to not forget it.
I'd really like some input on that...in the meanwhile, I'll look and check into this yellow wire input, as something must be loose somewhere and all this time, I've been blaming it on a printed circuit board somewhere with a possible hairline crack. Also does anyone know where I might find this solenoid that supposedly controls it. Anything close ought to work for that, if it needs to be replaced.

[Joe Gilbert]

If your step is a Kwikee, like mine, it is extremely important to have all of the pivot points well lubricated. Here's why.

The step does not have any limit switches to tell it where/when to stop. This is true on the "goes out" and on the "goes in". Instead there is a circuit which monitors the motor curent. When the step reaches its end-of-travel (either goining in or out) the motor current spikes high, because the motor cannot drive any farther (motor stall current is much higher than its normal run current). When this high current is detected the motor is shut down and the logic reconfigures it to drive the other direction when restarted.

So!!!! Knowing this it is really important to keep all pivot points clean, lubricated, and free to move. If not the step requires more power to move and the motor circuit interrupts the higher motor current as a sign that the step is all the way open or closed even if it never moved, or perhaps moved just a little.

[tropical36]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If your step is a Kwikee, like mine, it is extremely important to have all of the pivot points well lubricated. Here's why.

The step does not have any limit switches to tell it where/when to stop. This is true on the "goes out" and on the "goes in". Instead there is a circuit which monitors the motor curent. When the step reaches its end-of-travel (either goining in or out) the motor current spikes high, because the motor cannot drive any farther (motor stall current is much higher than its normal run current). When this high current is detected the motor is shut down and the logic reconfigures it to drive the other direction when restarted.

So!!!! Knowing this it is really important to keep all pivot points clean, lubricated, and free to move. If not the step requires more power to move and the motor circuit interrupts the higher motor current as a sign that the step is all the way open or closed even if it never moved, or perhaps moved just a little. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Good anyalsis....I'll grease it up good...thanks!

[Breezeman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Funny thing though. I went camping this weekend and the step worked perfect with the switch by the door and the ignition switch. So now I am really confused !!!!! I did not get a chance to check any ground wires as is was pretty hot all weekend. So now I am really confused as to what "solenoid" was bypassed. I will have to call mechanic and ask him actually what he did do.
Im sure I need to clean and lube the step also. Also does ANYONE now where to get one of these solenoids?

Thanks again for all suggestions. Great website.

[Joe Gilbert]

I'm not aware of a solenoid associated with the steps but never having had a problem with my steps I have not looked too closely at the electrical circuit. Seems like you'll need to ask your mechanic.

[AmtrakEngnr]

Your question is two fold. The aux solenoid you refer to is installed by Fleetwood and is located the the "Battery Control Center" behind the "RV Customs" printed circuit board. Behind that board are the battery disconnect solenoids for the house batteries and the chassis battery as well as housing the Auxillary solenoid also reffered to as the aux start solenoid and/or isolation solenoid. The RV customs board supplies power to your step module (all time hot and the key hot source) so your issue may be in the RV customs board as there have been several revisions in recent years. The aux solenoid being bypassed could present a problem depending on how it was bypassed. IF it is now jumpered "on", you will be drawing power not only from the house batteries while camping but the chassis battery as well. The aux / isolation solenoid is engaged while the engine is running and allows for alternator voltage to charge the house batteries. It disconnects or isolates that circuit when the engine is off therefore not draining on the engine battery. On Fleetwood units built after 1997 it will also engage and charge the engine battery once the house batteries have reached a full state of charge when plugged into shore power or the gen set is operating. It also is the solenoid that is engaged when you press the "aux start" button on the dash and allows voltage to flow the opposite way from the house batteries to the engine battery and acts as a set of jumper cables. All this is operated through the RV customs board (among other things)
The "battery control center" installed by Fleetwood is usually in one of two places, Either under the hood or in the passenger side #1 compartment mounted in the cubby space above the LP tank.
Hope this helps a bit....

[Morguns1cam]

Well Said Amtrak!, When I first bought my Pace Arrow (used 1989 34L) the aux solenoid was jumpered out, as you said this allows the house batteries to charge from the engine while driving but it also will allow you to drain the cranking battery along with the house batteries while parked with no shore power, hence the reason for the aux solenoid is to prevent this. All that said I see no reason that jumpering the solenoid should adversely affect the operation of the steps unless there is some logic on the control that retracts the step when the ignition is switched on.

[scoutmstr]

I had the same problem with my Kwikee step in that it would work some time and not others. Once it got working on a trip it would keep working. Greased the pivot points but continued having the same problems with it not working the first time after setting a while. Solution was to grease the motor gears driving the actuator rod moving the steps. The gears in the housing were dry. Works fine now