Community Forums

Kingaroy · 06-25-2020, 01:15 PM

When I am plugged into shore power Silverleaf displays a yellow lightning bolt between chassis and house batteries, suggesting that bridging is taking place and that the chassis battery is being charged. However, no bridging is taking place. Also, when the battery boost button is depressed no bridging takes place.

I checked the bridging solenoid in the chassis battery compartment. One terminal of the solenoid is connected to the chassis battery and, as expected, shows the chassis battery voltage. I assume that the second substantial terminal is connected to the house battery and should have the house battery voltage. However, its voltage is zero suggesting a discontinuity between house battery and solenoid. My suspicion is a blown fuse or open circuit breaker. The 2019 New Aire manual says the battery boost fuse is in the shore power line compartment. I checked every inch of this compartment and found no fuse. My guess is that it would have to be at least a 300 amp fuse. Newmar tech support referred me to Freightliner. I gave Freightliner my VIN# and they said the chassis as delivered to Newmar had neither house battery nor its connection to chassis battery.

So I need help finding this elusive battery boost fuse, or anything else that would disconnect the house battery from the solenoid terminal.

As an aside, my initial reaction to my problem was that I had a bad solenoid. However, if house battery voltage is not present at a terminal of the solenoid then my problem will be present whether the solenoid is working or not.

My understanding is that Silverleaf sends a signal to the bridging solenoid when certain conditions are met. The solenoid responds by connecting the incoming cables from chassis and house batteries.

twinboat · 06-25-2020, 01:45 PM

Look in the battery compartment, the wire may be laying behind the batteries.

There should be one or two heavy positive inverter cables, depending on how many inverters you have and one large positive battery boost/bridge cable.

The house supply cable will probably be smaller.

If there is a fuse, it will be near the battery end of the cable. Fuses protect shorts to ground in the cables from starting a fire. The closer to the battery the better.

"007" · 06-25-2020, 06:42 PM

Welcome to the forum.
This link will lead you to this link which has info on your B.I.M. battery charging system or BIRD charging system with fuse locations & wiring.
The solenoid has a 5 amp fuse on one of its battery lugs hidden behind the battery cable possibly blown.

SteveUpp · 06-26-2020, 08:24 AM

I have a 2019 New Aire. The battery bridging solenoid you are looking for is actually in the back of the compartment that houses power cord reel. To get to it, you have to come from the passenger side of the coach and remove the panel that separates the storage compartment from the equipment in the power bay. The solenoid is a White-Rogers Bridge Solenoid - Newmar Part Number 21029. If you open the back panel you can see the solenoid - behind a whole bunch of cables.

It is possible that the solenoid has failed. If it has failed, you'll want to replace it with a different solenoid from a different manufacturer. Turns out White-Rogers solenoid can occasionally generate a momentary 600V spike when opening or closing and that spike screws up the TM102 module. Most common symptom is that the water pump wall switches stop turning the pump on/off and only the Silverleaf control panel can turn it on/off.

The replacement solenoid is: Ametek, New Mar Part Number 140045. That solenoid includes a diode that prevents the spike from getting to the TM102. Currently I believe there is a shortage of that part because of the problem with the White-Rogers solenoid because you can't order it on the Newmar parts ordering page.

SteveUpp · 06-26-2020, 08:32 AM

I just had another thought too... its possible that your TM102 module is in a funky state due to the voltage spike problem I mentioned. The TM102 module is behind the plexiglass to the right of the drivers side storage compartment. The TM102 is the black box up high close to the bay opening. There is a chassis steel cross member that crosses directly in front of the TM102 which obscures the label, but you can probably get a camera in their to capture a picture to verify the label. There's another solenoid there on that wall that is the battery disconnect solenoid... The TM102 is up higher and to the left.

To fully reset the TM102 you can remove the wire harness that is in the upper right side of the TM102 as you look at it mounted on the wall.

Hope this helps...

"007" · 06-27-2020, 04:53 PM

Thanks for that information Steve will post in the big sticky.

Kingaroy · 06-28-2020, 10:40 AM

Dear SteveUpp,

Thanks for your response. Does your 2019 New Aire have a solenoid forward of the batteries in the chassis battery compartment? Mine has a solenoid there which I understood to be the battery bridging solenoid. One side is connected to the chassis batteries. The other side goes forward but is difficult to follow. I assume it connects to the house batteries. In any case, this side currently reads 0 volts with shore power connected or generator running or main engine running. I expected it would always have the house battery voltage.

The reason I am laboring this point is to make sure Newmar did not put our bridging solenoids in different places before I get my 80 year old body into the storage compartment to remove a panel.

In my quest to find why one side of my bridging solenoid does not have house battery voltage I found the following: There are two fuses in the house battery compartment. One goes to the inverter/charger. The other has a rubber cover with the label “Bussmann”. I thought it might be a blown fuse on the cable which goes to the “bridging” solenoid mentioned above. However, the fuse is intact.

So I am either trying to find my bridging solenoid or a blown fuse. I appreciate any help you can offer.

Roger Buchanan
Winter Haven, Florida
Kingaroyroger@gmail.com

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 27, 2020, at 12:19 AM, iRV2 Forums <support@irv2.com> wrote:

Dear Kingaroy,

You are subscribed to the thread "New Aire - no house battery voltage at bridging solenoid" by Kingaroy, there have been 2 post(s) to this thread, the last poster was SteveUpp.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/new-aire-no-house-battery-voltage-at-bridging-solenoid-493862.html

These following posts were made to the thread:
************

https://www.irv2.com/forums/showthre...56#post5320356
Posted by: SteveUpp
On: 06-26-2020 10:24 AM

I have a 2019 New Aire. The battery bridging solenoid you are looking for is actually in the back of the compartment that houses power cord reel. To get to it, you have to come from the passenger side of the coach and remove the panel that separates the storage compartment from the equipment in the power bay. The solenoid is a White-Rogers Bridge Solenoid - Newmar Part Number 21029. If you open the back panel you can see the solenoid - behind a whole bunch of cables.

It is possible that the solenoid has failed. If it has failed, you'll want to replace it with a different solenoid from a different manufacturer. Turns out White-Rogers solenoid can occasionally generate a momentary 600V spike when opening or closing and that spike screws up the TM102 module. Most common symptom is that the water pump wall switches stop turning the pump on/off and only the Silverleaf control panel can turn it on/off.

The replacement solenoid is: Ametek, New Mar Part Number 140045. That solenoid includes a diode that prevents the spike from getting to the TM102. Currently I believe there is a shortage of that part because of the problem with the White-Rogers solenoid because you can't order it on the Newmar parts ordering page.
************

https://www.irv2.com/forums/showthre...61#post5320361
Posted by: SteveUpp
On: 06-26-2020 10:32 AM

I just had another thought too... its possible that your TM102 module is in a funky state due to the voltage spike problem I mentioned. The TM102 module is behind the plexiglass to the right of the drivers side storage compartment. The TM102 is the black box up high close to the bay opening. There is a chassis steel cross member that crosses directly in front of the TM102 which obscures the label, but you can probably get a camera in their to capture a picture to verify the label. There's another solenoid there on that wall that is the battery disconnect solenoid... The TM102 is up higher and to the left.

To fully reset the TM102 you can remove the wire harness that is in the upper right side of the TM102 as you look at it mounted on

gatorb8 · 06-28-2020, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingaroy

When I am plugged into shore power Silverleaf displays a yellow lightning bolt between chassis and house batteries, suggesting that bridging is taking place and that the chassis battery is being charged. However, no bridging is taking place. Also, when the battery boost button is depressed no bridging takes place.

I checked the bridging solenoid in the chassis battery compartment. One terminal of the solenoid is connected to the chassis battery and, as expected, shows the chassis battery voltage. I assume that the second substantial terminal is connected to the house battery and should have the house battery voltage. However, its voltage is zero suggesting a discontinuity between house battery and solenoid. My suspicion is a blown fuse or open circuit breaker. The 2019 New Aire manual says the battery boost fuse is in the shore power line compartment. I checked every inch of this compartment and found no fuse. My guess is that it would have to be at least a 300 amp fuse. Newmar tech support referred me to Freightliner. I gave Freightliner my VIN# and they said the chassis as delivered to Newmar had neither house battery nor its connection to chassis battery.

So I need help finding this elusive battery boost fuse, or anything else that would disconnect the house battery from the solenoid terminal.

As an aside, my initial reaction to my problem was that I had a bad solenoid. However, if house battery voltage is not present at a terminal of the solenoid then my problem will be present whether the solenoid is working or not.

My understanding is that Silverleaf sends a signal to the bridging solenoid when certain conditions are met. The solenoid responds by connecting the incoming cables from chassis and house batteries.

I don’t have a Newmar but I think you are correct, somewhere between your house battery and your solenoid you have a disconnect, a blown fuse, or an open breaker. find that wire on rhe house battery bank and verify there is voltage and follow it from there to the solenoid, good luck

make sure there is a common ground to

SteveUpp · 06-29-2020, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingaroy

Dear SteveUpp,

Thanks for your response. Does your 2019 New Aire have a solenoid forward of the batteries in the chassis battery compartment? Mine has a solenoid there which I understood to be the battery bridging solenoid. One side is connected to the chassis batteries. The other side goes forward but is difficult to follow. I assume it connects to the house batteries. In any case, this side currently reads 0 volts with shore power connected or generator running or main engine running. I expected it would always have the house battery voltage.

Kingaroy, Yes I have a solenoid in the chassis battery bay just forward of the chassis batteries. I'm not sure what that is for to be honest.

There is another thread going on now in the Newmar Owner's Forum... The solenoid is in a difficult to reach spot as I described previously. To actually work on it, you need to be sure that 12V DC is off. Silverleaf recommended being sure there is no 12V power there at all.. so you might have to disconnect the batteries.. first try to salesman (DC Disconnect switch at the door entry) but please be careful. If you drop a nut, or have a tool cross two leads you risk a short and damage. Please be super careful... or consider having a more nimble RV tech at a Newmar dealer do the work for you. I have to say it - please don't blame me for anything that goes wrong ... It will be very easy to make a mistake because of the seriously uncomfortable place you have to get yourself into to reach it.

alan1 · 07-01-2020, 10:05 AM

When I picked up my Essex, I thought even when my batteries looked to be bridged, they were not. Turns out the fuse was blown. The fuse was behind the cord reel, I think f4 battery disconnect. Try dog walking the fuses to see if any are blown.

Kingaroy · 07-02-2020, 11:10 AM

Hi SteveUpp,
Thanks again for your help. I think I finally am headed in the right direction. When I first described my problem to Newmar Support, they said I most likely had a bad bridging solenoid and that it was in the forward part of the chassis battery bay. My trouble shooting thereafter was based on this false premise.
I should be able to check the real bridging solenoid without getting into too much trouble. If I find the solenoid to be faulty, I will try to find a replacement based on your recommendation and get someone more nimble to swap it.
Thanks again.
Roger Buchanan
Kingaroyroger@gmail.com

Kingaroy · 07-06-2020, 04:23 PM

Dear Steve Upp,
I replaced the bridging solenoid with another White Rodgers. I could not find an Ametek solenoid. The battery boost switch now works, which is some progress. However, the solenoid is still not triggered by Silverleaf when the house and chassis battery voltages warrant bridging. I will try rebooting the Silverleaf TM102 module.

Roger Buchanan

"007" · 07-06-2020, 09:25 PM

Just posted this yesterday by this member for Silver Leaf problems and the solenoid, its a fix by Newmar for NA coach's.
There is other threads for NA coach pertaining to the Silver Leaf and battery problems in a section for the NA in this sticky.

AndyNewmar · 04-08-2022, 11:46 AM

I realize this is an old thread but I just stumbled upon it yesterday after experiencing what seems to be the same issue in my 2020 New Aire. While I don't have a full explanation yet I did find this to be interesting as I was troubleshooting. Same problem as before - Silverleaf shows bridged connection but house battery voltage was at 13.2 and chassis battery voltage was at 12.2. I could not find any blown fuses in the circuit. I then connected the chassis batteries to my portable Noco battery booster. As soon as I turned that on it appeared to "correct" the problem. Perhaps it unstuck a solenoid along the circuit or reset a Silverleaf component - still not sure. After 12 hours the Silverleaf screen shows very similar voltages when the house and chassis batteries are bridged and when it shuts off bridging the chassis battery voltage shows 12.8. Curious if anyone in the tread previously discovered any other missing pieces since they last posted an update.