Battery Disconnect Switch/Solenoid

[Wjmt001]

I found the problem from a previous thread I posted on the battery disconnect. The "disconnect" solenoid on our 2006 Dolphin 5342 is located behind the BCC circuit board. This is not the "interconnect" solenoid which is like many starter solenoids on varios vehicles. It is a "latching" solenoid that is activated or disactivated by the position of the disconnect switch in the MH. It reverses the polarity on the solenoid to either open or close the switch. My problem is that the solenoid is fried and I can't seem to find one like it. Its made by Guardian Electronics, but so far they haven't replied to my emails. Any ideas where I might find one.

[Richard S.]

do you have the part number.

[Theberrys]

My guess is this is a latching relay. try looking here
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg...y&L1=Relays%2C
for a match.

Dick

[Wjmt001]

Additonal information. On a recent trip I could not lower the jacks so I checked the 150amp breaker. It was so hot I could not reset it until it cooled down. I took it to my local dealer and they found that the coach batteries had somehow frozen at one time and when they were being fed by the engine alternator were over-amping the circuit board on the BCC unit and it eventually fried just about everything on the board. The tech said I was lucky not to have had a fire. The house batteries were the original ones (Trojan) installed by the manufacturer and are very susceptable to freezing. The tech also said that he recommends topping off house batteries with white distilled vinegar instead of distilled water. This keeps the acid content up so batteries are less likely to freeze and the batteries will last much longer. Hope this helps others.

[KentM]

Did you ever find the relay? Do you have a picture of it? Is it mounted into the circuit board?
What type of "white vinegar" is he recommending? There are some vinegars that I would not want to put into a $300 set of batteries....
There is a question about this on yahoo and it seems that the two acids are not the same thing. I would want to make sure that did it not void the warranty before I did something like that.
Kent

[Wjmt001]

The "disconnect solenoid" on my 5342 is located on the BCC unit behind the circuit board. It is made by RV Custom Products in California. You have to remove the circuit board from the frame of the BCC unit to get at the solenoid. It is black with two large connections for the battery and two small connections to power the magnet. I had to buy the whole unit thru my dealer. Luckily my extended warranty covered most of it.
The technician recommended the "white distilled vinegar" to use for topping off the batteries. I have not checked on this solution with any battery manufacturer however.
Hope this helps.

[M&EM]

Originally Posted by KentM

Did you ever find the relay? Do you have a picture of it? Is it mounted into the circuit board?
Kent

I believe this picture shows the relay.

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot...m/IMG_3732.jpg

The 03 ckt bd may not be the same as yours.

I recall from earlier post that the relay alone can be purchased but I don't remember where.

[Richard S.]

I believe you will find this to be the same solenoid.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/6C028

[KentM]

The relay in the previous post is not the disconnect relay. The disconnect is the black one in the middle of the board.

I think we are talking about the same board. Here are a couple of photos that I just took as I could not remember exactly what it looked like. Let me know if they are the same board.
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11965
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11966

I agree that the relay can be purchased separately as I bought the silver looking one directly from RV Products. They were more than helpful after NRV went under. You might try calling them and describing the relay that you need. Phone: 562-921-8353 in Santa Fe Springs, CA.
Kent

[M&EM]

Yup that's the number on the relay in mine.
Except for the suffix "a" after the 70-111224-5.

Oops, Just reread op and realized I was responding to wrong relay function.

Marty

[KentM]

I need to correct an error in my previous post. The name of the company is actually RV Custom Products. Please excuse old age.....

[Richard S.]

This is it.
http://www.rvparts.com/product-127-RVC1002


Also
http://www.rvparts.com/product-127-130325

[KentM]

Richard, You have nailed it. I tried to call RV Custom last evening but all I get is an answering machine but now you have a source. Just from experience, I would like to have one of those relays in my spares. I already have the other one. I had to replace the other big relay because I discovered that the engine alternator was not charging the coach batteries. The contacts of the relay had burned to the point they would not make contact.

[Richard S.]

Good deal, now you can see who has the best price.


Another source

http://www.mccampingsupplies.com/ind...oducts_id=8141