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Oldcaster · 08-12-2021, 03:23 PM

Had an issue, on the road cross country and need to resolve - good luck on finding a mechanic that can get you in 2-3 weeks backed up... sigh.

2003 Monaco Windsor - ISL - Towing a 28' Stacker trailer

Monday afternoon
Driving on I 90, computer tells me my alternator is running 17-18 volts, dash gauge showing 14 volts. middle of wyoming 100 miles from nowhere. planning on pulling over but about 10 minutes later, BEEP BEEP, rig goes into Limp and then dies, dash is blacked out. Roll it to the side, barely off the highway and start poking around.

Dash is dead, all black nothing happens when I turn the key, in fact, AC is dead, Step is dead as well. Hit battery boost button and it all comes to life - will not start or turn over. call a tow guy, he came out to try to jump the rig. Looked at the 6 month old Duracell AGM 12v batteries and they are bulged out on the sides - assuming they are fried. The tow guy brought me a couple of 12V Fleet batteries - we put those in. Still nothing when I turn the key, but if I press the boost, things light up and I am able to start the rig.

Disconnect the Battery leads to the apparently malfunctioning alternator. I was able to limp it back to his little shop by starting and driving the rig with the boost button held in.

Tues - I spent half the day trying to figure out what is going on - turns out I Fried the trailer light controller as well, - melted it all down. In the end, I hotwired the trailer lights and headed out - we needed to get 400 miles to Wisconsin - I wedged the boost button in the On position, only now there is a loud alarm beeping and the ALT light is on(as expected) I got intothe dash and unplugged the alarm, crossed fingers and drove 5 hours, ran generator to keep things charged up -- Thankfully, nothing burned up- WED - Made it the rest of the way with the bubble gum solution - have ordered an alternator that will be here in a couple days.

Cannot figure out why my dash does not run unless boost is pressed. Step does not work, AC Blower is dead - entire dash is dead - press Boost - and everything works.

Assuming I have a bad solenoid or have blown a fusible link somewhere. Question is where? Anyone have any ideas on where I should be looking and how I should be testing things? I do not see any apparent fuses/links blown, have a bunch of resettable 80 or 120 amp breakers that do not appear blown. The schematics I got from REV Group do not cover the chassis/engine in any detail so reaching out to see if anyone has any ideas - have a week to figure it out then back on the road.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

shootist · 08-12-2021, 03:29 PM

You are not getting 12v from your chassis batteries. Your dash must be powered by the chassis batteries, which would be the norm.

Outbound · 08-12-2021, 04:20 PM

Have you checked for power coming out of your battery cut off switches.

Oldcaster · 08-12-2021, 04:50 PM

Well writing it out got me thinking and as a tribute to the great William of Ockham, I went to the beginning and started testing and lo and behold - Master Chassis Cutoff - Looked fine on the outside - clicker working great - melted mess inside.... Had a spare and bingo - All is better.

So anyway - Thanks - Outbound had it anyway. and now I know you can drive with the boost button taped in the on position if needed... Thanks everyone - B

Outbound · 08-12-2021, 07:47 PM

Congrats on finding the problem.

Oldcaster · 08-22-2021, 12:01 PM

Well, actually still having 2 problems - have replaced the alternator, rewired the trailer plug, cleaned up everything I could find.

Problem 1 - Alt Light is still on the dash when running - I am showing 13.2-14.2 v charging so that seems about right. good connection on pos/neg on alternator - ign wire is showing 12v when ignition is on - 0 when off - Sense wire is showing voltage - not sure what the alt-fail wire is doing. - Duvac fuse is good. What am I missing that would have the Alt light showing on dash.

Problem 2 - Melted the chassis battery disconnect - the 2 master switches that control house or chassis batteries - rear passenger wiring panel - the wires into the chassis switch are heating up and darn near melting the insulation - could this be to many amps charging -

did lithiums before this trip - BIG upgrade and they can take 200+ amps charging - I am keeping it around 100amps.

Or am I missing something else on this one

Oldcaster · 08-22-2021, 05:26 PM

bump bump

okcnewbie · 08-22-2021, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldcaster

Well, actually still having 2 problems - have replaced the alternator, rewired the trailer plug, cleaned up everything I could find.

Problem 1 - Alt Light is still on the dash when running - I am showing 13.2-14.2 v charging so that seems about right. good connection on pos/neg on alternator - ign wire is showing 12v when ignition is on - 0 when off - Sense wire is showing voltage - not sure what the alt-fail wire is doing. - Duvac fuse is good. What am I missing that would have the Alt light showing on dash.

Problem 2 - Melted the chassis battery disconnect - the 2 master switches that control house or chassis batteries - rear passenger wiring panel - the wires into the chassis switch are heating up and darn near melting the insulation - could this be to many amps charging -

did lithiums before this trip - BIG upgrade and they can take 200+ amps charging - I am keeping it around 100amps.

Or am I missing something else on this one

Any chance the inverter/charger is on while driving? On mine I sometimes get an Alt light when the gen is on and I'm charging from the inverter/charger and the alternator at the same time. I just turn the battery charger off and the light goes out.

bump, bump made me laugh. Haven't seen that in quite a while.

Oldcaster · 08-22-2021, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

Any chance the inverter/charger is on while driving? On mine I sometimes get an Alt light when the gen is on and I'm charging from the inverter/charger and the alternator at the same time. I just turn the battery charger off and the light goes out.

I will try that but my hopes are not up, the inverter is always on and has never been part of the issue. The generator is often running as well so we can run the AC's. (Arizona). In fact, I do not think I have ever had the inverter off. The Alt light came on when the old Alternator cooked itself and the chassis batteries and I cannot figure out why it will not go off. Thanks for the thoughts, never know what clues it will lead to.

jacwjames · 08-23-2021, 06:26 PM

Based on my wiring diagram for a 2002 Windsor there is a 5 amp in line fuse near the alternator for the Alt Relay which in turn controls the Alt Fail light on the day. The in line fuse is on the wire that comes off one of the center posts. Not sure where the Alt Relay is, I think the front drivers side run bay.