Community Forums

34pbdknight · 09-01-2022, 12:35 PM

Does anybody know what the little black box to the right of the piece of wood is?

l1v3fr33ord1 · 09-01-2022, 01:09 PM

34pbdknight-

Mudfrog · 09-01-2022, 01:24 PM

My Mom's rig is fairly basic, no bird or anything like that. Hers has a similar little box and is a delay relay that energizes the solenoid after the engine is running and the alternator starts outputting voltage. The solenoid connects batteries together so that they all receive charge from the alternator..

twinboat · 09-01-2022, 01:34 PM

It's a BIRD, without the B.

A BIRD charges bi-directional

A IRD charges one way, chassis to house while on the road.

Both are voltage sensing controls. If your house batteries are stone dead, it won't let them suck your chassis battery so low that the engine controls suffer or the headlights dim.

34pbdknight · 09-01-2022, 10:56 PM

So if I'm understanding this it means if the IRD isn't functioning then both banks of batteries won't charge while driving down the road because it's not talking to the continuous solenoid which allows those batteries to charge simultaneously or to keep the chassis batteries from draining to far. Hoping my explanation didn't confuse everybody.

twinboat · 09-02-2022, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 34pbdknight

So if I'm understanding this it means if the IRD isn't functioning then both banks of batteries won't charge while driving down the road because it's not talking to the continuous solenoid which allows those batteries to charge simultaneously or to keep the chassis batteries from draining to far. Hoping my explanation didn't confuse everybody.

Correct !

Keep in mind that the IRD is a low failure item. The continuous duty solenoid is a high failure item. The internal contacts get burnt, so although it it sounds like it's working, no current passes thru it.

34pbdknight · 09-03-2022, 12:30 AM

Got it! Thanks for the education. I just replaced the continuous solenoid because the old one was not passing thru and was heavily corroded. There is another solenoid in the FRB under the driver's area. What would be it's function and what would happen if it's not functioning?

153stars · 09-03-2022, 01:29 AM

In front electrical bay mine is tied to key ignition & accessories then over to smaller block of fuses in the panel , later years they went two or three relays. So if it was to fail ,it wouldn't start , no wipers other various items only work with key on, I think my jacks control power . There's not huge load on it like battery combiner so don't read lots of failures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 34pbdknight

Got it! Thanks for the education. I just replaced the continuous solenoid because the old one was not passing thru and was heavily corroded. There is another solenoid in the FRB under the driver's area. What would be it's function and what would happen if it's not functioning?

windsorbill · 09-03-2022, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 34pbdknight

Got it! Thanks for the education. I just replaced the continuous solenoid because the old one was not passing thru and was heavily corroded. There is another solenoid in the FRB under the driver's area. What would be it's function and what would happen if it's not functioning?

that solenoid on mine is what is commonly called the 'salesman switch'. There is a switch near your front door that controls it.

That solenoid controls interior lights and other 12 volt items. It's very common for someone to bump the switch and not know it. Many have bypassed the solenoid by connecting the 2 larger cables on it together.

twinboat · 09-03-2022, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windsorbill

that solenoid on mine is what is commonly called the 'salesman switch'. There is a switch near your front door that controls it.

That solenoid controls interior lights and other 12 volt items. It's very common for someone to bump the switch and not know it. Many have bypassed the solenoid by connecting the 2 larger cables on it together.

It's proper name is " Battery Disconnect or Use / Store or Main Battery " switch.

34pbdknight · 09-03-2022, 08:36 PM

I have read that about the salesman switch. Thanks gentlemen for the info.

RCLImperial · 09-05-2022, 08:07 AM

It looks a lot like the IRD, which delays the charging of the house batteries until the alternator current has dropped to prevent alternator overload. The engine batteries are always charged by the alternator. When the IRD senses that the engine batteries have reached about 13.3 volts for 30 seconds or so, it sends a signal to that large solenoid which connects the house and engine together. If the house batteries aren’t being charged, that solenoid has bad contacts or the IRD isn’t sensing the correct voltage.
The “salesman” solenoid is different, as it only disconnects part of the 12 volt loads in the coach. It allows you to turn off all the lights and discretionary loads when you leave the coach. They are two different solenoids.

Dick L. 04 Imperial