Thor Challenger Owners Unite!

[ctpres]

I got no response from Thor on my question about what year the first Challenger was introduced. So I am making our Challenger's family birthday "July." For the whole month we will celebrate twenty five years of continuous production and improvements. We will give all guests, or anyone who even says that's a nice looking coach, the complete tour. It's really enjoyable showing off our baby so we will have lots of fun. Wonder how many I can sell in a month?

[Rascal55]

Battery Isolater/Control module
At the front of the engine compartment on the drivers side is a module with fuses and solenoids. The chassis battery and house batteries are connected to this unit. I feel this maybe the battery isolater. It is chattering a lot, it seems the solenoid is kicking in and out rapidly. We are not having any electrical issues inside the coach. It does not do this all day long, but enough to be of concern. I feel it is a problem on the circuit board and not the solenoids themselves. Any similar experiences or thoughts out there?

[ctpres]

#60 Decided to try my hand at making a dash cover. Turned out to be pretty easy four hour and $20 project.
Step 1. Cut a template for one of the windshield col. covers see results in pic. one. Step 2. Run a tape measure all the way across dash from equal points at both ends and tape it in place for a measuring reference point. See pic. two. Step 3. Every six inches measure distance from edge of tape measure to windshield. Use distance in center and draw a line on the back side of the carpet. Then transfer six inch measurements to line and connect the points. See pic. three. Then cut. Since carpet was so thin I was able to use a good pair of scissors. Step 4. Remove dash pod and test fit - if trimming is necessary hold carpet on place with two or three screws in holes from dash pod. Pic four shows results of some minor trimming. Only thing left to do is cut along sides of desk. I did not cut across - left carpet over desk top. If we want to use desk we just flip the flap forward. I considered removing desk and using the housing to trim the edges. Just decided to protect everything from the sun. Will post a couple more pictures tomorrow with more detail.

[Rascal55]

Here are two pictures of the module in question.

[ctpres]

Originally Posted by Rascal55

Battery Isolater/Control module
At the front of the engine compartment on the drivers side is a module with fuses and solenoids. The chassis battery and house batteries are connected to this unit. I feel this maybe the battery isolater. It is chattering a lot, it seems the solenoid is kicking in and out rapidly. We are not having any electrical issues inside the coach. It does not do this all day long, but enough to be of concern. I feel it is a problem on the circuit board and not the solenoids themselves. Any similar experiences or thoughts out there?

PM Me with email and I will send you 12 page BCC service manual.

[ctpres]

#60 Cont. Pic one shows better detail after final trim. Pic two shows results of cut to accommodate the workstation with flap folded back. Three shows top extended and surplus carpet folded and tucked under edge of desk top. When done ie. to late, I realized desk cut did NOT need to be all the way to the end. If you do this I would stop cut at edge of desk when extended and test. BTW don't cut desk opening until mat is finished and secured by the instrument pod screws. I think stopping the cut earlier will look much better. Pic three also shows visual results of cut going to far.
I am still thinking about how to finish the cut edge on passenger side. I experimented with a scrap - folded end back under and glued with hot glue gun - that looks pretty good. I am going to leave it as is for a while to see if carpet will hang naturally and follow curved surface of dash. Nothing has been added to hold carpet in place other than the pod screws and good fit around the col. covers. It does not move around.

[handyman1943]

Originally Posted by Rascal55

Here are two pictures of the module in question.

I recently replaced the lower solenoid because it had failed and my chassis battery was very low on charge even though I was plugged in. It was the lower of the two solenoids. I will assume that you are plugged in to a land line. If you unplug and the chattering stops, it probably means that the solenoid is about ready to die. Cost around $25 and was a relatively easy replacement.
Also, if the solenoid is very warm and chattering, that probably means that it is about read to quit on you. Good luck!

[ctpres]

#61 Found these big S hooks in a dollar store and got the idea to use them for extra towel or wash cloth hooks. Work great inside or outside of the shower and can be moved around or removed as needed.

[Rascal55]

Thanks for all the replies to my dilemma. There has been no chattering or bad noises coming from this area for the last few days. Could the problem have been a moisture or humidity issue? We have had some heavy rains recently and the fact that the unit is very exposed and unprotected put that thought in my head.

[ctpres]

#62 I had mentioned earlier about second step failure due to bad wire routing during installation. Wire was pinched between door frame and door trim - insulation flowed resulting in bare wire shorting to door frame/ground. Results steps open and won't retract. Finally got around to taking care of it and in the process discovered large air gap between sides of door edge of door cavity. 3/8" or so on sides and about 1" at top. Filled top with foam insulation and sides with 1/2 backer rod - pic one. To fix wire problem I cut channel in back side of trim to reduce stress on wire, added some electrical tape around both wires and reinstalled the trim with less tension/pressure on the screws on either side of the wires.

[ctpres]

#63 One of my punch list items at the factory was to get entry door strut replaced. I figured it should be a damper and slow the opening as opposed to pushing it open with significant force. Tech agreed but soon learned they are built that way. So no fix. It is up to owner to be careful opening the door and not let it fly open which would eventually lead to one of the end studs being broken or worse yet being pulled out of frame making repairs near impossible. Holding on to the door handle to slow opening is not easy. My solution - Camco screen door cross bar, part number 42183. Avail at Walmart for under $15. I found opening door on exit was usually done standing on the second step so I positioned the bar at a comfortable height. Now we unlatch door and hold cross bar to let door open slowly. For us, using it to open or close the screen door is secondary.

[sbleiweiss]

Our screen door and main door often come apart when we don't mean for them to. I would be concerned that using that bar of yours to control the opening of the door would fail if the main door could let go and swing wildly without the screen door. Do yours come apart like I am describing?

[ctpres]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

Our screen door and main door often come apart when we don't mean for them to. I would be concerned that using that bar of yours to control the opening of the door would fail if the main door could let go and swing wildly without the screen door. Do yours come apart like I am describing?

No, the doors have never seperated on their own. I think the screen door to door latch is fairly secure. If yours looks like attached pic may it just needs adjusting. I guess, if we were to wait until door already half way open and grabbed handle to stop it there could be a problem. We just release door latch with one hand and move same hand to the bar before door gets any momemtum. Note that the outside screen door handle is captured by the hook on the door.

[sbleiweiss]

Originally Posted by ctpres

No, the doors have never seperated on their own. I think the screen door to door latch is fairly secure. If yours looks like attached pic may it just needs adjusting. I guess, if we were to wait until door already half way open and grabbed handle to stop it there could be a problem. We just release door latch with one hand and move same hand to the bar before door gets any momemtum. Note that the outside screen door handle is captured by the hook on the door.

I think they are the same, although I can't see well with the lighting in your picture. We ordered the cross bar and will try it. thanks for the tip.