Community Forums

puttin · 06-18-2020, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGflyboy

Looks like it was that fuse. I put a new one in a started the ignition. These are before and after pictures of my battery monitor with all the dash items including fan and AC running. This time it never dropped the voltage and never shut off the accessories running on the chassis battery.Attachment 288489 Attachment 288490

Good job! Satisfying to fix it yourself!

BobRay · 06-18-2020, 09:20 PM

My guess would be that the fuse you replaced had a bad cold-solder joint inside (assuming that it actually has solder joints inside). Bouncing down the road and engine heat might have caused the loss of contact there.

Congratulations on finding and fixing the problem. Electrical issues can be a real nightmare.

2003TRAVELER · 06-18-2020, 09:48 PM

The red turn dial switch in the picture is a battery disconnect you should have two of them one for you or house batteries and one for your engine.
One year ago 2019 I had the same problem maybe even worse that battery disconnect add to copper plates that when you turn it a connect or disconnect in my case those plates warped and while driving my engine would shut off completely men while running that's which told the alternator that my battery was dead which it was not, the alternator kept charging the battery it almost explode d.
After three months of pulling my hair out it happened again I took out my meter when I I load my red wire from my battery till I came to that switch that was in the on position but was not getting any voltage through it.
At that time I connected the two wires together that completed the circuit replace the switch haven't had that problem again I was so mad I took a hammer to the switch to find the problem and what would happen is the two plates when they got hot separated so check that switch when you have no power and see if that is your problem
Good luck happy traveling be safe
John

Arch Hoagland · 06-18-2020, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griswald One

Just a quick note for future use.... Your model is close enough to mine that I suspect that big red switch is your inverter disconnect and not a battery disconnect per se. So switching it off will not prevent 12v draws while in storage and your batteries will still be depleted if you do not turn off the salesman switch. At least that is my non-expert understanding of it. Others may have more valuable input.

Wrong. My Monaco does not have an inverter. That was a factory option and mine does not have it.

The plastic round red switch on mine that disconnects the engine battery fell apart three years ago. I replaced it...great fun NOT.

That switch completely disconnects my engine battery from everything. Because of the Covid my coach hasn't been run in three months.

Went out today, connected the engine battery via the red switch and it fired right up. My coach is stored next to our house with full hookups.

THenne1713 · 06-18-2020, 10:45 PM

I believe the more correct term might be "15-20a auto-reset 12vdc circuit breaker" (NOT relay)?

ALAN BIRD · 06-18-2020, 11:54 PM

the photo with the one relay on the right hand side the terminal on the far let ( red one appears to be fuzzy/ coroded. your description of the problem sounds like a loose or coroded connection. They should all be shiny bright and tight. it may take a while to track it down but i'm sure that is what it is. after the charging system boost the voltage it overcomes the resistance for a while. Driving down the road and having it shook up can also cause the issue. A volt meter will not always find the problem since its when a load is applied that is when the issue presents itself. Use a test light as a load to help track down the issue with the volt meter as well. I remember car with the old lead acid batteries that would come in with a wood screw between the post and clamp, all it needed was to be cleaned.

steelbird312 · 06-19-2020, 07:37 AM

Although you most likely found the problem, you still have a question, and if it were mine, I would too. Normally, if a fuse has its solder melt w/o blowing the fuse itself, the heat that it takes to melt that solder will come from resistance and not a short to ground. Check around your fuse holder or fuse panel checking for loose connections, especially the cicuit from which the culprit came. Like bobfrommaine said, Check your grounds, especially any group grounds you have- make sure they are sound. Check your main house batteries ground. I am not !not an electrician by trade- have wired a house or two, and troubleshot many RV electrical glitches. Many, many times it has to do with grounds so I look there for the cause if it isnt readily apparent.

Griswald One · 06-19-2020, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Wrong. My Monaco does not have an inverter. That was a factory option and mine does not have it.

The plastic round red switch on mine that disconnects the engine battery fell apart three years ago. I replaced it...great fun NOT.

That switch completely disconnects my engine battery from everything. Because of the Covid my coach hasn't been run in three months.

Went out today, connected the engine battery via the red switch and it fired right up. My coach is stored next to our house with full hookups.

Sorry for the confusion... I meant it for the OP's benefit. His unit is a 2019 of the same manufacturer as my 2020 Unit in which it is the Inverter shut off.

ShermAngelia · 06-19-2020, 06:25 PM

This reminds me of my problem on a 1990 HR...sometimes stuff would work and sometimes it wouldn't and one day as I began removing wires in the house-battery compartment to clean the connections I discovered they were connected to terminals on small rectangular boxes so I metered between the 2 terminals on each box and discovered that the one labeled "Converter" had no continuity. I disassembled that box and discovered that it was a heat-sensitive metal flap that makes contact between the terminals but when it's overloaded and heats up it disconnects. After the flap cools down it flips into contact again. The flap for the Converter could be wiggled up and down and side to side so sometimes it would make contact as the chassis was shaken by walking in it or slamming the door. I ordered replacements from Buss for about $3.50 each (8 in total) and since installing them everything works. Those same boxes were above $15.00 from Amazon. They're called Short-stops. The only problem I have now electrically is that my water pump turns on sometimes and sometimes it won't. I think there's one of those shortstops somewhere out of sight...I've used a wire-tracer and tracked the wires to a switch in the bathroom and a switch in the display panel over the entry door but I can't locate the 12 volt connection...never a dull day when you operate an RV.

HopsBrewster · 06-19-2020, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy-c

Check all of the battery cable connections, especially the grounds. ( there is an old saying " it is always the grounds " ) Don't just look at them and if they look good move on. Take them apart, clean them and reconnect. I am sure you will find a loose or dirty connection. With the number of things that are losing voltage I would think it will be a large battery cable that has an issue. At the very least you won't have spent any $ and will be sure all of the connections are clean and tight, making troubleshooting easier.

msjtravels · 06-21-2020, 10:45 AM

Same problem with our 2017 Dutchstar. We went through all that dutchstar dan recommended but it turned out to be a loose Fuse in the chassis battery compartment. You have to remove the cover and it was a high voltage one that we were afraid to touch. Good luck

Lez8ma · 06-22-2020, 05:46 PM

Sounds like a bad ground wire or lose ground connection, the little ground wire running from the chassis battery to frame ground. Not the big ground wire going to the engine block.

Ray,IN · 06-22-2020, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

When the engine is running or shore/ generator power is active, the house and chassis batteries connect together for charging.

When that happens, your house batteries are powering everything, bypassing your bad connection.

Sounds logical to me. I too suspect a bad connection at the chassis battery disconnect solenoid, or even a faulty solenoid. One way to tell is bypass the chassis battery disconnect solenoid.

overeasy15 · 06-29-2020, 05:33 PM

I use to blow that fuse while driving alot when my rv chose for it to blow. First thought is for you to replace that fuse with a breaker. My problem was a size 2 cable was rubbing a bolt and rubbed thru the insulation and would arc weld itself to the bolt. After paying a dealer 2hours pay they told me that the wire I found shorting out and disconnected was not grounding out . They hooked it back up and watched the generator run which is were it came from. I made it 18 miles and it blew again. I went home laid on my back and traced the wire from the fuse to within 1 foot of the generaterand found the bare wire welded to the bolt. It would brake loose on its own and with a new fuse all was well until next time. now what I think you should do is disconnect allthe batteries positive cable at the same time as soon as your problem starts and check each cable separately one at a time to make sure they are not shorting out.