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rvnizzo · 08-23-2020, 05:14 PM

I have a 2006 coachmen freelander and we are having problems charging the house batteries with anything but the rv engine. They will not charge from the generator nor the shore. We have tried so many things but we seem to be unable to find a solenoid or two. We have the solenoid right next to the house batteries but while looking at other things we think our problem might be from a solenoid we cannot find.

We could be completely wrong but again we are quite new to the electrical system of an rv.

Please oh please if you have any information on this help. I will give any more information anyone needs to help solve this when a reply is made.

We have done generator work on the carb, replaced the entire back end but the electrical system is where we hit the snag.

Thank you for your time for even reading this. I have been looking into rv posts and I think the RV community is a great one so I finally decided to join!

Sbrownstein · 08-23-2020, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvnizzo

I have a 2006 coachmen freelander and we are having problems charging the house batteries with anything but the rv engine. They will not charge from the generator nor the shore. We have tried so many things but we seem to be unable to find a solenoid or two. We have the solenoid right next to the house batteries but while looking at other things we think our problem might be from a solenoid we cannot find.

We could be completely wrong but again we are quite new to the electrical system of an rv.

Please oh please if you have any information on this help. I will give any more information anyone needs to help solve this when a reply is made.

We have done generator work on the carb, replaced the entire back end but the electrical system is where we hit the snag.

Thank you for your time for even reading this. I have been looking into rv posts and I think the RV community is a great one so I finally decided to join!

Your solenoid is fine...otherwise it wouldn't charge the house from the RV engine. Your problem is in the converter. Either is doesn't work, has blown fuses, turned off or something. Converter charges the house WITHOUT using the solenoid. make sure the house batteries are connected at the disconnect switch.

sibe · 08-23-2020, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvnizzo

I have a 2006 coachmen freelander and we are having problems charging the house batteries with anything but the rv engine. They will not charge from the generator nor the shore. We have tried so many things but we seem to be unable to find a solenoid or two. We have the solenoid right next to the house batteries but while looking at other things we think our problem might be from a solenoid we cannot find.

We could be completely wrong but again we are quite new to the electrical system of an rv.

Please oh please if you have any information on this help. I will give any more information anyone needs to help solve this when a reply is made.

We have done generator work on the carb, replaced the entire back end but the electrical system is where we hit the snag.

Thank you for your time for even reading this. I have been looking into rv posts and I think the RV community is a great one so I finally decided to join!

Your best bet is to find a wiring diagram for your year/model..

Most Rv;s follow the same basic wiring but each has its quirks.

Basics, the solinoid will connect the batteries to the system. m my gennt wont crank unless i have battery switch , clicked on, that flips solenoid.

now my house batteris will charge off motor with solonoid off.. it is the way it is wired by manuf,

The converter/chger has a circuit breaker on its way back to the battery/solonid connection. That breakers protects from how you draw from batteries and how much the charger puts in..
I took my batteries down to 11.8 volts, LOW, My conv/chg was updated from a 40A to 60A at one time.. Well I plugged into shore to charge my batteries.. hours later .. still at 11.9ish.. Conv/cgh on. and a test at lug in fuse box, 14.6 V.. lights on etc, at batterys 11.9.. in a compartment next to batteries was 4 circuit breakers.. the Coach supply was tripped. I reset, and in 5 min I hear click.. tripped,, AWE,, I put amp probe clamp on wire, reset, 44 amps.. OK breaker is 30A from old system. I turned dowm my chg rate and let batteres come up slow, I have since replaced breaker to a time delay 40.

So you may have a breaker 12v popped. or a bad conv/chg, that is easy to test, follow the fat wire off conv,,

youracman · 08-23-2020, 10:43 PM

Agree with sibe, you may have a converter problem.

The solenoid you are looking for though is the Coach Batt Disconnect Solenoid....it operates from a switch (usually near the stairs and is AKA the "Salesman's Switch".) When you activate the salesman's switch you should hear a "clunk" .... and that may help you find it. It is almost always very near the coach batteries. I'll attach a picture of mine which is a widely used solenoid..... and include a typical schematic. Note that this is a latching solenoid and when 12v is momentarily applied, the contacts will latch (stay closed) until 12v is momentarily applied with reverse polarity via the salesman's switch. The solenoid's armature draws no power once it latches up.

There should be a blade fuse in the solenoid body which is in series with the solenoid armature. If the fuse is blown, the solenoid will not close/latch. There is a picture of a widely used battery disconnect solenoid here: https://www.amazon.com/INTELLITEC-01...s%2C199&sr=8-3

I have noted that these solenoids seem to fail a lot at about 10 to 15 years, so I replaced my perfectly good/working solenoid as a preemptive strike ...... so I wouldn't have to do it "on the road". Mine is located in the storage bay immediately adjacent to the coach batteries and it is really "tight" in there for this old body to work.

BTW- You don't have to cycle the salesman's switch a lot. It is recommended to leave it on when the coach is occupied ............ turn it off to prevent discharge of the coach batteries if the rig is going to be idle for more than a few days; e.g., in storage. (Needs to be on your checklist)

If you click on the pics, they should enlarge.

Good luck with the fix......and stay safe.

rvnizzo · 08-24-2020, 02:02 PM

I have found a solenoid near that switch but it is the solenoid that clicks when the auxiliary start button is switched...

There is no sound whatsoever when we hit the disconnect switch. We are thinking that is the solenoid that is malfunctioning and giving us the problems. The converter fuses and converter itself seem to be working but I will say is the next thing we replace if we can't figure this out.

rvnizzo · 08-24-2020, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youracman

Agree with sibe, you may have a converter problem.

The solenoid you are looking for though is the Coach Batt Disconnect Solenoid....it operates from a switch (usually near the stairs and is AKA the "Salesman's Switch".) When you activate the salesman's switch you should hear a "clunk" .... and that may help you find it. It is almost always very near the coach batteries. I'll attach a picture of mine which is a widely used solenoid..... and include a typical schematic. Note that this is a latching solenoid and when 12v is momentarily applied, the contacts will latch (stay closed) until 12v is momentarily applied with reverse polarity via the salesman's switch. The solenoid's armature draws no power once it latches up.

There should be a blade fuse in the solenoid body which is in series with the solenoid armature. If the fuse is blown, the solenoid will not close/latch. There is a picture of a widely used battery disconnect solenoid here: https://www.amazon.com/INTELLITEC-01...s%2C199&sr=8-3

I have noted that these solenoids seem to fail a lot at about 10 to 15 years, so I replaced my perfectly good/working solenoid as a preemptive strike ...... so I wouldn't have to do it "on the road". Mine is located in the storage bay immediately adjacent to the coach batteries and it is really "tight" in there for this old body to work.

BTW- You don't have to cycle the salesman's switch a lot. It is recommended to leave it on when the coach is occupied ............ turn it off to prevent discharge of the coach batteries if the rig is going to be idle for more than a few days; e.g., in storage. (Needs to be on your checklist)

If you click on the pics, they should enlarge.

Good luck with the fix......and stay safe.

we have not been able to find a solenoid that looks like this one at all.

the one we have found and replaced and sure it is working is this one next to the batteries under the step, that connects to the auxiliary start upfront.

https://images.app.goo.gl/qmQWZe9WMmR8PZsT7

rvnizzo · 08-24-2020, 02:13 PM

we have no idea where the battery disconnect relay solenoid is. That is our problem. We have checked on the coachmen freelander website but still nothing...

seriously though everyone involved in this thank you so much for your time it is truly appreciated.

twinboat · 08-24-2020, 02:46 PM

I marked up your picture.

I circled 2 circuit breakers, one that may power the house load. Use a volt meter on both posts to ground. Should all show battery voltage.

I pointed at a cover marked Bushman. They make fuses and circuit breakers, whats under your cover ?

rvnizzo · 08-24-2020, 03:08 PM

i cant see the marked up picture. under the bussman cover is a metal fuse.

sibe · 08-24-2020, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvnizzo

i cant see the marked up picture. under the bussman cover is a metal fuse.

do you have a way to test . ohm meter even a cheapy.. test light can work...

Maybe twinboat or I can take you pick and highlight some of the testing or functions..

It does not seem to bad.. if that pick is of your stuff..

follow those big reds they should go to a soloniod.

Sbrownstein · 08-24-2020, 05:09 PM

I have looked at a number of FR battery schematics and it does seem possible to charge the house from the alternator and not be able to charge the house from the converter. Many systems only disconnect the 12 volt system in the coach with the disconnect switch but still have the batteries connected to the isolation solenoid. When the alternator runs it will send voltage to the isolation relay and on to the house bank, regardless of whether the disconnect is "connected." That is because the disconnect is designed to isolate house loads when the coach is unoccupied. Most converters really connect to the 12 volt fuse panel and then feed the house bank through the heavy duty connection to the batteries. The is also often a breaker in that line designed to protect the panel.

Bottom line...could be the disconnect switch (it should make a noise anyway). However, if it is the disconnect switch, no lights, fans, etc in the coach should work either when not connected to shore power or generator. If the lights work when on shore power and generator, but the batteries do not charge...the disconnect is the problem.

You could test this by shorting the heavy duty lugs on the switch. If its stuck open it would work, if not...no current will flow. If you put a voltmeter on one heavy duty lug and then the other and put the other lead on the chassis, one may read 12 v and the other...nothing if the switch is stuck open.

I should add that I remember a thread where the house battery was completely dead and it prevented the disconnect from firing. If there is an open breaker or fuse between the panel and the BCC the house battery could look really dead!

rvnizzo · 08-24-2020, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sibe

do you have a way to test . ohm meter even a cheapy.. test light can work...

Maybe twinboat or I can take you pick and highlight some of the testing or functions..

It does not seem to bad.. if that pick is of your stuff..

follow those big reds they should go to a soloniod.

we have tested basically every wire.

all wires are live that we have checked except those leading to the disconnect switch. the switch works we have tested that but there is no power leading to it.

we have checked every fuse we can find even replaced the big on on the front battery.

12v lighting system will not operate without shore or generator unless i push in the auxiliary start button (still have no idea why that happens)

that picture is the exact setup i have but not my actual setup. looks 99% the same though.

we just can not find the actual battery disconnect solenoid. have searched everywhere and will continue searching for a second and third time once the temperature goes down (AZ is hot)

we have traced the big red wires but we cannot find the solenoid.

the converter is working because it converts the 110 to 12v.

to our knowledge that means it should be good to go and we have also tested those fuses.

Sbrownstein · 08-24-2020, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvnizzo

12v lighting system will not operate without shore or generator unless i push in the auxiliary start button (still have no idea why that happens)...

VERY TELLING OBSERVATION
Check the ground connection between the house bank and the chassis. make sure it is clean and tight. Check the lugs on the house bank and make sure they are clean and tight. The boost start switch merely parallels the chassis and house battery banks, it does not circumvent the disconnect switch. However, the chassis battery has its own dedicated ground connection...don't ask how I know this.

By the way, running the engine and alternator on most rigs...fires the boost start solenoid all by itself...

twinboat · 08-24-2020, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sbrownstein

VERY TELLING OBSERVATION
Check the ground connection between the house bank and the chassis. make sure it is clean and tight. Check the lugs on the house bank and make sure they are clean and tight. The boost start switch merely parallels the chassis and house battery banks, it does not circumvent the disconnect switch. However, the chassis battery has its own dedicated ground connection...don't ask how I know this.

By the way, running the engine and alternator on most rigs...fires the boost start solenoid all by itself...

Agree, now with that info, it has be between the positive terminal and where the chassis battery ties in, and thats before the disconnect or the ground cable connections of the house battery.

Stop looking for the disconnect solenoid for now and concentrate on the battery cables.

Maybe send some pictures of them.