Master circuit breaker - D/C system

[Dana Henderson]

Recently returned from a trip and did a normal shutdown of our coach.  Returned 2 days later and couldn't get the D/C systems working.  Is there a central fuse or circuit breaker I'm missing. We've owned the coach for a couple years, always turned off the switch in the battery compartment and the coach switch at the door.  Batteries are charged, the generator works, the coach starts, all the fuses seem in working order.  Is it related to the inverter or maybe just a switch problem?

Thanks,  Dana Henderson

2001 Patriot Thunder
Princeton, C-12, 2 slideouts

[Edward Buker]

Dana,

The coach switch turns on and off a solenoid switch which I think is located in the battery compartment. If you can locate it, measure with a voltmeter. If you have voltage on both sides of it on the larger terminals to ground that is working. This is the likely culprit in my opinion. Small chance the manual battery switch is faulty so measure for 12V to ground on both sides of that switch also.

For the solenoid coach switch you should hear clicking in the battery compartment as you toggle it on and off from the front switch. If there is no noise coming from the solenoid something is wrong with the solenoid or the wiring coming to it.

There are usually several large capacity fuses in the battery compartment also, in my coach they are above the batteries on a metal panel. Seems unlikely one would go with the coach just sitting, but they could be at fault if something was to short that drew a lot of current, but it is very unlikely. Never overlook bad batteries also or something being left on.

Later Ed

[LEAH DRAPER]

On my 99 PT there was a huge fuse (about 3-4 inches x 1 in (approx) in engine compartment that was accessible by raising the bed.  That may or may not be relevant to your coach.  On my 08 Contessa I have seen those huge fuse types in the compartment that houses the "big boy".  Just some ideas to check out.

Leah

[Joel Ashley]

As Ed suggests, I'd check the "latching" solenoid that's often located above or near the battery compartment.  To my recollection, it looks much like the small, common old-fashioned "Ford" solenoid, with 2 small connection posts on front and a couple large ones on its sides. 

Simply put, with the house Main and salesman's switch on I'd expect to find 12v on at least one of the solenoid's little posts, which should cause the closure of the inner contacts allowing higher current 12v to go from one of the large posts through to the 12v lights and such inside the coach.  That implies that whether the switch is off or on, there should be 12v at one of the solenoid's large posts.

As I've entreated here before, leave the "salesman's" switch in the entryway alone.  It's not designed to be turned on and off a lot, is primarily a convenience for dealers, and should be left on, period.  Use the House and Coach Main switches in the battery bay to store the coach... that cuts power to the salesman's switch anyway.  The salesman's switch ties to the latching solenoid previously mentioned, and either the switch or the solenoid may have lost contact integrity over time or due to overuse.

But as a preliminary, I'd check the connections at the house batteries for tightness and corrosion.

Joel