2020 Winnebago View
I currently have some electrical issues. No power to the coach when plugged in to shore power or on 12 volt. The battery switch near the step entry doesn't switch on. Both coach batteries are fully charged and have been tested.
The inverter appears to be working and will power the TV and plugs on that circuit. The chassis battery and system is working fine.
I checked all breakers and fuses i could locate, the charge mate pro is working correctly
I have this two wire plug under the sink that I'm pretty sure has never been hooked to anything, but when I run a jumper wire (Blue in Picture) everything fires up. Can anyone tell me what this plug goes to? or any other ideas on things to check.
I see a code stamped on the sides of the wires and this chart will let you ID the from and to of those wires. If they have never been connected, it is quite possible they are for an option your RV did not have, so I would first id them to remove that question.
You will need to be a bit more specific when describing the problem as several points mentioned conflict with each other. Saying there is not power 12vdc or shore power but then saying the inverter which requires 12vdc to make 110 AC DOES work, seems to be saying two different things. Maybe just try to look it over and spot which items do and do not work as a starter?
Inside lights, vents fans? 12VDC
Microwave, outlets? 110VAC but that AC may be made by the inverter using 12VDC
Controls on things like the furnace and Air are often 12VDC but also require 110VAC to run the bigger items on the air like the motors, so it requires both to get hem working!
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Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
Happy: thanks for the link to the electrical diagrams. I have those but don't see anything yet related to the plug, but I'll keep looking.
Morich: I've never seen that wire code sheet, very nice. I also was thinking the plug was from an option and suspect maybe it's there if you order the Equalizer leveling jacks. The unit is in storage, but I can rule that in or out this weekend.
My apologies for the original post being a bit confusing.
When the coach is unplugged from shore power nothing inside powers up. that includes fans, lights, water pump, furnace, fridge, slide, battery switch, all in one monitor etc.
The one exception that appears to be getting battery power is the Xantrex inverter. The power button will toggle on and off from the unit itself and while i didn't turn it on the TV and sound bar power lights are on, so I'm assuming they are receiving power from the inverter.
When I plug into 30 amp the ATS clicks as normal, but still nothing, including the generator.
So while I'm sure my problem and proper fix are not related to that plug in the picture, when I jump it with the blue wire shown, my battery switch at the stair well is powered and everything then works as it should. So for the short term I will put a wire with an inline fuse in the plug, and continue to troubleshoot the issue.
I might start with looking at the less complex things first and then work into details if needed and the AC input would seem to be a place to start, so I have made some snips of the drawings with some ideas that might help. Click these to get a better view.
When you say the generator is dead, do you mean it won't start or that it doesn't give power to the RV?
My thought is that if the generator starts but no power, the transfer switch may be a problem as the first drawing shows the power cord and generator both feed into the transfer switch and use one or the other to feed on to the load center.
So if the generator runs but neither it nor the cord feed power to the RV, the transfer switch looks okay but we need to look more toward the load center and that direction. If one or the other gets power to things inside, then we need to look at the switch or back toward the source that doesn't feed power.
But to tell if power is getting to the load center, the simple way to check is the outlets as they are easy to spot with something like a light plugged in. Turn the inverter off for checking this to avoid it confusing where the AC is coming from. If you get power from cord or generator to any outlet, microwave, etc. then you can say the transfer switch is okay.
General idea is that the power goes to the main 30 amp breaker and then is broken down in sections to feed the other breakers and on out to things in the RV. The outlets being simple to check as well as no complications of load shedder and such!
The lights, fans and small stuff are almost always DC power from the batteries and not much involved with the AC cord or generator, so may sure there is not a battery disconnect switch flipped the wrong way. They are often momentary switches that need to be rocked one way to disconnect and the other to connect, so possible not getting it changed if not used to the feel of it? Power cut off might explain the generator not starting if that is a problem??? Maybe a big easy one to check first?
I know the problems of trying to figure out things when the RV is stored so just work it when you get around to it! No pressure for answers!
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Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
The problem with it being the breaker on the generator is that he also gets nothing when plugged into AC.
Not getting any lights from the batteries also sounds like a separate problem, though so several things need to be checked.
Small points can get confused if things like the battery disconnect is off or the batteries have not been getting any charge at all when stored. Lots of small details to check.
__________________
Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
Hi - I was under my sink last week (2021 View), and found that same connector while fishing some wire for a new outlet. I found it odd as well... as it came out of the factory with a jumper on it! As far-fetched as it seems, is it possible that the Winnebago jumper connector worked itself loose and is wandering around under your sink cabinet? It is a bit suspicious that everything was working fine, but now...
Here are a couple of photos - What I think might be your connector, and the wire ID to check to see if yours matches. Good Luck.
Bingo on getting the good info going!
We can't see the second wire ID code but the one we Can see tells us a lot. Looking at the ID chart for ASW it tells us that one wire go from a thermistor to the battery disconnect and I would "guess" the other wire would be ASX which does the same. That tells us those wire are involved with the battery disconnect and run through a thermistor. A thermistor is a very basic type thermostatic switch and if it is gone from the circuit it usually means an open circuit. An open circuit on the battery disconnect switch would be very likely to put the lights out!
So if it worked at one time, I would certainly look carefully under that cabinet for the thermistor that came off the end of that plug!
Click to get a better view of this snip?
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Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
A thermistor? Great to know, thanks for the information. That would explain the unusual shape of what I termed a "jumper".
Any idea what the intended use of the thermistor would be? What would Winnebago be using a temperature reading for - associated with the battery disconnect switch?
I was interested in why they would have one here also and did some looking to see if it made sense. Some does, some doesn't so I'll show you what I see and what I don't understand as this is part of the newer years where they don't give us the nice, full blown schematic drawings so that we can trace each wire. That leaves us trying to figure things by the wire ID and some of that is pretty close to guessing!
So I started with turning the picture over to get a better view of the code on the wire and it shows LJ as the second wire. Going to the ID chart tells me that goes from a fuse to the battery disconnect switch, leading me to look at what that wire does at the disconnect switch and relay. Maybe it would have been more correct if they had mentioned it actually goes to a thermistor and then to the relay??
But since we don't get the good drawings on newer models, I went to a 2009 model as next best as Winnebago does stick with things over the years!
On this drawing the coach battery power comes in on the left side of the relay and IF that relay is operated to close, the contacts will connect power through to the right side of the relay. Following the red line, we see it puts power on a number 6 gauge wire and that usually means it a big deal due to the size and it is as it feeds most of the items in the RV that use 12VDC!
But to get that disconnect relay to move, we have to operate the switch the right direction to either engage or disengage this latching relay and that requires battery on LR before connecting it to either LG or LH to engage or disengage, plus it makes the light on the switch work!
When the thermistor drops out of the wiring, it leaves that circuit open and there is no way for the power to get to wire LR and the switch, so the relay is just going to stay latched in whatever position it was last used, due to the internal magnet "latching" or holding it.
One of the nicer things about this older version is that we can often feel or hear the relay click but on the newer they are using solid state items and we are not going to be able to chase trouble by ear or feeling. ....
But a big question is WHY is there a thermistor in this circuit???
Definition of thermistor:
A thermistor is a resistance thermometer, or a resistor whose resistance is dependent on temperature. The term is a combination of “thermal” and “resistor”. When temperature increases, the resistance increases, and when temperature decreases, resistance decreases. This type of thermistor is generally used as a fuse.
Without better info, I am guessing this RV uses some form of solid state switch and relay setup that they want to have better control of voltage and/or temperatures, but that is really getting way into guessing!
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Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
Thanks Guys. Thats why this site is so valuable, the knowledge and willingness to help is amazing.
Ontario Don: A picture really IS worth a 1000 words. I wasn't even close to guessing correctly until your picture cleared things up.
Morich: As always appreciate your detailed responses. I'm still not sure why a thermistor would be used there over a fuse or relay, but I'm sure there is a reason.
I wasn't able to get to the storage facility this weekend to check things out, but now at least i know what I'm looking for.
I had leveling jacks installed a couple of months ago and they ran several wires and plugs through that under sink area, so I'm guessing it got knocked loose and over time separated.
Just guessing again as we don't get the good info on what the solid state components may be or what they do, so have to guess at why a thermistor over a fuse or other?
I might go with the idea that the thermistor is a small cheap thing that changes the resistance as it heats, so it might help the other solid state items if the resistance changes and that changes the current flowing into the other parts. One of the points of solid state is both good or bad, depending on outlook but they tend to be more consistent right up until they fail!
That's good for keeping things stable but then those solid state items are not something we can spot having failed or change one part but often have to change the whole board.
That's why so many broken smart TV are set on the curb as junk when it may only be a 50 cent piece that has actually failed! You may have to change out a $200 board to fix a fifty cent part!
__________________
Richard
Why no RV year, make and floorplan on MY signature as we suggest for others?
I currently DO NOT have one!
Didn't catch that. Maybe it's to reduce the voltage to the battery switch solenoid to reduce current draw while left on. Similar to the mod people make to the propane valve solenoid which can be held open with a fraction of the 12 volt .75 amp current that OEM supplies it with. Or is it possible that as the batteries run down to a certain voltage it increases resistance and opens the battery switch to prevent a total discharge which could ruin the new lithium batteries? Just throwing out guesses, I am no electronics major.
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Brian
2011 Winnebago Via 25Q on 2010 Sprinter Chassis
Linear Mode
