Broke Ground Wires

SaltLife · 03-05-2020, 09:03 AM

Shot in the dark, but, anyone know what these are for, need to fix..... Driver side below air filter on chassis.. ISL

Jim_HiTek · 03-05-2020, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltLife

Shot in the dark, but, anyone know what these are for, need to fix..... Driver side below air filter on chassis.. ISL

Could be for anything. But it's a Winnie so they will have numbers imprinted along their length. Find those numbers, get the schematic from Winnie that covers them and that will tell you what they are for. Winnie is good with helping find the schematics if you call their service department.

But they should be repaired. They do look like they went to that ground lug and since there's only 2 wires, just drill and tap a new hole, maybe extend those wires if necessary other wise just put new terminals on them and tighten them down under the new screw and wire brushed metal. Then slather the area with dielectric grease to keep rust away.

powercat_ras · 03-05-2020, 07:18 PM

They are definitely neg 12 volt return wires as this is the standard color Ford and Winnebago uses for them. Reconnect them to ground.

SaltLife · 03-05-2020, 07:50 PM

I remember seeing numbers on them.. They did get grounded to that bolt. Theres a nearby plate thats welded to where the bolt is, I'll mount them on the plate which will give me enough length. I have decent sized self taping screws. I'll just drill a pilot hole and rattle the bolts home.

Thanks...

cbeierl · 03-05-2020, 08:24 PM

Look up the labels on the wires in here: Wiring Identification Guide

Morich · 03-06-2020, 08:01 AM

But on the other hand?
Wouldn't it be lots more fun to just leave them off and then eventually when you find something not working, you could be a hero by automatically connecting them and making it work! They might never be needed as they could be for options not included on your unit.

SaltLife · 03-06-2020, 08:26 AM

Well, they broke off. I have a little wrench displayed on my camera screen. Another flasing display saying, engine maintenance. All gauges looked fine. Hoping reconnecting the grounds will solve that issue.

Air filter gauge is at 11. So that is good unless someone reset it to make it look like the filter was fresh. Just bought it last spring from a dealer under consignment.....

Jim_HiTek · 03-06-2020, 09:19 AM

I'd recommend you disconnect the batteries before you reconnect those ground wires. Sort of a 'reset'.

SaltLife · 03-06-2020, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl

Look up the labels on the wires in here: Wiring Identification Guide

Thanks!

SaltLife · 03-06-2020, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

I'd recommend you disconnect the batteries before you reconnect those ground wires. Sort of a 'reset'.

Good point.....

SaltLife · 03-09-2020, 04:13 PM

Well look what I found in a cupboard...

Jim_HiTek · 03-09-2020, 04:15 PM

Whoa! Good find! Mine is a '02 but no nice book like that.

SaltLife · 03-09-2020, 04:16 PM

Both wires are the same number...

SaltLife · 03-09-2020, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

Whoa! Good find! Mine is a '02 but no nice book like that.

It's only as good as the person reading it. I'm hosed....lol

cbeierl · 03-09-2020, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltLife

Both wires are the same number...

Per the Wiring Identification Guide linked earlier:

MP / 18/16 WHT ELEC STEP DOOR JAMB SWITCH, LP TANK SENDER, ETC GROUND

Morich · 03-09-2020, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaltLife

It's only as good as the person reading it. I'm hosed....lol

Not hosed, at least not yet! Just needing some "book learning" for the issue! It really is going to be handy for you to have the book as it is so much easier to study from paper and at some point, it may really be needed. But not knowing everything we need is kind of normal for most of us and we can dig it out if we have to.
For ground wires, I was kind of joking about leaving them loose and I would not consider it if there were things not working. They do look like original stuff and certain they did go to ground, so that makes it pretty safe to assume they would be fine to go back there.
But if you do get into something that still doesn't work, give the group a shout and there are several who can hammer out what the drawings say. I find them kind of weird for drawings I'm used to reading but that is pretty common as there are lots of different ideas of how they should be drawn.
I might go with making the connections, maybe adding one at a time and go around the RV to see if anything now works that didn't before. One wire at a time keeps you from jumping out in the center of the swamp--- just in case you want to jump back!
If you have a meter to test for battery on the wire, I would do that before connecting as there might be something like a step that has not worked but when the ground is added to the circuit, it might jump up and fly open or closed , etc. that you might want to know about. Don't want to mash the cat or wife as it closes!
Meanwhile for help reading the drawings, there are two different @003 Ultimate Freedom listed so it would help if you can find if you have a 40 ED or a 40 KD coach. Possible it is shown on paperwork somewhere like the book, etc?

SaltLife · 03-09-2020, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl

Per the Wiring Identification Guide linked earlier:

MP / 18/16 WHT ELEC STEP DOOR JAMB SWITCH, LP TANK SENDER, ETC GROUND

Maybe I'm not as dumb as I look, that's exactly what I came up with, step works fine.... No door jam switch. LP gauge in coach seems to be working fine..

SaltLife · 03-09-2020, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

Not hosed, at least not yet! Just needing some "book learning" for the issue! It really is going to be handy for you to have the book as it is so much easier to study from paper and at some point, it may really be needed. But not knowing everything we need is kind of normal for most of us and we can dig it out if we have to.
For ground wires, I was kind of joking about leaving them loose and I would not consider it if there were things not working. They do look like original stuff and certain they did go to ground, so that makes it pretty safe to assume they would be fine to go back there.
But if you do get into something that still doesn't work, give the group a shout and there are several who can hammer out what the drawings say. I find them kind of weird for drawings I'm used to reading but that is pretty common as there are lots of different ideas of how they should be drawn.
I might go with making the connections, maybe adding one at a time and go around the RV to see if anything now works that didn't before. One wire at a time keeps you from jumping out in the center of the swamp--- just in case you want to jump back!
If you have a meter to test for battery on the wire, I would do that before connecting as there might be something like a step that has not worked but when the ground is added to the circuit, it might jump up and fly open or closed , etc. that you might want to know about. Don't want to mash the cat or wife as it closes!
Meanwhile for help reading the drawings, there are two different @003 Ultimate Freedom listed so it would help if you can find if you have a 40 ED or a 40 KD coach. Possible it is shown on paperwork somewhere like the book, etc?

I'll test for battery 1st. I have a 40KD.....

I have paperwork for absolutely everything for this coach...

Morich · 03-10-2020, 08:37 AM

When we get a used coach, it is always worthwhile to keep in mind that things get changed. So it is possible to imagine a situation where the other owner found the ground not good on the step and took the short term easy way. Rather than trace out the wiring for the step ground to the point you have found, they may have just gone easy and added a ground near the step. Pure guessing but something that might explain the step working but the original ground broken? Since the frame is the ground most coaches use, picking it up off a screw at the door, might look like an easy fix that leaves you wondering about the broken wires! I've done worse things to get it working.
As you move along and find things like this, keep in mind that things do get changed.
Guessing again but I would doubt that the step would make a light on the dash, so there are likely to be some other issues as the step is in the coach group and things on the dash will likely be only chassis group that are built in when the chassis is built before going over to the coach builders like Winnebago. Kind of throws things into a tougher thing to fix as we have two different groups to search for info.

NeilV · 03-11-2020, 09:13 PM

Before connecting them to ground its always best to verify that they do not carry voltage using a VOM Meter. Even the Free Digital VOM Meter that Harbor Freight many times gives away with a coupon is fine for this purpose and can even be used to verify that your capacitors for the AC compressors and blower motor are building a charge.

Verify 100% and don't just assume.