2012 ERA 170 House Battery & Bed Frame

starks1401 · 01-11-2021, 08:10 PM

We purchased a used ERA 170 this past summer and have had a few issues. I wanted to ask this forum before I start looking into other resources. First, my house battery won't engage. I can plug into shore power or generator and everything runs great, but nothing from the house batteries. When I try and turn on the house battery, I hear nothing. Before I would hear an audible click sound. Any recommendations?

Second issue, two of the weld on the bed frame have failed. the intended warranty we purchased, will not cover any part of the bed frame. can I have the frame re-welded? Can I use something like a JB weld and try and do it myself? Anything thoughts or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Winterbagoal · 01-11-2021, 08:29 PM

Is there a battery boost switch on the underside of the dash anywhere? What happens when you push that button (if there is one?)?
As far as I know, battery connectivity devices are located under the passenger cab seat. Sounds like the solenoid that enables/disables the coach batteries is stuck or shot. If you can find it, try whacking it with a small hammer or other object (firmly, but not too hard) to see if that frees it up.
Others may have you try something different.

starks1401 · 01-11-2021, 08:31 PM

thanks for the information...I'll take a look and report back.

Morich · 01-12-2021, 10:43 AM

Some info from drawings that may help to find things?
This drawing and on page 3 has the items you may be looking for currently:
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ire_178821.pdf
There are a number of the really important things under that seat and I have marked the "big three" as of them is what you may need to find today.

Breakers are always good to know where to find them, then probably the next two are the "battery cutoff relay" which should work with a switch somewhere to cut power to most of the Rv inside things like lights pump, etc. but not all as there are safety items like CO and propane detectors that are left on. Be aware that those small drains can run the coach battery down even when the switch says cutoff!
The "mode solenoid" is a frequent question and is important--- also what you may be involved with today.
The mode solenoid does two things which are the same but done in opposite directions/purposes.
One mode is the boost switch on the dash which sends power to pull this solenoid temporarily while the button is pushed and the solenoid connects coach and start batteries together to "jump start " the engine. Nice if the start battery is low! Power from the coach battery to the start side!
A second mode is when we having the engine running there is power sent to this solenoid, pulls it to connect the batteries again but this is to let the engine alternator charge the coach battery while we drive. Power from start goes to coach!

This solenoid is pretty big and chunky, so if you put a hand on it while hitting the boost switch or while starting the engine, you can often hear and feel it jump!
Click this picture to bring it up bigger to view.

AC Orange · 01-13-2021, 09:55 AM

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As Morich indicated, you should definitely be able to place your hand on the solenoid and feel the action of the internal moveable plunger (also known as an armature) when the magnetic coil causes it to engage.

RV-Travelers · 01-30-2021, 10:28 PM

Not sure if this is relevant, but the battery mode solenoid mounted under the passenger seat on our 2016 Era quit on a recent trip. Anecdotally, this seems to be a fairly common problem. The symptom was the coach batteries would not charge when driving. I think I could still turn on the 12V coach system from the switch by the sliding door, but I could be wrong.

There are several excellent videos on YouTube describing how to replace the solenoid. They are typically in the $50 to $70 range depending on where you buy them.

driftless · 02-28-2021, 08:08 AM

What is the part number for the solenoid you purchased?

RV-Travelers · 02-28-2021, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftless

What is the part number for the solenoid you purchased?

The Winnebago part # for our 2016 Era is 008188-01-000. I ordered it from Lichtsinn RV for around $50 + shipping. Local RV dealer had it for $65.

Some posts and YouTube videos recommend a 200-amp Cole Hersee 24213 solenoid as a potential replacement. Spoke to a guy a couple of days ago that bought one and says its lasted several years so far. Said he initially replaced the solenoid witb one from AutoZone and it failed in a couple of weeks.

Here is a video I bookmarked on replacing the solenoid, hopefully its the right URL.