Now I'm mad....

[Caribe77]

John Boy

The button is on top go the block near the top terminals. I will be back in ABQ in our rig on Tuesday and will post a picture.

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Thanks in advance, but I couldn't locate a reset on our 38gk... where is it in the pic below ? by the bar along the back wall ? or ???

but as soon as I can get my batteries charged back up enough to pick up the jacks - I'll try to get mine rewired --- I may see how far athens is and go there

Waiting on the storage facility to reset their circuit breaker, someone (maybe my dead batteries) tripped the breakers !

[johnboytoo]

Since I've had 3 rv's in a row at this storage lot, the owner knows me well enough that he called me to tell me the combination to the circuit breakers box, reset his breakers and now my slot has power back on...

plugged in the rw and the 110 outlets on the side and in the basement worked, but so far nothing else - no 12v, no slides, no jacks, no res fridge....

reset all the rw's breakers, although none were tripped...

will let it charge over night and then go back to see if I can find any reset buttons, because I looked closely and no joy so far...

sounding like my inverter/convertor may be suspect...

[Dro67]

Had ours to Welcome Back RV in Athens yesterday. Great people!! Our batteries were DOA. No label, no stickers , don't know what they were. RW authorized new batteries. They fixed the rewire issue that RW told them about but the battery disconnect switch still doesn't work. They've notified RW and we'll take it back after our next trip. In the meantime we'll disconnect the batteries like we used to on our old TT!

[ksaltman]

So how exactly were was the 12v system wired wrong? What were the symptoms to the problem? My battery cutoff switch only partially kills the power to the coach. Wondering if I may have the same or similar problem.

[Dro67]

If I can figure out how to post a picture of the picture they gave us I'll post it.Basically it was a simple two second fix. They put a jumper wire from the disconnect to the opposite side post. Our batteries were junk. Wouldn't charge even when plugged in to the truck. The disconnect switch still doesn't work but RW is aware of the problem and is sending instructions for the repair which we will do later this month. We've only had ours since April and the batteries have always been a problem. Unfortunately I'm not a good mechanic so we have to rely on the professionals to work on ours.....

[johnboytoo]

Found our 12V problem....
as shown in first pic - batteries are Interstate group 27... and new...

but disconnecting the cables to charge it,
look at the next pic for the 'quality' high end battery cable end that is not available anywhere today !!!

gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr................
it's a slip fit with NO crimping at all - why would you twist such a fragile slip fit connector like they did on a 4/0 gauge wire ???

and 6 week wait time at the dealers again !

[Rick and Mindy]

Johnboy, I'd be at AutoZone or Pepboys or another automotive retail place right now picking up a new end for that cable. Should be an easy fix. Just got back from checking my 31SL which has been in storage with the Battery switch in the off position for the past 2 weeks and my battery is at 12.91 volts. Hooray!!! I think the Service Center fixed my problem. That's a full charge even after 2 weeks of sitting with the switch off. Before the fix, after 1 week, my battery would be at 12.2 volts.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by ksaltman

So how exactly were was the 12v system wired wrong? What were the symptoms to the problem? My battery cutoff switch only partially kills the power to the coach. Wondering if I may have the same or similar problem.

From what I got at the service Center it's not that the 12 volt system is wired wrong, it's just that the on/off switch was wired in such a way that certain things would still work. For example, I was told that the Redwood thinking was that the emergency brake cable for the fifth wheel was still operable with the switch off so that you would not pull your fifth wheel without power. They also had the hydraulic lift system operable so that you could hitch/unhitch your truck without having to turn on the switch. I explained to them that if everything was off completely and I wanted to hitch up the trailer to leave it would force me to turn the battery switch on . As a result, the emergency brakes would work as well so it made more sense to me to have everything off when you turn off your switch. They finally understood my dilemma and now I think they actually fixed my problem. Now my battery seems to stay charged when in storage as long as I turn off the Switch. The Production Manager at the factory stated that he thought they would start wiring all the switches that way but I don't know if they actually are doing that.

[travelin' texans]

I think I would get a small propane torch, some soldier & fix it permanently.

[johnboytoo]

ok, looked all over -
no 4/0 cable ends to be found in my neck of the woods nor at exploreUSA...

The local rv mechanic has not responded,
so will go try and set fire to the rv by soldering it myself
in the hopes that I can get it functioning enough to bring it to sit at the dealer another vacation season.

[atom ant]

John, how come it has to go back to the Dealer? Won't the cable fix it? or is there more to it?

[almcc]

Johnboytoo, not sure about your wiring but on our 36RL the wiring to and from the batteries and to the block is 6 Ga, not 4 (we don't have a residential fridge). I would check what the wire gauge is on the wire itself (should be marked), maybe someone put the wrong connector that caused the problem.

In terms of getting the right crimping done, a local parts place should be able to help. I took the 6 ga cable to our local parts guy, he crimped the connector to the cable and only charged me for the 6 ga. fitting. I tipped him enough to get him a couple of Tim Horton's coffee, that's the brew of choice up here north of the border (a loonie and toonie did it, that's a $1 and $2 coin).

My local parts place also made up 0 gauge cable and fittings for me in the past, depending on what you are doing that may also work for you. As that size is closer to battery cable size, they may have the crimping tools.

[atom ant]

This is all low amperage stuff - we aren't starting Caterpillar engines here! Nothing should require larger cable than normal here. I think Almcc is right, they maybe used the wrong end.

[johnboytoo]

Much more to it AA... Another 3 weeks down for something I've brought back to the dealer for no less than 4 times... so sad... I've tried not to list our issues for all those that are happy with theirs...
this site may not have enough band width to handle the list

Last trip in May exposed more issues and when I finally made an appt, went to go pick it up and nothing worked...

So, not being a 'lectrician, I can only go by the fitting and the cable in the pic...
the end says 4/0 on it and the cable is too fat to easily be pushed back in... so maybe it is 4/0 ???

I called coachnet about 90 minutes ago and they are trying to find someone to come help, but no one is returning their call yet ...

Of course they say they will pay for the service call, but I have to pay for cables/parts and try to get reimbursed by the mfg...

somewhat patiently waiting sitting on the back porch with the DW enjoying 60 degrees in July in TEXAS !

Be nice to be camping, but need to get the battery fixed enough to bring it to the dealer to fix the other issues...

[atom ant]

Is the camper totally non-usable? Not sure what condition you are in, but seems sad to lose the season. I have a few issues, but the Dealer can wait till winter.

Wouldn't take much to just solder than on so you can see what else is going on.

[brenkco]

John,
Not sure if this will help you, but a few years ago a friend of mine helped me make 4/0 cables for my 4 -6 volt batteries. We got the ends from an RV solar store and used a crimper tool that involved hammering a punch into the connector. No solder was used. There are a variety of tools to crimp the cables. We also used shrink wrap and a heat gun cleaned up the ends.

I am in the middle of adding a 2nd inverter. What I have found is that the fuse was installed at the wrong end of the cable. The fuse should be installed as close to the batteries as possible. On my rig, the fuse was installed next to the inverter.

Ken

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

ok, looked all over -
no 4/0 cable ends to be found in my neck of the woods nor at exploreUSA...

The local rv mechanic has not responded,
so will go try and set fire to the rv by soldering it myself
in the hopes that I can get it functioning enough to bring it to sit at the dealer another vacation season.

Don't look at the auto places......look at the farm shops. I bought some at a store called Farm and Fleet. Made by "Deka" ...."battery cable lugs", you do have to solder or crimp them on.

[Diesel chaser]

If you have an Interstate Battery warehouse nearby they should be able to make any cable you want.

[lwg]

Making these cables is really simple. I would just order the bits you need online and be done with it, that's what I do. I've made hundreds of battery cables, there's no secret to it. Get a hammer type crimper and you can do field repairs with a knife (removes wire insulation), the hammer crisper and a hammer. The hammer crimper "might" cost you twenty dollars.

I have a habit of living away from major cities for one reason or another and more or less gave up trying to find unusual parts locally. Now I just go straight to the Internet and plan on waiting a few days to get my part. A side benefit is I get EXACTLY what I want (not some kind of similar part locally), and almost always pay considerably less.

[gocubs17]

http://www.pacergroup.net/ItemForm.a...0-922d584b262c john check this out