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Old 01-16-2014, 10:13 PM   #1
03heritagerider
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 389
Default Electrical problems

I'm not sure how much more I can handle...the whole travel for relaxation thing is getting lost on me.

After spending several weeks in December trying to figure out the reason the rig would not run for more than 20 seconds at a time (see topic under Class A Board titled "RIG WON'T START" dated December 16, 2013) we now have a new set of issues to deal with.

Here is the story (grab a cup of coffee...or better yet, a beer. This is going to be a long story and I apologize in advance for that)...

December 26th as we prepared for our 3 month winter trip, I noticed the adapter plug that takes my shore power cord to a 15 amp plug, which I use at home, is scorched. I go to the store and get a replacement.

On the 27th we leave SW Pennsylvania for warmer climes. About 200 miles into the trip we pull over at a rest area and I notice liquid leaking from the compartment that houses the shore power line and the Xantrex Freedom 458 Inverter/Charger. It was a bottle of distilled water I was storing on the floor of the compartment, under the Xantrex for use in my house batteries. It seems the bottle began to melt from the heat coming out of the Xantrex.

A couple hundred miles later we pulled into a campground for the night and I plugged in the shore power to the 50 amp post. The Xantrex was very hot and the power did not come on in the coach. I unplugged the two Phone type plugs marked "REMOTE" and "TSC" and the power came on. I plugged the "TSC" cord back in and the power in the coach went out. I unplugged it and the power came on. Then I plugged the "REMOTE" cord in and the fan on the Xanterx came on.

Next morning we began noticing an odor as we continued on out way. The smell of burnt plastic. When we reached our first destination, we noticed the cap for the cable TV connection in that same compartment had melted from the heat build up.

We stayed at this location for a week and there were no electrical issues.

Upon leaving for our next destination about 175 miles away, there were no issues other than an obvious heat build up in the compartment. But it seemed that running the generator started the cooling fan, so I ran it for about 10 minutes every hour.

We stayed at this location on 50 amp shore power for two weeks with no issues.

When we left this morning, our next destination was about 300 miles. Soon after leaving, the battery light on the dash illuminated. The gauges on the dash all read normal and stayed in the normal range (Engine temp, oil pressure and volts). The battery light would go out every time the engine RPM's dropped, as when descending a grade. As soon as I accelerated, the light would come back on. I continued to run the gen every hour.

All 12v systems were operating normally. Furnaces were cycling on and off with the interior temp. Fridge went on gas when the gen was off and A/C when gen was on. GPS and phone charger lights plugged into power ports were all on.

At about 250 miles into this leg, we stopped for a comfort break and the heat was really building up, so I turned the gen on and left it running.

20 miles from our destination, I noticed the volt gauge was beginning to drop, but all 12v systems were O.K.

5 miles from our destination, we exited the interstate. As I pulled away from the stop sign at the end of the exit ramp the dash lights and all the gauges shut down, as if I had turned off the ignition switch, but the engine was still running. I turned off the gen at this point. When I released my foot from the accelerator, the lights and gauges would come back on. As soon as I accelerated, the were all out again. Approaching a turn, I realized I had no turn signals. At this point I assumed I also had no brake lights as well.

1 mile from the campground the rig started to run rough.

I pulled into the campground and shut the engine off while I went in to register. When I came out to start it, there wasn't enough power to turn it over (Engine batteries were installed December 20th). I pushed the jumper button and it started. The half mile to the camp site the engine was running rough. We parked, plugged in and all seems normal. Panel inside the coach is reading 50 amp shared power and batteries charging.

Now the questions...I would have difficulty believing the Xantrex issue and the engine battery issue and the dash indicators are unrelated, but how?

What should I be checking? (Remember I'm a dumb guy so no techno talk)

I'm calling Xantrex in the morning to see if they can offer any advice, but you guys have always been a big help. Any info would be greatly appreciated. We'll be in this location for two weeks, so there is at least that much time.

Thanks in advance.
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'03 41' Friendship & 24' trailer with HIS '03 H-D Heritage Springer, HER '15 H-D Freewheeler Trike, and '08 Smart Car.
"Adventure is found in the journey, not the destination."
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