2007 Gulf Stream Tourmaster electrical problem

[henryj-GSO]

Although I've extended the wires, I've decided to do two more things before doing further diagnosis of the problem. First, I had limited colors for the wires I used to extend each wire about 4 inches. So, I purchased all of the colors, including brown, violet, etc. I will redo the wires so that the right color is on the right terminal on the switch. Second, the spade connector set that I was using has round insulators, which makes them difficult to cram onto the switch terminals, which are really close together. I've ordered new spade connectors that have flat insulators. Once those arrive, I'll redo the extender wires again.
-Jim

 

[Chuck v]

THene1713,


I just got off the phone with Jim and he found the loose/missing white wire far behind the panel -- reconnecting it and replacing a blown fuse on the Coach Disconnect Relay solved the issues. Love it when a plan comes together! Finding the root cause makes the solution rather obvious.


Thanks JIM for being so patient and letting me talk you through my various musings on what the issues were most likely to be. I enjoyed doing the research to understand how these Intellitec latching relays actually work, and together we were able to map and match the wire color choices Gulf Stream made relative the diagrams posted earlier in this thread. Seems GS uses the house wiring convention of white as neutral versus the automotive convention of black for ground...otherwise it was only a case of their dark brown wire on the rocker switch rocker looking nearly "black" in the harness...


Chuck

 

[henryj-GSO]

Chuck was the key to getting this problem fixed. It has been an ongoing problem and it got exacerbated when an RV technician removed the battery disconnect panel above the stairwell. He could not get the panel out more than about an inch and left saying he needed to get the schematic for the switches so that he could rewire them. I could never get ahold of him after that.

It turns out there were three loose wires behind the switches, which likely were pulled off when the RV technician removed the panel. Each of the two switches has eight terminals, so there are a lot of wires. Chuck guided me through the process of identifying which wire was supposed to go on which terminal.

We're planning on driving the rig up to Port Angeles next Thursday for a week. I'm so very thankful to Chuck for his help and expertise!
-Jim

 

[zippyphd]

Failure to latch

T40B, sometimes the door 'moves' forward 1/2" and won't latch. Slide the door back a little and it should latch again.

 

[Mcgyver357]

Jim or anybody who can help me, I have the same issue with the batt disconnect switches (2007 GS T40A), but I was wondering is anyone can tell me how to remove the panel the switches are mounted too. I don't want to disassemble the dash and find out there was an easy way to access them.

 

[proost]

Jim or anybody who can help me, I have the same issue with the batt disconnect switches (2007 GS T40A), but I was wondering is anyone can tell me how to remove the panel the switches are mounted too. I don't want to disassemble the dash and find out there was an easy way to access them.

Hi, I have the same year and model. Those switches by your front door which are super easy to remove and access actuate the relays in your 12V distribution bay right behind your passenger rear wheel. Since the issue is a few pages long, what's the issue you have going on?

 

[Mcgyver357]

Hi, I have the same year and model. Those switches by your front door which are super easy to remove and access actuate the relays in your 12V distribution bay right behind your passenger rear wheel. Since the issue is a few pages long, what's the issue you have going on?

The chassis battery disconnect switch isn't working. I can use jumpers from the Coach relay to the Chassis relay in the distribution bay and the relay works. I tried removing the 2 switch panel (in green), but cannot get the switches out far enough to even see what wires are attached to them. So I then tried to take the 2 screws out and 1 screw on the right side of the wood panel (in blue), but the panel (in red) would not come loose from the dash. I've just purchased the RV and trying to learn everything I can about it before we start traveling next year. I need to get it ready for storage, but small issues like this keep me from doing so. I also want to say I enjoy your videos, thanks for helping.

 

[Chuck v]

Mc,

You are in good hands with Phil's experience and directions. Yes, access is sometimes difficult.

One thing that can be an issue with the disconnects is the fuse protection build into the relay housings, as these can get overlooked when troubleshooting, so let's discuss the wiring diagram:

Note the two disconnect relay upper housings show connections by red, green orange and yellow wires -- these actually go to fuses in those housings which are not shown. Here is a view of one of the disconnects in the bay with the fuses highlighted:

Let us know what you find...

Chuck

 

[Chuck v]

Thought I would also post this image of a disconnect relay that better shows the fuse position and wires.

Note also that the relay has two different color fonts used on the labels -- the black labeling relates to the "Coach" disconnect function and the red labels are for the "Chassis" functions. The red and green wires to the two fuses are consistent with the wiring diagrams for the coach function.

Chuck

 

[Mcgyver357]

I've checked both fuses and both were good. I'm thinking there could be wires disconnected from the Chassis Disconnect switch. Just need to figure out a way to get to the back of the switch.

 

[Mcgyver357]

Also, neither switch lights up. They are supposed to lit when Off or On?

 

[Chuck v]

It may depend on your model of switch panel, but most have an indicator light to show when the battery bank relay is actuated. The picture you posted shows the lens on each rocker for this function... The LEDs on the wiring diagram of my post #48 above provide this function, and are a tally back from the relay and not just a local indicator. The light as wired is ON only when the switch is being actuated (it is momentary...) so it is meant to give a 'confidence' indication that an action was received by the disconnect relay.

As with everything else about the latching relay implementation -- absolutely NO POWER is consumed by this function in either the connected nor the disconnected state...

Chuck

 

[Mcgyver357]

Chuck,
I was able to remove the smaller switch panel above the disconnect switch panel and get my hand in there enough to push the connector and the chassis switch is now working. I'm trying to understand the different battery charging modes this RV has. From what I've read the Chassis batteries are only charged by the engine running. The house batteries are charged by a 12v converter under the bed when connected to shore power. The four 6volt batteries up front are charged the the generator or the converter/inverter that's inside the bay on the drivers side in front of the front tire? I'm not sure about these.

What I can't figure out is do the IRD relays come on at any point while connected to shore power, to share the charging? I'm trying to make a table to understand it better, can you help?

 

[Chuck v]

OK -- lets look in detail at the DC distribution diagram for the Tour Master coaches...

The green battery bank is the coach (house) bank and provides power to the interior lights and 12 volt appliances like the domestic water pump, slideouts, etc. It is charged by the 80 amp converter -- often located under the bed.

The yellow chassis battery bank is the vehicle system and engine starting battery. This bank is only charged by the engine alternator, but you can MOMENTARILY cross connect to the house batteries for an emergency start using the rocker switch on the dash with the battery icon.

The bank of the four golf cart sized 6 volt batteries highlighted in red powers the 120 volt AC inverter to give power to certain appliances when shore power is not available...notably the residential refrigerator and the microwave. There is an intelligent high current charger built into the inverter and not shown in this diagram -- so this bank can be charged by shore power or from the generator.

Please note that the IRD control module drives the main IRD relay and the coach IRD relay as needed to allow for the proper sequencing and delays of transferring charge loads from the engine alternator.

The Coach and Chassis latching disconnect relays do not play any role in the battery bank charging and are 'downstream' of all the charging sources in the RV.

Hope this helps...

When I owned my TM40C it was at a time when I lived in it full time, so it did not get much engine run time... I added a separate float charger from shore power to keep the Chassis bank charged.

Chuck

 

[Mcgyver357]

Thank you, great explanation of the battery system. When storing my RV, should I disconnect both the Chassis and Coach batteries via the switch on the dash? How often should I run the RV while in storage? Your experience and knowledge has been a great help, Thanks! Charlie

 

[Chuck v]

Yes, use the disconnects whenever the coach sits unused. If you have shore power at your storage location, the house and inverter batteries will still get topped off, but you need to add the float charger for the vehicle (chassis) bank. If you have no shore power -- run the engine at least every 30 to 60 days for about 45 minutes to an hour. If it is stored outside, maybe a solar charger system could be added...

Chuck

 

[proost]

Hi guys, sorry for the delay. My wife just went through liver donor surgery (she donated 2/3 of her liver to a friend going through failure - pretty impressive).

The only think I could offer Charlie, is that it may be worth metering your banks while someone starts the engine to see if you get charging voltage off the engine. In my case, when I was troubleshooting my systems last year, I went from getting 13.6V to 14.3V to the front bank when I fired up the coach - which told me it was taking a charge from the chassis. That said, I did have my system modified to centralize both coach and "inverter" banks into one service bank by and installer kept 12V battery up front as a starting battery for the generator. I could not see any modifications to that wiring harness though. Possibly an option?