Left my Vegas plugged in - whole thing died

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 01:50 AM

Ive learned that no matter what I did my Vegas batteries would get discharged so I left it plugged in as a simple solution since I park it at my house.

Well that didnt work either. My coach batteries died anyway. Now nothing works on battery. I put a charger on and recharged but no go. The isolation solenoid (USE/Storage) does not work. It does not operate via the switch or when unit is connected to shore power. The batteries cant power the coach, the coach cant charge the batteries.

I checked the fuse on the Solenoid and it good.

Without a wiring diagram I'm a little stumped. Any ideas?

ghof · 12-12-2017, 01:58 AM

The switch and solenoid on my 2017 Miramar had to be replaced. But, I bypassed the solenoid by disconnecting both sides of the cable on the solenoid and bolting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape. I left it like this for 5 months. To kill the entire MH just disconnect the negative battery cable manually.

gmc · 12-12-2017, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDS

Ive learned that no matter what I did my Vegas batteries would get discharged so I left it plugged in as a simple solution since I park it at my house.

Well that didnt work either. My coach batteries died anyway. Now nothing works on battery. I put a charger on and recharged but no go. The isolation solenoid (USE/Storage) does not work. It does not operate via the switch or when unit is connected to shore power. The batteries cant power the coach, the coach cant charge the batteries.

I checked the fuse on the Solenoid and it good.

Without a wiring diagram I'm a little stumped. Any ideas?

You said you put a charger on... I assume you mean direct to batteries. What voltage do you get on the batteries after charging?
Sounding like the batteries aren't taking the charge - as they don't have enough to power the solenoid.

If you didn't run a charger direct to batteries, I would to try to bring them back up.

As for why they died.. was the Use/Store switch in 'Use'??
If not, batteries won't charge even when plugged in.
If it was in 'Use', then check the converter output...

Mr Sunshine · 12-12-2017, 02:06 AM

Mr Obvious has to ask if you checked the water in the batteries?

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghof

The switch and solenoid on my 2017 Miramar had to be replaced. But, I bypassed the solenoid by disconnecting both sides of the cable on the solenoid and bolting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape. I left it like this for 5 months. To kill the entire MH just disconnect the negative battery cable manually.

I may have to do that for a tmp fix until I get it fixed. Thanks for that input.

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmc

You said you put a charger on... I assume you mean direct to batteries. What voltage do you get on the batteries after charging?
Sounding like the batteries aren't taking the charge - as they don't have enough to power the solenoid.

If you didn't run a charger direct to batteries, I would to try to bring them back up.

As for why they died.. was the Use/Store switch in 'Use'??
If not, batteries won't charge even when plugged in.
If it was in 'Use', then check the converter output...

Yes I had to charge the batteries directly and brought thm up to full charge. I leave it in "use" every thing worked fie for sometime then out of the clear it went south. now nothing works if you try to use the batteries only.

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Sunshine

Mr Obvious has to ask if you checked the water in the batteries?

Batteries are new interstate replacements. This rig has had this problem off and on since I bought it. I'm taking it to Thor service next week.

Oneilkeys · 12-12-2017, 01:59 PM

Something else to check when you have it in for service is the converter/charger. Neither one of the two I had in my Vegas and Axis worked correctly. They would never charge at 14.1v no matter how discharged they were and they never went into float mode. The latter problem can lead to the batteries boiling over. I replaced the one in my current Axis and have not had any battery problems since.

Bob Denman · 12-12-2017, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDS

Batteries are new interstate replacements. This rig has had this problem off and on since I bought it. I'm taking it to Thor service next week.

Good luck! Please let us know what the problem turns out to have been...

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneilkeys

Something else to check when you have it in for service is the converter/charger. Neither one of the two I had in my Vegas and Axis worked correctly. They would never charge at 14.1v no matter how discharged they were and they never went into float mode. The latter problem can lead to the batteries boiling over. I replaced the one in my current Axis and have not had any battery problems since.

Ill ask them to check that too. Thanks. By the way what unit did you replace it with?

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 02:56 PM

It may be as simple as the solenoid under the Frig that serves to isolate the batteries for storage has gone bad. I'm going to do what "ghof" did in his post above and bypass it to get me on the road. Without the batteries connected into the coach, no lights, frig, heater or anything works unless you are plugged into shore power or have the generator running.

Bob Denman · 12-12-2017, 03:31 PM

Here's to hoping that it is just that simple!

jb1911 · 12-12-2017, 04:54 PM

Our solenoid wasn't working from day one. Camp Land replaced it under warrantee and it's been fine ever since. Hit store, no battery drain.

Oneilkeys · 12-12-2017, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDS

Ill ask them to check that too. Thanks. By the way what unit did you replace it with?

Progressive Dynamics 4655. It is a direct replacement for the WFCO in the Axis/Vegas and is relatively easy to installl. It took a couple of hours. Below is an excellent YouTube video on how to install one as a replacement.

https://youtu.be/DKZ9KSX1rno

But.. your immediate problem does sound like the USE/STORE switch solenoid. Something else that causes similar symptoms is tripping the 50 amp circuit breaker in the house battery box. If the red or yellow flag is showing - push it back in and see what happens. It is located in the left hand rear of the box. Happened to me. Good luck.

JoeDS · 12-12-2017, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneilkeys

Progressive Dynamics 4655. It is a direct replacement for the WFCO in the Axis/Vegas and is relatively easy to installl. It took a couple of hours. Below is an excellent YouTube video on how to install one as a replacement.

https://youtu.be/DKZ9KSX1rno

But.. your immediate problem does sound like the USE/STORE switch solenoid. Something else that causes similar symptoms is tripping the 50 amp circuit breaker in the house battery box. If the red or yellow flag is showing - push it back in and see what happens. It is located in the left hand rear of the box. Happened to me. Good luck.

Thanks for input. I did check that. I even verified that I'm getting power to the 12v terminals of the solenoid.

Laco · 12-12-2017, 11:27 PM

When you go from use to store, or store to use, you should hear that solenoid click. If not, you can be pretty sure its not working. Trouble shooting the converter/charger will be a bit more subtle, IE: require some voltage measurements. With an inverter installed, I can always tell if the coach is getting shore power and if the converter is charging from the inverter panel. Interstate batteries are one of the better batteries. I used four six volt deep cycle interstates in my DP, and got just about seven years out of them. I was always careful that they did not go dry, but they really only need a little water added, maybe once every six months or so. Same with the two twelve volt batteries in the Gemini, they go through very little water. When they go bad, I will replace them with two six volt deep cycle, probably interstates, connected in series.

riskmgr · 12-13-2017, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDS

Yes I had to charge the batteries directly and brought thm up to full charge. I leave it in "use" every thing worked fie for sometime then out of the clear it went south. now nothing works if you try to use the batteries only.

Check the batteries as to if they have dead cell(s). Sometimes they’ll charge to full then drop suddenly. Also it could be a bad converter where it’s not charging them properly.

JoeDS · 12-13-2017, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laco

When you go from use to store, or store to use, you should hear that solenoid click. If not, you can be pretty sure its not working. Trouble shooting the converter/charger will be a bit more subtle, IE: require some voltage measurements. With an inverter installed, I can always tell if the coach is getting shore power and if the converter is charging from the inverter panel. Interstate batteries are one of the better batteries. I used four six volt deep cycle interstates in my DP, and got just about seven years out of them. I was always careful that they did not go dry, but they really only need a little water added, maybe once every six months or so. Same with the two twelve volt batteries in the Gemini, they go through very little water. When they go bad, I will replace them with two six volt deep cycle, probably interstates, connected in series.

Thanks for the input. I believe I found the problem. Defective fuse holder!! Last night I installed a jumper around the battery post on the solenoid as a stopgap to get me going on the trip. I checked again for voltage on the fuse where power is tapped from the battery side of the solenoid terminal (it apparently is the power source for the solenoid switching circuit). No voltage present. Removed the fuse and put the probe down to the clip in the fuse holder and voltage was present. It appears that the fuse socket is defective and wont allow the fuse to seat properly in the socket!

gnach · 12-13-2017, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDS

... I checked again for voltage on the fuse where power is tapped from the battery side of the solenoid terminal (it apparently is the power source for the solenoid switching circuit)...

Where is that fuse block located? I realize you're starting your trip but if you could post a photo, it be a big help. TIA

JoeDS · 12-13-2017, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnach

Where is that fuse block located? I realize you're starting your trip but if you could post a photo, it be a big help. TIA

The solenoid is almost impossible to get to or even see. It is mounted below the refrigerator and behind the AC inverter power panel. It mounts on a wood panel that goes around the wheel well. I removed the wood louver furnace air return panel below the closet and I was just barely able to access it.

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