Regular Clunking Sound while parked

JeffreyLee · 09-03-2022, 11:18 AM

This has been going on for a while and it is annoying. I hear a clunk coming from the rear of my Sequence that is occurring on regular basis. I suspect that it is a relay of some sort but cannot figure out how to stop it. A relay has a finite life and given the frequency I estimate 187,000 cycles since I bought the Sequence March 2021. Also, I would like to figure out how to stop it as it is annoying at night when we are trying to sleep in RV. Anyone have this and/or are there thoughts on how to stop it? Thanks

OldWEB · 09-03-2022, 12:56 PM

My first avenue of attack would be to find and determine what relay is doing the 'clunking', otherwise all you can do is shut down ALL electrical for a good nights rest, but that is impracticable.
So if you do not know which (or if any) relay is doing it, how can the forum help?

**16ACE27** · 09-03-2022, 12:57 PM

Does it happen when plugged into SP? Or not plugged into SP?

JeffreyLee · 09-03-2022, 07:35 PM

Ok so you should know that I have the main breaker off in RV. It is still doing it but it appears much less frequently. I have not heard it but my wife has. Having the main breaker off at night means no water, lights, etc. so not preferred. As to which breaker it is... well that is why I am asking if others have experience this. It sounds like it is coming from the drivers side under the bed but not certain. Still looking to see if others have this with their Sequence.

I have not tried connecting shore power to see what that does so will try it. Course we do a lot of boondocking or no electric site so not having shore power is most of the time.

Thanks for the replies.

Still looking to figure this out.

JimOIB · 09-03-2022, 08:24 PM

Water pump. Do you leave your water pump on at night? The water pump looses pressure over time and will give a short “clunk” or in my case as short rattle. Turn the water pump off at night and see if the sound goes away.

OldWEB · 09-03-2022, 09:04 PM

I can only

...

After a year and a half and ~187,000 clunks, you can only say " It sounds like it is coming from the drivers side under the bed but not certain."
If you are truly worried it will wear itself out before its time, I think you would have hunted it down. Cuz once it does fail to make the required "clunk", it will be that much harder for us to locate for you.

FYI: 187,000 clunks in 18 months works out to 10,400/mth; 346/day; 14/hr, or once every
4 minutes. That is fulltiming too.

Antonio · 09-03-2022, 09:40 PM

Could it be the inverter? I had mine doing some sort of clicking when the fan goes on and off. Even when dry camping we always try to keep our inverter off at night.

JeffreyLee · 09-04-2022, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldWEB

I can only

...

After a year and a half and ~187,000 clunks, you can only say " It sounds like it is coming from the drivers side under the bed but not certain."
If you are truly worried it will wear itself out before its time, I think you would have hunted it down. Cuz once it does fail to make the required "clunk", it will be that much harder for us to locate for you.

FYI: 187,000 clunks in 18 months works out to 10,400/mth; 346/day; 14/hr, or once every
4 minutes. That is fulltiming too.

Um Sir, you do not own a similar vehicle so don't understand why your comments sound so dismissive. I am not asking for someone to diagnose this, I am asking if others with similar vehicles are experiencing the same. Since it appears you do not have same RV why are you being so critical? BTW the clunking sound does occur all the time whether the RV is in use or sitting in storage, so it is independent of use. I don't need your negative vibe so please back off.

Jimbo56 · 09-04-2022, 11:26 AM

Sequence owners, please speak up!

Bnbl · 09-04-2022, 02:14 PM

Another common cause of noise from under the rv is the leveling jacks. There are several threads describing the random noises they produce. Here is a good one. See if this applies to you?

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/noi...ks-419353.html

There are anti-stiction fluids that can be added to the reservoir to eliminate the noise. One of the posters attached a 0295.pdf with an instruction sheet.

Grumpy Grampa · 09-04-2022, 05:04 PM

Check make sure connections are tight on relay.

LawrenceofPA · 09-11-2022, 06:23 PM

I occasionally hear a clunk when not on shore power. We just finished our first real trip, and I haven't tried to find it. It's infrequent and not regular, so it's tough to pin down.
Annoying but not tragic.

Bnbl · 09-12-2022, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LawrenceofPA

I occasionally hear a clunk when not on shore power. We just finished our first real trip, and I haven't tried to find it. It's infrequent and not regular, so it's tough to pin down.
Annoying but not tragic.

Your post may reinforce the possibility that the noise the OP is hearing is not electrical at all. See my post #10 above. The random noises jacks make could be mistaken for electrical relays clicking. There are extensive posts about this symptom. Google "noise from leveling jacks rv". If this noise only happens while levelers are extended that may be a good clue to the noise source.

**16ACE27** · 09-12-2022, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bnbl

Your post may reinforce the possibility that the noise the OP is hearing is not electrical at all. See my post #10 above. The random noises jacks make could be mistaken for electrical relays clicking. There are extensive posts about this symptom. Google "noise from leveling jacks rv". If this noise only happens while levelers are extended that may be a good clue to the noise source.

This is a Class B issue/thread. No levelers involved.

pneumatics · 09-12-2022, 03:11 PM

Suspension. When on or off the jacks I get that same noise that is louder outside than inside. After two years I have found that the majority of the click noise is the suspension springs and hangers (Class A MH) adjusting to their new position. This is also a bit temperature dependent.

However there is still a relay type noise (very consistent in the cycle in the click-click) that leads me to believe that something else on the chassis is contributing to this. Still looking for that ah-ah moment that explains it all.

Frank88 · 10-22-2022, 05:16 PM

I also have a 2021 Sequence that makes a clunking sound. After reading the original post I think we have the same issue.
A fairly loud clunk that sounds like it comes from underneath the van, towards the back on the drivers side when parked. The sound is not as loud as the power door lock activation, but in the same realm.
This is not a noise from the water pump, or the inverter; they are in different areas and not nearly as loud or as a heavy thump. I am familiar with the old Ford style solenoids that are used in battery isolator circuits and from my memory of such I don't think they are nearly as loud as what I am hearing. This Rv is a van with no leveling jacks or power suspension mods.

The clunk noise seems to happen at random every 30 minutes to 2 hrs. Example, nighttime sitting in the back of the van reading, no shore power, inverter shut off, water pump off, only one reading light on and the fridge on and all of a sudden a clunk from underneath. This will happen a few times throughout the night. This also happens during the day when we are in the back, not that we notice it very often as we are not back there for long periods of time. It might happen when driving but I have not heard it.
I am thinking it might be a latching relay if there is one back there??? but I am still not sure that would make much more noise than standard solenoid.
I am going to call Thor this coming week, but I am not hopeful of them being of help.

Anybody have any other ideas?
Does anybody have a schematic of that area of the Sequence?
Jeffrey, did you ever find out what was causing your noise?

**16ACE27** · 10-22-2022, 05:52 PM

OK, I don't have your RV, and of course we still don't know for sure if this is a boondocking only event or an "on SP" event or both.

But here's my assumptions and guess:

Assuming we are talking about RVs with lithium house battery banks.
Assuming these RVs have LA chassis batteries.

The clunk may be the BIM connecting/disconnecting the battery banks together to "charge" the chassis battery whose resting voltage is much lower than the house battery bank resting voltage. It would also happen if the RV was connected to SP and actually charging the house batteries. Is the BIM in the suspected noise location?

Frank88 · 10-22-2022, 07:24 PM

Thanks for your response.
The RV has 2 AGM batteries mounted under the RV towards the back, right in the area of where the clunk noise is happening.
The noise happens mainly when not on shore power, not sure but might happen when plugged in.
As far as the issue might be… “The clunk may be the BIM connecting/disconnecting the battery banks together to "charge" the chassis battery whose resting voltage is much lower than the house battery bank resting voltage.” Isn't that the reason they put a isolation circuit ( latching relay or solenoid) in the system to keep the batteries separate, except when getting power from the engine when it is running? I am not making a statement of fact, just asking?

A malfunctioning latching relay /solenoid or battery management system is what I am thinking, but I dont know… That's why I am asking as maybe it is a normal action and sound with this RV/unit, as the original poster has the same issue.

**16ACE27** · 10-23-2022, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank88

Thanks for your response.
The RV has 2 AGM batteries mounted under the RV towards the back, right in the area of where the clunk noise is happening.
The noise happens mainly when not on shore power, not sure but might happen when plugged in.
As far as the issue might be… “The clunk may be the BIM connecting/disconnecting the battery banks together to "charge" the chassis battery whose resting voltage is much lower than the house battery bank resting voltage.” Isn't that the reason they put a isolation circuit ( latching relay or solenoid) in the system to keep the batteries separate, except when getting power from the engine when it is running? I am not making a statement of fact, just asking?

A malfunctioning latching relay /solenoid or battery management system is what I am thinking, but I dont know… That's why I am asking as maybe it is a normal action and sound with this RV/unit, as the original poster has the same issue.

Well, since you have AGM house batteries instead of Lithium my assumption was incorrect. Could it still be a malfunctioning BIM? Yes, that's possible. Thor has also been known to wire BIMs incorrectly but that should not cause them to shift state when boondocking. Yes, the BIM isolates the battery banks when not charging and connects them when charging.

JeffreyLee · 11-03-2022, 11:23 AM

Update:
I have not confirmed what is causing clunking sound. I have found that it goes away if I turn off main breaker. Also, it does not seem to occur when on shore power. I am thinking that it is the transfer switch noted on the schematic that is associated with coach batteries. I have not been able to get Thor to send me a more usable electrical schematic and it is not clear how this item works but it is located near the batteries under coach. Right where the sound is coming from. I read that at some point Thor changed to a solid state switch, but I am thinking we have an older clunking relay switch. I think previous posters are onto it being related to some change of charging state with the batteries. Still investigating.

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