Axis No 12v power getting to coach

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by 48in366

Yes, same spot. I have a grounding bar (I'm assuming - a bunch of screws with thin white wires attached) on the RV floor in my water heater cabinet (with the latching relay). I used the same screw as ground for the 13.69 reading on the right, and the -12.88 reading on the left. I'm more and more convinced the mechanic installed the ground wire to the positive and the 50amp wire to the negative. They are both red under the sheathing, and what I now believe to be the 50amp wire barely reaches over to the positive post, but that sounds just about right in RV construction.

I unhooked Wire #2 from the negative post for a few tests. Waiting for my friend to finish lunch before I blindly go any further. I did check the latching relay again, with shore power unhooked and Wire #2 unhooked. The right side now reads 0.00, the left side is jumping all over the place and won't give me a solid reading.

Sounds like you're getting closer. I'd expect some jumping around since you disconnected ground.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by 48in366

I have a box in the driver's side front, but it's for the slide controller. If I'm looking at the right thing - a black box with a white label on top that says RV Custom Products, with two big red wires attached, one with a 5amp fuse inline, then it is probably the easiest thing in the world for me to access - under my bathroom sink, which, in my layout, is in the hallway, halfway down the passenger side of the coach. It makes the clicking sound when I hit the use/store switch.

That's not a slide controller. That's your latching relay if it looks like this:

Originally Posted by 48in366

Thanks for adding the pic. The reading on the latching relay was 13.69 on one side while plugged in, which I'm assuming is the shore power measurement. The other side was reading *negative* 12.88. Not sure if that makes a difference, or if that's how it is supposed to read. The converter has a green blinking light when I'm on shore power, which is blinking away happily. The red light next to the "rear" 15amp fuse went away once I changed it out.

-12.88 VDC is a major problem. What is this thing you are measuring? Got a picture? It doesn't appear to be your latching relay if the black box above is the latching relay. If it looks like this:



Then it is not the USE/STORE latching relay.

And I've NEVER seen a generator run a separate ground cable back to the batteries - no need for that. Some inverter installations do that though.

[48in366]

SOLVED!

Wish I could edit my initial post to add this, but a quick synopsis.

When everything points to reverse polarity, don't overcomplicate things. Start at the beginning. Since I have no idea what may or may not blow me or the coach into the air, I was cautious...that's why I wanted to pay a pro to do it. He was a pro, but not an RV specialist. The same exact scenario played out with an RV dealership tech five years ago, so even if you are at an RV shop, and end up with this issue, *check the basics first*. My ground wire was attached to positive, and the wire leading to the 50amp breaker was connected to negative. They are both red, they both disappear into the dark underbelly of the coach. A friend who used to talk locomotive engineers through fixing their electrical issues out in the field was able to expertly guide me, over the phone, through the necessary tests to make sure I knew what I was looking at, understood the problem, and could fix it safely. An absolute magician. I'll be letting Thor know that the two 30amp fuses in the middle of the panel most definitely are NOT spares. I'll also let them know that there is no mystery wire on 90% of Axis and Vegas out there, it's just that their factory techs can't follow the wiring diagram when they don't have enough wire to reach the front battery. I'll also let the mechanics shop know what happened, the oddities of RV construction, and the overwhelming benefit of labelling wires, even when there's only two that could possibly be swapped. Thanks to you all for getting my brain working along the right path. When almost everyone says "reverse polarity", even when all the techs and mechanics disagree, that's the answer. Looks like my 30amp fuses did their jobs. Everything tested so far is in working order, including the generator. Back down the road I go - I'll be clocking over 150k miles within the month, so if anyone has milage-related longevity questions about anything, I might be able to answer

[bevedfelker]

This is my latching relay -- the thing that goes clunk when you go from USE to STORE and back again. And on my 2015 Vegas 24.1 it is located under the refrigerator. You access it opening that vent in the hallway where the water heater by pass vales are located. You have to move the ducts around and you can see this relay attached to a plywood bulkhead under the refrigerator.

[bevedfelker]

Glad you got this figured out. What you discovered about the techs at the factory and not being able to reach the battery post has been commented about in other places on this forum. Something when they are running wires and it's too shot. They'll slice any color wire wire to reach where they are going without any concern about it being he same color. Tracing circuits is an adventure in self discovery.

[48in366]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

That's not a slide controller. That's your latching relay if it looks like this:





-12.88 VDC is a major problem. What is this thing you are measuring? Got a picture? It doesn't appear to be your latching relay if the black box above is the latching relay. If it looks like this:



Then it is not the USE/STORE latching relay.

And I've NEVER seen a generator run a separate ground cable back to the batteries - no need for that. Some inverter installations do that though.

The latching relay you pictured is the one I was measuring underneath my bathroom sink. I've got the 25.1 Axis layout, which seems a little more odd than some of the others. The black box in the driver's side storage bay is a much sleeker, more modern thing - the Lippert Dual Motor Synchronous Slide Controller. What's the second picture? Something I should know the location of for future reference?! (Trying to soak up any knowledge I can here...)

My friend on the phone talked me through a few tests to confirm that what the mechanic was assuming was the ground wire really was the 50amp breaker feed, and what he assumed was the 50amp breaker feed was really the ground. They look almost identical, and he obviously didn't label them. They were the only two wires that could be switched without it being blatantly wrong just looking at the setup. Based on the available length of each wire, he made a good assumption of where they should go, but RV construction rarely goes that way. The shorter wire needed to reach the longest distance, and the longest wire has a ridiculous amount of excess in the battery bay. Thanks for all of your help trying to work through this. The forum is, by far, the best resource I've come across for finding answers quickly while on the road, usually beating the techs and mechanics to any solutions we were searching for.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by 48in366

SOLVED!

Wish I could edit my initial post to add this, but a quick synopsis.

When everything points to reverse polarity, don't overcomplicate things. Start at the beginning. Since I have no idea what may or may not blow me or the coach into the air, I was cautious...that's why I wanted to pay a pro to do it. He was a pro, but not an RV specialist. The same exact scenario played out with an RV dealership tech five years ago, so even if you are at an RV shop, and end up with this issue, *check the basics first*. My ground wire was attached to positive, and the wire leading to the 50amp breaker was connected to negative. They are both red, they both disappear into the dark underbelly of the coach. A friend who used to talk locomotive engineers through fixing their electrical issues out in the field was able to expertly guide me, over the phone, through the necessary tests to make sure I knew what I was looking at, understood the problem, and could fix it safely. An absolute magician. I'll be letting Thor know that the two 30amp fuses in the middle of the panel most definitely are NOT spares. I'll also let them know that there is no mystery wire on 90% of Axis and Vegas out there, it's just that their factory techs can't follow the wiring diagram when they don't have enough wire to reach the front battery. I'll also let the mechanics shop know what happened, the oddities of RV construction, and the overwhelming benefit of labelling wires, even when there's only two that could possibly be swapped. Thanks to you all for getting my brain working along the right path. When almost everyone says "reverse polarity", even when all the techs and mechanics disagree, that's the answer. Looks like my 30amp fuses did their jobs. Everything tested so far is in working order, including the generator. Back down the road I go - I'll be clocking over 150k miles within the month, so if anyone has milage-related longevity questions about anything, I might be able to answer

Coming back to the thread and detailing the solution is all anyone could hope for - thanks for that. Glad you got it figured out. And yeah, Thor sucks for putting red ends on the ground cables.

[48in366]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Sounds like you're getting closer. I'd expect some jumping around since you disconnected ground.

We tested resistance from the end of wire #2 (which was attached to negative) to the 50amp breaker, and verified it was the same wire. That gave me the confidence to go ahead and do the most obvious fix - switch 2 and 5. It worked. Nothing seems to be damaged. Exact replay of my Camping World battery swap experience right after I bought the coach. As always, thanks for you help here and on Facebook!

[48in366]

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

This is my latching relay -- the thing that goes clunk when you go from USE to STORE and back again. And on my 2015 Vegas 24.1 it is located under the refrigerator. You access it opening that vent in the hallway where the water heater by pass vales are located. You have to move the ducts around and you can see this relay attached to a plywood bulkhead under the refrigerator.

An answer, just in case anyone is scanning images, trying to locate their latching relay in a 2015 Axis 25.1 - mine is a black box with a white sticker on the top labelled RV Custom Products (with additional text). The Thor tech wanted me to look under my bed, but the 25.1 doesn't have a bed. It's located at the very front the compartment under my bathroom sink in the hallway (halfway down, passenger side, near the water heater and water drain valves). Of all the things I've had to find in the coach, this is probably the easiest for me. Sounds like a right pain in the rear in your floorplan!

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by 48in366

SOLVED!

Wish I could edit my initial post to add this, but a quick synopsis.

When everything points to reverse polarity, don't overcomplicate things. Start at the beginning. Since I have no idea what may or may not blow me or the coach into the air, I was cautious...that's why I wanted to pay a pro to do it. He was a pro, but not an RV specialist. The same exact scenario played out with an RV dealership tech five years ago, so even if you are at an RV shop, and end up with this issue, *check the basics first*. My ground wire was attached to positive, and the wire leading to the 50amp breaker was connected to negative. They are both red, they both disappear into the dark underbelly of the coach. A friend who used to talk locomotive engineers through fixing their electrical issues out in the field was able to expertly guide me, over the phone, through the necessary tests to make sure I knew what I was looking at, understood the problem, and could fix it safely. An absolute magician. I'll be letting Thor know that the two 30amp fuses in the middle of the panel most definitely are NOT spares. I'll also let them know that there is no mystery wire on 90% of Axis and Vegas out there, it's just that their factory techs can't follow the wiring diagram when they don't have enough wire to reach the front battery. I'll also let the mechanics shop know what happened, the oddities of RV construction, and the overwhelming benefit of labelling wires, even when there's only two that could possibly be swapped. Thanks to you all for getting my brain working along the right path. When almost everyone says "reverse polarity", even when all the techs and mechanics disagree, that's the answer. Looks like my 30amp fuses did their jobs. Everything tested so far is in working order, including the generator. Back down the road I go - I'll be clocking over 150k miles within the month, so if anyone has milage-related longevity questions about anything, I might be able to answer

Thats great to hear/read.

[Trophy1200]

I’m really glad that you were able to get this sorted and that it turned out to be an easy and free fix.

It’s good that nothing was damaged apart from the sacrificial fuses that did their job, oh and of course the extra grey hairs and sore scalp from all of the head scratching.

Thanks for the update to let us all know of the successful outcome.

May your roads be long, scenic and happy.

[48in366]

Originally Posted by Trophy1200

I’m really glad that you were able to get this sorted and that it turned out to be an easy and free fix.

It’s good that nothing was damaged apart from the sacrificial fuses that did their job, oh and of course the extra grey hairs and sore scalp from all of the head scratching.

Thanks for the update to let us all know of the successful outcome.

May your roads be long, scenic and happy.

I wasn't hoping to test the fuses, but it is really good to know that they work, especially considering how easy it was for the mechanic to switch the wires. Glad that the generator also survived unscathed. Long roads are definitely my thing (I'm now TheLongLongRoad on Instagram and Facebook), they're almost always scenic, and they are certainly a lot happier with 12volt power. Safe and enjoyable travels to you, too!