2005 windsport BCC issue

[Notoriousj123]

New to the site, and sure would appreciate some advice. Recently purchased a 2005 Windsport, and at purchase the chassis battery was virtually dead so the battery boost switch on the dash had to be used to start the engine. I've replaced the battery but now neither the chassis nor the coach power can be turned off at the switch. I've swapped a new solenoid for the coach and chassis solenoids but no improvement. All the fuses one BCC appear olk. I don't understand these systems well - any ideas?

[HarryS]

Welcome to the forum!

First things first, I noticed a couple things that look hinky to me. Circled in red is a missing nut, that will cause a serious problem with your emer start circuit. Circled in green, where does that wire go? It looks unconnected to me.
The solenoids require 12vdc and a good ground to work. Do you have both? I don't know if the switch provides 12vdc or a ground, but that's easily checked. Test both sides of the relay to ground to see if you have power, and if not, then check for a solid ground or run a test wire to ground from the solenoid.

[HarryS]

Something else I just noticed. The large red wire apparently going to the right solenoid, should not be going there. It looks like it should be going to the copper plate attached to the right side of the solenoid. The only wires that should go to the two terminals on the front of the solenoids are small signal wires, one 12vdc and one ground. When you took stuff apart to replace the solenoids, did you take pictures before?

edit; in fact, I don't believe that larger red wire should be attached to both solenoids at all. That would tie both together all the time.
On the attached photo, #1 are the input wires (why 2?) from the circuit breaker(#4), #2 is the red wire attaching from the input side of the solenoid going over to the control tap for the other solenoid. #3 is where the input for the second solenoid should be, but I don't see anything attached. #5 are two DC breakers, but I can't see what is connected to them. According to what I can see, there isn't an input wire to the right hand solenoid, and it shouldn't be coming from the left hand solenoid in any case. It should come from one of the breakers marked #5, and the other side of the breaker should be coming from the battery bank, either house or chassis, as I can't tell from the picture which is which.

[Notoriousj123]

Originally Posted by HarryS

Something else I just noticed. The large red wire apparently going to the right solenoid, should not be going there. It looks like it should be going to the copper plate attached to the right side of the solenoid. The only wires that should go to the two terminals on the front of the solenoids are small signal wires, one 12vdc and one ground. When you took stuff apart to replace the solenoids, did you take pictures before?

edit; in fact, I don't believe that larger red wire should be attached to both solenoids at all. That would tie both together all the time.
On the attached photo, #1 are the input wires (why 2?) from the circuit breaker(#4), #2 is the red wire attaching from the input side of the solenoid going over to the control tap for the other solenoid. #3 is where the input for the second solenoid should be, but I don't see anything attached. #5 are two DC breakers, but I can't see what is connected to them. According to what I can see, there isn't an input wire to the right hand solenoid, and it shouldn't be coming from the left hand solenoid in any case. It should come from one of the breakers marked #5, and the other side of the breaker should be coming from the battery bank, either house or chassis, as I can't tell from the picture which is which.

Harry, thanks for your reply, and let me apologize - I'm only now seeing what lousy picture this is. I didn't take a picture beforehand and the wife was calling so I Judy slapped it back together for a picture to see if anyone recognized the setup. The nut / screw were in place. The white (and lage red, which isn't connected to the solenoid but is just hanging) along with an orange all connect to the motherboard which goes infront. Everything is tight, and the solenoids will not switch off even with the generator running, so I assume its getting 12 v. There are indeed wires connect to the breakers from behind. BTW, what is the function of these breakers? At one point I heard rapid clicking from this area.

I suppose I'm assuming that both breakers being shot AND having a dud replacement isn't what im dealing with- it seems unlikely.

Do you know if there is Amy component in between the solenoid and the switch?

I'm assuming these solenoids make some sound when changing states - could i safely test them by *momentarily * applying 12v directly?

[HarryS]

Ok, that makes sense. You really need a multimeter to help diagnose the problem. The solenoids switch by the two small wires, one is power and one is ground. You need to figure which is switched by the disconnect switch, power or ground. Then determine if in fact, it is being energized properly. The switch is just a momentary contact switch, and the solenoid is latched into its state. Or maybe they are relays. Either way. If you have 12vdc on one side, then it switches ground, if you don't have 12vdc, the it switches 12vdc. And yes, once you have determined this, you can do a momentary test. It should clunk when switched.

[HarryS]

Any update?

[Notoriousj123]

Originally Posted by HarryS

Any update?

What a crazy week. So both solenoids work (both open and close) by applying direct current. The toggle switches look clean, so is there anything in between? I haven't had the opportunity to confirm continuity on the wiring to the switches, but I'm concerned that the only thing in-between the switches and the solenoids is the motherboard.

Still, everything else appears to be functioning normally. Puzzling.

[HarryS]

Sounds like progress. Do you have 12VDC at the switch? If not, check the fuses on the BCC, as one likely provides power to the switch.