I thought it was the Solenoid

[Islandsmith]

The strangest thing happened. Got home from a trip and went to put the coach away but when I pushed the Store/Use button the lights did not go out. I was not hooked up to shore power. It was then I realized that not only did the Use/Store switch not work but the light switch for the awning LEDS would not turn the lights off no matter what I did.

There is a 2amp fuse in the wires of the awning light - when I pull that the lights go out but if not they stay on, even with the switch fully disconnected.

So...I removed the Solenoid (model LR9806T1-BIP) to see what a replacement would cost. In doing so I connected the battery lead to the lead that runs to the 12V panel so the batteries would continue to charge. Whadda ya know, the awning lights would not go out.

So I pulled fuse 11 which is supposed to be the awing power and the entire thing continued to work - both awning and lights. So something has happend to bypass the solenoid and is now directly powering the awning.

No wonder my batteries died over night. I'm at a total loss, the wiring diagrams that come from Thor are essentially useless. None of them show the 5amp fuses in various places.

Any thoughts on where to begin?

[Jimbo56]

You turn the awning light switch off and they stay on? Hmmmm….. And all works when use/store switch is set to store and not on shore power? Hmmm… The electrical experts will need to chime in on this. I’d pull the light switch out and see if pulling a wire off turns the lights out.

[Bnbl]

If your coach has a "Rapid Camp" remote and you used it to turn the awning lights on then you have to use it to turn them off.

[Islandsmith]

Originally Posted by Jimbo56

You turn the awning light switch off and they stay on? Hmmmm….. And all works when use/store switch is set to store and not on shore power? Hmmm… The electrical experts will need to chime in on this. I’d pull the light switch out and see if pulling a wire off turns the lights out.

Not quite, the awning lights stay on no matter what position the use/store switch is on. I did pull the light switch out and pull both wires off the switch. The lights stay ON!

There is a 2amp fuse connected to one of the wires. Pulling that turns the light off. I'm going to see if there is a wiring diagram for the awning but it's suspicious that this started with the solenoid stopped working properly.

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Islandsmith

Not quite, the awning lights stay on no matter what position the use/store switch is on. I did pull the light switch out and pull both wires off the switch. The lights stay ON!

There is a 2amp fuse connected to one of the wires. Pulling that turns the light off. I'm going to see if there is a wiring diagram for the awning but it's suspicious that this started with the solenoid stopped working properly.

I can explain how the CofC awning is wired by plant 750. Plant 750 does not use CofCs suggested wiring. First is a single wire in the body wiring harness the runs fro the ignition switch through the front cap's fuse and circuit board to the rapid camp circuit and relay board. This is the ignition inhibit. It removes all power to the awning and power to the slides switches but not from the slide's motors. Power is always supplied to the motors to keep the slide locked in position when traveling. Of course the use/store switch or pulling the 30 amp fuse will remove power from the motors.
Back to the awning. Power from the awning fuse goes to the rapid cam board then through the inhibit relay and on directly to the awning 's control module (auto response in CofC vernacular). The awning's control module always has power when there is power to the 12 volt section of the power center.

In the awning's wiring harness there are 7 colored wires: two are awning power and ground, three are awning direction and two are awning light. The wires from the switches does not go to the awning but to the rapid camp control board under the bed next to the battery isolation latching relay. Power to the awning light is controlled by the position of two relays on the rapid camp control board. Both are latching relays since we want the lights on for extended periods of time. The first relay determines whether the second relay is controlled by the rapid camp receiver or the rocker switch for the awning lights. The second relay is power on or power off to the lights.

I hope that helps. As you can see it is complicated at best, but it is logical considering the options desired.

[Islandsmith]

Originally Posted by Bnbl

If your coach has a "Rapid Camp" remote and you used it to turn the awning lights on then you have to use it to turn them off.

Thanks Bob. It does have that feature but I don't use it for the external light.

[Wiley1]

To me, this is very straight forward.

The purpose of the Use/Store switch is to fully disconnect the house batteries from everything except possibly the charging cable from the alternator by opening a solenoid switch. It is a latching type relay, meaning that it needs power to toggle but it does not need power to maintain either position.

When you move the Use/Store switch, you should hear a distinct click from the solenoid.
Then put a meter on the solenoid. In the Store position, you should find 12 volts on one fat cable that leads to the battery battery bank but zero volts on the other fat cable that leads to the fuse panel. In the Use position, you should find 12 volts on both cables.

If all of the above aren't true, you most likely have a bad solenoid.

[Fil]

Can someone tell me where the USE/STORE Solenoid is on the Thor 25.1 Axis. This thread seems to be chasing a similar problem to mine.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Fil

Can someone tell me where the USE/STORE Solenoid is on the Thor 25.1 Axis. This thread seems to be chasing a similar problem to mine.

24.1? Is under the fridge by other reports. Is there a 25.1?

[gnach]

25.1- It should be near the power distribution, breaker, panel.