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Old 07-11-2018, 12:04 AM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 29.2
State: New Hampshire
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THOR #5447
Please check this safety issue on your coach

I just removed these burnt wire connectors from my transfer switch after detecting an electrical smell. Please take a minute to ensure yours are tight and not a fire hazard.
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Old 07-11-2018, 12:32 AM   #2
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THOR #5196
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Originally Posted by djc290 View Post
I just removed these burnt wire connectors from my transfer switch after detecting an electrical smell. Please take a minute to ensure yours are tight and not a fire hazard.
Burnt wire nut connections seem to be common, these pictures are from the 120 volt connection to our water heater. I’m still wondering if there are connections I haven’t checked that could be bad, keeps me a little paranoid!!!

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Old 07-11-2018, 01:08 AM   #3
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THOR #5447
open your transfer switch - not easy as i had to slide the breaker box out a few inches to get to it, but inside the switch are numerous wire nut connectors - these seem to be the common problem. Hopefully THOR starts to use a better connection process.
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Old 07-11-2018, 02:19 AM   #4
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Mine was the same way. I found it A few weeks ago. I removed the stranded wire pigtails, soldered ring connectors to the ends of the solid wires and attached them directly to the switch. Dont have to worry about the wire nuts anymore.

Now to crawl under the sink to check the water heater connections.

Jerry
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Old 07-11-2018, 04:48 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by SuperD View Post
Burnt wire nut connections seem to be common, these pictures are from the 120 volt connection to our water heater. I’m still wondering if there are connections I haven’t checked that could be bad, keeps me a little paranoid!!!



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Typical Thor quality. I found several loose and some unconnected .
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Old 07-11-2018, 04:57 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by carlgorski View Post
Typical Thor quality. I found several loose and some unconnected .
Jezzz now I have to check my transfer switch, the first time I started the genny I smelled hot wire smell, just for a few seconds, then it went away, thought it was Genny components heating up. Hope I'm right ,and don't find what you guys did.
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Old 07-11-2018, 10:34 AM   #7
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THOR #10254
I still need to check mine.

So I don't get zapped while attempting this....

Do I need to disconnect Shore Power and Coach batteries before starting?
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Old 07-11-2018, 01:51 PM   #8
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I still need to check mine.

So I don't get zapped while attempting this....

Do I need to disconnect Shore Power and Coach batteries before starting?
Shore power disconnected, generator off, inverter, if you have one, off. No power, no shock. Be safe, electricity will bite!
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Old 07-11-2018, 02:31 PM   #9
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Just say NO to wire nuts in your transfer switch. The problem is, the wire nut screw threads cut thru stranded wire when connecting to solid wire; i.e. romex. The tighter you tighten them, the more they cut thru the stranded wire and cause a high current especially when you turn your AC on or other heavy elec. load.

Like others and myself have done, remove the stranded wire from the transfer switch and connect the solid copper wire directly to the lugs on the TS.
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Old 07-11-2018, 04:50 PM   #10
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THOR #2817
I don't like the fact that there is solid wire anywhere in the RV. And I certainly don't like the use of wire nuts in any moving vehicle. The vibrations can eventually break solid wires and loosen wire nuts.
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Old 07-15-2018, 07:22 PM   #11
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I have a 2018 THOR ACE. Any idea where the transfer box might be located?
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Old 07-15-2018, 07:44 PM   #12
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Thor plant 750 usually puts all the entry wiring under the bed. It is the first plastic box in the lead-in wiring. If it a 30 amp wire it is a orange four wire flat cable coming in plus a gray four wire coming in from the generator. The output will be the same yellow cable. For a 50 amp coach the input will be black like your shoreline and the same as for a 30 amp coach for a generator. The black box in the upper right is the transfer switch
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Old 07-28-2018, 06:15 PM   #13
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Transfer box

I have a 2017 Thor 24.1 Vegas any ideas where the transfer box is
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Old 07-28-2018, 06:23 PM   #14
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THOR #11409
While your under the bed go through and tighten all the screws on the inverter and terminal bar.
I found many lose or never even tightened at all from thor.
Almost burnt my main shore power input as well lost 6 battery before finding the problem.
Today I fired up the refrigerator and it literally blew up.
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Old 07-28-2018, 06:36 PM   #15
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THOR #2176
Check Refrigerator propane hose too

While in the checking for fire dangers look at the worlds cheapest (RV vocabulary for “world class”) propane hose.

See the picture of the results of missing that task.

Good luck to all Thor owners.
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Old 07-28-2018, 06:45 PM   #16
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THOR #4196
Thor likes to say it has quality control (QC). The fact is, they can not even spell QC. After two years of ownership of one of their sorry products, and having to fix dozens of issues that should of been flagged by QC, I am a firm believer of that fact. So we, the users, become the QC...
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Old 07-28-2018, 06:47 PM   #17
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THOR #9078
recall?

Why hasn't Thor recalled all our coaches? Does someone have die?

Can someone post an enlarged photo of the transfer switch? What does this switch do?
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Old 07-28-2018, 07:04 PM   #18
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THOR #3186
A transfer switch takes two AC sources of power such as a generator and shore power, switches to one or the other and sends it to your 120v fuse panel. The inputs have one primary over the other. Two 120v AC sources active together don’t play well together.

Generally you shouldn’t see stranded wire in 120 v service except for the appliance side of receptacles. I installed a 3000 watt inverter, a new sub panel and a second transfer switch for the inverter. I used romex and didn’t notice any stranded wire for the 120. I did notice the use of 12, possibly 10 g romex for the mains.

I have to double check it out though. We mostly use solar.
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Old 07-28-2018, 07:12 PM   #19
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THOR #2176
Here’s a thought. Thor sells to a customer who places a significant emphasis on original cost. The entire RV industry shares that problem. The result is increasing pressure to make cheaper and cheaper products.

The cost of a well made RV is probably prohibitive. I’m guilty. Price for the coach part was very significant. I paid extra to get a high quality truck (Mercedes Sprinter). I believed the lies the Camping World salesman told me when I could have inspected the details of the coach and seen the poor quality construction and cheap labor. I could have asked for a wiring diagram and shopped elsewhere when learning there was no wiring diagram available.

I could have done a lot of detailed checking but I did not. I got excited and believed the nice guy who sold the RV to me. Thank God it burned to the tires in my driveway. No one would have survived that fire.
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Old 07-28-2018, 07:15 PM   #20
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State: Tennessee
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THOR #11344
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Originally Posted by djc290 View Post
I just removed these burnt wire connectors from my transfer switch after detecting an electrical smell. Please take a minute to ensure yours are tight and not a fire hazard.
Had the exact same problem a couple weeks ago. Didn’t find the burnt wires until a few weeks later when I lost power all together. 2014 Freedom Elite. I was able to trim the burnt wire and still had enough to reconnect.
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