Thor Forums

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by rkluber

I have a 2016 Windsport 35c and have had a couple of instances where my chassis battery has run down and won't start the RV. FYI, the Use/Store switch is in the Use position before trying to use the Aux Start switch on the drivers console but I haven't been able to get the RV to start and have had to resort to jumping the chassis battery using an external 12v power supply to get the RV started. My four house batteries are on a solar charger and are fully charged.

Looking at the owner's manual, it says to set the parking brake prior to using the auxiliary starting system and then press and hold the Aux Start switch on the dash and try to start the engine. In my past failed attempts to start using the Aux Start switch, I've never set the parking brake and have not been able to "jump" the chassis battery from the house batteries. Does the parking brake need to be set in order to use the Aux Start feature or is my Aux Start feature malfunctioning?

No The reason for the parking brake be set is to prevent the coach from rolling, as the engine can be started in park and neutral. Your coach has a bi-direction battery in-connect with delay system located in the back of the house battery compartment. It consist of a relay and control unit usually made by Trombetta. The emergency start switch simply bypasses the delay module and allows all batteries to be interconnected. The wiring is 8 ga with a 15 amp fuse on the relays control stud to prevent the relay from becoming shorted closed. If that fuse is blown, the relay will not work. If the chassis battery is completely dead (less than 9 volts), it will be necessary to hold the emergency start switch in for 3 to 5 minutes in order the transfer enough power to the chassis battery from the house batteries to start the engine. It doesn't work like jumper cables, as the relay capability is about 100 amps and its cables about 60 amps as compared to 4 ga jumper cable 250 amp capacity