Forum Discussion

Racorman's avatar
Racorman
Explorer
Nov 06, 2015

Engine will not Start... Trouble shooting help requested

I was in Utah on vacation when my V-10 gas motor in our 2012 Itasca motor home suffered a catastrophic failure with 19,000 miles on it. Ford replaced the motor under warranty with a long block engine assembly.

I drove home to Northern California and put 1000 miles on the new motor. The Ford dealer in Utah did a great job and the motor is tight as a drum as it didn’t lose a drop of oil on the return home trip.

However, as soon as I got home I find that I cannot start the engine with the chassis battery and have to use the dash mounted coach battery boost button to start it.

1. The chassis battery is fully charged at 12.7 volts
2. The chassis battery rocker switch next to the entry door will not activate (no click or green LED light)

I’d prefer to fix the problem myself as opposed to taking it to the dealer for repairs and would appreciate some help in troubleshooting the problem. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

1. Are there dedicated chassis fuses that I should check?
2. Could the transfer switch, operated by the chassis battery rocker switch, have failed?
3. Is there any possibility that when the engine was replaced, the mechanics failed to properly attach wires to the starter?
4. Are there any other troubleshooting tips that can be looked at?

Many thanks


Class A
  • Executive45's avatar
    Executive45
    Explorer III
    Nov 06, 2015
    Bad battery cable connection and/or bad battery. Check both, starting with the cables. Are they clean? Are they tight? How old are the batteries? Dennis
  • Racorman's avatar
    Racorman
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2015
    krivanj wrote:
    Need more info... Did you start it to leave the repair shop or was it running?
    If it was running, maybe a ground off the battery?
    Start at the battery and follow it to the boost switch. Then check the grounds... What does the charge gauge show when it is running.
    .
    Put w voltmeter on the chassis battery while running and see if the alternator is charging the battery. Should be 13 or more volts...


    I left the shop in Utah and must have stopped and started the MH probably 40 times on my 1000 mile return trip to California...... without problems. Ironically it failed in my driveway as soon as I got home.

    Will check my grounds and also see if the alternator is charging the chassis battery.
    Yes, once I've started the motor with the boost from the house batteries, the slides and jack work just fine.
  • Dale_Traveling's avatar
    Dale_Traveling
    Explorer II
    Nov 06, 2015
    Is anything else not working such as your slides or jacks? Can you measure chassis battery voltage at the disconnect solenoid or to the frame rather than the battery terminal?
  • Geocritter's avatar
    Geocritter
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2015
    I was plagued with a poor cranking engine which turned out to be a weak ground. The thing was the engine would crank albeit poorly but after I hooked up a dedicated ground cable from the starter to the frame the change in the starter was amazing!

    Steve
  • krivanj's avatar
    krivanj
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2015
    Need more info... Did you start it to leave the repair shop or was it running?
    If it was running, maybe a ground off the battery?
    Start at the battery and follow it to the boost switch. Then check the grounds... What does the charge gauge show when it is running.
    .
    Put w voltmeter on the chassis battery while running and see if the alternator is charging the battery. Should be 13 or more volts...

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