Generator Transfer Switch Woes
I am presently trying to deal with an intermittently operating generator transfer switch on the '99 Southwind 36Z I have owned since new. Sometimes after starting the gen set it will kick in after the designed delay and furnish 120v to the coach. Other times it will not. My first problem was locating the darned thing. I knew from the clearly audible click when it works that it was somewhere behind the electrical service panel under the fridge. I have read posts from other Fleetwood owners of similar vintage coaches that it is mounted on the back of the ESP box. So, after disconnected from power, I tried to pull it out. But the electricians who built my coach did not leave enough slack in the wires to pull it out more than a couple inches - not enough to see behind it.
Having had to replace the power convertor twice over the years, most recently this spring, I knew another way in. This involved removing the dinette table, then the cushions and plywood top of the aft dinette bench. I had to pull out the under-seat drawer and remove the rear drawer slide. The converter sits just inside the compartment under the refrigerator which is open to the dinette seat box. Using my handy-dandy telescoping inspection mirror and flashlight it was obvious the switch was not mounted on the ESP box. It had to be somewhere else in the space behind the panel. I had to disconnect the new converter and remove it, after which I located and identified the transfer switch behind and beneath a spaghetti mess of wiring. The switch box was not anchored to the floor and the lid, which is normally secured by clamps and a screw, was off and laying beside it.
By pushing some of the overhanging wires out of the way and holding my phone at full stretch into the tangle I was able to get this photo of the Transfer Relay Delay, as the cover labeled it.
The cover identified the part and Fleetwood has them for $167. So just order it and replace the darned unreliable gizmo, right? Well the electricians who wired this mess at the Fleetwood factory in Paxinos, PA never gave a thought to the poor tech or owner who might have to replace such components down the road. As with the service panel, there is no slack in the wires coming into or exiting the box so it can not be pulled close enough to work on, even if you could get it through the Medusa's hairdo of wire in the foot-high cave.
So unless anyone can recommend a twelve-year-old contortionist who can fit himself inside the dinette seat, has the arms of an orangutan, and can make electrical connections while holding an inspection mirror in his teeth, I'm afraid my only option seems to be to have the fridge removed to get at it from the top. On the other side of the compartment is the front furnace sitting beneath the washer-dryer, so no joy that way, either.
Has anyone else run into this particular nightmare who can offer me any bright ideas?
Having had to replace the power convertor twice over the years, most recently this spring, I knew another way in. This involved removing the dinette table, then the cushions and plywood top of the aft dinette bench. I had to pull out the under-seat drawer and remove the rear drawer slide. The converter sits just inside the compartment under the refrigerator which is open to the dinette seat box. Using my handy-dandy telescoping inspection mirror and flashlight it was obvious the switch was not mounted on the ESP box. It had to be somewhere else in the space behind the panel. I had to disconnect the new converter and remove it, after which I located and identified the transfer switch behind and beneath a spaghetti mess of wiring. The switch box was not anchored to the floor and the lid, which is normally secured by clamps and a screw, was off and laying beside it.
By pushing some of the overhanging wires out of the way and holding my phone at full stretch into the tangle I was able to get this photo of the Transfer Relay Delay, as the cover labeled it.
The cover identified the part and Fleetwood has them for $167. So just order it and replace the darned unreliable gizmo, right? Well the electricians who wired this mess at the Fleetwood factory in Paxinos, PA never gave a thought to the poor tech or owner who might have to replace such components down the road. As with the service panel, there is no slack in the wires coming into or exiting the box so it can not be pulled close enough to work on, even if you could get it through the Medusa's hairdo of wire in the foot-high cave.
So unless anyone can recommend a twelve-year-old contortionist who can fit himself inside the dinette seat, has the arms of an orangutan, and can make electrical connections while holding an inspection mirror in his teeth, I'm afraid my only option seems to be to have the fridge removed to get at it from the top. On the other side of the compartment is the front furnace sitting beneath the washer-dryer, so no joy that way, either.
Has anyone else run into this particular nightmare who can offer me any bright ideas?
