wa8yxm wrote:
Your isolator is not working.. This consists of two parts on MOST RV's one on a very few. I will describe both.
Most common.. A Solenoid (Also called a Relay or Contactor but in this use Solenoid is the most common name) and a controller for it.
Depending on the controller, it may be a one-way (Engine charges house) or it may be a bi-directional like min (Both charge).
The simple ones may or may not have a delay and sense the ingnition lead.
The more complex ones measure voltage and when the see 13+ they engage
To test you need to find the isolator relay and measure the voltage on the SMALL screws. (the big ones are battery leads) you should see voltage within one minute of starting the coach.. And that voltage may appear and dissappear depending on teh system.. But I suspect it will be constant.
My system does not have a built in delay. The solenoid has a single small screw with two wires attached. One of those wires goes to the emergency start switch (which works) and the other goes - probably - to the ignition. That wire has a bad connection somewhere and isn't getting power to activate the solenoid while the engine is running.
The solution that I am considering is running a wire from a fuse tap (from a fuse that's only energized when the engine is on) to the wire going out from the emergency start switch. The fuse box is right next to the emergency start switch, so the wiring would be short and simple. Is there any problem with that setup? Would there be a problem using the emergency start switch in that case?
