Chassis battery disconnect failed while driving

rgatijnet1, It was the disconnect that failed, not the ignition switch, and there was no shorts. The design defaulted to NO power to the chassis if the solenoid failed. Thor's local dealer replaced the entire control box, bypassing the solenoid powered disconnect, replacing it with a manual switch. My complaints were reviewed by the NHTSA and they forced the recall, recognizing the potential for failure while driving at highway speeds. Only by the grace of God did mine fail right before getting on the interstate...

I wouldn't bother spending much time on the phone with Thor or a dealer. It's a "RV Customs Products" recall. You can do the recall in 5 minutes yourself and save yourself the gas money. Better yet...you can make your system better by installing a manual battery switch from an automotive store like others have done. That way the system is hard wired "on" unless it will be parked for an extended time, then you manually switch it off.

In the good old days, you could disconnect your battery and the vehicle would still run off of the alternator. With sophisticated electronic circuits, that is no longer the case. In fact I remember a specific warning on one of my vehicles about disconnecting the batter while the engine was running, and the damage to the electronic circuits that it could cause.
AT first I thought that this seemed to be an ignition switch problem, similar to just turning the key off. The thing is that on most rigs, that would have no affect on the headlights, IF THAT is the lights he is talking about losing. IF he is talking about losing all of his dash lights, than it still could be an ignition switch failure.
Hard to say or guess without knowing the wiring diagram of the type of chassis involved. The chassis battery shorting out to ground would have the same affect as turning off the ignition and may also prevent the alternator from providing any power and may also cause the headlights to go out. This is as simple as a complete inspection of the chassis battery, or main wiring circuit to see if there is a frayed wire from friction or rodents, that could short out the main 12 volt circuit to ground.

Thank you for the notice of the recall. I did notice it while ready the posts. I will be calling THOR on Monday. I did not receive a notification in the mail. The dealer I checked with on this had no knowledge of what may have caused the problem. Thanks to the Forum, I now know how to proceed.

I thought there was a recall on this and Thor simply took the disconnect out. You can search the NHTSA.org website...might be there.

My 2008 Windsport by THOR did the same thing today on the interstate, fortunately, I was able to get off on the shoulder, but then all of a sudden, power returned, started the engine and made it 45 miles home. Now sitting in the driveway, power loss again after shutting down, and starting up a couple of times, then nothing.

Will THOR fix this. Coach has 32K. This seems like a major problem for THOR.

There was a BCC recall that addressed this exact issue. The solution is simple, re-route the disconnect/ take it out of the circuit. You won't have a chassis disconnect anymore but the power won't go out either.

I would say that, if you have a chassis disconnect switch...and when you disconnect the chassis battery you can turn your ignition key and nothing happens...you should be leary. If that system fails, you are dead in the water (or freeway)!

From what I gather on the forums, this is a RV Products problem. There are several BCC models that have the problem. RV Products builds the FW2050 special for the Four Winds (Thor) coaches. Come to find out, it's a bad idea to have your lifeline routed through an inexpensive solenoid that can fail causing catastrophic problems. Camping World (although not their fault) came out immediately to help me while I was stranded on I-80 in rush hour traffic and was very apologetic. They gave me $120.00 worth of credit at their RV store because of my inconvenience. If I would have been killed, I would ask for more.

I have been following this awhile (I have already bypassed my BCC) and was wondering if this is a Thor problem only? Or are other manufacturers having this issue?