Chassis battery disconnect failed while driving

[BluesLover]

Last week my 2008 Thor Four Winds Hurricane 34B's chassis battery disconnect solenoid failed without warning while on an interstate highway on-ramp. We bought the RV new in 2010, and had just under 36,000 miles on it.

The solenoid's failure resulted in a complete loss of all chassis power, including all lights, brakes, engine, the works. Unfortunately, a tractor-trailer tried to go around our RV, side-swiping the cargo trailer and the back of the RV, causing considerable damage to both.

I have reported the issue to the National Highway Transportation Safety web site, but thought I should warn others here of the potential for this to happen.

I tried to reset it repeatedly, but it wouldn't restore power. We had to have a jumper wire installed to get home. Thor has agreed to replace the control center, but I am having second thoughts about doing so.

What is the likelihood of another solenoid failure, next time while at interstate speeds in traffic? We were very, very lucky this time that there was only damage to the coach and trailer.

[Kaz]

Got my recall notice for the BCC repair this weekend. Off to the dealer for a fix.

[wny_pat1]

Sounds like the very same problem:
Report Receipt Date: JUN 25, 2013
NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V265000
Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
All Products Associated with this Recall expand
Details close
Documents Unavailable
Manufacturer: Thor Motor Coach
SUMMARY:
Thor Motor Coach (Thor) is recalling certain model year 2006-2013 Windsport, model year 2006-2010 Magellan, model year 2007-2013 Hurricane, model year 2009-2013 Serrano and model year 2011-2013 A.C.E motorhomes. The motorhomes are equipped with an RV Custom Products Battery Control Center (BCC) which may experience a failure while the motorhome is in motion.
CONSEQUENCE:
If the BCC fails, all power may be lost to the motorhome chassis, including all lighting, making the vehicle very difficult to operate, increasing the risk of a crash.
REMEDY:
Thor will notify owners, and dealers will rewire the BCC free of charge. A notification schedule has not yet been provided. Customers may contact Thor at 1-877-855-2867. Thor's recall campaign number is RC000077.
NOTES:
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

[J-Rooster]

wolfe10 wrote:
You would have to look at the wiring diagram for your coach to see where the disconnect is located in relation to the alternator feed, feed to ignition-controlled breakers, etc. Not sure there is a "one answer fits all".

If you have the least concern about it, remove any solenoid-controlled disconnect and install a simple marine ON-OFF switch. Most are rated for 360 amps continuous and are just a little over $20. Totally mechanical and designed for the harsh marine environment.

I've, done the on/off switch that Bret mentioned on a semi truck one time awhile back and it worked out really well! Sorry to hear about the accident and glad everyone is O.K.!

[tony_lee]

I guess it depends how the excitation to the alternator is derived but it is usually very bad practice to disconnect a battery when the alternator is providing power because the voltage regulation may not keep the output voltage within limits.

Guess manufacturers really need to put safety first and drivers convenience way down the list. For the number of times a disconnect is used, I would have thought opening a door and operating a manual switch wouldn't be too hard.

From that other topic about the recall

Thor sent me the recall instructions today. All they are doing is bypassing the Chassis Battery Disconnect so after the recall is done you will not be able to shut off the chassis battery using the switch. The recall just moves one wire on the BCC under the hood. The instructions are attached.

[roam1]

Bypassed

[roam1]

Here is thread
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27135101/gotomsg/27135234.cfm#27135234

Mine looks like this:

[OldF__t]

Read this topic. Contains more pertinent info about Thor BCC problems and a recall.

[rgatijnet1]

IN the past, a vehicle would run if the battery was disconnected.
Today, with all of the electronic control modules for the engine and transmission, and electronic voltage regulators, the loss of battery power, from a solenoid failure or other problem, can cause some vehicles to stop running completely. I would imagine this very same situation could happen if the alternator failed and the battery discharged to the point where it no longer provided enough power to energize the electronic control modules. Definitely something to be aware of. MAYBE, a permanent emergency bypass switch could be added to jumper across the solenoid in case of a failure. Obviously this would take a wiring diagram to insure that it would not cause more problems when used.

[roam1]

Lobstah wrote:
Wasn't there a post recently about a recall on certain model coaches that use the BCC? Symptoms described in the recall sound similar to what you're describing.

Jim

yes, within the last week I think

[tgenardi]

Hello - I did look, but I didn't find one specifically for this issue.

Very frustrating, very intermittent and getting very close to our trip!!

[Lobstah]

Wasn't there a post recently about a recall on certain model coaches that use the BCC? Symptoms described in the recall sound similar to what you're describing.

Jim

[tgenardi]

I'm looking for some help regarding this topic. I have a 2007 Hurricane and had the same experience. I was able to put the mh in neutral and kept restarting it and got it home.

I read the postings regarding this and I went ahead and replaced the solenoid and tried starting the mh again and now nothing works. I don't have 12v to any of my chassis. When I try to turn the chassis on with the switch, I hear a pop, the green light flashes and goes away.

I don't know if there was a difference between the solenoid I took out and the one I put in, the new one wasn't the White Rogers model, lighter weight - you could see difference in the construction of the two.

I ordered another solenoid online to see if it helps.

Any help would really be appreciated as I have a trip coming soon and would really like to have everything all set to go and have no issues on trip.

[turnersteve]

K2kane wrote:
BluesLover,
I agree, eliminating this single point of failure is ideal and best. I too lost ALL POWER when mine failed - power brakes, steering, gauges, motor, everything! I was lucky to have been in the slow lane, in light traffic, and have a hard shoulder to move onto. This scenario would be devastating if this happens in heavy traffic, winding roads, steep mountain pass, etc.

The same thing happened to me going through Atlanta. This would have been a disaster if it happened going down a mountain pass. I had no brakes after I used up the hydro-boost reserve and had to use the emergency brake to stop. I have a 2009 Thor Hurricane 34b. I spent 3 days at a ford dealership waiting for a new BCC. This needs to be fixed by Thor.

[K2kane]

Scott and others,
Believe what you will, but I (and believe BluesLover too) had complete power failure. When the solenoid was bypassed, the coach ran fine. Simply trying to make others aware of what happened and how to fix.

[ScottBrownstein]

We are being a little fast and free with terminology here. On most rigs, the battery disconnects are not solenoids, they are solenoid activated physical switches the only use power to close and open, but remain in whatever state when power is removed. The solenoid switch in the BCC is a powered solenoid that must remain powered to stay closed. I too have lost power while driving and saved the day by using my BCC boost switch to re-power the chassis. The problem was a cracked battery lug on the chassis battery that decided to stop conducting at 55 MPH on route 95! Didn't generate an immense problem, but the dash went dead as well. Pushing the Boost switch (and holding it) re-powered the rig and all was well. In fact, I eventually started the generator which powered the converter and fired the BCC solenoid for me so that I could take my finger off the switch and drive for the rest of the day until I could make repairs.

The BCC solenoid CANNOT cause loss of power in any way! A bad disconnect switch (or cable, or battery lug) can!