Yesterday I was inspecting the rear electrical connection department to tighten any connections when I noticed that this device was hot to the touch, I mean hot not warm. I'm not sure what it does but a label above it says "Merge". Being uncertain if it was safe or not, I decided to disconnect one side and within a few minutes it did cool off, however this did affect some of my electrical items like the power steps, dash lights and a few other items. I reconnected it this morning and again it is hot. Can anyone tell me what this is and is this normal or does it need to be replaced.
Thanks
Dario
Coach #581 2001 45'
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It is the merge solenoid and that means you have your merge switch on on your dash so your switch is either in the up or down position not in the middle. I'm on the way to church so I'm sure others can fill in the rest of the blanks. There are lots of post on the Forum explaining how the merge works
Tom
It should not be HOT. Replace the switch, high resistance is causing the heat
(06-17-2018, 08:29 AM)encantotom Wrote: [ -> ]It is the merge solenoid and that means you have your merge switch on on your dash so your switch is either in the up or down position not in the middle. I'm on the way to church so I'm sure others can fill in the rest of the blanks. There are lots of post on the Forum explaining how the merge works
Tom
Tom, Thanks for the advice. The switch was in the down position. I put it in center position and all seems well. I have never used it nor was I told exactly how to use it. Last week I had it in for the 365 front tires and wheels, all fluids and filters changed, air dryer filter, adjust ride height and allignmment, It was at the shop for over four days and was left unplugged. I suspect that one of the techs might have hit it as another switch in the front passenger side compartment for the generator had also been turned to off position. I will keep an eye on it.
Can anyone tell me exactly how to use the switch, what does it do when up or down?
Thanks
Dario
(06-17-2018, 09:49 AM)Richard Wrote: [ -> ]It should not be HOT. Replace the switch, high resistance is causing the heat
Hi Richard, looks like Tom got it right, the dash switch was not in the middle. How is your trip going? Did the 365 upgrade, big improvement.
Thanks
Dario
richard is still right. it should not be hot. replace it. it is a cole hersee 24106 continuous duty solenoid. like 20-30 bucks
if you do a search on the forum for "merge switch" you will find a discussion on how it works
tom
If you leave the merge switch in the center off position, the relay will not get hot BUT if you are not running the coach engine or the generator routinely, your chassis batteries will be depleted from parasitic drain. The solenoid is easy to replace and should be easy to find. Just checked and Amazon has them
https://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-24106...B001FQL43U
(06-17-2018, 02:10 PM)Fulltiming Wrote: [ -> ]If you leave the merge switch in the center off position, the relay will not get hot BUT if you are not running the coach engine or the generator routinely, your chassis batteries will be depleted from parasitic drain. The solenoid is easy to replace and should be easy to find. Just checked and Amazon has them https://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-24106...B001FQL43U
Thanks Michael, just ordered one through Amazon
Dario
(06-17-2018, 02:10 PM)Fulltiming Wrote: [ -> ]If you leave the merge switch in the center off position, the relay will not get hot BUT if you are not running the coach engine or the generator routinely, your chassis batteries will be depleted from parasitic drain. The solenoid is easy to replace and should be easy to find. Just checked and Amazon has them https://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-24106...B001FQL43U
Thanks everyone for all the good advice. This morning I changed the merge solenoid but now have another issue. When I turned the 120 power back on, the inverter began to make an off and on buzzing sound and 12 volt lights would flash off and on. It will not stay on. The 120 compressor comes on yet I cannot get the air door to open, it makes no sound at all not even a clicking sound and I cannot get into the coach. Any thoughts?
Dario
What did you do to turn the 120 back on? Did you turn the inverter on or turn on the power from an outside source?
It appears to me that now something is severely limiting the 12V power available to the 12V circuits in the coach. If the buzzing of the inverter is consistent with the 12V lights flickering I would guess your battery power is limited in getting out of the batteries and into the systems. My best guess is that your coach batteries are depleted and the merge isn't working. Check the voltage at the house batteries and then on either side of the merge solenoid both with it on and off.
(06-21-2018, 06:06 AM)77newell Wrote: [ -> ]What did you do to turn the 120 back on? Did you turn the inverter on or turn on the power from an outside source?
It appears to me that now something is severely limiting the 12V power available to the 12V circuits in the coach. If the buzzing of the inverter is consistent with the 12V lights flickering I would guess your battery power is limited in getting out of the batteries and into the systems. My best guess is that your coach batteries are depleted and the merge isn't working. Check the voltage at the house batteries and then on either side of the merge solenoid both with it on and off.
Thanks Jon
I turned the power off at the electrical panel in my garage, an outside source. I cannot get the door open to turn the merge switch on at the dash. I will check the house batteries but am pretty sure they are charged, everything was working fine until this morning, when I changed the merge solenoid.
Dario