Coach does not want to start - Printable Version

Coach does not want to start - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Coach does not want to start (/showthread.php?tid=2725)

Coach does not want to start - bikestuff - 02-02-2016

Gang,

This post is to describe a problem that I ran into with the coach, the thought process I went through and finally the solution that I believe will fix the issue.

Issue: The coach (for the past few months) sometimes would not want to crank when I turned the key. It would turn over but did not "sound right" on the first key turn. I would turn the key off and then try again. It always cranked on the second key turn. When I was at Newell, it did it again but on the second key turn the electrical went completely dead. (No dash lights at all). Even when I merged the batteries, it only cranked sluggishly. After a few seconds the engine started.

Thought process: Once the coach was cranked and warmed up it did not seem to still have a problem. Newell rechecked the engine batteries and they showed as being on the low side of "Good". They said that the problem was probably related to cold weather.

After I left Newell, I stopped and tried to start the coach the next morning. (After it had cooled down). Problem was back and the engine only cranked with the engine batteries and house batteries merged. The engine once again struggled to get cranked.

I talked to @"Richard" and he suggested that I test the batteries by monitoring the voltage on the batteries when I turned on the headlights. The test was inconclusive because the voltage only dropped .2V when I turned on my headlights.

He also suggested that I clean the battery terminals. I turned off the power switches and cleaned up all the connections. I also sprayed some Deoxit on the connections prior to reassembly. After I did that, the engine was back to normal and was easy to crank.

(This might be the end of the story except for Richard sending me a message saying to Check the Ground.) I did that and was surprised to see that the ground was extremely corroded. See picture. There was also indications of melted wires.

I turned off the power switches and attempted to unbolt the grounds at the back of the engine. (Lower right attached to the frame rail). One of the bolts just sheered off! It was clear upon inspection that the bolt had welded to the post due to arcing / corrosion. Oops!

On my coach there were two ground pins welded to the frame rail. Both pins were needed due to the number and thickness of the ground cables. With one of the ground pins sheered off, all of the ground cables would not fit on the remaining pin. I called @"rheavn" and asked for his thoughts. He not only gave good suggestions, he also fabricated a "bus bar" and brought it to me and helped me install it. See pictures.

Solution: The solution was to fabricate a bus bar and create two posts for all the needed ground cables. Once the cables were installed and the coach power switches turned back on, we looked for any sort of arcing or other problems. None were found. The coach started with just a bump on the starter.

Future: I might re-fab the bus bar out of copper and will probably bolt it to a frame vertical to avoid drilling into the frame rail.

Moral: When you have an electrical problem, the first thing to check is the ground. Also, as part of your regular maintenance, you should double check your main ground at the back of the engine. Check the condition of the ground cables as well.

I am now very happy! Thank you gurus!

Cheers,
bill

RE: Coach does not want to start - Fulltiming - 02-02-2016

Good diagnostics work Bill and Richard.

RE: Coach does not want to start - HoosierDaddy - 02-02-2016

Good job....Deoxit? I had not heard of that brand. Looks good. I would spray battery terminal protectant on it or just coat it with grease etc. to prevent further corrosion.

RE: Coach does not want to start - bikestuff - 02-02-2016

Dioxit is an electrical contact cleaner.

http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-Cable-Deoxit-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B00006LVEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454460296&sr=8-1&keywords=deoxit

I will also get some terminal protectant when I get back to civilization.

RE: Coach does not want to start - Junior Guru - 02-02-2016

Excellent pre/post pics! Pictures make words make sense!

I've had a few issues with loose or corroded grounds on both my 2003 and 2013...very easy fix but something often over looked. At least by me.

RE: Coach does not want to start - bikestuff - 02-04-2016

Gang....you wanna know why you own a Newell? Let me tell you a short story.

I got a call from Newell this morning. They read this thread and wanted to be sure that my quick-fix worked. I assured them that I was good and happily camped on the banks of the Mississippi river. They had already alerted their techs to this potential issue and will be looking for it on other coaches just in case this is more than a one-off problem.

I cannot imagine any other company going to the trouble of making sure I was ok! Yes, I will be back when its time for my next annual maintenance!

Thanks again to the Gurus and to Newell for building and maintaining these wonderful machines!

bill