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04-08-2012, 04:15 PM
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#21
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 346
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Tuga,
Yes, one more month in the beautiful Florida Keys, then a quick run to Tennessee to reconfigure for our trip West, then look out we are going to be on the move for a while.
Russ
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04-08-2012, 04:26 PM
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#22
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Thibodaux, LA
Posts: 1,221
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Safe travels Russ, hope we can meet up somewhere. We'll be in Arizona through May then home for summer.
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04-08-2012, 11:37 PM
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#23
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Where ever the coach is.
Posts: 158
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I have a feeling all is well with your solenoid. The best thing you can do is leave it on while plugged into shore power that way you get both banks charged. I have been told by an industrial engineer that it is best to leave things like this on, it is the on and off that weakens it similar to incadesent bulbs which would last longer if just left on. I sometimes merge my batteries here in the desert just to keep them up and close to the house batteries. Both banks are the same type and age so this is a good thing. My opinion! It wouldn't hurt to check the difference of voltage on either side as recommended by Russ.
Brad
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Brad & Karen & Mena
Coach Name BIG BLUE
Coach# 204
1988 40 ft 8v92 TA
2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser,1990 Jeep Cherokee 4/WD now a desert rat
25 ft Haulmark trailer
730 watt solar panels, Full timing.
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04-09-2012, 10:19 PM
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#24
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RussWhite
Hi Tuga,
No, that does not mean for sure your merge solenoid is working. What it means is that the coil portion is drawing current and you feel the result of that with the warmth. The coil ( solenoid ) makes a magnetic field that pulls the armature and closes the contacts in the relay. Just because there is current and a magnetic field does not necessarily mean the contacts were closed or that if they were, they are good undamaged clean contacts. Here is a better way to determine if your merge relay is working.
Get you digital voltmeter and check the voltage across the two big terminals with the merge relay on ( your normal configuration ). A very low voltage in the range of .1V or less is good. Then turn the merge relayy off ( your dry camping position ) and allow some time to pass - a few hours. Then again measure the voltage across the big terminals with your DC meter and it should be considerably higher than it was before, indicating the contacts have opened and you are seeing the difference between your chassis and house batteries.
Let us know what you find.
Russ
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Russ,
I tested the DC voltage with Batt Merge switch on and it read: .1v DC
I turned the Batt Merge switch off and waited 3 hours; it read: .1v to 2v. DC
So I would assume that my Batt Merge solenoid is bad.
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
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04-10-2012, 01:09 AM
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#25
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
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I just changed my time zone in my profile to Central Time Zone; hopefully, this post will stay on the NEW post list for more than a few hours.
How can anyone answer a post if it goes off of the NEW POST list after a couple of hours?
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
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04-10-2012, 01:16 AM
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#26
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 346
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Russ,
I tested the DC voltage with Batt Merge switch on and it read: .1v DC
I turned the Batt Merge switch off and waited 3 hours; it read: .1v to 2v. DC
Tuga - looks to me like you met the criteria I mentioned for a good switch, not bad. Recapping, .1V or less when closed, and that is what you had, and greater than that when open, which 2 volts is certainly there. So, looks good to me. Am I missing something?
Russ
So I would assume that my Batt Merge solenoid is bad.
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04-10-2012, 01:22 AM
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#27
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RussWhite
Russ,
I tested the DC voltage with Batt Merge switch on and it read: .1v DC
I turned the Batt Merge switch off and waited 3 hours; it read: .1v to 2v. DC
Tuga - looks to me like you met the criteria I mentioned for a good switch, not bad. Recapping, .1V or less when closed, and that is what you had, and greater than that when open, which 2 volts is certainly there. So, looks good to me. Am I missing something?
Russ
So I would assume that my Batt Merge solenoid is bad.
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Sorry Russ, it was .2v DC - I typed 2v. DC incorrectly. The voltage reading was about the same with the switch off as it was with the switch on.
So that is why I assumed the Batt Merge solenoid is bad, am I correct?
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
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04-10-2012, 01:32 AM
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#28
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 346
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Tuga,
Well I would have expected a larger difference with the relay open, mine certainly is greater - more like 1 volt. It does raise the possibility your contacts are welded together and not opening when the realy is de-energized. All things considered, I think I would change it.
Russ
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04-10-2012, 02:00 AM
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#29
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
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Russ,
I am just going to change it. I suppose that if I remove it and bring it to an automotive or truck parts supply house they can sell me a new one. Mine has 12V / 203 written on it. Maybe I will see more numbers when I remove it completely.
The most difficult thing to do will probably be to turn off the 12V to the solenoid; I'll start with the silver on/off switches that are supposed to turn off 12V house batteries.
Thanks for your help.
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
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04-10-2012, 02:15 AM
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#30
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 346
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Ron provided this link:
http://texasindustrialelectric.com/relays.asp
and the following suggestions earlier in this thread.
15-133
SAS-4202
Continuous Duty Rating 200 Amp
SAS4202 / 15-108
15-132
SAS-4201
Continuous Duty Rating 100 Amp
Prestolite SAS4201
Be very careful doing this job. You will be working with a potentially dangerous amount of fault current if you do not get both sets of batteries isolated. Do not trust the disconnect switch until you have tested it, or better yet, just disconnect cables yourself carefully so you know the batteries are isolated before starting the job.
Russ
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04-10-2012, 01:06 PM
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#31
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 50
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Tuga,
I think I met a friend of yours at the Newell. He called himself "El Deeko". He bought a super-cool '09. I am jealous!
Anyway, if you have not read this thread, it may help in thinking about the disconnect switches. I was shocked to find out that they disconnect only the ground....and that on some coaches (mine)...they don't disconnect all the grounds.
http://newellclassic.com/forum/showt...nect#post14849
Good luck!
Cheers,
bill
__________________
Bill Johnson
Birmingham, AL
Coach #653 2003 powered by C12 Cat, BMW R1100GS, FJ Cruiser
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04-10-2012, 02:34 PM
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#32
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 886
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Bill,
I do have a friend who just bought an 09 Newell from Newell Coach. He bought #1272 which is a bunk bed coach with murphy bed and beautiful interior colors. Did the fellow you met buy a bunk bed coach?
I have experienced the disconnect switches not disconnecting all of the grounds on my coach when I was testing the inverter. Ron, an electrician with Newell told me to disconnect the positive lead coming from the batteries in order to stop 12v going to the inverter. This was done in order to "reset" the inverter; it didn't work and we discovered that a 300 amp fuse had blown.
Thanks for the heads up on the disconnect switches.
__________________
__________________
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
1999 Newell 45 w/2 slides
Coach #512
2005 Pilot
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