Question Find solenoid inline fuse for 96 Fleetwood Southwind Storm

[Pat O'Sullivan]

I inadvertently connected chassis battery backwards and got a quick spark. I never actually atached the cable, just touched it for a fraction of a second. I did this right after putting my battery back in after storage in my garage for the winter. Now I have no power to the headlights, dash lights and the ignition. Turning the ignition key gets nothing at all, as though there was no battery. I checked all fuses and all are good. There is no power going into the fuses boxes so I'm thinking that I blew an inline fuse between the battery and the starter, possibly for the starter solenoid. I don't know what the inline fuse looks like and have no idea where to look for it. I just bought this very low mileager (43,000 km) MH last April for a trip across Canada but still new to RV ownership and not mechanically inclined. I messed up but fairly sure this can be fixed. I had a mobile RV mechanic look for the problem but it eluded him. Anyone out there that can help me with this?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Look for a fusible link. This will look look like a piece of 8awg wire from the battery to the fuse box/relay box.

 

[Pat O'Sullivan]

the red cable from positive battery terminal goes to some sort of a 4 post device. All 4 posts have power. One post has a thick (8awg?) wire that goes directly to the positive side of my house batteries. I presume that this connected to the booster to allow the engine to use house batteries as power to start the engine. The other wires disappear behind the rubber wall to unknown locations. Would it be fair to say that one of those wires goes to the starter solinoid with a a fuse somewhere in between? If this is correct and that fuse is blown, would that cause all chassis-related lights to not work? I have yet to trace the wires back from the starter as it is very cramped and I'm working alone. I also have a photo of a small component but having trouble attaching it to this posting.

 

[Pat O'Sullivan]

could this component be a relay associated with the starter? It is in the engine compartment on the left side attached to the wall. One lead appears to be a think red cable and one appears to be black.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Ford chassis?

Starter relay very likely.

 

[Pat O'Sullivan]

Yes. 460 cu. I got under the RV and traced the red wire to a point where it splits and also leads to alternator. I followed the red wire to the front where it is, and was before I removed the batteries in October, connected to the negative side of my house batteries. I know that makes no sense. When I remove that wire from the battery the house power is cut off. This makes no sense at all. I even switched around the red wire from chassis with the house and that resulted in the house losing power, and of course nothing changed with the headlights. There must be a fuse somewhere after the chassis battery but before the starter. I just called a RV mechanic here in my community who is also a vehicle mechanic so maybe he can figure it out. fortunatly, I don't need to use the MH until July.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Yes. 460 cu. I got under the RV and traced the red wire to a point where it splits and also leads to alternator. I followed the red wire to the front where it is, and was before I removed the batteries in October, connected to the negative side of my house batteries. I know that makes no sense. When I remove that wire from the battery the house power is cut off. This makes no sense at all. I even switched around the red wire from chassis with the house and that resulted in the house losing power, and of course nothing changed with the headlights. There must be a fuse somewhere after the chassis battery but before the starter. I just called a RV mechanic here in my community who is also a vehicle mechanic so maybe he can figure it out. fortunatly, I don't need to use the MH until July.

Well Pat. In the back of my mind In the web of forgetfulness, I pictured your relay. Based on the year, and knowing Ford has the so-called better idea. I was able to guess the maker.

You can hot wire at that, what I call a solenoid. Jumper between the larger cables and the starter should crank over the engine.

If it does jump between the battery side terminal and the smaller terminals one at a time. The engine once again should crank. If it doesn't the solenoid has failed.

If she cranks make sure the terminal that you jumped gets power to it when you turn the key to the start position.

If you get this far. You have one of many problems. A bad relay in the relay box. A bad key switch. Or (PCMsignal,fusible link,or main fuse/relay).

On a personal note. When I had a MH the decision to buy, was it must not have a Ford chassis. Because there are few affordable options on modern RVs concerning chassis, and avoiding Ford on those options, when faced with replacement. I opted for a TT.

You would think as far from the box as my thought process is, I would want to reward Ford's, "where the hell is the box" attitude! I can not. I must work on my own vehicles, and desire to keep the sanity I still have. My pockets just aren't that deep.

Good luck on your project RV.

 

[Pat O'Sullivan]

Kevin, Thanks for the comments. I will try to get the MH started as you described and then drive to my local Ford dealership, stopping at the bank on the way (haha). It is a Ford, yes, but I think that this is a solvable problem which might cost me a bit but it was all my mistake that I'm willing to learn from and pay for if need be. When I get it fixed I'll get back to you on what the problem was and how it was fixed.