Thief creates headache

[johnuw93]

I am new here, as the owner of a 1998 Fleetwood Bounder 36S which I have had for about five years.

The RV is now parked in a storage lot, which got hit by a thief. The creep took my house batteries, which would not hold a charge anyway and needed replacement. The big loss is not the batteries. It's that the jerk cut all kinds of wires and I am having a heck of a time figuring out what went where. Right now, I just want to get it started, but I don't know how it's wired to replace or go around the missing wiring. When I install the chassis battery, the dash lights come on and the steps work (I have not checked on other items) but the starter doesn't turn over due to cut and missing wires.

He took what I believe was a positive battery cable running from somewhere up front to the house batteries. Without that, it's hard to see how things fit together. The cable to the starter is also cut, and I don't know where that goes; to the relay under the wheel well seems likely, but I don't know for sure. There is also a cable running from the battery box that was cut at about three feet. It seems to be the cable from the solenoid in the battery box; I don't know where the other end of it is.

Any help on how the starting and charging system for this unit is configured would be greatly appreciated.

If I am not mistaken, it is possible to start the RV without the house batteries installed. At present, that's all I need to do. If there's a workaround to achieve that, please let me know.

Cheers,

John

 

[Rollin Ollen]

I am new here, as the owner of a 1998 Fleetwood Bounder 36S which I have had for about five years.

The RV is now parked in a storage lot, which got hit by a thief. The creep took my house batteries, which would not hold a charge anyway and needed replacement. The big loss is not the batteries. It's that the jerk cut all kinds of wires and I am having a heck of a time figuring out what went where. Right now, I just want to get it started, but I don't know how it's wired to replace or go around the missing wiring. When I install the chassis battery, the dash lights come on and the steps work (I have not checked on other items) but the starter doesn't turn over due to cut and missing wires.

He took what I believe was a positive battery cable running from somewhere up front to the house batteries. Without that, it's hard to see how things fit together. The cable to the starter is also cut, and I don't know where that goes; to the relay under the wheel well seems likely, but I don't know for sure. There is also a cable running from the battery box that was cut at about three feet. It seems to be the cable from the solenoid in the battery box; I don't know where the other end of it is.

Any help on how the starting and charging system for this unit is configured would be greatly appreciated.

If I am not mistaken, it is possible to start the RV without the house batteries installed. At present, that's all I need to do. If there's a workaround to achieve that, please let me know.

Cheers,

John

Welcome aboard. I am sorry to hear of your predicament. Sadly, I am unable to help you with your wiring problems. I hope someone here has a similar model that can walk you through the repair.

Darrell

 

[johnuw93]

Welcome aboard. I am sorry to hear of your predicament. Sadly, I am unable to help you with your wiring problems. I hope someone here has a similar model that can walk you through the repair.

Darrell

Thanks for the welcome.

I'll be taking the RV to a truck repair shop. They'll know where the wires go.

 

[AbdRahim]

Welcome. Sorry to hear that. Hope you get it resolved quickly.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

The positive cable runs to the starter solenoid. You should find a nubbin of the old cable still attached to the solenoid. The negative cable is run to the frame or engine block. You likely have a 10awg wire that goes to the fuse block or relay that is switched by the key!

Basic vehicle wiring 101.

 

[Diesel Pusher]

It might be worth looking up on the REV website, the latest owner of the Fleetwood brand. They have build sheets by VIN, parts cross references and schematics going back many years for most of the FW gas and diesel motorhomes. Failing that, a call to customer service and ask if they have schematics for your Bounder. You'll need your VIN and possibly your FIN (Fleetwood identification number) for both.

 

[johnuw93]

The positive cable runs to the starter solenoid. You should find a nubbin of the old cable still attached to the solenoid. The negative cable is run to the frame or engine block. You likely have a 10awg wire that goes to the fuse block or relay that is switched by the key!

Basic vehicle wiring 101.

The ground from the chassis battery is still there, attached to the chassis and intact. The positive off the battery runs to the battery box where it attaches to the solenoid. The cable from the other side of the solenoid was cut below the frame and I don't know where it went. The cable attached to the starter had been cut at about 2 feet and I don't know where it went.

I thought perhaps the two pieces had been connected and the thief cut the cable for no reason. Thus, I fabricated a battery cable to run from the solenoid to the starter. I figured that possibly no matter what was going on with the house system, with the power shut-off switch, or the isolator, a direct line from solenoid to starter might allow me to start the engine.

I installed the new cable. No luck. Same as before. I got dash lights and the steps would extend and retract. But the starter did not budge.

Evidently, when the thief took the cables for the house battery system, they removed or cut some circuit that connects the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. I have not the slightest idea where that would be.

If anyone has a guess, I'm happy to hear it.