Guest Report post Posted July 22, 2017 4 hours ago, wolfe10 said: Very strange that the ignition/start circuit would be through the HOUSE battery?? Oh well. But I would check both the IGNITION SWITCH and IGNITION SOLENOID. The key is just used to close the ignition solenoid. So, locate the ignition solenoid. Two large lugs: one hot all the time (connected to chassis battery) the other large lug only hot when the solenoid is activated. There will also be either one or two small terminals. If only one, it gets its 12 VDC positive signal from the ignition switch to close the contacts in the solenoid. Ground is through the metal body of the solenoid to good metal of the coach. If a second small terminal the second one is ground. Assuming one or the other may be at fault: Verify 12 VDC on the small positive terminal of the ignition solenoid when and only when the key is on. If not, remove the wire from the ignition switch at the small terminal. Use a small jumper wire (will only carry a few amps) from the always hot large lug to the positive terminal. Let us know what you find. And remember, there ARE other "safety lock-outs" that could be at play here, but this is a good place to start. If providing positive to the small terminal of the ignition solenoid gets you going, you need to check the ignition switch, the fuse supplying it and any safety lock-outs. Gentlemen Thank you for the additional comments I will head back up to the storage unit tomorrow and try these suggestions. I had to make it a short day today trouble shooting. Wanted to take the couple out to dinner that was supposed to go RVing with us this weekend. I wish I could just stay up there and figure it out but I have to balance not getting the wife mad at me Thank you all again your suggestions have at least thought me quite a bit about this beast I bought. I will let you know what I come up with tomorrow. And I just have to say this has been the most positive experience I've had with Social Media you all are amazing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted July 23, 2017 5 hours ago, RonaldNC said: You are almost always right... but not in this case. LOL! My model (the Monaco version of the OP's) won't start with the battery cut-off switch (salesman switch) off. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I've confirmed it many times... when I forget to turn it on. I've spoken to the OP (Mike) on the phone and his problem is a bit bewildering. Everything in the coach works and he can start his generator just fine. There is just no power to the chassis/motor/transmission. He's checked the batteries, battery switches, high-powered breakers, solenoid, etc. Everything thing worked fine when he parked it in his storage garage. He's been plugged in the whole time. He hadn't worked on it while in storage. Truly a mystery! Is there some other potential point of failure that is possible between the battery and the chassis? We're stumped. I told him to call Monaco technical support on Monday, as they have been pretty useful to me in figuring out problems. Ron, did you buy your coach new? Quite often some strange things happen, and some of those are that a previous owner "DIYER", or maybe even a qualified mechanic have been known to accidently change wires around causing things to not be the way that they should. I've worked on several coaches over the past thirty years, and have not found one to be wired the same as yours, not saying that yours isn't as stated, but it is a strange coincidence. It is possible that someone may have actually wired yours that way on purpose including the dealership for show purposes, making sure that there was no accidental starts while showing your unit in a show. But I agree with Brett that this is very unusual for a manufacturer to put one together this way. Hope the OP gets his worked out soon, I know frustrating it is to not get to use an RV when planned, had the same situation just three weeks ago. Also I didn't mention that my coach wouldn't start after replacing the cracked manifold, found the problem, it was in my case, a fuel shutoff valve up front by the fuel tank, a wire terminal nut was a half turn from being tight, a lot of rain that week, moisture actually caused the breakdown. I mention this because many times something as simple as a loose/bad connection will cause problems such as the OP is experiencing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonaldNC Report post Posted July 23, 2017 32 minutes ago, kaypsmith said: Ron, did you buy your coach new? Quite often some strange things happen, and some of those are that a previous owner "DIYER", or maybe even a qualified mechanic have been known to accidently change wires around causing things to not be the way that they should. I've worked on several coaches over the past thirty years, and have not found one to be wired the same as yours, not saying that yours isn't as stated, but it is a strange coincidence. It is possible that someone may have actually wired yours that way on purpose including the dealership for show purposes, making sure that there was no accidental starts while showing your unit in a show. But I agree with Brett that this is very unusual for a manufacturer to put one together this way. Hope the OP gets his worked out soon, I know frustrating it is to not get to use an RV when planned, had the same situation just three weeks ago. Also I didn't mention that my coach wouldn't start after replacing the cracked manifold, found the problem, it was in my case, a fuel shutoff valve up front by the fuel tank, a wire terminal nut was a half turn from being tight, a lot of rain that week, moisture actually caused the breakdown. I mention this because many times something as simple as a loose/bad connection will cause problems such as the OP is experiencing. Yes, I bought my coach new. However, it was a show model that had about 8,000 miles on it. When I get some time, I'll pull the wiring diagrams and see if something was rigged "special" for the shows. It doesn't bother me a lot, as I know what it does. Interestingly, I didn't know about this until about two years ago. I got in to start the coach when it was in storage and it wouldn't start. I checked everything around the dash... transmission, park brake, clicked the key on and off, etc. My wife asked it the "orange button" needed to be pushed, as I usually did that upon entering the coach so I could turn the lights on. I told her "no" and that it didn't matter. After a few minutes, I thought "what the heck" and hit the button... of course, the coach fired right up. My wife has never let me live it down ever since. My challenge will be to find where they cross wired it to not let the coach start... Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted July 23, 2017 Start at the solenoid that engages when you turn on the keyed ignition, follow the small one or two wires and work your way back, you may find a relay that was added that drops when the salesman switch is turned off. Or simply add a wire from the ignition switch directly to that master solenoid if it is not to great of a distance. You will be doing the next owner a favor in case you decide to move up or down. If it was rigged, you probably will not find any notes to that effect. Kind of funny, now that I think about it, when I first started driving my old ex-Greyhound, I met a time that it wouldn't do anything when I turned on the master switch. I called a buddy that is a Greyhound mechanic, he asked if the entry light came on when I opened the door, I replied no, his answer was to turn on the switch marked light/chime, started back to work instantly. Greyhound wires all their buses that way to prevent a driver from leaving the station without those items working. LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
