12 Volt Power Switch

[rqpretired]

I bought a 1999 Winnebago Adventure and at the time everything appeared to work but now when I disconnect shore power, the 12 volt system doesn't engage so the coach is completely dead. All batteries appear fully charged. The coach is equipped with a dead man switch that separates the engine battery from the 4 coach batteries.

Is there a manual switch that I am missing?

Electricity is my least knowledgeable discipline..... please help and keep it simple please.

[wolfe10]

When you say everything is dead, can you start the engine (i.e. is chassis battery functioning)?

If just the house systems are down, look for the "salesman switch" near the entrance door that turns on/off most all 12 VDC.

And, use a digital voltmeter (starting under $20) to determine exact battery voltage. If batteries are 12.2+ VDC, but nothing works, start at the battery to see if the relay controlled by the salesman switch and/or a large fuse is bad.

[rqpretired]

The engine battery is isolated from my coach to prevent discharging and it reads 12.6 on my volt meter.

My 4 coach batteries are 6 Volt and read 6.3 each with my volt meter.

Could you be more specific as to the appearance and location of a salesman switch.

[wolfe10]

The salesman switch, also know by other names such as battery disconnect switch is generally close to the entrance door of the coach. It allows one to leave lights on in the coach and rather than going around turning all off and then back on when you return, you just turn off this "master switch".

The switch may either be manual or it may be used to control a solenoid that then connects/disconnects the battery bank from fuse box.

And, as I mentioned above, you also likely have a large fuse near the battery that also needs to be checked.

[rqpretired]

Thank You.

I will check those options.

[wolfe10]

Winnebago should also be able to help you-- give them a call with your VIN.

[john_harris]

With the age of the motorhome, if it has a solenoid, it may have "burnt out." Many of us have bypassed solenoid rather than replace them. I replaced mine with a switch just in case I needed to isolate batteries later.

[ticat900]

I bought a 1999 Winnebago Adventure and at the time everything appeared to work but now when I disconnect shore power, the 12 volt system doesn't engage so the coach is completely dead. All batteries appear fully charged. The coach is equipped with a dead man switch that separates the engine battery from the 4 coach batteries.

Is there a manual switch that I am missing?

Electricity is my least knowledgeable discipline..... please help and keep it simple please.

There may be a battery connection problem at the batteries, assuming your sure the batteries are in good shape and not dead.

If the disconnect switch was off they should not work either way. At least that's how my DP works.