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Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » On the Road Electrical Trouble-shooting (Need some GMC forum sage help)
On the Road Electrical Trouble-shooting [message #334533] Tue, 03 July 2018 19:46 Go to previous message
Brian K is currently offline  Brian K   United States
Messages: 75
Registered: May 2017
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
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Hi everyone. I just drove my GMC from Seattle to LA. It was (thankfully) a rather uneventful trip mechanically, except for one hiccup. I am hoping I can get some 2-cent feedback here while I try to fix/diagnose the problem before the trip back. Sorry in advance for the detail.

On the way down from Seattle, I stopped ¾ of the way into Oregon for a Walmart pit-stop. While I was there, I left the roof fan running (which I assume draws on the house batteries) but did have a couple minor chassis battery draws (the radio and compressor) that are powered on. When I got back after about 45 minutes, and tried to start the MH nothing happened (i.e. no turn over or sound). I had about 12.5 showing on my various voltage meters. I tried boost, and nothing happened. I then used my "Jump Starter" and nothing happened. Finally someone offered a jump. The voltage meter went to 13, and it started. I stopped for gas, and it restarted. I got to campground #1 and I plugged in (I also used a battery tender on the chassis battery).

The next day I stopped at a rest stop outside of Redding, Ca. This time, I left the roof fan running again, but turned everything else off. Same thing happened and nothing worked to get it started. I tried disconnecting the wires from the battery and connect it directly to my "jump starter" and that didn't work. When I put the connectors back on the battery, the only eventful item was I hit the chassis and sparked the battery. I went back in, and lo and behold it started. I stopped for gas, and I left the motor home running. I made it to the campground in Sacramento, and shut off the engine. I then tried to restart, and nothing. I took the dogs for a walk, plugged in, came back 10 minutes later, it started. I also noted that my house batteries were drained much more than usual. I tried starting several times over the next 12 hours and it worked each time (battery tender hooked up).

Day 3: I drove straight to LA from Sacramento. I made two short stops (rest stop and gas) and kept the engine running the whole time. I made it to my mom's house, and turned off the engine. This time I didn't have the roof fan running the entire time. My voltage showed 12.3-12.5. I tried to restart, nothing. I plugged in the battery tender, hooked it to the chassis battery......got inside and cranked it....the motorhome turned over.

A few other things: In January my alternator was replaced, there were new wires put in, and a new battery. About 8 months ago I put in a new isolator. Finally, whenever I used to turn the key to start, I'd hear a buzzing sound for a second (which I am assuming was the boost solenoid). I didn't hear that buzzing over the last couple days, even when fully charged.

So I'm planning to run through all the connections I can, and make sure that the connections are good and clean. The other alternative is that my "new" battery is not holding a charge, but that seems odd since when I hooked up the lines directly to my jump starter, it still didn't start. Finally, I'm wondering if the boost solenoid is bad. Although I don't know enough if that would cause this kind of problem. The good news is I'm in LA until next Monday, so I can hopefully make any "small fixes" while I'm here.

Also, I'm assuming the item with the Blue Arrow below is the boost solenoid? I also have two other batteries (Green Arrow) that are hooked up, as well as two batteries next to the generator. I'm assuming the Green Arrow batteries are for extra boost?

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/member-galleries/p64949-boost-solenoid-and-batteries.html

Finally, if I need a new boost solenoid, does anyone have an idea of the part I order and where? I saw in earlier forum posts someone mentioned a Napa part, but when I checked it, it said it was a "starter solenoid".

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Brian K 1977 Eleganza II, TZE167V100261 Sherman Oaks, CA Rebuilt 455, New brake system, a lot of Original Equipment ready to fall apart (discovering more as I go along....)

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