Aux start switch flashing

tmmar · 07-06-2009, 02:48 PM

Sorry if this is a double post, but somehow my original post disappeared.

Posted this on another forum and received no responses so I was hoping that
someone here could shed some light on this for me.

I noticed just recently that the light on the switch for the aux start (switch on dashboard used to jump the coach batteries and the chassis batteries)
periodically flashes when the unit is parked and not running. Not sure if it is
something new or it has been this way since I picked the unit up and I just
realized that it is doing this. Also not sure if it does it when the engine is running. Is this normal or is it some sort of problem indication?
I have a 2008 Forest River Berkshire 390BH on a Freightliner XC chassis that I
purchased new. It has a Cummins 340hp engine.

Thank you for any help that you may provide.

06nighttrain · 10-31-2009, 02:41 AM

I have never experienced mine flashing. It has always displayed a dull steady light.

cfsoistman · 11-01-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

Sorry if this is a double post, but somehow my original post disappeared.

Posted this on another forum and received no responses so I was hoping that
someone here could shed some light on this for me.

I noticed just recently that the light on the switch for the aux start (switch on dashboard used to jump the coach batteries and the chassis batteries)
periodically flashes when the unit is parked and not running. Not sure if it is
something new or it has been this way since I picked the unit up and I just
realized that it is doing this. Also not sure if it does it when the engine is running. Is this normal or is it some sort of problem indication?
I have a 2008 Forest River Berkshire 390BH on a Freightliner XC chassis that I
purchased new. It has a Cummins 340hp engine.

Thank you for any help that you may provide.

I haven't experienced this. I think your best chance of getting a proper answer would be contact Forest River or Freightliner. It may be some type of indicator that a problem exists. If it was a shorted wire I can't imagine it would keep flashing unless the coach was operating. I'd like to hear what their response is.

NWJeeper · 11-01-2009, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

I haven't experienced this. I think your best chance of getting a proper answer would be contact Forest River or Freightliner. It may be some type of indicator that a problem exists. If it was a shorted wire I can't imagine it would keep flashing unless the coach was operating. I'd like to hear what their response is.

I would love to hear the answer too. As far as I am concerned that switch should only light up with the activation of the clearance lights. Otherwise if it stays lit while the rig isn't running that is just a phantom load on the batteries. I don't even like the battery disconnect switch on our rig lighting up for no reason, just more phantom load sucking battery power.

billj770 · 01-04-2010, 10:34 PM

I have a 09 390BH and have noticed the same light flashing. I have not noticed any problem so I assume if is fine.

Team Wilhelm · 01-30-2010, 09:20 AM

Two questions. 1) Why is it always on ? I've wondered the same thing (displays a dull steady light) and 2) NW Jeeper mentions "clearence lights" when the switch is for jumping the coach batteries ? I'm confused. Mine lights all the time and has never flashed.

NWJeeper · 01-30-2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team Wilhelm

Two questions. 1) Why is it always on ? I've wondered the same thing (displays a dull steady light) and 2) NW Jeeper mentions "clearence lights" when the switch is for jumping the coach batteries ? I'm confused. Mine lights all the time and has never flashed.

When you turn on your clearance lights the backlighting in all your gauges and switches should light up. It's not that this circuit has anything to do with the clearance lights themselves. If the clearance lights are not on then you shouldn't have any backlighting in ANY of your switches or panel gauges. You certainly shouldn't have anything lit up when nothing it turned on, this would just be a load on the battery when in storage that is not right. This was my point.

That said it is not uncommon to have a bad battery with a bad cell in it that can cause all kinds of screwy things to happen. For instance our starting battery went bad on our rig and I found out because the LED turn signal lights that ring our side view cameras were on for no reason. They should only be on if a turn signal is on. The rig was in storage and nothing turned on. Wierd! As soon as I replaced the battery everything was fine.

If the light is lit up in the switch when nothing is on, perhaps that is the way they intended it to be but from my point of view that is poor design. I don't want anything draining my battery when in storage even a little light in a switch...

Team Wilhelm · 01-30-2010, 07:19 PM

Thanks NW Jeeper. I see what you mean on the CL lights. However since my rig was new the light part on the aux switch has always been on. I asked Matt at FL and he said that's just the way it is. When you turn on the clearance lights it actually gets brighter. In the middle of the night when you look at my dash this light will be on and hence why I asked Matt cause it seemed weird. My batteries are brand new as well. This is not really back lighting but rather the light part on the switch that would indicate on the other switches on the dash that it's on cause it's lite up. So people think the switch is on but you can't turn it off cause it's a rocker type switch to jump aux batteries etc. So yes it would over time draw a load on the batteries. I think your right Jeeper - it's poor design. And mine has never flashed. Thanks...Ron

NWJeeper · 01-30-2010, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team Wilhelm

Thanks NW Jeeper. I see what you mean on the CL lights. However since my rig was new the light part on the aux switch has always been on. I asked Matt at FL and he said that's just the way it is. When you turn on the clearance lights it actually gets brighter. In the middle of the night when you look at my dash this light will be on and hence why I asked Matt cause it seemed weird. My batteries are brand new as well. This is not really back lighting but rather the light part on the switch that would indicate on the other switches on the dash that it's on cause it's lite up. So people think the switch is on but you can't turn it off cause it's a rocker type switch to jump aux batteries etc. So yes it would over time draw a load on the batteries. I think your right Jeeper - it's poor design. And mine has never flashed. Thanks...Ron

Our battery disconnect switch inside the entry door lights up continuously like this. Kinda stupid really. You would think that it would light up when the batteries are on (connected) and off when they are not. Again another load that shouldn't be.

mbtelguy · 02-07-2010, 03:14 PM

nwjeeper, I hate to rub it in ha! ha! but if we had electrical drawings there would not be any mystery.

re: your battery disconnect switch light, according to the info I have the light will always be on when connect to AC power. it should go off when no AC connected and it is activated. Sounds to me
you have a bad switch or it is wired wrong.

NWJeeper · 02-07-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbtelguy

nwjeeper, I hate to rub it in ha! ha! but if we had electrical drawings there would not be any mystery.

re: your battery disconnect switch light, according to the info I have the light will always be on when connect to AC power. it should go off when no AC connected and it is activated. Sounds to me
you have a bad switch or it is wired wrong.

Actually it's no mystery to me what they did. They connected the 12V in and the 12V out in the wrong place thereby lighting up the light all the time reguardless. I just had the panel out the other day to connect up another porch light cirucit and could have switched those two wires and solved it but I didn't think of it. Not surprising really as I tend to forget half the time what I got off the couch to walk into the kitchen for.

What was I talking about?

mbtelguy · 02-07-2010, 03:56 PM

I tried to send you a private message however i'm not sure i was successful. So here goes, I would like to know how you can rewire the light/switch so that the light is on only when the batteries are connected to the DC distribution buss.

mbtelguy

NWJeeper · 02-07-2010, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbtelguy

I tried to send you a private message however i'm not sure i was successful. So here goes, I would like to know how you can rewire the light/switch so that the light is on only when the batteries are connected to the DC distribution buss.

mbtelguy

Sorry I haven't answered your PMs as I have not had the computer open much in the last few days (I work weekends) and I don't always pay attention to the little PM notice in the corner of the screen.

As far as a normal switch is concerned you have 2 contacts which would be input and output and they are interchangeable. You put +12 Volts on one terminal and the load (output) on the other. On an internally lit switch the light inside draws it's +12 volts from the load or output terminal of the switch. If one reverses the +12 volt input and load wires then the light inside will always have a +12 volt supply and thus stay lit all the time but the switch will still operate as normal. There is of course a 3rd terminal on the lit switches which as you know would be the ground side for the bulb.

Now if there isn't a constant voltage being passed by the switch such as a momentary then there should be an extra lug for the +12volt input for the light. That lug would be connected to the output side of the cut off relay and the light would come on or off depending on the state of the switching relay. If that wire was connected to the input side of the relay instead of the output side then you would again, get +12 volts all the time. This is more what I figure the case to be on my rig and if I were really all that upset about it I would track it down further. A little work with the volt/ohm meter would tell me what is going on.

As I am going to be installing a 500ohm shunt and wiring in a Trimetric amp meter soon I may devote some time to it.

mbtelguy · 02-07-2010, 07:29 PM

nwjeeper, heres the way I have been told it is wired see sketch.
Based on this there is no way of simple moving wires on the switch.

NWJeeper · 02-07-2010, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbtelguy

nwjeeper, heres the way I have been told it is wired see sketch.
Based on this there is no way of simple moving wires on the switch.

This diagram doesn't really make sense to me as you don't show where the batteries or battery disconnect relay are. The output of the 12volt converter should be to the load only and a separate charge wire should run to the batteries from the charge ouput of the converter. I would really have to break out the volt meter to really figure it out. What I see from your diagram is the switch shorting the +12 volt to ground if it's closed???

NWJeeper · 02-07-2010, 08:04 PM

O.K. so for a test I just went out to the rig and turned off the main breaker for the converter and switched off the batteries. The light on the switch slowly dies out. Why they wired the switch this way is retarted to me. I would just as soon have one with no light like my old rig had. However compared to other things I guess the amperage draw is minimal.

mbtelguy · 02-07-2010, 08:17 PM

It slowly dies because of the capacitors in the power converter.
mbtelguy

mbtelguy · 02-07-2010, 09:43 PM

nwjeeper, here is another simplified sketch of the complete power ckt.
As you can see rewiring the switch or disconnect relay will not
change the battery light the way we would like to see it operate.

justinph · 06-17-2010, 01:45 PM

the 390bh has a hjigh level drawing on the left side of the battery bay up near the engine batteries. I have drawn this out by hand to better understand how things are connected. I have the same flashing Aux Start switch and all seems well.

tmmar · 06-17-2010, 03:51 PM

justinph-
If you come up with something as to why this light flashes, please let us know. My unit has been doing this for 2 years. Has not caused any problems in that time but it is just an anomaly that I would like to get an answer to.
Thanks.

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