I had a couple of wierd things happen lately and am looking for some direction to fix the problems...
#1- While driving down the road, my quartz floods mounted on the rear of the coach came on and stayed on until I shut off the coach. These usually only come on when you put it in reverse to help with night time backing up. When leaving the campground they were off again, But down the road a few miles and they came on again. I tried stopping and shifting between drive and reverse to see if they would go off, but that didn't work. Once I shut off the coach, they go off. But they will come back on again once under way. Any ideas???
#2- Went in the coach yesterday while it was parked in the yard. I use a battery tender on the batteries while it is sitting to keep all batteries up to charge. As I entered I notice the bright light indicator was lit. This is wierd. At first I thought I had left the lights on? No, I didn't. And then when I turned the lights on, I only have low beams. When turning on the high beams, I have no headlights at all. Not the low beam lamps or the high beam lamps. All the other lamps around the coach stay lit, just the headlight lamps do not work. Any ideas???

Do you have something that looks like this?

See the items that are labeled Grounding Bus Bar? that has all the green wires on them.

My guess is that you've lost your ground to one of those bus bars.

Hook up a test light or volt meter and use a BATTERY GROUND. Check the bus bar to see if there is any voltage there when this is happening. You might also try tightening up all of those ground screws too.

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And then when I turned the lights on, I only have low beams. When turning on the high beams, I have no headlights at all. Not the low beam lamps or the high beam lamps. All the other lamps around the coach stay lit, just the headlight lamps do not work. Any ideas???

Since you're getting power to the low beams, that side of the Hi-Low relay works; it's getting power from the headlight switch (as are the other lights). The suspect here is the headlight Hi-Low relay. I have no idea where it is on your coach. Note that with the high beam light on with low beams, it could also, as Bill N Y points out, be a ground fault.

In addition to the ground bus bar in the elctrical compartment, there may be as many as half a dozen other busses, as well as other ground wires to the chassis.

Thanks guys!
Bill---Yes, I do have a ground bar in my electrical compartment box and I will start there. I plan on cleaning and tightening all my grounds and electrical connections where I can.
Rusty---You have spoke in the past about doing routine mantainence on the grounds on our coaches. I guess it's time for me to pay attention to your suggestion, as others should probably do. Any idea where the grounds outside of the electrical compartment box may be normally located? Or does one just do a seek and search for them?

I consider finding ground connections is just one reward for wallowing around underneath the coach.

Found my problem---




This is what happens when there is water in the bottom of your electrical compartment and someone moved the high beam relay and the rear camera lights relay to the floor of that compartment. They also moved the ground bar down there. I have NEVER had water in that compartment. But I do now... I believe I need to get them off the floor of this compartment. Can I just put a spacer under the sockets? I am also thinking of drilling weep holes in the floor of that compartment. Is that a good idea?
The one relay looks like Bill's photo of his "Hella" set up, but my relay is a Bosch 12V 30A. The other relay has a similar base as the Bosch, but is just a cube type relay that is larger than the Bosch. Any ideas what it could be? And where I might find these relays?

Bruce,

Weep holes will let the standing water out, but will also let some water back in unless you put some kind of scupper or tube in the hole. Can you seal the compartment so water won't get in?

Corey,
I don't know what happened to that compartment that it got water in it. When I was dealing with some water issues in other compartments, this one stayed bone dry all the time. I have remedied all the other issues and NEVER thought I would find what I did when I opened this compartment up to do some trouble shooting. I agree, I really do not want to put weep holes in. But, as it is said in my business, there is NOTHING that is water tight. In the electrical business, contractors are known to put weep holes in boxes to insure water will not build up in the bottom of the box, even when they are rated Nema 4/4X which is water tight!
Now I need to find a source for those relays....

One of the real pains with my old Barth was the constant moisture that found its way into the storage compartments. I could never figure out where it was leaking because it only happened under way. My eventual theory was that the body flexed and shifted enough under way that small gaps opened enough to let water in. It was another of those irritating design issues that eventually convinced me to trade up. The Wanderlodge uses bus style doors that never let a drop by. Once in closed position, a cam pulls the seal tight.

One day when I grow up (and have more money) I would love to own one of those Wanderlodges, but for now I am very happy with my Barth. And, as you and the rest of the world knows, ain't nothing made perfect. I'm sure folks have had issues with those BlueBirds too! Add to that, as all RV's get older, they require more maintenance. So, I just need to fix 'er up and keep 'er going....

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The one relay looks like Bill's photo of his "Hella" set up, but my relay is a Bosch 12V 30A. The other relay has a similar base as the Bosch, but is just a cube type relay that is larger than the Bosch. Any ideas what it could be? And where I might find these relays?

Those are very common relays, available at NAPA. Get Echlin, Hella, or Bosch - more expensive, but worth it. NAPA AR274 is one part number - it has two relay-closed output tabs; the single outputs are a bit cheaper.

Thanks Rusty! Are the ones I have actually the same relay electrically, just made by different folks? Should I change the bases also, since they were sitting in water? Can I put a spacer under them to get them off the bottom of the cabinet or do they need to be mounted on the metal so they are grounded?

Those relays are about as standard and common as 1157 turn signal bulbs. They're made by a bunch of manufacturers.

The sockets should also be replaced, as they're as ugly inside as the relay tabs are outside.

The sockets and relays have a ground wire/contact (to ground the relay coil), so the relays can be mounted anywhere including on spacers raising them off the basement floor.

Rusty,
You are the man!!! Thanks for the information. I'll be at NAPA tomorrow.

Okay. Got the relays. NAPA crossed referenced the Bosch relay to a Echlin AR201. The invoice says it is an A/C relay. I don't care about what they say it is for, as long as it works. Looks kinda like the other relay and I hope they are correct. They ain't cheap...$17.50 each. But my problem is he said NAPA does NOT have the base/socket for them. So, I'm going to try to clean up what I got to get me thru camping this coming weekend and try to find the sockets. Any more ideas where I might find them?