Chevy P-30 454 No start, lights , horn ziltch ?

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Poboy62

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Posts
3
Location
Mesquite Texas
Hi I recently registered to this great site.  I am searching for help troubleshooting a no start condition on my recently acquired 1979 Coachman class A P-30 with the 454 engine. Purchased it 1 month ago as a project to tinker with and get acclimated to the RV lifestyle.. Drove it from Illinois to Texas to spend the winter at daughters house and do some other needed repairs (exhaust manifold gasket, roof AC gasket, etc) . It drove and ran great all the way down here, parked it next to the house and then wouldn't start at all only clicked. I replaced the starter because the solenoid was fried and I was amazed it didn't leave me stranded on the road. Ok so I also replaced the main ground hub under the "hood" because they were very rusty as well. She then started with no problems and I let her idle for a good 15-20 minutes and ran the generator to give it a little exercise as well. I shut her off and had the same issue..no start only click. I noticed that the click noise was coming from a solenoid under the dog house atop the engine near the ALT. I assumed this was an ISOLATOR  so I replaced it and replaced the one under the hood that is in the middle of the chassis and coach batteries. It still only clicked. Frustrated, I tried to by pass the "Isolator not realizing it is a "helper" solenoid. I tried connecting all the wires that I thought were spliced and got a spark, and now I have no current flowing to the ignition system, only power is from chassis battery to big starter terminal. No power at small starter terminal, no power at ignition switch connector either. No lights, horn or power at any fuses at fuse box. Is it possible I fried the fusible links (that no one seems to carry in stock anymore)? Are there any other wires or things that I should also check to see if I fried? Anyone have any experience with a similar condition like this? I need to get her started so that I can move it to the paved driveway as the city code enforcement gave me until the 19th of Oct to comply..
 
You have opened a can of worms on this coach. No body has a crystal ball and we can't see what you have done. You are going to have to start over, from scratch. If you keep just moving wires around you ARE going to burn up a lot of stuff. Here is a link to several manuals, go down to the P30 manual and look at the wiring diagrams. You will need a meter to work on this coach.
P30 chassis manual.

http://www.bdub.net/manuals/
 
Wow thank you so much for that link sir, that is what I need to trace things and yep you're right, not going to mess around and wing it anymore. I really need to reattach the wires back to the solenoid /isolator gizmo the way that they were originally and get that part out of the way first, then trace the short/burnt wire. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the hook up before I messed with it and got distracted smh..One thing that has been bothering me also, should I order a solenoid because I purchased an isolator and installed that instead.? I've had people tell me that there is no difference? I'm confused. Here is a pic of the thing I am talking about.. regarding the pic with the wires, there are 4 coming out of the harness, 2 are faded pink/purple and 2 are red, there is 1 on the far right that is connected to the Alternator. They were all connected to the isolator / solenoid in question..Thanks again for the links.
 

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The isolater solenoid you bought will work, it's a continuous duty solenoid. It is a heavier duty solenoid and can be on all the time if needed.
 
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