Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: ronnieb on January 22, 2012, 09:35:25 am
Title: trying to find switch
Post by: ronnieb on January 22, 2012, 09:35:25 am
i have a 1994 foretravel i have checked all the bulbs and fuses and still cant get the basement lights to come on is there a main switch somewhere
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: oldmattb on January 22, 2012, 12:10:03 pm
On ours, each fixture has a built-in switch, a small black rocker switch. Have you found and tried them?
oldMattB
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: Dave Cobb on January 22, 2012, 12:11:13 pm
Welcome to the forum, and you don't say or show what model you have but that might help us more to help you. Think you have maybe missed a hidden fuse somewhere. All my compartment lights work off one fuse.
On my 1993 36 Unihome 225, I found that there is a fuse located in the battery compartment bay, found by removeing the two nuts that the hold a fiberglass cover on the front bulkhead. My coach has two fuse blocks inside, with 4 spaces each, one of the fuses powered the compartment lights. I have only 3 fuses in one, and 2 in the other holder. I have started putting on labels to help me as I find the correct circuit. One fuse is for the refer, (thank you Kent Speers). I put the labels on the outside of the cover, to help me when I am looking to make something work again, to know to look inside next.
I also have lights that do not have a rocker switch, but a button switch, goes in and out with the door's touch, some of mine get bumped funny and need to be fiddled with sometimes.
Hope that helps.
Edited 2/1 to correct the fuse holder spots, 4 spaces not 5 as thought.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: Dan Stansel on January 22, 2012, 12:19:03 pm
I also had some that would not come on found the bulbs burned out.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: ronnieb on February 01, 2012, 09:25:38 am
Welcome to the forum, and you don't say or show what model you have but that might help us more to help you. Think you have maybe missed a hidden fuse somewhere. All my compartment lights work off one fuse.
On my 1993 36 Unihome 225, I found that there is a fuse located in the battery compartment bay, found by removeing the two nuts that the hold a fiberglass cover on the front bulkhead. My coach has two fuse blocks inside, with 5 spaces each, one of the fuses powered the compartment lights. I have only 3 fuses in one, and 2 in the other holder. I have started putting on labels to help me as I find the correct circuit. One fuse is for the refer, (thank you Kent Speers). I put the labels on the outside of the cover, to help me when I am looking to make something work again, to know to look inside next.
I also have lights that do not have a rocker switch, but a button switch, goes in and out with the door's touch, some of mine get bumped funny and need to be fiddled with sometimes.
Hope that helps.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: J. D. Stevens on February 01, 2012, 09:39:01 am
... they were like circuit breakers but they had a little pop out button on them u just put the button in and they work again ...
I keep a couple of PopSicle sticks near the panels with those little circuit breakers. The sticks work well for pushing those little buttons. They fit in the tight spaces and they are natural insulators, so there is no worry about touching live circuits.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: PatC on February 01, 2012, 05:55:26 pm
Which battery box??? The chassis or the house?
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: Dave Cobb on February 01, 2012, 07:58:12 pm
On my model and year I have a cover on the batteries, and the fuses are mounted on the front wall of the compartment, but under a removable cover, held by the two nuts. Don't think you should find fuses or switches in a sealed battery box.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: PatC on February 01, 2012, 09:16:25 pm
On my model and year I have a cover on the batteries, and the fuses are mounted on the front wall of the compartment, but under a removable cover, held by the two nuts. Don't think you should find fuses or switches in a sealed battery box.
Both of mine are open, and both behind the rear tires. House on drivers side and chassis on passenger side. And I don't have a front wall for that area as I remember. Have to pul and swap the house batteries tomorrow or Friday, so maybe I'll find the fuses then.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: wa_desert_rat on February 01, 2012, 09:26:24 pm
On my model and year I have a cover on the batteries, and the fuses are mounted on the front wall of the compartment, but under a removable cover, held by the two nuts. Don't think you should find fuses or switches in a sealed battery box.
I just checked my coach and the location of the fuses are in the same spot on my 1993 U225. There is a white cover held by two wing-nuts mounted against the forward bulkhead right next to the removable battery box. The wing-nuts are hard to get off (tight quarters) and once they are off there are a bunch of big wires and just inboard of them there is a vertical bank of black resettable circuit breakers. The button to reset them is tiny.
They are completely unmarked. If someone has identified which ones control what items and could provide a hint here or there that would be nice. :)
Craig
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: PatC on February 01, 2012, 09:29:12 pm
I don't have the battery box on either the house or chassis batteries. Don't see anyway of attaching one either. Weird!!!
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: wa_desert_rat on February 02, 2012, 12:25:56 am
I don't have the battery box on either the house or chassis batteries. Don't see anyway of attaching one either. Weird!!!
The basement compartment where my batteries are is the second door aft of the entrance. The batteries are lined up in there... two for the house adn one for the engine. Someone might have removed your box. On the forward bulkhead of this compartment right next to the opening is the fuse box.
Craig
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: Dave Cobb on February 02, 2012, 08:27:35 am
Interesting that my 93 U225 has fuses. wa desert rat's has circuit breakers. But we both have the batteries in the first compartment forward of the right side rear wheels. Then Pat C says his batteries are aft of the drive wheels on his 94 U225.
I know that these coaches were customized as required, and must also been in a constant state of change and hopefully improvement as they were built. On my coach there would have been room to put the batteries aft of the drive wheels. I could sure use that storage area where they sit today.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: PatC on February 02, 2012, 08:37:21 am
The basement compartment where my batteries are is the second door aft of the entrance. The batteries are lined up in there... two for the house adn one for the engine. Someone might have removed your box. On the forward bulkhead of this compartment right next to the opening is the fuse box.
Craig
My 1994 U225 has a completely different basement layout. Second door aft of the entrance is small compartment which is back side of waste tanks. It is just a bit deeper than the utility bay, which is on the opposite side of the tanks My start batteries (2) are third door aft of the entrance, behind the rear axle. My coach batteries are opposite side of coach in same location behind rear axle. Foretravel must have done a design change between our coaches. And going by build numbers, there are 179 coaches between Dave's and mine. My build date was very late 1993 if I remember correctly. Don't know where Craig's falls in the mix.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: Barry Beam on February 02, 2012, 08:44:57 am
Interesting that my 93 U225 has fuses. wa desert rat's has circuit breakers. But we both have the batteries in the first compartment forward of the right side rear wheels. Then Pat C says his batteries are aft of the drive wheels on his 94 U225.
I know that these coaches were customized as required, and must also been in a constant state of change and hopefully improvement as they were built. On my coach there would have been room to put the batteries aft of the drive wheels. I could sure use that storage area where they sit today.
I think it has a lot to do with weight distribution on where they put the batteries.
Title: Re: trying to find switch
Post by: wa_desert_rat on February 02, 2012, 12:57:17 pm
Interesting that my 93 U225 has fuses. wa desert rat's has circuit breakers. But we both have the batteries in the first compartment forward of the right side rear wheels. Then Pat C says his batteries are aft of the drive wheels on his 94 U225.
I know that these coaches were customized as required, and must also been in a constant state of change and hopefully improvement as they were built. On my coach there would have been room to put the batteries aft of the drive wheels. I could sure use that storage area where they sit today.
It is interesting, all right. I think someone may have plugged those little "circuit breakers" into a fuse panel, actually (there is even one fuse at the top that's plugged in). I don't mind having the batteries forward of the rear axles as I think the weight is bettter there (lots of weight on the rear axles as it is).
And the only panel I have aft of the rear wheels (on the passenger side) leads directly to the gigantic muffler and a filter. Not really a compartment at all.