MikeW Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I have a 91 Toyota Motor Home and am in the process of cleaning up some of the rusted ground connectors. On the negative side of the battery, a cable runs to a small black rectangular box with two screws coming out. One screw holds a wire that goes to the ground on the side of the fender and the other screw holds a wire that goes to something that looks like an old starter solenoid. Can someone tell me what the small box and the other solenoid looking thing is? Thanks Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Also, the small junction box looking thing has 30 amps written on the top. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Sorry, but it was on the positive side of the battery. It may be some type of fuse? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Sounds very much like a 30 amp auto reset breaker. The starter solenoid looking thing is your isolator when you turn the key on it completes the connection to your coach battery through the 30 amp breaker and the relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Thanks for the information. I eventually found a replacement and ordered it. The terminals and nuts were rusted and probably not making a very good connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 They rust in a heart beat I usually dab a little paint on the new one's terminals. Good start they have a tendency to brake when you try to take the nuts off good to have a new one first might invest in new wire terminals also just in case you can't get them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 A little tube of 'dielectric grease' or 'Kopr-Kote' would be a good investment. Every time you come across a 'new' connector, undo it, clean it and reconnect with a small dab. http://www.permatex.com/products/Automotive/lubricants/specialty_lubricants/auto_Permatex_Dielectric_Tune-Up_Grease_1.htm http://www.permatex.com/products/Automotive/lubricants/specialty_lubricants/Permatex_Copper_Anti-Seize_Lubricant_b.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Interesting, I've not seen the copper type. I've been using this for many years, works great. Steel spark plugs into alloy heads on motorcycles a requirement. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/4/22/269/22883/ITEM/Permatex-Anti-Seize-Lubricant.aspx?SITEID=Google_Permatex_Anti-Seize_Lubricant&WT.mc_ID=10001&WT.srch=1&esvt=GOUSE340905788&esvadt=999999-0-4000749-1&esvid=400068 ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Slzh6Lh3S.pdf vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 MikeW I have a 91 Toyota Motor Home and am in the process of cleaning up some of the rusted ground connectors. On the negative side of the battery, a cable runs to a small black rectangular box with two screws coming out. One screw holds a wire that goes to the ground on the side of the fender and the other screw holds a wire that goes to something that looks like an old starter solenoid. Can someone tell me what the small box and the other solenoid looking thing is? Mike One place to look at is the box under the couch that has your distribution panel(connections,breakers,fuses) and the converter(changes 110VAC to 12 VDC) check for loose connections. On our '91 the white bus bar had many loose, one just fell out as I was pulling and jiggling 'em to check!!! Test by gently pulling whilst jiggling the wire, do not trust the tightness of the screws. The screws on ours are too short to fully tighten the wire in the buss bar so I had to double up on the wire to get a good connection on all the screws. The rest are slugs which is what you should put into a buss bar anyway, ie a slug is a screw without a head just a grove in the top for the screwdriver so when it's tight you have a good connection mostly. I was doing this on my Mom's house breaker box and found one wire the slug would not tighten, it would not go in far enough, had to tap it with a bottom tap. Arcing is the cause of most all electrical fires so prevention is paramount. vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I've been using this for many years, I've a 1lb tub of that too. The nice thing about the copper type is that when you get some on your face, it's not as conspicuous! Looks a bit like a tan, once it's spread out a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Thanks everyone for the information. I have installed routed new ground 8 ga. wires from the engine's ground points, the firewall, and the wheel wells to the negative side of the battery.. What a difference. The engine use to be hard to start when it's cold and now it just starts right up. I haven't taken it on a test drive yet to see if there is any other benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 MikeW Thanks everyone for the information. I have installed routed new ground 8 ga. wires from the engine's ground points, the firewall, and the wheel wells to the negative side of the battery.. What a difference. The engine use to be hard to start when it's cold and now it just starts right up. I haven't taken it on a test drive yet to see if there is any other benefits. Yeah, it's unfortunatly common to find someone has disconnected, removed, or improperly connected the motor/frame grounding cable. As you have found, relying on the motor mounts doesn't work all that well. You may want to take a good look at the all the wiring you can easily get at. Just might save a lot of other troubles, some bad connections will work some of the time and flake out at inoppertune moments. Good luck... vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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