Light in Engine Compartment

  • 01/28/2019 6:42 PM
    Message # 7134034
    Anonymous

    To all;

    We just purchased a 2003 Fleetwood Southwind 32V and I noticed that the light in the engine compartment is always on….could not find a switch or any other way to turned off.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


  • 01/29/2019 1:29 PM
    Reply # 7135518 on 7134034
    Gabriele Trapani wrote:

    To all;

    We just purchased a 2003 Fleetwood Southwind 32V and I noticed that the light in the engine compartment is always on….could not find a switch or any other way to turned off.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


    Our 2002SW had a rocker switch on dash with fans, foglights,etc.

  • 01/29/2019 4:51 PM
    Reply # 7135858 on 7134034
    Anonymous

    Thanks for the suggestion, but it did not work….I did tried all the switches on the dashboard and did not made any difference, the light in the engine compartment (3 lights) are still on 24/7.

    I even look around the engine compartment for a switch or a plunger with no success….at this writing, the MH is connected to shore line and is not draining the batteries, but still, I have to find the source that is powering those lights.

    I’m getting frustrated by a simple fact that I cannot find a solution to an apparently simple problem.


  • 01/30/2019 4:18 PM
    Reply # 7137926 on 7134034
    Anonymous

    Engine compartment lights, continue saga;

    After more unsuccessful search, I turned off the  auxiliary and main battery switch and.....the lights are still on!!!

    I now came to the conclusion that those lights must be hard wired, (by the previous owner) outside of the conventional wiring schematic because, with or without the starter key, or with the batteries master switch on or off, nothing change, lights are still on.

  • 01/30/2019 5:16 PM
    Reply # 7138070 on 7134034
    Deleted user

    The engine compartment light should be controlled by the same switch that turns the utility lights on and off.  The switch usually controls lights in the wet bay and perhaps another bay or two.  It is usually found on a panel to the left of the drivers seat.

  • 02/01/2019 5:34 PM
    Reply # 7141849 on 7134034
    Anonymous

    The Conclusion of the “Engine Compartment Lights” saga;

    First and foremost, I have to thank Harry & Rowena Johnson and Steve & Ann Shields for their suggestions that led me to be able to resolve my problem.

    Now, this is “The Riddle of the 3 Lights”…..What or Who is supplying electricity when:

    • 1.      The shore line is unplugged.
    • 2.      The engine is off.
    • 3.      The ignition key is out.
    • 4.      The main breaker is off.
    • 5.      The auxiliary breaker is off.
    • 6.      The main battery is disconnected
    • 7.      The auxiliary battery is disconnected
    • 8.      And the 3 Lights are still ON!!

    And the answer is…… “THE SOLAR PANEL”!!!!!!!!

    It is beyond me why it was designed this way, but, I’ll research it later, for now I know that it has nothing to do to drain down the batteries…..that’s one for the book.

    Thanks you’ll


  • 02/02/2019 10:49 PM
    Reply # 7143289 on 7134034
    Deleted user

    So then you don't have a light when the sun goes down, when you might really like to have a light?!  

    What am I missing?

  • 02/03/2019 10:02 AM
    Reply # 7144092 on 7134034
    Anonymous

    Hi Bob;

    The confusion around solar working at night is often due to the concept of solar storage, which allows MH / homes to still have energy supply at night.

    The purpose of a solar panel system is to absorb sunlight, also known as photo-voltaic energy (PV), and convert it to direct current (DC) power. The DC power is sent through the system’s inverter to be converted to alternating current (AC) power, which is the type of power that most households / MH run on. At that point, the solar array can feed electricity into your MH / home. 

    Since solar panels can only produce power during the day, the question then becomes “how will solar panels provide power overnight when there is no sunshine?” There are two primary solutions that help to resolve that problem.

    1. Net metering (Not Considered at this time) and 
    2. Solar-plus-storage technology that allow your solar panel system to access electricity overnight when solar panel production is dormant, either through connection to the electric grid (shore line) or to a battery. Thanks to grid connections and solar energy storage, solar panels are a sustainable round-the-clock energy solution.

    Solar panels do work on cloudy days – they just do not perform as well as they would on a bright sunny day. Though estimates range, solar panels will generate about 10 – 25% of their normal power output on a cloudy day. It would be accurate to say that solar panels do not work as well in rainy or cloudy weather.

    In my case, I was able to establish that it was the solar panel simply because I did my research during the day light (not at night) and, solar panel was feeding the lights trough the inverter, (while everything else was unplugged/disconnected) but, since the MH is constantly connected to the shore line, at night when there is no sun, the power to the lights are supplied by the inverter trough the batteries.

    The problem will become more evident if I decided one day to boondock for a long period of time in cloudy and or rainy days, then I may not be stuck forever!!!

    Hope I answered your question.


  • 02/03/2019 1:43 PM
    Reply # 7144435 on 7134034
    Deleted user

    Thanx, you answered it in spades!  I should have been more succinct as I was thinking of a time when you were not connected to shore power and engine or genset not running, e.g. boondocking or Wal-marting!  But, what was in my mind was not in my question.  

    Sounds like boondocking is not a concern of yours now in which case you have the solution and answer you were looking for!  

    Thanx for the thoughtful and informative reply.


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