1/4 inch Rocker switches to replace 2003 Journey switches

[Rodger]

Morich, maybe it was easier for installer to put that switch in instead of having to put a lug on one of them with two outputs like the pic bibg has posted.

[bigb]

Rodger can you please answer this question: Does any part of the switch light up?

[Rodger]

bigb, no the switches do not light up.

[tderonne]

Your original post says 2003 Journey. Your signature says 2000. Which is it?

The schematics (online) will clearly show what the switch does, which will make it clear what type of switch it is.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by tderonne

Your original post says 2003 Journey. Your signature says 2000. Which is it?

The schematics (online) will clearly show what the switch does, which will make it clear what type of switch it is.

AARGH! I've got a bunch of something ready to send. But is it good stuff or trash?

[Morich]

With the location info we can dig down to ID the switches and then dig out the ID of the wire which should then lead us to where that wire goes on the other end. That often tells us if it is battery, ground or what!
First I need to verify which switch set you are talking/working on as some of the locations are notas clear as I would like. The walls are kind of fuzzy when not having them to compare to what you can see. Each set of switches have another drawing where we go for the details of what type switch and also wire ID on that set of switches.
I used a color code so we can speak of them as Blue (detail BA) , orange (BB), green (BD), or purple (CE).

I think I'm clear on the sink switch as few in that area but check me on those near the bedroom / bath. One, is not what you mentioned but I clipped them while there. Easier to ignore one than go back!
Click these snips to get a better view!


This gives us the location and you can sort where it is we need to study?
If we want to look at detail BA or the blue one, we want to go to this drawing snip! Detail BB (orange) was right next to it!

Green and purple were other places!


They tell us what type switch , but we know there are some questions on that. But Winn. also marks small wires with the ID like this:

If you find an ID near the wire end, we can use that to match it with what the drawings show and also to "decode" using this chart:
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ical_guide.pdf
It gives us the gauge of the wire for that ID, the color to expect and then "from" and "to" locations. That tells us where to expect to find the other end!
If it goes to a fuse, we know it is battery or to a ground if something else, we have to chase it down further.

I marked the wire ID in red on the detaile drawings. For instance, wire JD goes from a fuse to coach lighting! Hot wire for the circuit!
But PF is different?



This is for a 2000 model!

[tderonne]

Schematics are the give away.

Like



(From a 2000 36G diagram.)

Clearly a SPDT switch. You'll see 12 volts on the end wire coming from the other switch that turns on the same lights. So that makes sense.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by tderonne

Schematics are the give away.

Like



(From a 2000 36G diagram.)

Clearly a SPDT switch. You'll see 12 volts on the end wire coming from the other switch that turns on the same lights. So that makes sense.

That's what I suggested early on but ruled it out because if you look at the front of the switches in the picture in post #4 it indicates ON/Off not ON/ON as a 3 way or SPDT would indicate.

It would help if we knew if any of the switches in question work with a second switch to switch the same lights (3-way), but the only info we have been given is that each switch controls more than 1 light.

This is confusing to say the least and I am hanging around to see if a SPST switch with 2 load terminals switch can even be found as I haven't seen one.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by tderonne

Your original post says 2003 Journey. Your signature says 2000. Which is it?

The schematics (online) will clearly show what the switch does, which will make it clear what type of switch it is.

This is really the only question until we know more!

I learned a long time back that you have to know some details when you get a trouble report.
If you get a report of a bike tire that's flat, you have to get some details worked out!
Which bike is it? Which tire is it? and then finally you can begin to look at what's wrong with the tire.

Right now, we can't be sure which bike it is!

[Rodger]

I see the switches you guys are talking about. The switches I am talking about have 3 yellow wires. The wires have codes on them. The toggle switches you guys are showing are not at all like the ones in my MH. You guys show on/off/on switches. Like I have said before the switches I have are up or down. Nothing in the middle. I have looked at the schematics also. I use to work electronics when I was in the Army working on radioes, radar, micro-wave so I know how to read schematics. The only problem is my switches do not follow what is on the schematic. I don't know how to make it any clearer.

[Rodger]

also tderonne I made a mistake when I typed in 2003. I have a 2000. Maybe it has meshed up wiring because it was built during covid.

[Morich]

There is nothing wrong with the wiring but we are having a hard time getting the right info and the right idea of how the switches work.
I still have no firm idea of which switches you want to talk about! But if I look at the different possible locations for the switches, it appear there are two types.
One is the simple on/off SPST.
At some of those locations there are also SPDT switches and they come in different types. This type seems to be the on-on types due to the way they are used in a setup where one item may be controled by two different switches.

Like what we would find in a house at the ends of a hallway where we might have a switch at each end controlling a single light in the hall.

This hallway type house wiring is not one I work with often and it always takes me a minute to look at the drawings on the new box to figure how to wire them. But home wiring is different than RV wiring and color codes are not the same!
So we have to drop back to using the wire ID that Winnebago gives us.

For your purpose, these are actually fairly common small toggle or rocker switches of two types.
The type handle on top doesn't change the inside parts much at all and the contact arrangement is the same, whether toggle or rocker.
You want to search for the type you feel you like in either SPST on/off or SPDT on/on!

If you have something that is not working currently, I would suggest fixing the problem before swappin gswitches as a way to cut the potential confusion in changing ans possibly getting the wiring mixed up. That can lead to having two problems to sort at one time which is much harder than starting with the wiring right but a single fault!

The wire ID in my post 26 above should be correct for the locations I asked about!

[bigb]

If indeed there are 2 switches that control the same light or lights we need to know this, it will tell us what type the switch is. This is commonly known as a 3-way setup (yes, confusing as you'd think it would be called a 2-way but it's called a 3-way, just as a 3 or more switch system controlling the same load is called a 4-way).

Wiring up a 3-way is really simple, the common of one switch gets the power and the common of the other switch goes to the load. The remaining wires are called travelers and go to the remaining terminals in any order.

[bigb]

Another clue is that a SPST will be marked ON/OFF but a 3-way switch, or a SPDT being used as a 3 way will never say OFF, it will not be labeled at all or in the case of a SPDT ON/ON. (A 3-way and a SPDT are basically the same switch).

[Rodger]

AS far as I can determine, the switches are not 3 way switches. I am not sure what they do as when I turn them on they seem to do nothing. No lights inside the MH and no lights outside. I have used a voltmeter to measure to see if there is power on the wires and yes there is, just don't know where that power goes or what it is suppose to light up/power up.

[Morich]

You seem to be unwilling to take our advise.
Have you looked at the information I have posted?
The switches are LABELED and that is a clue as to what they control!


When you have two switches that are labeled "bath ceiling", that means BOTH switches control that light! That makes it a "three way" in the way the term is normally used.

When there is only one switch and it is labeled "bedroom ceiling" that means it is the only switch that controls the bedroom ceiling light!

If that is not clear, it is time to move on to getting a repairman as we cannot make it any more clear!

[bigb]

De-wiring a switch and using a meter on it will identify it's type in short order. You cannot positively identify it with a meter if there are wires still connected.

[Rodger]

Never mind, Morich. Obviously we can't see what I am talking about and from what you guys are saying I can't have what's in my MH. I will figure it out. Thanks anyway for your help, though.

[Rodger]

After all of this, come to find out that the previous owners had the 3 blade switches wired up wrong. They are 3 way switches. They control the hall light and the courtesy lights. I couldn't see it, by that I mean it didn't make sense at the time, on the wiring diagrams though I have dealt with them quite a bit in houses. Thanks for everything you guys shared with me.

[Morich]

Yes, it is common to miss some of the important stuff if we get the wrong idea and don't check it carefully.
The info would be back on those drawings I posted in post 36. Both the blue and the orange show the switch at the left control the "bath ceiling" and that would make it a three way setup.