Replacing the Eurovan Camper House Battery Relay (Camdec 97226) with another model (Cole-Hersee 24106)

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Updated 2022-05-19 : Fixed broken link to GoWesty article and changed title to "Replacing"
Updated 2015-07-23 : The repair failed, so I ended up replacing the unit.
Updated 2015-07-09 : First version

Update: replacing the relay with a Cole-Hersee 21406

Well, after about 2 days, the home repair I did on the old Camdec relay failed. Rather than put good time after bad, I decided to just buy a replacement: The Cole Hersee 24106 looks to be a good unit and American made.

1. The Cole Hersee 24106:
   
   

Introduction

The Eurovan Camper conversion includes a house battery (or "Leisure Battery" if you are from the UK) which charges off the alternator when the engine is running. The house and starting batteries are isolated from each other with a big relay (aka "solenoid" or "battery isolator"). These wear out and can be replaced but you can also repair them fairly easily.

Notes:

• This repair takes about 30 minutes. Since this is only a $40-ish part, I might choose to simply replace it in the future.
• Beware: not all solenoids are the same - you need a "continuous use" unit. I purchased an "intermittent" unit at NAPA auto parts and it worked for a couple of hours, but then blew Fuse #14. This killed my power windows but since the documentation is incorrect (see below) I had a terrible time diagnosing that it was a blown fuse and not a bigger issue.
• In addition to having corroded contacts, my relay was no longer tightly screwed to the firewall. I suspect this may have led to intermittent functioning which probably speeded up the corrosion. Make sure it's tightly screwed down since it uses the car body for ground.

Parts:

• Glue or liquid tape

Tools:

• Vise
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Sandpaper

Step-by-Step:

(click each picture for full size)

1. The Camdec 97226 relay mounted on the firewall above the starting battery:
   Notice the yellow trigger wire which controls the unit.
   
2. House battery trigger wire location: This plugs into the back of the fusebox into the KL15A circuit. Go Westy Article about the trigger wire coming unplugged.
   
   Mine was not unplugged, but I dropped the fusebox just to be sure.
   
   
   KL15A Circuit:
   This is a view of the front of the fusebox showing the KL15A circuit. The Relay trigger wire is plugged into the back side of this panel.
   
   
3. Eurovan Fuse 14
   WARNING: the owner's manual claims that fuse 14 has nothing to do with the Power Windows. It's a lie. Fuse 14 seems to control: House Battery charging, Power Windows, and everything plugged into KL15A.
   
   Documentation Error:
   notice that there is no mention of the power windows, AND it claims that the same fuse powers the Cruise Control: I found both of these to be untrue.
   
4. Opening the Relay
   (not shown) I put the relay in a vise and hit the top with a screwdriver and hammer until it popped off.
   
   
5. Corrosion
   After opening up the Camdec unit, the cause of failure is obvious: it's heavily corroded.
   
   
6. Cleaned
   Using fine sandpaper, clean all the copper surfaces.
   
   
7. Repaired
   I pounded the top back on with a hammer and tried to squeeze it tight with a vise, but it still was loose. I used liquid electrical tape to seal the top on more securely. Looks ugly, no?
   
   
8. Remounted
   After mounting the unit back in place, it works fine again.