A Bad "Flux Capacitor"

When I started the coach the other day, an alarm that I had never heard before came on and a light on our overhead dashboard lit up. Apparently the light and alarm are warnings that the shore power cord is still plugged in (although I always unplug the coach after I start it and the alarm has never gone off before). Within a few seconds nasty smelling smoke started coming out of the overhead dash area. PANIC!

After some dashboard disassembly/investigation and a phone call to Marathon it turned out that the problem was an electrical part (see photos - note, the black stuff on the back is the adhesive that held the part in place). I don't know exactly what is in this piece of plastic, but according to Marathon there is a capacitor and some other things. Jim at Marathon told me that Marathon made these parts using ice cube trays and that replacements are available from Marathon Parts Department.

There is something very comforting about being able to call Marathon and talk to the guy who actually built our 1991 coach and seems to know every square inch of it. Jim had this problem figured out in less than a minute and we were quickly on our way!

Has anyone else ever had this type of problem?

AJ