dickandlois

Kevin, Thanks for the update. Having a data cable fail is rare, but it is an inexpensive fix. The control board in the Freedom 458 failed in our unit and it acted about the same as your issue. Just wondering if you found the cable defective because your display did not go through the LED level sequence while charging? Rich.

georgeal, The Freightliner Chassis wiring drawing for your coach, should pinpoint the circuit they install. That will picture the accessory relay installed in the main fuse and relay box. Generally located under the dash area. This is the point where you will need to interrupt the Chassis power to the XM Radio and the Surround sound amp. This wire will be the one that feeds power to the sound system. The Coach Builder does not install this relay. The 12 volt output from this point / relay terminal, will be wired to one side(terminal) of the switch and a new wire / circuit needs to be run from the coach 12 volt supply to the other side(terminal). The center terminal of the switch goes to the audio equipment. This is the wire that you cut at or near the relay and connect to the switch. you then connect the other end of the wire to the center / common terminal. This is the wire that will power the audio equipment, depending on the position of the switch. That is why I mentioned calling Freightliner for the drawings that match your chassis electrical. There is the possibility of more then one relay because of the way the Coach builder ordered the chassis. The chassis builder may have added an extra relay to the audio circuit, BUT you need to know where to interrupt the chassis accessory power feed. Rich.

georgeal, Good information and Brett offered a reasonable option. Coach is built on a Freightliner Chassis, so you might place a call to Freightliner Custom Chassis (Have the last 6 digits of the Vin) and ask it they could send you a PDF copy of the accessory wiring diagram and ask if the drawing covers the connection point for the ACC power for the Alpine radio and the surround sound amp. You might call Damon and see it they could offer some additional information and mention why you want to redirect the circuit to the Coach battery circuit, eliminating the need to leave the ignition switch in the Accessory position. With the information, you could install a On / On toggle switch. and label it. Park radio and Travel radio. The center / common connection then would go to the proper fuses to protect the wiring / equipment. With the power supplied from the Coach or Chassis batteries. Thing is that once the proper location to switch the 12 volt power is located a switch might not be necessary, but having a switch offers an option, if one of the power sources fails. I have a switch for that reason mounted in the dash panel using a switch that matches the other OEM switches installed by the coach builder. Good luck and let the forum know how you make out! Rich.

georgeal, Welcome to the FMCA forum! Questions: When you use the XM radio, does the audio use the Surround sound system? What system do you have? What is the Make and Model of the XM Radio? You may need to power the Surround system also! Rich.

emmaisacat, You coach electrical system has a number of phantom loads, that slowly drain the batteries even when the disconnects are activated. There are control systems that are programed and need power to maintain there settings and others that need power to retain stored date. You mentioned that your batteries where discharged after only one week in storage. I'm thinking that is way to fast, with the disconnects set in the off position. The batteries should hold up longer then that in MHO. So you might want to get a hydrometer reading on all the battery cells. One has no idea if the battery's where damaged while setting and not being charged or maintained before you purchased the coach. Rich..

Allegiance, There should be reference points on the frame to measure from, to a point on the rear axle; when these measurements are equal the rear should be aligned. This information should be in the the Spartan chassis maintenance manual. I travel with the Chassis Manual for our coach because not all service centers have the proper information. You might give Spartan a call and see if you can get a copy of the rear alignment information along with the proper settings for the front. Like Brett said, there is no easy way to set the rear alignment and it takes a shop that has the proper equipment to do the job. Rich.

Rob, Like Bill, I do not see an issue running your slide(s) in and out while connected to shore power or running the generator. The chargers put out around 90 amps in most cases. So if the coach batteries are in good condition / or nearly fully charged the slide motors should run just fine. The key here is the fact that the slide motors do draw a considerable load and by being connected to a source of power keeps them from being discharged and then left in that condition. Rich.

Sambar, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! By chance was the coach parked for an extended period of of time before you noticed the noise? Might have a mud dobber building a nest in the air exhaust vent. Might be the seal on the air exhaust valve that is not currently seated properly and vibrates as it exhausts air. Have you had the air drier filters replaced or do you get an increase in water spray when you manually operate the air tank drains on the Primary and or Secondary air tanks? Rich.

This is an item that is missed on a number of larger chassis and was often missed on older cars. When the rear of the vehicle, viewed from behind tracks to the left or right of the front, we always called it dog trotting. They always look like there running at an angle when traveling is a straight line. Rich.

vettehead. Any chance of posting picture(s) of your display? There might be a clue to who was the supplier of the display for Aladdin. This is a link to the Electronics thread on the Forum that discusses replacing the system with the VMSpc - Silverleaf system and the approximate cost: http://community.fmca.com/topic/7303-alladin-system/ Rich.

vettehead, You might want to call Monaco tech support. There is a reset button for the system, but I do not know where it is located. You have power, as the indicator light comes on. So that kind of eliminates the 7.5 amp fuse. That leads me to think that there is a problem with the display electronics built into the screen assembly, if the system rest button does not help. The big problem is the technical information on the system components is very limited and the system are no longer being made. The other possibility is to look and see if there is any information or labels on the display monitor that might lead you to a supplier like Sony, Samsung or other manufacture. This might get you some information. Rich.

It is a vent line for the LP tank. Rich.

adriang305, The Generator is powered by an engine, gas engine is common, but LP engines are also used in gas power coaches. The inverter is an electronic device the converts 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC and the wiring pictured in you picture closely matches what one would expect to see. The generators are mounted in one of the outside compartments and they do not mount them in carpeted areas and if that black area is melted carpet, something got very hot. An inverter connected to a couple of 6 or 12 volt batteries can create a lot of heat ! When something shorts out. Rich.

Adriang305. There is a gap in the owners manuals I could find for yor model year, but I did find these manuals in PDF format. One for 2007, that in section 9-page7 mentions a inverter. It might be real close to what was in your coach. Thinking that between the two manuals there might be some information that will be useful. links 2007 first. http://thormotorcoach.com/media/documents/2007-Four-Winds-Motorhomes-Owners-Manual.pdf http://thormotorcoach.com/media/documents/1996-Four-Winds-Motorhome-Owners-Manual.pdf Rich. Note, I will look and see what Information might be available on the RS- 400 Inverter. looks like te unit was in production from 2003/04 to 2008/09. So it could have been the style from OEM of your coach. Manual link for RS-400. http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/RS400_Sine_Wave_Inverter_Owners_Guide%28445-0167-01-01_Rev_A%29.pdf Flier- http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/DataSheet/DS20080729_RS400%20Sine%20Wave%20Inverter.pdf

Adriang305. Welcome ! This is a link to the Brochure for the coach, your coach is built on a Ford Chassis with the V10. http://www.coltonrv.com/Portals/1/Manufacturer/Thor/2003-Thor-Four-Winds-Infinity-Brochure.pdf They are kind of handy to have on file. The file mentions that the model in question has a generator, but no size is mentioned. The 2 optional units mentioned are a 5.5 KW and a 7KW. Thinking your coach mighe be equipped with a 4.5 KW. Chances are that it is wired with a 30 Amp electrical and not a 50 amp. service. The one thing that is not mentioned is an inverter or a charger / inverter. So do you have an owners manual and might it have some information regarding a inverter and or a charger? From the picture you posted it sure had something in the area ! So the number of batteries, there size and voltage that Brett mentioned are important. Rich.

Hi Tom, This weighted dash mount might work for you. It works for small cameras. There is a hock that is attached to the dash, but you might find away to make it work. http://www.arkon.com/Camera%20Mounts/camera-dashboard--mount.html Rich.

Radiographer, Thanks for the update! From your description, it sound like the culprit was the Pac Brake. The fact that your turbo linkage worked as it should when you applied air pressure to the actuator, takes it out of the equation for now! Rich.

Don, Look at this information. http://www.hillerford.com/resource_library/2002/2002trucks/2002f350-450-550sd/2002f3-4-5sdtires&wheels.htm Now, if I'm looking at the information correctly - the front and rear rims are different regarding the hub 8 lug spacing. Rich.

George, Welcome to the FMCA Forum ! How long do you planing to take? Do you have a Towd ? There are a number of sights to see on the way out to California and on the way back. Mount Rushmore at night is special. Yellowstone, you should plan on spending at least 2 or 3 days. http://www.cornpalace.org/ Do you have any thoughts on what Rt. or Rt's you are thinking of taking? The members will offer all kinds of locations and sights to see. Rich.

Ray, I have Over The Road Atlas and have not seen it mentioned! I do have hard copies of the Mountain Directory East and West though, but it is one Rt. that I did not notice in my older copy. It might be time to upgrade. This is a link find more information about the Directory. http://www.mountaindirectory.com/cb/index.html?hop=roundpub02 Rich.

I was looking around the web and found this description of a Rt. in Eastern Pennsylvania. I have not tried to drive this Rt. with the coach and I think I will pass even trying. From the Pennsylvania East section of the Mountain Directory East: Pennsylvania highway 125 (between Shamokin and Good Spring, PA.) Large vehicles may want to avoid this 18 mile section of road. It crosses four mountains and includes numerous 15 mph hairpin turns and many more 20 and 25 mph curves. Regardless of your direction of travel you will have to climb and descend some very steep hills. Much of the grade is 7 to 9% but there are numerous sections that must be 12% or more, some lasting almost a mile. Brake shoes don't have enough time to cool much between descents. Rich.