dickandlois

Daffy, Just for your information, I have an 8.1 L in a 3.4 ton Chevy Sub. Lucky to get 13 MPG (at 65 to 70) with it on the open road and no trailer or load. The unit is set up to tow 14,000 plus the 7,000 unloaded weight.. Stop and go and the MPG is maybe 8 to 9. Gearing, how heavy the foot, weather and grad can beat up MPG. As a side note at 55 to 60 MPH the Sub. will tickle 15 MPG. But it cruises along real nice at 65 to 70 = Use all the ponies and one must buy the Oats. Rich.

Should it be moving slow? You might just try to clean and lub. the mechanism well. Second is your system use electric or by chance is it compressed air? Rich.

Joe, Your attached pictures are a little different from the ones attached by Ken. Kens attachments are copies from his owner manual ( I Think) that being the case, the attachments you offered do not picture fuse # 12 or the soft touch diode. The drawing of the lighting picturing the and the CJB has got to be close to what the Chassis builder installed, right down to the brown colored wires.That are part of the main wiring supplied by Ford. I keep thinking the one touch diode # 1 in this case is directly related the the problem and the power to operate the start sequence in using the circuit for the lighting at the CJB some how . Rich M.

Thanks Ken ! Interesting it appears your coach uses a touch button to start. That would make me think there is a relay that is held on until the engine RPMs rise. Your coach uses the D-1 diode. in the circuit Should this diode fail it could be an issue. There is a possibility the start circuit is still powered and the starter power(12 volts) has disconnected. Many if not all starter circuits, open the lighting - headlights and others to lower the current load on the batteries when the starter is engaged. And since the marker fuse is blowing - a bad D-1 could cause a short in that circuit - if by chance if shorted or maybe even open. The wiring and complexity of the wiring has caused some interesting issues. You might stop at a Ford truck center and see if they can print out a copy of the wiring set up for the starter circuit. You might not be able to read the drawings(not sure of your skill sets)nothing personal. Rich M.

Ken, reaching on this one, but it sounds like the fuse only blows when starting the coach. If you replace the fuse while the coach is running does it blow or not? If the marker lights are off does the fuse blow? Also what is the fuse number and is it in the outside fuse box or the one inside the coach? Now to thicken the plot !! Not sure if you coach has the relay box pictured in the attachment , but just maybe the starter solenoid is reaching out for a ground through the ignition switch and the marker light circuit is the closest one. Check and see if the starter ground relay # 7 failed or #3 starter motor relay is defective(?)do not think it is because the starter motor current would come up short ! with a 20 amp fuse. LOL Rich M. E172543 relay box.pdf

RT, Are there other circuits that the inverter powers? I'm thinking the TV and a circuit outlet near the dinning table and or the kitchen counter. Second is there a second 120 volt power panel (sub-panel) that is powered from the inverter? XM-1800 operation Turning the Inverter On and Off The on/off button on the remote panel turns the XM 1800 on and off. When the XM 1800 is on and shore power is present, the incoming shore power is passed to the output to power appliances connected to the XM 1800, and the inverter draws minimal power from the battery. The status LED glows green. If the shore power goes away, the transfer switch automatically transfers the appliances to inverter power. The status LED glows yellow to indicate the XM 1800 is using the battery to power the appliances. When the XM 1800 is turned off, the inverter is disabled. Incoming shore power is passed to the output to power appliances. If the shore power goes away, the appliances do not transfer to inverter power. Inverter Loads The XM 1800 will operate most AC loads within its power rating of 1000 watts (XM 1000) or 1800 watts (XM 1800). However, some appliances and equipment may be difficult to operate, and other appliances may actually be damaged if you try to operate them with the XM 1800. Please read “High Surge Loads” and “Trouble Loads” carefully. Overload Conditions When the XM 1800 senses that the output load is above its output limit (or senses a short circuit at the output), it will shut down. The alarm beeps once a second, and the display shows fault code E05 alternating with “OL”. High Surge Loads Some induction motors used in freezers, pumps, and other motor-operated equipment require high surge currents to start. The XM 1800 may not be able to start some of these motors even though their rated current draw is within the inverter’s limits. Rich M. Link to owner / operation manual. http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Power-Inverters/PRO-Series-Inverters/975-0263-01-01_Rev-C(artwork) (1).pdf

Rich, Looked at the Coach specifications and they list a power Converter, but no inverter is listed. Converter's change 120 volts to 12 volts DC. Inverter's change 12 volts to 120 volts AC. also listed are the batteries-! 12 volt chassis battery and 2 6 volt batteries in series to supply 12 volts. Rich M. Battery Power Converter Yes Link to specs I found https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2017-thor-motor-coach-four-winds-super-c-class-c-floorplan-35sd-tr30811

AC, Welcome to the FMCA Forum ! With dim lights on with the one switch on, I would tend to think there is a weak ground, a corroded connection or a switch issue in the area of the front switches. Got to ask if this issue just started or if it has been there all along or if it was an intermittent issue for a time. Could you supply any additional information regarding Serrano coach size and a specific model if applicable and if any of the lights are mounted in slides ? Rich.

Robncj, The fuse you are looking for might be the turn signal fuse in this drawing, that shows the relay wiring you might find matches or is close to what you have. There is a time gap from you original post - so not sure where you are at today .Saf-TURN SIG 2. The brake lights are often the same bulbs that indicate the brakes are being applied. Rich.

Tyler, some pictures of the pilot light sensor, that keeps the Gas valve open and the refrigerator working properly. From the information you posted regarding the age of the Coach, this is a very high candidate for you problem. along with the information offered by Brett. Rich. LP Refrigerator pilot sensor voltage generator tip pictures.pdf The other item that I left out. Senior Moment LOL You should also remove the refrigerators roof vent and clean the chimney and the burner box area. I have a vacuum accessory kit for cleaning computers and key boards that makes cleaning up the area of the burner much easier.

From your information - it sounds like the inverter is not running. When you get time, check the remote panel and set the menu on inverter, is it in the disabled mode. using the arrow keys put the inverter in the enabled mode. In a few seconds it should start providing 120 volts. What is the make and model number is installed in the coach. Rich.

Five, how and what batteries are charged depends on the way the system(s) are wired. Mine is wired so the chassis and coach batteries are charging from the alternator and in some coaches there is an Islator(solid state device) installed with one leg going to the coach batteries and one going to the chassis batteries. I had one fail and the engine would keep running with the key off LOL Back feeding between the to sets of batteries. Removed the ground cables to remove the path - that stop the engine but left the question of what is going on for a time. !!!! Rich.

Sideskr, Welcome to the FMCA Forum ! When I saw the cable slides I panicked. I have heard horror stories, but never seen for myself the problems with cables. See that Kay has responded to your inquire - The Systems do require some TLC and yearly maintenance. The Key question I would ask is what is the maximum weight the slide can handle design wise. We all tend to overload the coaches and slides tend to be the weak link in that regard. Rich.

After looking over the information in the owners manual - there is no information regarding the shore power or generator wiring. Damon Motor Coach P.O. Box 2888 Elkhart, IN. USA 46515-2888 (574) 264-2900 (Think I would ask for Technical help Department.)and maybe where the closest authorized service center is. Also might ask for a copy of the 120 volt shore and generator wiring diagram and parts list. The common wiring is, the contacts of the ATS are closed when on shore power and no power is supplied to the coil. When the generator is running power is applied to the ATS after a delay to allow the ATS to connect the generator to the main AC power panel. The DC voltage for the ATS is supplied from the BCC in most cases. Medium Duty Relays close supplying 12 volts to the ATS and in many cases the 12 volts drops to around 9 volts after the relay closes to minimize the heat in the coils and still keep the ATS energized. Rich.

Bill, Changed everyone of them from incandescent to LED's. The only ones not converted where the ones for the rear State Tags. Installed diodes in the 12 volt supply wires for every turn signal circuit - cathodes feed the bulb positive. Needed the steering diodes to prevent the cross talk in the turn signal lights. Had to install an LED flasher unit for the turn signals. Also installed a middle turn signal / marker light, So drivers entering the on / off ramps could see that is was exiting. Many of the ramps are very short and crossing traffic often has no clue that you are exiting on the same ramp one is entering. Way fewer middle finger solutes and horns blowing with the upgrade !!! Caused by the location / angle of the signal lights in most cases. Installed red LED's in the red rear marker lights(white ones look a little yellow) and yellow in the front and sides !!! The Super Bright LED's tend to be the best IMHO. Rich.

Brett mentioned the fuse, there could be a loose, corroded or broken wire at the air brake switch if the turn signal and the 4 ways work. The air brake switch is located under the coach right under the air brake peddle. Rich.

wildcatervin, This is a link to the owners manual and it has some of the basic wiring information for your coach. https://www.thormotorcoach.com/media/6093/2009_astoria___owners_manual.pdf Pages 105 and 106 cover some of the wiring(basic drawings). On page 106 the wiring BCC system(Battery Control System) Circuit J4-1 pictures a spare circuit!!! This is sized big enough to power the AC system - That is power for Heat and Cooling. There is often a large electric fan mounted on the outside evaporator that is power anytime the cooling system is active! A shorted motor or short in this system wiring would blow the fuse when the blower is running in the manner you described ! When I turn the AC or Heater on it blows the fuse. If I turn the fan on vent it works great. The Cooling fan is not required in the Vent Mode !!! Good luck Rich !

"Check Engine NO J1939 Data" The J1939 data bus supplies all the communications between the different modules installed on the chassis. Loose, corroded or damaged connection will corrupt the system data information. Are all the instrument panel gauges and transmission panel working normally? Might want to have Cummins run a test on the data link. Rich.

Mike, the drawing is OK, But very simplified - not a true drawing of how the wiring is installed ! Missing a circuit to supply power to slideroom motor.The drawing pictures one relay to power the in and out voltage to the motor- there are 2 power relays. One to power the slide in and one to power the slide out. input to the common point of the repay pictured is pictured; but that power should come from a larger fused supply with the key switch only controlling the relay coils of the in and out relays / with a limit switch to stop the slideout travel and to stop the slide at a in or park point. Magnetic switches are very commonly used for the sensor circuits stop point.(They do not fail often) The setup should have 2 high current relays - one for the extend and one for the retract function. Is the bathroom wall between the slide in question? or some other space/wall at one end of the slide. It is not uncommon for the control relays to be hidden in a wall.(If one connection comes loose from the coil circuit of one of them the whole system is locked up) like you have described !!! Builders do not mount the wiring in most cases and the wires hang down from the mounted relays and they come loose as the coach bounces down the road ! The slide should extend if you place the wiring as it was to extend the slide, Did it work ? Is so then have a helper press the retract switch and with no noise in or out side the coach listen for a clicking sound each time the button is pressed. There has to be some relays hidden somewhere along with a bigger fused circuit to feed the required 20 amps to the slide motor. A call to the coach technical help line requesting information on the location of the relays might help. NOTE! depending on what shift and the person installing the wiring - this location can vary. Good luck Rich.

Eagleinaz. thinking you run into a format issue. The older equipment was NTSB(Anaog) and the new format is digital. The drive line you are seeing could be the result of camera damage or just old age in regards to the monitor. Might get lucky and find working equipment at one of the salvage yards regarding the camera and monitor or just go and update the system from the current selections on the market. Rich.

Joe, before you do the washer thing that Bill mentioned, you might just want to remove the drive pulley and flip it outside in / inside out and see if the alignment changes just enough to get the difference you need. Rich.

Roland! any of the 12 volt systems will run off the batteries while driving and even the 120 volts are available to power items if the inverter is turned on. The Alternators can handle a good sized load. IE we have had the crock pot going, setting it in the kitchen sink to cook dinner. Rich.

Do not think that was Carl's thought. I have hit the submit box more then once myself. Real easy to do and it does happen every so often. The question is have you managed to get the door to open properly or get that stubborn assembly out of the door? Rich.

Could you post the make of the alternator for the group? Delco, Leece Neville or other and is it a 130 or 160 amp version? Bill and Jim asked good questions regarding your repair. Rich.

DD, Frightliner is going through a personnel transition from those with years of experience to the new kid on the block . The second item is the older technicians know where the paper manuals are filed. The newer coaches somewhere around 06 and 08 are on computer PDF files. Will they catch up? Time will tell, but I have run into the same problem this past year. At the same time the repair center in Gaffney still is doing good work, was in just about 2 months ago and got good work. Ms.Pat is near retirement and So Much information will go with her !! Rich.