PIPEWRENCHGRIP
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Posts posted by PIPEWRENCHGRIP
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Not only great weather, but great people. Thanks to all the people that make this type of activity possible.
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Thanks Moonwink, I will be installing the base plate in a couple of weeks and will see if my shield will fit. If not I will consider the protect a tow.
Bill
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Now, you guys have me scared. I've been towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee for about 10yr using the Roadmaster Shield and have not had any damage. I have not travelled a lot on gravel roads however.
But now, I bought a new Jeep and I don't thing I can adapt the Shield to this base plate, so I'm considering the full cover from Coastline or the Protect A Tow. Also known as the Blue Ox Underskirt. I'm leaning toward the full cover and hope it doesn't cause too much chaffing on the paint.
Wha da ya tink.
Bill
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To All:Moving the contactor to outside the battery box will not solve the problem. I have replaced at lease six of those relays for the problem you just discribed. The problem is that most of the time the contactor is connected very little current is flowing (both sets of batteries are charged) and the contacts then corrode. The corrsion also is generated each time the contact make contact.
The better solution is to replace the contactor with one that has silver coated conatcts. They are a little more expensive.
An example is the Bear Family 12 volt Contactor PN 114-1211-0200.
It can be purchased from Mur Cal Inc
sales@murcal.com Price is approximately $33 plus tax and shipping.
Telephone 661-272-4700 Larry Fox Monaco 04 windsor
Thanks Larry, I'll keep that in mind. The one I put in cost more that double the price you quoted, and I think it is in the Bear Family. I have a spare right now, so I'll keep an eye it.
Bill
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Solenoid failure is not that uncommon.And if you can locate it outside the battery compartment without adding too much length to those large-gauge cables that is great. Properly gusset them if going through a bulkhead, as they are un-fused.
I will make a comment on one of your statements-- you say you start the engine once a month while parked.
STRONGLY suggest that you not start any diesel engine unless you can drive it at least 25 highway miles. If the OIL, not just coolant can not attain operating temperature, you are doing more harm than good by starting. And there is no way that a diesel can reach oil operating temperature without a load on it.
Also, when parked in one place for an extended period of time, make sure fuel tank is full to minimize condensation.
Brett
I'll take that under consideration. I am aware that I won't reach operating temp, but I thought would still be better to circulate the oil in the engine and transmission once in while.
Bill
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I'm talking not about the disconnect switch, but the contactor that is supposed keep the house batteries charged while driving and also keep the chassis batteries charged while on shore power. It's the same contactor that connects the house batteries to the chassis for emergency starting with the Batter Boost switch on the dash.
I have a 2009 Monaco coach and while wintering Texas this year, I discovered that my chassis batteries were down to where they wouldn't start the engine. I always start my engine about once a month while parked. I then tried the Battery Boost switch and still nothing. I started investigating the cause and found I could hear the solenoid snap in loud and clear. After scratching my head for while and thinking this a new coach only a little over a year old, that contactor should be good. Wrong!!!
I tested for current on the out going lead while the contactor was made and had nothing. I then removed the contactor and went an purchased a new one, installed it and it worked fine.Curiosity got the best of me, so I drilled out the rivets disassembled it to see what's inside. I thought the contacts might be burned, but they were fine but coated with a layer of corrosion. This contactor is located in the battery compartment and there no corrosion on any of terminals outside the contactor and I try to keep the compartment clean. How that battery gas can get into the contactor is a puzzle. I cleaned up the contacts and reassembled the contactor and now keep it for a spare.
I owned an 05 Monaco with the same set up, and had a similar problem, but I never investigated it so I assume the same thing. I also talked with a friend while I was working on the contactor, he commented he has the same problem. He also owns a late model Monaco.
My solution to prevent this from happening again is move the contactor out of the Battery compartment into the compartment next to it and extend the cables as needed.
Any other Monaco owners out there with the same problem??
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Remember, all those braking systems only apply braking to the rear wheels. Only the foot brake applies braking to all wheels.
Bill
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My take on running the frig on the road. If the frig is cold when you leave you home or campsite, it will stay cold for a long time before needing to run again, unless you open and close if frequently. We used to run the genset for an hour and then an hour off, that seemed to keep the frig cold enouigh for frig. Lately howver, we have been leaving the gas on or using our build in inverter.
Bill
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We bought a new Monaco Diplomat a little over a year ago. Can't leave this as is. The new coach had two couches, and we decided one was enough.
We were accustomed to having a recliner and also a computer table. On the street side was a 7-foot couch with a full-size air matress hide-a-bed. The other side was a 7-foot J Bed. There was not enough room on the passenger side slide to install a chair and desk, so I removed the J bed to my four-season room. I then moved the hide-a-bed to the passenger side.
On removing the J bed I, discovered there was a heat register at the end directed under the J bed. I'm sure that put out a lot of heat. Poor design by someone at Monaco. When I installed the hide-a-bed, I left it 3.5 inches away from the wall to allow air flow behind and along the wall. I also installed a 3.5-inch by 5-foot shelf on the back of the couch, a good place for long thin stuff.
I built a corner computer desk out of 3/4' mohagany plywood and stained it to match our existing cherry wood interior. Gunstock stain matched perfectly. I built three small cubicles under the desk on either side of the center where I place my printer.
I then installed a matching leather recliner and foot stool. The foot stool can be used as a chair for the desk, or I simply place the laptop computer on my lap. (What an Idea!)
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Bill,What inverter do you have? Then we will KNOW whether it is a sine wave or MSW.
Brett Wolfe
Brett we just got home and check the inverter/charger. It is a Magnum ME 2012 it is a modified sine wave unit. Something else we discovered, we have a digital clock in the bedroom and when inverting, it will gallop along twice as fast as it should. Time really goes fast.
Thanks for you response.
Bill
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Bill,What converter, charger or inverter charger do you have?
What is voltage at the battery when charging? If smart charger, what is voltage at float stage (after charging for over 24 hours)?
Why would you ever have it set to NOT charge all the time you are on 120 VAC, and at the proper voltage (assuming your charger or inverter/charger is programmable)?
The only exception would be times that your 120 VAC shore power is not adequate to supply charger and you other 120 VAC appliances . (i.e. you are plugged into less than 50 amps and yet want to run lots of appliances).
Brett Wolfe
I'm away from my unit right now, so I can't tell you the make and model of my charger inverter. I bought this RV new and the charging system was apparently set at the factory or by the dealer. I assumed that it was ok untill I started having problems. I'll get back home on Tues and chech out the Inverter Charger etc.
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I love my new Monaco Diplomat, but I can't figure out why they put the vacuum unit under the bed at the rear of the coach. It's 40 feet to the other end and the outlet is in the bed pedistal. One has to stand on his head or kneel on the floor to plug in the hose. Laura has bad knees, so that's not an option. Also, if you pull the hose to the front of the coach it has a 90-degree bend at the outlet, so it starts to whistle. It would be a good Idea it the designers would live in the unit for a month before putting it on the market.
Well, I fooled them, I found a place in the kitchen behind the return air grill for the front furnace. This is also an access panel for other mechanical stuff.
I mounted the unit just inside and installed the hose outlet in the toe space, and for the electric I just pushed the cord through the grill to a nearby outlet. Only two screws to access the unit. Someday I may go ahead and install an electrical outlet inside the grill also, but for now it works great. I earned some brownie points with Laura .. Hee-hee.
This also freed up some space under the bed where I store my extra kitchen chairs.
By the way, my floor plan has a front living area and a mid kitchen. I have a friend with an 2009 Diplomat, but it has a front kitchen and middle living room. His vacuum unit is mounted below and the outlet is in the living room, which makes more sense.
Bill
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After buying our new coach last July and taking our first trip, we set up in a campground with shore power, turned on our Sat reciever and our KVH Sat antenna. Everthing worked perfectly. We were having problems later and could not get a Sat signal and we could hear the KVH system making some odd noises. Then again, at the next stop it would work fine.
This has gone on intermitently now for about a year. When I asked a tech about it, it was working at the time. He said he can't fix what ain't broken. Well, it finally dawned on me that the only time it would't work was when I was parked not using a generator or shore power. I was on the inverter. I was under the impression that I had a true sine wave inverter, but maybe not. Apparently, the reciever doesn't like it. However, if I once have the signal and shut off the antenna, it works fine, even with the inverter. This is an in-motion KVH system and it works ok If I have the gen set running.
Has anyone else run accross this problem?
Bill
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Anyone out there have roof-mounted heat pumps? We're about to install two Carrier Air V units in our 10-year-old rig. It would be great if someone out there made the switch and could pass along any comments, pro or con.Jan and Barry
My new Monaco came with 2 Carrier heat pumps. They work good down to 40 degrees, then the controll system switches to Furnace Mode automatically. My only problem, we have remote control themostat and they are not at all accurate. Niether in heat or cool mode, sometimes as much as 6 or 8 degrees off. We have learned to live with it.
Bill
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I too had a lot a battery water usage. I bought a new Monaco Diplomat last July. Our first major trip was to south Texas for the winter. After being set up and hooked up to power for a month or so I opened the battery compartment to find the snaps on the hold down straps coroded off and a various other items badly coroded. I promptly got to an automotive store and bought some spray battery cleaner and protectant. On checking the battery cells I found them to be low. Needless to say I was confused. I even asked a service tech at an RV deadership about it, his comment was that happens all the time!!! I bought a new snap for the battery strap and ignored the problem hoping it would go away, it didn't, next time I opened the battery compartment door, I found the same problem. Then I started studing the problem seriously. After studying my Energy Management owners manual, I found the the batteries were being charged at a very low rate. So I determined that the batteries were being discharged all day long and the evening when we are using 12 volt power. Then they would charge all night long, then again discharge during the day. This going on day in and day out is a lot of discharging and charging thus cooking out the electrolite.
To solve the problem, I simply set the EMS system to charge the batteries at the recommended rate. If I remember correcty that was 85 amps max. This keeps the batteries near fully charged even when we are using the 12 volt systems.
I checked the battery water before we left on 6 wk trip in mid July, and then again Midway through our trip. The water was down only slightly. When we got home the first of Sept. I added a few ounces to ea cell. and NO COROSION. HAPPY HAPPY
BILL
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I'm a retired plumber and have done a lot of bathroom makeovers, but never in a motorhome. That project I'm sure would be a challenge because of all the close quarters, storage tanks and other structural systems. I would be likely to jump into the project with both feet and deal with the problems as they come along. After all, the unit was manmade to begin with. An RV dealer would have the same challenges, as I'm sure that's not a real common project for them. Also, it would be quite expensive. If you like a challenge, do some snooping in under and around the bathroom so you can plan your project. Then go for it.
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My previous Motorhome had a Freightliner Chasis. I changed my own, but it was a bit of a hassle. I had to crawl under and over to get to it. Next time I had it done at a truck shop.
Bill
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AS ONE TRUCKER FRIEND TOLD ME, YOU CAN GO DOWN THE MOUNTAIN GRADE TO SLOW AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT, BUT YOU WILL GO DOWN THE MOUNTAIN GRADE TO FAST ONLY ONCE!!!
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I too had the notification for the ECM on my 09 Monaco ISB 400 engine. I had the work done yesterday with some strange results. I had the work done in Sioux Falls SD. Cummins Central Power. I picked up the Coach this AM and on the way out I noticed a warrning on the Aladin monitor that my parking brake was engaged, of course it wasn't as I was rolling freely. I returned to Cummins and had the mechanic take a look see. He connected his computer to look for fault codes, finding none he then checked the brake sensor, it too was ok.
He then talked to his forman, he was at loss too. He thought we should take it to Monaco dealership, to have it checked out. . He called Schaap's Traveland (Holiday Rambler Dealer) and explained the problem, so I took it there. On the way there I notice most of the gauges weren't working and with the ignition in the off position, I had a readout on the monitor??? It should be black.
After talking with the shop foreman at Schaap's, he made a work order and I was about ot disconnect my toad and leave it. Then I said, maybe we should try disconnecting the batteries and reboot the computers. The foreman said give it a try. I shut off the two battery disconnect switches for about 20 secs. and then turned them back on and VOILA!! everything looked normal.
Apparently the reprograming sent some bogus information to the Aladin monitoring system and confused it. So if you do a recalibration and get some goofy stuff happening on your istrument panel, try the battery disconnect.
All is well that ends well.
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I use many of the same technicquess you use. The shift point on my New Monaco is at 55 so I can travel 55 up to 60 and seem to get about the same milleage. Also I set the transmission in Econony mode, this eliminates nuisance down shifting on small hills but will allow downshiffting on larger hills. You would't use this mode in mountain driving! Also depending on your travel plans, check the weather, which way will the wind be blowing, you might be able adjust your travel accordingly.
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I have the same type of lights in my New Monaco. I just replace a bulb in one of them. I had the same problem untill I discovered I could pull the fixture down a bit and then remove the lens.. Putting in the bulb was a bit awkward with the two little prongs to line up. Tilting my head upside down and trying to see what I'm doing with bifocals.
Good Luck
Bill
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Hi PIPEWRENCHGRIP,It sounds like your batteries are out gassing quit a bit. There is a remote possibility that the battery tops are so dirty that they are conducting AMPs to the hold down straps. If the battery tops are dirty, start by cleaning them thoroughly.
Look at the following:
1. Charger voltage to the batteries. Maintenance voltage should be 13.4 VDC.
2. Are the battery casings walls straight (vertical). Or are they bulge outward?
3. Are the battery connections clean and secure? Especially the negative cable (on both ends).
4. How often do you need to add water?
5. The water you add, is it distilled water?
6. When running without shore power, how long will the batteries last (down to a 12.1 VDC reading)?
Let us know what you find.
Thanks for your suggestions! The coach is new and batteries are clean. I think the charge rate is the problem. I have a Magnum Energy Management System and the Max Charge rate was set to only 10amps. This is what is was set at when I bought the coach. I never checked it before. I think what was happening is that the battery voltage continued to drop during the day when were using the DC lights and a few other DC appliances. The batteries would then recharge during the night hours, and at that time were gassing. This is what caused my strap to get corroded through. I reset the charge rate so it would mainting a full charge during the day. I hope this takes care of it.
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Here is one that has me stumped. I bought a new Monaco Diplomat in July. We took a few short trips, then this fall we traveled to Arizona and then to South Texas for the winter. After getting settled in, a went to check the battery water in our house batteries. When I opened the battery compartment I discoved that the plastice buckle on the hold down strap had burned off. Also one of the metal hooks was badly corroded. I assumed at the time that the strap must have been in contact with one of the positive battery posts.
I then found a new plastic buckle, cleaned up the corrosion and reinstalled the hold down strap, making sure it can't touch any of the battery posts. Guess what!!! About a month later I went to check the batteries again and the buckle was burned off again. This all occured while we were plugged into shore power.
Something is setting up a current thru this strap, but I can't imagine how.
Can anyone shed some light on this situation?
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We are fortunate to be friends with the Butlers and have taken several plane rides with them. The first a couple of years ago was from McAllen, Tx East to South Padre Island. We landed at a small airport in Cameron County and Took a courtesy car into port Isabell, had dinner there, then returned to car. We then took off and flew up and down the coast and the along the Mexican Boarder over and along the Rio Grande, staying in US territory. I was a great day with a great pilot and good company.
We also tagged along to Port Isabell for an over night there. We able to tour Mustang Island on an over built golf cart.
One more memorable flight was when Tom and Louise visited us in SD. We live near the airport at Yankton. The weather was clear so Tom asked if we would like a plane ride, of course we said yes. Tom got checked out at the airport and the next moring we were off. We made some passes over our home neighborhood for pictures then headed west over Gavins Point dam and west along the Missouri River. We crossed over into Nebraska to view the hills and Niobrara River Valley. The skies were clear, but somehow we starting getting specs all over the windshield. I pointed out that it looked like oil. "Tom agreed, he said that has me a little concerned" Fortunately we had just passed a small landing strip, so using his GPS he turned the plane back and headed for the landing strip. We had about 10 miles to go. I made it my job to watch the oil pressure and temp guage, by this time the windshield was completely covered with oil and the pressure was dropping. Finally no oil pressure, but were only a couple of miles from the landing strip. The engine temp never came up so we were sure we could make it safely and we did. Tom made a perfect landing with the windshield completely coverd. We found out later there was only a pint of oil left in the crankcase, the rest, 5 quarts of it all over the plane. The lost of oil was due an ispection plug not insalled properly.
Plenty of exitement for one day.
Engine Boost Solenoid (Contactor)
in Electrical
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This is in response to Thomas Felch tech topics article in the December FMC magazine. I know this problem has been talked about before, but I will give my experiences with it. The Trombeta battery boost solenoid has more than on purpose. It can be activated by a swich on the dash to start the engine in case the engine battery voltage is too low to start the engine. I have even used it to start the generator when my house batteries were down.
The other purpose is to maintain a charge in all the batteries. When the engine is running, not connected to shore power it will pull in to charge the house batteries. If you are plugged into shore power it will pull in to charge the engine battery. This is controlled by the BATTERY MAINTAINER (ISOLATOR RELAY) Mine is located in the front driver side compartment.
I have found that when the boost relay was hot it was on all the time because the contacts in the relay were corroded. I found that out by checking the voltage on both hot lugs on the relay while it was pulled in. The voltage was different, that told me that the problem was inside the relay. I took the relay out and did a little surgery on it. I cleaned the contacts, reassembled it and a year later I had the same proglem so I installed a new one. A year later the same problem. Then I read an article on this Forum learned of another relay with different metal contacts. I purchased one these and it's been working fine ever since. While it's pulled in it's hot (normal). When the batteries are all charged up it drops out and is cool.
The model I got is a Trombetta 114-1211-020. I think the old one was 114-1211-010, just one number different. I have a 09 Monaco Diplomat, the Holiday Rambler may have the same set up.