wolfe10

szakaluk, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. There is no standard in terms of how cruise/exhaust brakes are wired. Some do not function at the same time, some do and some trigger the exhaust brake when on cruise if speed goes a certain amount above the set speed. Of the choices, I like the one you have on the new coach, with the exhaust brake tied to the brake pedal. That leaves you with the exhaust brake in case of an emergency stop, but also allows use of the cruise control.

Was the leak at the bag, or in plumbing to it? It is a little odd (assuming you have a straight axle, not IFS) since you only have a single ride height valve in front which supplies both front air bags.

Yup, as of today, officially (per Honda Corporate source) the following are towable 4 wheels down: Fit manual transmission HR-V manual transmission All new 2016 Civic manual transmission: http://community.fmca.com/topic/8736-all-new-2016-honda-civic-manual-transmission-towable/

David, Yes, whether you continue to patch it and/or when you strip off the old sealant and reseal IS up to you. Agree, in the short term you may be able to patch. But, at some point, it will need to be done correctly. Another option is for you to do one vent/roof penetration at a time when it is convenient for you. Small bill and no need to devote days at a time to it.

I just received an update from the staff person at FMCA in Cincinnati who compiles the "Towable 4 wheels down guide" that appears annually in the January issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine. This from the Honda factory contact: Good news. I have confirmed with Honda R&D that the Civic Sedan LX and Civic Coupe LX equipped with the 6-speed manual transmission can be towed with all four wheels down, exactly the same as the Fit and HR-V manual transmission models. You can quote me on this info if needed, but it will take some time before this will be reflected in the owner's manuals for these two models. As I noted earlier, the Civic CVT models can NOT be towed with all four wheels down. Thanks.

Wow, this is what the FMCA Forum is all about.

Hopefully someone who stores their coach in that area can check with their storage facility to see what might be available for you. I would be glad to check the storage facility where we keep ours, but it is 55 miles south of IAH.

Let us know what you are looking for and we may be able to help. We have a number of members in the Houston area: Storage outdoors with/without shore power. Covered storage with/without shore power. Enclosed storage (garage) with/without power.

David, If you have a video camera, consider recording the orientation session. It is quite easy to be overwhelmed/overloaded. If you suspect that the 1/4 tank of fuel has been in there awhile, first thing I would do is check the primary fuel filter for signs of contamination. If clear bowl, you want to see just golden liquid, no particles, no layer (which would indicate water). If only a metal bowl, with engine off, drain a little into a clear glass jar-- check it the same way. If any sign of algae (black slime or clumps), add a kill dose of BIOCIDE. Here is a popular one:http://www.biobor.com/products/biobor-jf-fuel-additives/ You can find it at marine stores, and in our area at Academy. Always keep the diesel tank FULL to minimize condensation. As far as where to fill up, as long as it sells a lot of diesel, cheap is good. You do not want to go to a small suburban station that only sells to a few diesel cars a week and the fuel is old. Most Walmarts, etc sell a lot of diesel!

AGS's can also be triggered by loss of shore power and call for A/C or heat pump.

David, Most of the auto genset start systems have a lot of programmable options. If you do not have the manual for yours, you can likely get it on-line. Or, tell us what you have and we can help search for a manual. Would also be interesting if you neighbor who noticed your generator running remembered events such as shore power going out that may have triggered it. As a side note, our coach also has auto genset start, but I pulled the fuse powering it, so it is very easy to disable. When not on the road, we store our coach indoors. Sure don't want the generator starting inside the building! Something for everyone with this feature to think about.

We have a residential refrigerator in our coach and even in the mountains, have not found that food shifts enough to warrant extraordinary means. I guess part of that is having done a lot of cruising on a sailboat where the refrigerator sees a LOT more motion. Dianne does make an effort to have each shelf with enough on it that there is not much "wiggle room"-- even if this means empty plastic food storage containers. The rubber non skid also helps with glass shelves. We do use velcro to secure the freezer to refrigerator door.

Two comments: I also have Pressure Pro-- this is my second coach with this system on coach and toad and it works for me. Whether you get Pressure Pro or some other system-- GET SOME TPMS!` While a tire can have a massive failure/blowout, the vast majority of failures start out with loss of pressure. Particularly on a toad, by the time you would become aware of a tire issue back there, you could have destroyed the whole vehicle.

Wow, back in time in Kemah. I remember having to wait for the drawbridge on 146 to open for us to take our sailboat in and out. And, then maneuver is the fast-running current through the narrow RR swing bridge. BTW, there are more pleasure boats here on Clear Lake/Kemah than any place until you get to the Tampa area.

Yes, a breaker on the inverter would disable (ONLY) those circuits fed by the inverter-- whether from shore power or generator using "pass-through" feature or actually by inverting using battery power. BUT, all other 120 VAC circuits like the A/C's, water heater 120 element, etc would have still been working. Knowing what is/is not working always helps identify the culprit.

David, A couple of things: Assume shore power was still "good" when the generator started (perhaps your neighbor can confirm)-- i.e. lack of shore power did not enter into the generator starting. Does the coach have an Auto Gen Start feature? If so, check its programming to see if it was just doing what it was supposed to do-- in which case you would need to determine what triggered it to start. If neither of these was involved, it is possible that there is a short in the generator start circuit. Not that uncommon if water gets into the generator circuit board area.

Since neither shore power nor generator power your coach, let's look at places the two have in common. Shore power and generator power join at the ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch). So, the problem is either in the ATS, wiring from ATS to main breaker box or in the main breaker box itself. IF, repeat IF you are safe working around 120/240 VAC, with shore power unplugged, generator off, inverter off, open and check connections at ATS and main breaker box. If all connections look good, then you will need to test for power IN and OUT of the ATS from both power sources. Again, if uncomfortable working around this kind of electrical power, please have a professional do it. Very unusual for there to be any in-line fuse/breaker between the ATS and main breaker box.

Almost by definition, with those readings, it was a broken neutral. Without a neutral and two hots voltage can range WAY high and WAY low.

Cesar, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. I have no information about NHTSA and recalls-- no idea of Monaco going out of business would still result in a recall or not. Remember, Navistar did not buy Monaco-- they only bought the ASSETS of Monaco, so there was no corporation for NHTSA to pursue. Without question were I considering one of the above mentioned coaches, I would VERIFY that I had the new design rear trailing arms or subtract from my offer money to replace them. AND have it done before taking possession.

Steven, You posted, "The problem actually happened on the road as we turned into a rest area and noticed that the hot water heater was still turned on 120V." An open neutral only occurs on 120 VAC power. If you were in a rest area or on the road and the generator was not running, an open neutral could do no damage. The only other source of 120 VAC is your inverter. But, it would be VERY strange "inverter out" wiring for the water heater to be wired on an inverter-powered circuit. Please tell us what motorhome you have as well-- that may help. And, if easier to talk on the phone about this, send me a PM and I will be happy to give you a call.

Fred, Would LOVE to hear his reason for not fitting tire pressure monitors. I would not drive without them!

SO, you are talking about while in generator power, not shore power. Still could be a bad neutral in wiring from generator to ATS, ATS, wiring to main breaker box or main breaker box OR It could be an issue with the generator. No question, 150 VAC will mess up a lot of appliances. What generator do you have? Many have a failsafe that turns them off if voltage is out of spec.

Excellent, Dave. Thanks for the detailed update. It will certainly help others who run into the same issue.

An open neutral can be either on the CG/shore end or in your shore power cord, wires to ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch), wires from ATS to main breaker box or in the main breaker box. The neutral on a 50 amp male end is the center straight. The wire will be white. If this just happened at one CG, quite likely it is not your coach. But, if this is at home, you need to check the outlet: With a voltmeter (assuming you are safe working around 240 VAC): Either outer straight to either center round or center straight= 120 VAC Center round to center straight= 0 VAC Outer straight to outer straight= 240 VAC If the outlet checks out, unplug, generator off, inverter off, check the above mentioned connections. Not safe working around 240 VAC have someone who is check it out. DO NOT PLUG IN UNTIL THIS IS SOLVED OR YOU WILL BE SPENDING BIG BUCKS.

13.2 is just fine for float voltage unless it is very cold out in which case you want it a little higher.