wolfe10

Rob, What is failing on the chassis battery disconnect? Is it a mechanical switch or a solenoid with remote switch? If solenoid, look up its specs, in particular, its amp rating. Compare the amp rating with the amps taken to start your engine. Solenoids are pretty easy to troubleshoot. When chassis battery circuit fails to "make", go to the solenoid. Verify that you have 12+ VDC to one large lug (the one connected directly to the battery. Verify that the other large lug does NOT have 12+ VDC (i.e. solenoid not working). Now, check voltage at the small signal wire (if one, it will the the correct one-- if two, the second will be to ground and you want to identify the positive one). If 12+ VDC to the positive signal wire, but one large lug is not 12+ VDC, the solenoid is bad. But, if the small positive signal wire does not have 12+ VDC, you may have a problem with the remote switch or wiring. You can take a small jumper wire (it will only be carrying 1-2 amps) and go from the hot large lug to the positive signal terminal (with wire on the signal terminal removed so you don't back feed the dash. This is how the vast majority are wired. Of course, the ground connection could be used as the signal with the small positive terminal hot all the time-- check your wiring diagram or with a voltmeter. Can't comment on rewiring, as I don't know your particular panel and how it is wired. Brett

Charles, Start by turning on a stove burner and light with a lighter-- do this until a nice blue flame goes all around the burner. That will purge air that far. Next, would probably turn on the water heater on propane. May take a few cycles to bleed it. Lastly turn on the refrigerator on propane. May have to turn it off and on a time or two-- but do it last-- that makes it much faster. Brett

As long as you are replacing an inverter with the same size (amp) inverter, should be pretty straight forward. If this is a larger inverter than OE, you will need to verify that the OE wire and fuses (12 VDC and 120 VAC) are of appropriate size as recommended for your new inverter. Obviously, you will need to consider the footprint and other dimensions vs original and also ventilation if this is a larger output inverter. Safest would be to go through the installation manual for the new inverter and compare every spec to what you have (mounting location, 12 VDC wire gauge and fuse size an 120 VAC wire gauge). Brett

Sadly, a lot of "old time" mechanics are recommending the WRONG oil. What worked on engines in the older engines is NOT correct for today's modern engines with much closer tolerances. Listen to what Ford/Ford owners manual says, NOT what Bubba says. Short story: When I worked for the Infiniti Division of Nissan Corp, they introduced one of the first high HP close-tolerance engines. 121 CID making 140 HP-- common today, but VERY uncommon 18 years ago. If a customer complained about rough idle, we authorized the dealer to change oil (on our nickel) to the CORRECT/RECOMMENDED OIL: 5W20. BTW, this was in south FL. The correct (much thinner oil) corrected 99% of the rough idle issues. Because it was a 7,000 RPM engine operating in south FL, some used 30 and even 40 weight oil-- really messed things up. Brett

Question: "Will the draw on the batteries be substantially less if plugged directly into 110 or will it be the same as it would be with the refer plugged directly into the coach" The battery draw will be exactly the same, whether the 120 VAC power cord for the refrigerator is plugged into the coach or directly into shore power with another extension cord. The draw on the batteries will be a little more 12VDC if the power goes off, as it will then be working the gas valve and igniter instead of only switching of 120 VAC heating element on and off. But, even on propane, I suspect the average draw is under 2 amps. Brett

Yup, splitting up the load makes good sense if you are trying to run multiple things on 15 amp outlets OR if you want to prevent an inverter for quickly taking down a battery bank if 120 VAC goes off. Brett

Can you run an extension cord from another shore outlet to power the refrigerator? ABSOLUTELY. In fact, I am doing that right on our coach parked in my brother's driveway. 15 amp outlet with adapters to coach's 50 amp to run ONLY one A/C on low (voltage has not dropped below 112 VAC). Refrigerator on another circuit in the garage. That would materially prolong battery life if the power went off. Since you have no food in it, no big deal. Were you interested in retaining cold in the refrigerator for a prolonged period without shore power (AND YOU HAVE ENOUGH VENTILATION WHERE IT IS STORED) you could leave the propane on and if the shore outlet/extension cord power went off, it would revert to propane. Can't tell you how to do your battery disconnect switch. On most, the refrigerator is NOT turned off by the disconnect switch. Remember, irrespective of heat source, your refrigerator needs 12 VDC to power the brain (assuming this is an RV absorption refrigerator). Brett

If ALL 120 VAC to the coach is turned off and back on, it is either a problem with the CG electrical supply, a connection problem in your shore power cord, wiring to ATS, in the ATS itself, wiring from ATS to 120 VAC breaker box or in the breaker box itself. If this does not happen on generator, wiring from ATS to breaker box and breaker box itself are OK, since those items are common to shore power and generator. Is anyone else in the CG having the same problem? Can you plug a light or something else into the CG 15 amp outlet so you will know if the CG power is going off when this happens? If not a CG issue, I would strongly suggest turning off inverter, unplugging shore power and with generator OFF, remove the lid to the ATS and check that first for clean tight connections. Same for breaker box. And with an ohm meter on both ends of your shore power cord, wiggle it around and see if there may be a loose or bad connection. Brett

Check with your chassis maker (with your chassis VIN). They can help you with troubleshooting advice.

I would order an owners manual from any Ford dealer. It will give you the information you need. I suspect you will find that 5 W20 is the proper oil for all climates for the V10, but check in the manual.

Thanks for the come back. Slip rings needing cleaning is a common issue with a generator that is not exercised enough. Said another way, slip ring issues are VERY rare if the generator is run once a month for at least 45 minutes with at least 50% load. Brett

Here is RVSEF's 2012 schedule-- they will be at the Indianapolis FMCA Convention: http://rvsafety.com/weighing-schedule/ They do an excellent job of individual wheel position weighing. If you post your location, someone may know of a place near you to get individual wheel position weighing. Brett

As stated, the issue is ONLY with 4 air bag diesel pusher Monaco chassis of specific years. No gasoline coaches were ever involved. Brett

Most of these kind of problems are caused by not running the generator enough. They should be run monthly for a minimum of 45 minutes under 50% load. If not run enough, gasoline evaporates in the carburetor and gums it up. It also allows moisture to degrade the electrical part of the generator. If you can't run it monthly, use Stabil in the gasoline to reduce carburetor issues.

Phillip, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Yes, there IS a learning curve for RV'ing. Actually, you are VERY lucky. The rear wheels are your parking/emergency brake. Lifting them off the ground, particularly on sloping ground makes it very likely the rig could surge downhill! NEVER raise the rear wheels of any RV off the ground. And the rod you are talking about controls RIDE HEIGHT, linking the axle to the RIDE HEIGHT VALVE which is mounted on the chassis. Ride height is VERY important and needs to be checked and set to your chassis maker's specs. You can damage the drive shift, transmission and/or suspension components by having ride height out of spec. Just consider the big change in angle on that 18" long DP drive shift if you are even just 1" out of spec. Brett

Sounds like you have identified the issue as either a problem with the inverter or the batteries. Have you checked battery water level? Voltage? Are the sides of the battery swollen? If not a battery issue, call Xantrex on Monday. But, you might try turning off all other 120 VAC appliances (A/C, microwave, water heater if 120 VAC element) and re-try the inverter/charger. If the CG has low voltage, running everything at the same time may drop voltage below sustainable levels. Again, I suspect an internal issue with the inverter/charger, but this 5 minute test would be worth trying.

Yes, shore power and generator "meet" at the ATS. But, as long as other 120 VAC appliances such as the A/C's are working, you DO have 120 VAC at least to the main 120 VAC breaker panel. There are a number of acceptable ways that your inverter (or hopefully inverter/charger) could be wired. Start by turning off and back on the breaker in your main 120 VAC breaker panel for the inverter. Yes, most inverters and inverters DO have a fuse or often resettable breaker on the inverter itself. Check for one. But, be aware that a bad battery could also be the cause and could be DANGEROUS. After that, suggest you contact the tech help line for your brand inverter with the model and serial number for more specific troubleshooting. In the meantime, you can plug in any 12 VDC charger to a 120 VAC outlet to bring your batteries back up. If in a CG, I guarantee you that someone near you has one you could borrow. Worse case is use your toad with jumper cables to the coach batteries (set RPM around 1200-1500) OR use the coach main engine to charge both banks. Brett

Generator and shore power both feed into an ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) that allows only ONE source of 120 VAC at a time. Then wires run from the ATS to the 120 VAC main breaker box. Trace shore power wire from side of coach to ATS is usually the easiest, OR from breaker box back to ATS. Brett

Yup, if plates are exposed, they are as good as dead.

Do your other 120 VAC appliances work when plugged into that shore power? Your inverter/charger should not react any different on shore power than on generator power. So, if it works on generator, but not on shore power, first thing to do is confirm that you do have shore power. Have you verified you do have shore power-- proper polarity and 108- 128 VAC? Brett

Depends on what kind of control you have for your battery disconnect switch. Assume this is a switch controlling a solenoid, not mechanical switch. Did it "turn itself off" after the new batteries were installed and all connections tightened? If so strange. If this happened when the old batteries were taken out and new ones were installed, it is possible that loosing all 12 VDC turned the solenoid off (depends on the type of solenoid). I would monitor it and see if it reoccurs. If it does, get us more information on what battery disconnect switch and solenoid you have. Brett

Have you "de-winterized the potable water system or was it not winterized last winter? Draining the ice maker line, water solenoid for the ice maker and line to it from the galley are part of winterizing and it may take some time for water to get all the way into the freezer.. You may try disconnecting the hot lead to the water solenoid and jumping it with 12 VDC while someone else has the freezer open to tell you when water is coming out. Brett

Good advice. Stick with golf cart (6 VDC) batteries if you want the most battery (deep cycle battery) for the money. Install them, no need to charge before installation. We really can't comment on the adequacy of your converter or charger in the Roadtrek unless you tell us what converter or charger you have. As mentioned, best are the "Smart" ones that charge at a higher voltage (14.0-14.5) in BULK mode and ABSORPTION MODE and tamper off voltage to 13.2-13.5 in FLOAT MODE. Very difficult to tell state of charge from voltage level when the converter or charger is on, as very quickly voltage will reach the above figures if a smart charger and should be in the 13.2-13.5 range from the beginning if "not smart". An ammeter would be better for telling charge rate. Voltage is a reasonable indicator of state of charge IF the batteries are in a "state of rest" (no charging and no discharging for at least an hour). Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Next check is to check propane PSI with a manometer. Even if refrigerator is operating perfectly, if propane pressure is low (propane regulator bad or needing adjustment) the flame will not be of adequate size to properly cool. Brett

Yes, the Trojan T105 is a very popular and good quality golf cart battery. The two in series will give you 225 amp-hrs @12 VDC or up to a usable 112 amp-hrs if the batteries are fully charged before you should recharge them (discharging below 50% charge materially shortens a battery's life). From Trojan's website: http://www.trojanbat...ts/T-1056V.aspx