tcolburn

Hi everyone. OP here. I ended up replacing the inverter/charger, and after a few days of testing and observation, I think everything is back to normal. The original remote control unit is still in place and functioning as it should. Thanks to all for your suggestions!

Hello everyone. 2003 Fleeetwood Revolution 40C. With shore power disconnected, generator not running, and both chassis and house power switches turned off, our Xantrex Freedom 458 inverter/charger just started up by itself in “invert” mode and the remote panel (Xantrex Basic Remote) came on. I was able to turn it off by pressing the Invert button on the remote panel, but after a few minutes of silence, the inverter turned itself on again! After a few cycles like this, I called Xantrex tech support, and the friendly person who answered suggested that I reset the inverter/charger by disconnecting the battery positive cable from the unit and waiting 2-3 hours. I did that, but when I came back and reconnected the battery, the inverter started itself up again. I called back to tech support, and the technician told me that a second try at the reset procedure might work. But if it didn’t, he said that given the age of the inverter/charger (original equipment), it was likely that I would need to replace it. So I tried the reset process a second time, but the inverter started itself again. This time, after I shut it off from the panel, I had the idea to unplug the RJ-11 connector for the remote from the inverter, and then plug it back in. To my amazement, the unit stayed off and I thought I might have solved the problem. I left after a half hour or so of observation. But alas, when I returned to the coach this morning, the inverter/charger was humming merrily along in the bay. Much more of this and I’m going to end up with flat house batteries. So, what’s your consensus? New unit, or something else to check?

Microwave?

I also have the RVND7 GPS, and finally got through to customer support only to find out that map updates for my unit are no longer supported. So eventually I think it will be time for a Garmin. All of these devices eventually become obsolete, though, regardless of brand…. —Tim C.

I live just south of Chicago and I'm looking for a shop within a reasonable distance which will repair my driver's-side window. One of the three panes has condensate in it and the seals are leaking--makes using the rear-view mirror a bit of an adventure in some light conditions! … I also contacted Master Tech RV, also in Elkhart. They can do the job I need (removing, cleaning, resealing the window); however, they have only one technician who does this sort of work and he hasn't returned to work from Florida or wherever yet!! I'm awaiting a call back from them when he returns, but... … UPDATE Master Tech did get back to me and we scheduled an appointment for June 9th. They actually subcontract window repairs like this to a 3rd party; in this case it was a crew from Auto Glass Boss who did the work. I had had some other windows repaired by Auto Glass Boss at an FMCA rally some years ago and was satisfied. This window is now nice and clear again (since the assembly was out, I had them go ahead and clean all three panes) and I was back home by 5 p.m. I’m happy it’s fixed. As an aside, I must say I was impressed by the size of the Master Tech facility and I appreciated their friendly, professional staff.

Thanks for the responses. I did what F442485 suggested: logged out and then in again. Now it works! —Tim C.

I discovered that the fmca.com website has now come back online, and I was browsing through the various areas to see what may have changed. When I looked at the Membership Directory, I found that I could see my own entry but no one else's. I tried searching by member number (by the way, before upgrade just the numerical portion was enough but now I had to include the "F" at the beginning); by city and state (but just zip code wouldn't get it); and by name. Only entry I could see was mine. Just wanted to let you all know... Best, Tim C.

On our ‘04 Revolution, there is an in-line fuse in the power lead going to the water pump. It’s just behind the pump, which is behind a removable panel in the wet bay. I’ve blown that fuse twice so now I carry some spares of that type in my toolbox.

Not sure if I understand the problem correctly. But when we put away our coach in storage, here’s what I do with the steps: after I exit the vehicle, I close the screen door (which retracts the steps), then reach through the door handle opening in the screen door to turn off the house batteries—fortunately the switch is right by the door! Then I open the screen door, attach it to the outer door, and close and lock them both. Steps stay retracted till I return, open the door, and flip the battery switch. Hope this helps somehow. —Tim

Ours has a 10A in-line glass fuse in the power lead right at the pump. (‘04 Fleetwood Revolution) —Tim C.

I had a slight leak in our tank’s fill valve. RV dealers didn’t want to deal with it and recommended I go to a propane supplier. I found Amerigas in Lansing, Illinois. They had to vent all of the gas out of the tank, then replace the valve. In the process they broke the gauge sender and had to replace that too (but didn’t charge for the extra labor). Took a week or two for the whole process due to their other clients. Everything’s been working fine since.... —Tim

Our local Petro will run the card (before fill up) for whatever you estimate your fill up will cost; this places the hold on the account, and when you reach that amount, the pump shuts off. If you don’t reach the preset amount, you are only charged for what you pumped—whether or not you go back in to get an accurate receipt. I, too was skeptical about this when we first got our diesel, but checking my credit card balance verified that it really works this way. By the way, I avoid using a debit card for these kinds of transactions, since I like the ability to dispute a charge with the credit card company in the event something goes sideways.... Like Herman, I usually avoid Love’s because their prices tend to be higher. ...Now it’s time to go out and move some snow here in eastern Will County...😏 —Tim C.

Slide seal lubricant. I think it’s a Camco product; comes in a spray can. I apply some a couple times a season (when I think of it!). I’ve also used it on the door seals of our cars to help prevent the doors from freezing shut in the winter. —Tim C.

Couple of comments. First, deciding “yes” or “no” on the proposal was not so easy—thanks in large part to the thoughtful discussion here on the Forum. There were a lot of considerations we never thought of before seeing them addressed by others. I vacillated a lot and so did my wife and several of our friends. One procedural issue we had was what to do when the two of us did not agree, since we only had one vote for our F#. I imagine others may have had this concern too, and maybe that was part of the low voter turnout. (BTW, DW and I did reach agreement eventually and got our vote sent in...) Second, apropos chapter membership and governance, this whole process illustrates the need to examine the organizational structure to ensure that every member is fairly represented. I don’t think that there has been any intentional effort to exclude non-chapter members, but from many of the comments here, I can see how some would get that impression. There are several possible models for national/chapter structure (I belong to some other organizations that address this in various ways) and FMCA might well want to establish a committee or something to investigate whether some sort of restructuring might better serve all its members. If this happens, I hope that the accumulated wisdom here would be part of the conversation. And I’ll finish with a chapter comment. When we joined FMCA as newbies a few years ago, we didn’t know anything about chapters. Shortly afterward, though, we got an invitation to join a local chapter, and did so. When we attended our first outing, we discovered a whole new group of lifelong friends we hadn’t known we had! Our chapter is most interested in being together and having a good time: no cliques, no politics, just friendship and a welcoming attitude. For us, this is the face of FMCA. Best, Tim C.

Me too.

Good idea. Didn't think of that while I was under there! --Tim

Success! And thanks to all for your advice and support. As jobs go, this one turned out to be relatively uncomplicated. Was very conscious of all the safety warnings, so I worked slowly and methodically ('course, everything I do these days is slow and methodical!). Gary, your advice to use vise-grips to hold the shaft was spot on--made it very easy to reassemble all the parts. I purchased the entire unit and just used the clamp, diaphragm, and air chamber/spring brake (referred to as a "piggyback kit" in some of the documentation I found) so that I wouldn't have to mess with the slack adjuster and clevis, nor have to measure and cut the new shaft. Nothing else was bent or damaged. Hardest part was getting the air line nipples out of the old unit, but a gentle application of heat finally did the trick. Interestingly, I discovered damage to the diaphragm under the hole in the chamber housing so I was happy to replace it. The whole operation only took three tools (well, four, if you include the torch): 9/16, 3/4, and 7/8 inch wrenches. Luckily I have some GearWrenches--made it a lot easier. But, wow, my muscles still ache from cranking up that caging bolt! Here's how the new one looks. And it works perfectly. --Till next time, Tim C.

Hey, everyone--thank you all for your responses and excellent advice. I've got a new unit on order from Freightliner and should have it in a day or two. I will be back to update the group on my progress. As Kay noted, it's just the chamber housing that's damaged. And I am parked safely in our local storage area, so no emergency. You bet I'll be careful about the spring, too! See you soon. --Tim

Motoring along on I-80 Sunday, we struck a piece of shrapnel (looked like a metal grating of some sort) that was sitting right in the middle of our lane. I thought I straddled it well enough to avoid damage but as we exited the Interstate the rear brake pressure dropped quickly and the alarm came on. Managed to get home carefully and got the coach parked in its storage slot. Upon inspection, I discovered a hole in the left rear air brake chamber! Here's the question: is this part something I can try to replace by myself? I've looked at several YouTube videos and it certainly seems doable: cage the spring, disconnect the air lines, remove the clamp, and then reassemble with a new part... Any words of wisdom? Sure would rather not have to get the coach towed to a shop! --Tim C.

We went through pretty much the same sequence with our Norcold 1200 last year. Installed the ARPRV unit, replaced the circuit board, deleted the "black box"... and still kept having to reset the refrigerator when running on LP. We received a lot of useful advice, most of it from members of this forum (thanks again to all!). We ended up going to JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana and they replaced our rusty old cooling unit along with the gas burner and (as long as they were in there) the electric heating elements. We kept our circuit board. Since then, no trouble! Turns out that the gas burner was probably the main culprit; it corroded and got clogged and then didn't provide enough heat, according to the techs at JC. For peace of mind we went with the full cooling-unit replacement since ours was pretty rusty. We had considered a residential replacement, but decided that the flexibility of having both AC and LP operation, and not having to modify the cabinet work and electrical system in the coach, made the cooling-unit replacement option a better one for us. --Tim C.

OK, I'm back, with good news! I spoke to tech support at Xantrex in Elkhart. The young man I spoke with suggested that I should add a resistive load and check the reading again. He said if I saw 134 VAC or less I should be fine. So, I plugged in a trouble light with a 75W bulb and checked the voltage again: voila--126 VAC! Apparently there is nothing wrong with my inverter after all. I learned a lot from this episode, and I want to thank you all for helping to get me pointed in the right direction. Hope to meet in person one day. --Tim C.

Carl, I'm not hooked up to shore power at home. That photo was just to verify that the meter is working all right on a known-good power source. Now, the idea of checking inverter output with a surge suppressor (I have a portable Progressive 50A EMS) is interesting. Seems like I should be able to plug it into one of the outlets served by the inverter with suitable 50-30-20A adapters, and get a reading, just as I do when I plug into shore power at a campground or my garage outlet at home. Of course, if the EMS doesn't like the modified sine wave, I wonder if I could end up damaging it... So my next step, when I get home, will be to try calling Xantrex, then go from there. The adventure continues! --Tim

Update... so I went out and found a "true RMS meter" and tested the inverter output with it. First photo shows the result: "generic" voltmeter= 158 VAC; RMS voltmeter= 147.7 VAC. Still too high, I think... (Incidentally, the RMS meter does show that the current is 59.99 Hz, so the frequency appears to be OK.) Second photo, just for reference, shows house current at my home: 124.3 VAC. For what it's worth, the TV works on this high voltage! But I'm not going to use the inverter till I can get a complete diagnosis. Probably will call Xantrex next week to see what they say. Thanks again to all who have been following this thread and offering your advice and opinions. I'll keep everyone posted.... --Tim C.

Thank you Rich (and everyone else!), for the warning and explanation. The meter I was looking at is one of those digital plug-in ones. I'll take my other DVM over tomorrow and see what I can discover. --Tim

Ah, I forgot about the modified sine wave. No, none of my meters has a "True RMS" setting, but if I can find one that does I'll try it and report my results. Meantime it sounds like the inverter's probably working all right. When I've used it before I never bothered to check the output, but the TV and microwave always worked.... Thanks! --Tim