rdjl972

OK. With some guidance from a few great helpers here on this forum, here’s what has happened. I had the time to try and locate the source of the problem with the misalignment of the generator frame and discovered the following. The main source of both the misalignment and the clunking noise, I believe, is that the rollers that the genset frame rides on (6 of them) are misaligned on their tracks causing three of the six rollers to be partially collapse at their sidewalls (see attached photo). The rollers are actually riding UP onto the edge of the rails. I see no easy and appropriate way of correcting this as both the frame of the motorhome and the frame that supports the genset are welded in place making the track widths the rollers run in out of alignment, and it's been this way since the coach was built. The genset frame track is a good 1/2" to 3/4" too narrow causing the rollers to ride up on the edge of the lower frame rail (see photos) rather than down in the surface of the track as they should be (again see photos). I'm sure that Monaco engineering didn't design these two tracks to fit in this manner. Both sets of rails – the two welded to the frame of the coach and the two rails welded to the genset frame – should be the same width and be in alignment with each other so the rollers can contact the flat surfaces of both the upper and lower tracks where the rollers would normally ride. With only three of the six rollers compromised, mostly on the passenger side of the coach, this would cause the misalignment of the generator in its space and cause the bodywork to “fall down” on the passenger side and rub in the two places I described in my original post. Now that I can see the problem I'm trying to figure out how the rollers could have lasted as long as they have. They are under severe stress trying to hold up a 750+ pound genset while being misaligned in their respective rails. In contacting Monaco about this issue – they say they’ve never had an issue as I’m describing before so I should try and locate a qualified RV technician. The reason I need the help from this forum is because the only fix I can see that makes sense is to remove the genset from the coach, somehow have the genset frame rails widened to match the frame rails in the coach, then replace all six rollers, reinstall the genset back into the coach, then realign the front faceplate to match the front cap of the coach. That’s a big job. I’m not afraid to tackle such a job, but it’s a BIG job just the same. So with all of that said, I’m curious if any of you out there have had the same or similar problem and what did you do to correct it? Any guidance is helpful. Thank you SO much guys. Rick P.S. I tried to attach the three pix I had that I referred to in this post - all three average about 91kb - and kept getting the error message that I've exceeded the maximum attachment limit of 501kb. Not sure what's going on here but the three pix total just under 300kb. I'll be happy to send them individually to anyone that is willing to give me their regular email address. Sorry guys.

Holy smokes. We have a 2008 Monaco Camelot 43 foot motorhome. I will fix our profile so this information is present. Also, thanks for all the guidance. I will check these things out and get back to this post and report on what I find out so others can learn from this experience. Thanks fellas, Rick

I’m hoping that someone out there has had this experience before and can help me understand what might be going on. For the past year now, I’ve noticed that as we encounter small bumps in rest area pullouts, camp grounds, or any other place where the road surface isn’t as smooth as it could be, that the generator framework that supports the generator makes clunking noises. It sounds much as if one of the shock absorbers is loose, but I’ve had them checked several times and that’s not it. I suspect that the heavy duty rollers on the framework that holds the generator up are loose. In just the last week while traveling through New Mexico and Colorado along Interstate 25 the mysterious noise has gotten much more prevalent, and, the front cover that meets the front cap of our motorhome is now dropped down on the passenger side by about ¼”. This is not good. So can anyone who has had this sort of thing happen on their motorhome or knows what might be going on give me some guidance? I’d certainly appreciate it. Thanks, Rick

OK. I promised an update when - and IF - I was able to figure out what happened. It turns out that the Big Boy relay will make the "thumping" sound whenever it's trying to charge a battery that's low on charge. In our case, that was the engine start batteries - two group 32 maintenance free batteries in parallel. These are our older batteries - 7 years plus - so all I had to do was replace the two start batteries and the problem went away. BUT ... I'd like to give credit, where credit is due. In this case Mark and Chris at M & M Audio mnmaudio@roadrunner.com were an excellent source of information about the Big Boy relay. They explained everything I needed to know and more. They even mentioned stuff I hadn't even thought of. What a great help they were and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone having battery and/or charge problems. Send them an email and see what you get. Thanks again to everyone that helped me. Rick

Been a while since I asked for help here in this Forum. Always had good luck, so here goes. I'm having an issue that started about a month ago with a thumping sound in the right rear portion of our 2008 Monaco Camelot 42 footer. It only seems to happen at colder temps. In tracking down the source of the noise I discovered that it's the Big Boy relay in the rear run electrical bay. I've been checking forums, including this one, and really couldn't find any guidance of what the issue might be that causes the thumping sound, or what can be done to correct it. Some say to replace the relay, some say to remove the relay and clean the contacts, and some say to just live with it. But if it hasn't thumped for the last seven years, and it's just now making the sound, why should I ignore it and "live with it" now? That doesn't seem right. To give a bit of background, this only happens when hooked to shore power (nothing when dry camping and the batteries are isolated), with both the inverter and the charger side of the inverter turned ON, and only when it's pretty cool outside. During the day with warm temps ... nothing ... it's quiet. When I switch the charger side of the inverter OFF, the thumping sound stops. Now, I replaced the house batteries about a year ago with 300 amp AGM's X4 because the original batteries were shot, and haven't replaced the chassis batteries at all. They seem to be performing just fine. They're group 31P with two maintenance free Diehard's in parallel. Total CCA's to crank the engine is 1500. Now they're also about seven and a half years old. Is it possible that the Big Boy relay is trying to charge them and they're not accepting a full charge because of age, so the relay is cycling continuing to try and charge them? Last tidbit of info is this ... the control board just behind the Big Boy relay has three green LED's on it and all three are lit. So what do you guys think? Does anyone out there have any guidance that can help? I'd appreciate any help that any of you can provide. Thanks, Rick

My wife and I recently received a call about a week ago from Thousand Trails where we've had a campground membership for about ten years now. It seems there's something going on but they are VERY careful not to say anything to give it away. It seems somewhat sinister. So I thought I'd put it out there to my fellow RVers and ask if anyone knows what's going on? It would be nice to have some heads-up before the call in a few days. I would VERY much appreciate anything anyone can share. Thank you, Rick

Thank you to ALL of you. I appreciate the ideas & advice immensely. I did contact Monaco via email and they just now got back to me (so if they hadn't all of your ideas would have worked too) and they said to remove both ECM's, both battery grounds - which I have to do anyway to get the batteries out of the compartment during welding - and then turn off the two master switches at the rear of the coach to disconnect everything else not already disconnected. They also suggested that the welding contact (ground) cable be as close as possible to the area being welded and that should do it. Again .... thanks for all the help guys. I truly appreciate it. Rick

Does anyone know what needs to be done before welding to a Monaco Roadmaster chassis? I have a make a modification of the battery compartment in my 2008 Camelot and need to do a small amount of welding. I've done this before but can't remember the few things that need to be disconnected before welding. Does anyone have a list? Thanks for any help, Rick

Hi All, I just read dhj1974's most recent post and even though I have checked again - shifting into and out of neutral several times and shifting into 4WD several times - the newest N23 software fix seems to be working fine. But after reading this post, though, now I am a bit more concerned. Do I have a cracked circuit board or not? Is there some way to tell? Also, is dhj1974 aware that Fiat now owns Jeep and not Chrysler? I wonder if he's onto something here that Fiat is trying to avoid a large recall of GC's and doesn't want to own up to a problem? Does anyone know what causes the circuit board to crack in the first place? Sorry for all the questions. I just thought that everything was OK with our 2006 GC and now I'm wondering. By the way ... THANK YOU to all who have posted here as this information is valuable and I, for one, appreciate all the effort. Keep 'em coming. Rick

Hey All, I just had the newest N23 recall software fix applied to our 2006 Jeep GC Overland and it worked just fine. Everything is back to working like it should. I checked both shifting into neutral AND shifting into 4WD. Both work fine. No charge from dealer as well as they knew it was Jeep's N23 original recall that started this whole thing from the beginning. I'll check it again in a week or so to verify all is well and report back to this thread. Finally, Rick

Has anyone had the new N23 software fix applied to their Jeep GC and been able to test it BEYOND the one week or so timeframe that the older fixes addressed? I'm trying to avoid getting the newest N23 fix applied to my Jeep this coming week - August 20th to be exact - and then not being able to get it into neutral around the first of October - well beyond the one week timeframe - when we leave West Yellowstone MT. Also, can anyone verify that pulling fuse 25 also works for a short term fix? Thanks so much you guys !!! Rick

Thanks Tom for the update. I too am a bit hesitant in thinking that the fix will do the trick. As I stated in my earlier post I have an appointment with the local Jeep dealer for the 20th of August and I will certainly let ALL know how that fix goes. In the meantime, I'm sure there are others who will get to their dealers much early than I, so I'd be interested to hear from any that can give earlier feedback. And ... YES ... let's do this as a team effort. Thanks again Tom. Rick

I have the EXACT same issue with my 2006 Jeep GC Overland. The N23 update was performed back in March and now I'm stuck in drive mode only. Can't use 4WD or get the Jeep into neutral for towing. It's a wonder - given the stories I have just read on this entire posting (Thanks to ALL) - that I was even able to get it into neutral on the 1st of May to tow it here. THANK YOU especially to Tom Garrett and Jim Reid for their most recent postings. Because of their postings I made an appointment with the Bozeman MT Jeep dealer and they didn't even question why I needed to come in. As soon as I mentioned the N23 issue, they made the appointment right away. It's set for the 20th of August - the next time I make a grocery run from here in West Yellowstone MT - as I am a seasonal ranger in the park. Please continue to reply to this issue as without some help from all of you, many of us Jeep owners would be up the proverbial creek without even a boat let alone a paddle. Thanks again guys, Rick

Does anyone out there have any advice for towing a newer - 2014 or 2015 - Ford Explorer all four down? I'm mostly concerned about transmission oil circulation and if that's an issue still in the newer models. Also, what does the Ford Neutral Safety kit do and how hard is it to install? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Rick