richard5933

Usually it would be somewhere near the driver. The purpose of the switch is to engage the solenoid and use the house battery bank to help start the coach's engine. This is useful when you find yourself with a dead chassis battery. If you have a solenoid and it's engaged, then anything that drains the house battery bank will drain the chassis battery bank at the same time. I'm betting that the solenoid is engage right now and that's why both battery banks are draining together. Are the voltage readings of the chassis batteries and house batteries the same? Do they drop to the same voltage overnight? If they are the same and drop the same, then that would certainly indicate that they are joined electrically right now. I still suspect that you have something draining the batteries in the coach somewhere. When you did this, did you disconnect the ground cable from each battery bank? You might have multiple cable connected to ground terminals in your battery bank. The one you want to disconnect is the one going from the battery bank to the chassis/body of the coach. By disconnecting the ground cable from each battery bank you isolate them from the coach and eliminate anything that could be draining them. If, after the batteries are properly disconnected, they still drain down overnight then it's time to have the batteries changed out. They should not have a noticeable voltage drop overnight if they are in good condition. Remember though, the voltage will read higher while the stand-alone charger (or any charger) is connected. The reading will drop slowly over a few minutes until it stabilizes, and then should stay relatively stable overnight if there is no load on the batteries.

Before spending too much more time, my next step would be to test the batteries and the inverter/charger. Batteries can be tested by any good auto parts store. One bad cell on one battery can make the entire battery bank act wonky. The inverter/charger is not too difficult to test. You want to measure the 12v side to be certain it is providing adequate voltage to charge the batteries when it's turned on and in charge mode. When it's drawing from the batteries in order to provide 120v to outlets you want to measure the voltage at the 120v side. Hopefully someone with a similar inverter/charge can chime in with the specific voltage levels you are hoping to find on each end. All that said, if you put a stand alone charger on the batteries and the lights dimmed with it running, then either your load is larger than the stand alone charger can provide or a battery is failing/failed. Perhaps the inverter is still drawing from the batteries?? If the voltage drops on the chassis batteries while the engine is running, then either you have too large a load on them or the chassis alternator is not working properly. The same auto parts store that tests your batteries can test the output on your alternator. You can also test it with a multimeter - lots of videos on YouTube about this. You have a solenoid. Find the switch that controls it. It might be labeled as a starting booster. Perhaps whatever load is drawing down your house batteries is drawing down your chassis batteries - that could happen if this solenoid is switch or stuck in the 'connect' mode. I really believe that this problem will not be all that complicated once you find it. Finding it might be a bit of a hunt and search. Probably one component or system which is affecting all things downhill from it. To me, best approach would be to isolate and test each of the various components individually (chassis alternator, chassis batteries, house batteries, inverter/charger, etc.). Once you find the offending piece of the puzzle the remedy will be simple.

I was responding to the OP who stated they wanted to connect something to their onboard wireless network. I assumed that they had a workable connection to the internet for their wireless network which would work for this system. If you don't have reliable internet where you are parked and a hotspot is out of the question, then I don't know of any system like this that will be practical. They all rely on some type of connection to the internet, whether it be through an Ethernet cable, a wifi connection, or a hotspot. Absent an internet connection I just don't see how this would work. All that said, if the obstacle to using a hotspot is the purchase price, and if the only thing you'll be using the hotspot for would be something like one of these thermostats, then it might be possible to use a cell phone for your hotspot. The thermostat shouldn't use all that much data, and most smartphones can be set up to run a hotspot and be able to get your thermostat online. If you've got an old smartphone you're not using, it might not be that expensive to add it to your plan with the intention of using it as a hotspot for this purpose.

All you need is a simple Honeywell thermostat with wifi capability. This is what we have at home: https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Programmable-Thermostat-RTH6580WF-Requires/dp/B00Y6M2OUC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1535573095&sr=8-4&keywords=honeywell+wifi+thermostats I wanted to be able to monitor the temp in our house when we travel to be sure that things didn't freeze. I mounted the thermostat in the room I was concerned about but didn't actually connect it to the furnace (our furnace needs a different kind of thermostat that was much more expensive to make wifi). The thermostat (like any wifi thermostat) requires a power supply, so I just used a plug-in power supply: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075PN6NCV/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Total cost was under $100 and it was simple to connect the Honeywell thermostat to the wifi at home. You should be able to mount one of these in the RV and connect to the wifi so that it can notify you as needed. I believe this also can work with Alexa if you have that in your RV.

Post a few pictures and perhaps we'll have ideas.

Two thoughts... 1) The OP has stated a few times that the chassis and house batteries are connected. Not sure if this is through an isolator, through a solenoid, or through a mechanical connection (clamp). There should be a way to disconnect them if it is not automatic. If there is a battery isolator it should be keeping one battery bank from discharging the other, so when the engine is running there should be no way for both battery banks to simultaneously discharge like this. If there is a solenoid, then there should be a way to turn it off. If they are mechanically connected - they shouldn't be and that needs to be addresses. My guess is that the two battery banks are connected with a solenoid (boost switch) that's been left turned on when it shouldn't be. 2) If battery banks are both connected to the chassis alternator when the engine is running and both battery banks are discharging, then one of two possibilities exists: either the load on the battery banks exceeds the alternator's output, or the alternator has a problem and is not providing the proper charge. If this was my coach I'd disconnect the ground cable from the house battery bank and then test to see if the chassis alternator is charging the chassis batteries. Once it's determined that the alternator is functioning properly it would be time to work out the connection to the house battery bank. And a couple of other suggestions: -Has the output of the inverter/charger been tested when the coach is connected to shore power? I didn't see anything that verified the output of the charger side of the inverter/charger -Has the "microwave ordeal" been resolved? If not, then it almost sounds like the discharge is due to something still drawing hard from the batteries.

Almost every GPS has a way to mark a road as an avoidance. On my Garmin it's not that difficult, although I've only done it a time or two. By marking a particular stretch of road or even a small geographic area as a no-go zone the unit will never route through it. For a one-time route I'll just use a map and do it manually, but if it's an area I drive often I'd want to have the GPS avoid it. As much as people want to hate GPS units, they can do something maps cannot - they can route around accidents/traffic/road closures in real time. Apps like Waze can do that as well, but as far as I know the GPS units are the only way to automatically re-route in real time AND to have the height/weight of the RV taken into consideration. As much as I love a good map, driving a coach in traffic is just not the time I want to be reading the map if I have reason to re-route at the last minute.

Of course, as I was told when I registered my coach in Wisconsin, we are all subject to spot inspections if an officer deems it necessary. Since we look very much like a commercial coach, I do look in the mirrors for flashing lights every time we pass a weigh station.

Welcome to the forum. Just curious what the reason would be to have your tanks cleaned like that? Is there a problem or just routine maintenance?

Some shops will not do anything that requires them to work from inside a motor home, so there's a good chance they saw removing the radiator as the only route to the repair site. Not saying I agree with their approach (pun intended) but I do understand the reluctance of shops to send a grease-covered mechanic to work from inside a motor home that costs as much as some do nowadays. Especially if their bread-and-butter is working on commercial vehicles. Only takes one or two expensive carpet or upholstery damage claims to scare a shop from working through the hatch in the bedroom floor. Glad you got it resolved. Sometimes a motor home owners best tool is perseverance and determination.

Our plan of attack on all these types of things is to have a good working relationship with a shop where we take our coach regularly. We sometimes pay for a couple hours labor to have them inspect and find things wrong before we have a breakdown. Getting things fixed on our schedule at our regular shop is so much better than having a shop on the road start guessing at things. The Interstate location in Milwaukee works with us on pricing all the time, but that's because we've been taking our coaches their for a couple of years now for service. Realistically speaking, getting anything done on a diesel pusher is expensive. Posted hourly labor is $128/hr at the shop we use. Even getting a filter changed is going to be over $100, but with the cost of the filter and the labor it's not unexpected. There are good, reputable shops out there. But if you go in thinking that things will cost the same as on a car or pickup you'll be shocked and surprised. Back to the current issue with the check engine light...Do you know that it's the transmission? Any symptoms to indicate this or is it just a guess? Might there be a code that can be read on the dash to see what the reason is that the light is on? Before spending any money to get things repaired it might be beneficial to find out what caused the light to come on.

I also think you might have a connection or two working loose. Can you access the back side of the panel with the water pump switch? If so, check that all connections are firmly seated and tight.

Clarke Power Services - Central Ft Wayne Truck Center Stoops Freightliner McCormick Motors These are the first ones that pop up. I'm doing this on a PC. Perhaps their site is not compatible with the browser on a Kindle. I'm sure that you won't have to call more than one of these to schedule a fluid/filter change and/or diagnostic session.

https://www.allisontransmission.com/sales-service-locator Looks like you have a few choices in Ft. Wayne, including Clarke Power Services and others. Clarke looks to be a distributor as well, if that's worth anything.

There's an Interstate shop in Gary IN. Not sure how far that is from you. Their shop in Milwaukee works on our coach. They are an Allison dealer/service provider. Might be worth calling for a price quote if you are near them. They are not the cheapest, but they do good work and seem to be honest in their dealings. They deal mainly with commercial vehicles, but I've seen lots of coaches and motor homes in the Milwaukee location getting service work done. I'd rather deal with them than an RV dealership any day.

There are lots of places to search for leaks, especially if you have an Aqua Hot or similar device which is tied into the engine coolant, a driver's heater, or anything else that brings coolant out of the engine bay and into the forward areas of the coach. Ours had a small leak in the circulating pump which was used to bring coolant to the front so that the defroster could get heat. See if you can find the route of the coolant hoses running from the engine bay forward, if you've got them. Check the defroster's heater core as well as the driver's heater core (they may or may not be the same). You many have to really search for the leak, but if you're losing a gallon every 100 miles then it's going somewhere. Best case is you find the leak and can fix it. Worst case is that you're losing coolant through an internal leak in the engine (head gasket, cracked block, etc.) Like the others have suggested, pressurize the system and leave it for a few days. If the leak is external you'll find it. If it's internal to the engine the oil level is likely going to go up as the coolant leaks into the engine.

Larry - Thanks for the update. Just as a suggestion, but a heads up would be nice when we are going to be seeing strange screens pop up. With the way things are today everyone is on high alert (or should be) and seeing the strange screen when logging in created concern.

Starting yesterday, whenever I load the FMCA forum the browser pauses for a moment on a page telling me that the site is testing my browser. What's the deal? Is this some type of new security protocol to see if my browser is updated? Or is there something wrong on my end? Anyone else seeing this out there? I just tried this and it happens in Firefox, Explorer, and Chrome, and it happens on both of my computers. A screen shot is attached.

If the coach is plugged into 30-amp service, then the current is coming from somewhere. Perhaps the inverter is automatically supplying the deficit from battery?

A 1500-watt water heater element would draw about 12 amps when running. Was every breaker turned off except the a/c when making this test?

This would indicate that they are wired to the 'load' side of one of your GFI outlets in the coach. By wiring this way they still have protection from the originating GFI outlet, even though they are not GFI outlets themselves. Hence the labels.

Often times the back of the GFI receptacle will have labels for 'load' and 'line' on the back, with a black and white wire going to each. The 'line' connections should be the coming from your circuit breaker, and the 'load' connections are the wires that go to outlets further downstream. If the GFI outlet resets properly and is working, it should pass the power through the 'load' connections to the outlets downstream.

But if the interior lights don't work, it sounds like nothing more than a dead house battery. The slide probably works from the chassis battery, but I'd bet that the generator starts from the house battery. Put a meter on the battery and see what the voltage is.

We accomplished this by breaking apart a 40-foot ladder into the two 20-foot sections. We pulled the coach alongside a loading dock to give a bit of extra height to the lower end of the ladder, and then laid a section of the separated ladder against the coach to use as a ramp. We made a sled from a scrap of plywood and a pair of 'runners' underneath and pulled it up to the roof of the coach with a rope. The runners made sure that the thing didn't go sideways off the ladder and tumble. To make sure that the a/c unit stayed on the sled I bolted a 2x6 to the lower edge of the sled, and then strapped the a/c unit to the sled. Sometimes when your back is not up to the task creativity is necessary. No way was I going to wait weeks or more for an appointment only to have them charge me an arm & a leg to do a job I could do in an hour. That is, if I had a way to get the thing up there. Took a while to figure out, but the actual implementation didn't take that long. We got the a/c on the roof and installed, and no one's back was injured in the process.

Lots of talk online about that engine with overheating issues. Aside from what the others said, I'd be curious about the condition of the belt running the water pump as well as the water pump itself. If downshifting (increasing engine RPMs), then perhaps the water pump is not pumping adequately at slower RPMs which might indicate a water pump issue.