eric@babin.com

My equipment: 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42qd Cummins 450 / Allison 6sp (I think an Allison 4000) Miles: 54,000 I was thinking it was time to change my transmission fluid and filter so I checked the manual.... It gave me instructions on how to have the system tell me what % of life for the fluid is remaining..... It says 87% remaining. How is that possible? I bought the coach in 2017 with 17,000 miles on it so I'm pretty sure it's the original fluid. So..... should I have it changed or believe the 87% number? Also.... thinking of changing differential fluid also.... thoughts? Lastly.... if you know a good mobile RV Mobile Lube service in the Texas Hill Country, just NE of San Antonio I'd love to hear about it.

Both fuel filters have been changed since first symptom.

First symptom: ABS light came one. No loss of power. Pulled up to get gas, coach died. Started up fine. Got up to pump, lost power leaving pump. Drained fuel filter, ran fine for a couple hours / hundred miles. Parked for 1 week, started, ran fine, about 20 miles into drive stopped at a signal and coach died. Pulled out into traffic in turn, and it died, but ran fine after sitting for 30 seconds for about another 60 miles it died going down interstate going at about 65mph. While coasting to a stop it started back up on its own and took an exit. During the turn at the exit it stalled again…. Started back up and got to a parking lot. Every time at this point I’d tried to start it would start and die. This was at a Travel America stop….. I cleaned off battery terminals, waited 2 hours, and began the trip… heading to an RV park… about 10 miles down the road it stalled again…. Got it started again, did the rest of the 1 mile trip to the RV park and parked for 2 days. Started RV and ran about 18 miles to an RV / Truck repair no problems…. Replace all batteries (coach / and chassis). Battery connections may have been a problem according to RV repair….. leave there, 3-4 miles later it dies again. Now, sitting on side of road waiting for two truck.

Will do... thank you.

Some friends of mine have a 2004 Winnebago Vectra (40' Class A) that is in bad shape and they'd like to trade it in. Although it runs, it does have a bad engine oil leak which will require total engine replacement according to mechanics. The coach also needs roof repair, leveler repair, dash lights are out, and A/C is struggling.... yes, it's in bad shape. Is there someone / or some business that buys RVs for parts? Or would allow a trade in of this RV for a newer model? What do you do with an old dying RV? Is there any way to get at least a little value out of it? The RV is located in Texas near Austin, and is drivable.

Just found this issue at a brand new park today and have a question about this...... Here are my readings off the 50 amp plug: We're going to name the plug holes like a compass.... North, South, East and West. Readings: West to South = 240V, West to East = 120V, West to South = 120 V. (I know I should have read, in order, 120V, 240V, 120V) My guess is the bottom (south) leg which is "neutral"????? is hot with 120V, which gives my line 1 hot, and "neutral" the 240V reading.... the hot neutral with line 2 giving me 120V is telling me that they connected ground to what should be line 2 hot..... correct? So, if I had been dumb enough to plug in, I'd have had 120V going through the skin of my coach? Or would that only be if the 120 was connected to the top (north) hole of the 50 amp plug?

It's some sort of rivet on both ends. Good idea on trying to unscrew...

nope... no snap on clip... that would be too easy.... mine is "eyelet".

I'll make a few calls today.... another problem I see... these things are not installed using bolts/nuts or screws.... Looks like I may have to drill out the mounts to get the old ones off. Any tricks I may be missing on that?

I have a 2014 Itasca (Winnebago) Ellipse (Tour) and need to replace the gas struts for the rear awning..... I'll be darned if I can figure out which one to order..... I have all the info, but can't find it online... It's Lift-o-Mat Stabilus 393019 0380n 235/13 c 9 If I know how much weight it's supposed to support, or how to measure the length (is it just the black part or length fully extended). Any help would be appreciated.

Just putting this out there.... I'm attending the10 week RVSA / Recreational Vehicle Service Academy right now in Palmetto Florida. It's a great course so far. If you have ever considered attending such a course, feel free to contact me for questions.

If you are a Veteran and Post 9/11 Gi Bill authorized I've got great news for you! There is a 10 week RV Tech school that is VA approved in Palmetto FL (just south of Tampa). I am attending right now. Here is a link to the school: https://www.rvsa.net/ It's very intensive and I'm confident it's going to help me out quite a bit. Most of the students intend to start their own Mobile RV service back "home". I'll play it by ear.... primary reason in attending is for personal knowledge.... but, already been offered a job at a repair facility if I desire to do that. If you have questions I'm ready to answer them.

Yes... Mike gave me the number of someone to call in San Antonio. Not yet.... but may be next step... but see update below. Yep... talked to Mike and he gave me a number to call. UPDATE: Started coach today just to see if I could force the code to reset..... guess what..... check engine is off.... code reader shows no active codes! ok... with that said.... we are on the roads a lot so..... I'm going to take it in to have a professional look at it..... Here is something I just remembered yesterday... and this MIGHT be the culprit? You tell me if it is possible.... (I guess anything is possible). You know those fuel additives.....the ones with the foil on the top..... well, I was using one with the foil that is about the size of a dime.... and, it fell into the fuel tank while I was putting the additive in about 4,000 miles ago / a couple of months.... hmmm.... could be causing the intermittent issue.... stops up something... then when coach sits, it floats back down? Just for more numbers.... yesterday I was getting, according to my Nexas Code Reader, 99-100 MPa fuel rail pressure.... today, with no check engine light showing, I'm getting 79-80 MPa. So, maybe the issue it was HIGH? I guess this is why I need to take it in to have it looked at.

Well...… it happened again.... and, it won't clear. We lost power fairly drastically.... pulled over.... tried the same things as before.... but code would still not clear.... we decided to drive a little.... it SEEMED to be working fine, good power, but.... as I said.... check engine stayed on. We were able to make it home to Pipe Creek Texas (north west San Antonio). Now.... my question - any recommendations for mechanics / shops in the NW San Antonio Area? The nearest Cummins and Freightliner are both on the east side of San Antonio (about 50 miles away). If there is something closer I'd prefer that..... OR.... should I just suck it up and drive the 50 miles. And... if I do, would there be a preference between Cummins or Freightliner? (they are very near each other)

Yes... got the 10% off for "power club".

Equipment: 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD / Onan 10,000 RV QD w/1,600 hours. Issue: Boondocking for extended period on generator.... generator simply shut down during long term operation. Tried to restart, generator turned over, ran for about 1 second. Code indicated 27 - PMA Failure (You can count the blinks on the generator or start button, or look at remote panel with LCD read-out) Made appointment with Cummins Tampa. Their original diagnosis was bad "brush block". They received part, and replaced brush block (and fuel filter at my request since they were already in there). Upon starting after those replaced generator was still shutting down for code 27. Guess what.... once they opened it up they saw a broken wire! Fixed wire, and generator ran fine..... BUT...… we aren't done yet..... When I picked up the coach I started generator and it ran fine..... I assumed we're good to go.... I didn't go back to panel to verify coach was receiving power..... got back to RV park.... for some reason, I decided to check that.... NOPE.... no power making it in to the coach..... dang it! Drive 45 minutes back to Cummins Tampa..... they take a look.... oh, a "loose wire". They tightened that up and I'm back on the road with gen-power. Hey.... it works, so I'm happy. Also, even though from what I can tell, the brush block didn't need to be replaced, I'm told they should be checked at 2,000 hours.... I was at 1,600... so..... hey, I've got new brushes! Moral to the end of the story.... don't drive off until you are sure it works in every way it should! See pictures for everything up to the loose wire since they wrote no ticket for that.....

I can't find a model number on the faceplate. However, a google search shows it is probably an ME MR: https://www.magnum-dimensions.com/sites/default/files/MagArchive/64-0031-Rev-A-Web-ME-MR.pdf

Update: I turned the battery cut off back to "on" this morning. Everything seems normal now. See pictures below.... this is what it is reading this morning. "Batter +" is now down to 34A.

I found the reading under "tech" menu on the panel. It was reading 19c but, of course, I'm plugged into shore power. At least I know where to check now.

It's a 2014 Itasca Ellilpse 42qd. I purchased the coach used in mid-2018. I assume the batteries are original / so about 6 years old? I have them checked each October. Last check I was told they are fine. Batter temp reads 19c. (plugged into shore power) I did turn the engine block heater on yesterday morning for about 3 hours. It was not on at the time, nor is it now.

We tripped the park 50amp breaker which was strange since I didn't think we were pulling many amps.... only 1 a/c and a dryer.... so, I checked my amp draw.... it was almost 50 amps.... I turned everything off except LED lights, so it should have dropped to about 2 amps.... one on each line.... but Line 2 was reading 18-20 amps.... turned breakers off one at a time.... it was the inverter.... but, with the inverter breaker off the fridge was also off. Now remember.... we're plugged into shore power this whole time. I went to the inverter and switched the battery cut-off at the inverter to "off". RV Amp draw dropped to what it should be (2 amps total). And the fridge stayed on. What I noticed while the battery switch was still in the "on" position is that the Magnum Energy panel was reading "Battery +120" (something like that... it was certainly over 100!) Is that normal? (see picture below.... this is with the batter cut-off in the "off" position. I guess my question is this.... Have I just never noticed my inverter draws that much amperage? Or, do I have a problem?

Good info, but certainly not what I wanted to hear! I'll keep an eye on it. However, I did find this: The Motor Control Module (MCM) monitors the rail pressure and when rail pressure deviation is greater than 200 bar for eight seconds, the MCM sets the code. This fault can occur due to the conditions listed below: External fuel leakage between the high pressure pump and fuel injectors Pressure limiting valve leakage (internal) Fuel filter integrity (loose caps, plugged filters) Fuel supply issues (fuel level, fuel aeration, leaking fuel lines, fuel restrictions) Intermittent loss of engine speed signal High pressure pump internal failure Fuel injector (amplifier or needle) leakage Fuel Contamination Rail pressure sensor Motor Control Module (MCM)

2014 Itasca (Winnebago) Ellipse (Tour) / Cummins 450hp Driving down the Florida Turnpike yesterday my check engine light came on. I found a safe place to pull over, and pulled out my Nexas Diagnostic Scanner. I had purchased this almost a year ago, and never had to use it.... it certainly came in handy! (here is the scanner on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4GH6UZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) I plugged it in, and ran a diagnostic and got SPN 157. A problem with fuel rail pressure.... I remember getting a similar code back before I had the reader and had to go through the painful process of figuring out how to find the code using the installed system on the dash.... and I remembered that code comes up when you have a loose gas cap. Prior to having the code reader I tightened the gas cap and had to wait what seemed like an hour for the code to clear.... using the Nexas I was able to tighten the gas cap, clear the code immediately, then run diagnostics again.... boom.... no check engine light.... issue fixed. (To clear the code I had to turn engine off, put ignition back in the accessory position without cranking engine on.... go back to the reader and "clear current codes" and then I got "success"). Just sharing a little info that having a reader can save you some time. Once you get the code then google is your friend.

Most should know if you have problems with your stairs not going in, or not going out, it's frequently the fact the contacts are dirty. A little sandpaper on them and you are good to go. or.... a wire came loose.... take the contact assembly out a little and connect wire. Our stairs began going in and out while we were driving..... contacts were clean..... I took a close look from the side of the contacts and noticed one was shorter than the others..... I pulled the assembly out and upon close inspection, I noticed they are adjustable by pulling the wire off, and using the plastic nut to adjust the length / how far they stick out. See pictures. One note, be sure to remember which side is up (in my case the yellow wire) and not take off more than 1 wire at a time unless you mark them for proper location.