HELP!
1999 U320 36'
This is my first Foretravel and my first diesel coach. I have 2 questions.
1. When leveling is it better to level automatically or manually?
2. How do you put the coach back into in travel mode?
I have struggled with this many times on the road. I don't know if it is me or if something is wrong with the system. This usually happens when I am on an incline when the rear is down all the way and the front is up. I am not even able to raise the rear in manual mode. After so much trial and error the coach will finally go into travel mode.
I will be traveling towards Iowa in the next week and will be going to HWH and have them check the system out.
Thanks in advance!
3. Where do I find my build number?
Your build number is by your left thigh when in the driver seat. It starts with F, then 99 as year, then 4 numbers will be your build #, 36, then letters for design, then U320 for model, then C for Cummins, and then the trans code.
Touch off on the HWH should get the "Travel" green light. Wtih the unit off, it should go to ride height.
John
Vin number should be on the plate under the driver side window...has tire info on it as well.
When you turn on the ignition before start you should be hearing a bell like the geezer bell on the turn signals. Turn on the ignition. Turn off the HWH. A green light will appear when you are going to ride height. Let the air pressure come up and the bell stops usually a minute or so for us.
We had trouble at FOT with angle as you describe.
I use auto feature on mine but it is new to me. Used manual repeatedly to compensate for height needed to get in driveway dip.
That's the extent of my knowledge...someone who really knows them should confirm cause we are only 8 weeks further up the learning curve. Best to Carmen
Mine also switches to Travel Mode if I put it in gear.
Edited to add, when I arrive at my final parking spot I press the level button the pad on twice while the engine is still running and it levels.
Read through the linked manual - I think it will answer most of your questions.
http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml11148.pdf
A much more "in depth" discussion of air suspension systems here:
http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml20635.pdf
Lots of good general HWH info here:
Technical Help - HWH (http://beamalarm.com/foretravel-links/hwh.html)
I found my build number it is 5559. Thanks for the great explanation Jeff & Sandy. Chuck & Jeannie thanks for the links. I'm doing the leveling correctly, both on manual and automatic. I feel I still have an unresolved issue with my travel mode. I wait for the air tanks to fill, hit Off on the panel and it remains with the leveling system warning. I've dumped all the air and with the leveling system off the front will raise up but the rear stays down. There are times when I don't have any problems at all. It seems that when I am on an incline when the rear is down all the way is when I have a problem. It's like it's not getting any air to the rear. After so much turning off and on the coach, off and on the leveling system the system would all the sudden go into travel mode. I did notice the last time I had the problem I pressed the off button and then I pressed and held the air button and the system went into travel mode. I don't know if this is some type of reset function.
I appreciate the help from all of you.
When something works sometimes and doesn't work another time I think of a bad electrical connection.
Check the plug on the back of the HWH controll panel. Make sure it is a good connection. Unplug and plug it in a few times.
JD
I will have to do that when it is in working mode. It is tough getting underneath when the rear is down all the way. Thanks for the suggestion. Right now the system is working.
Excellent suggestion. I also wonder if perhaps the HWH control panel itself is going bad. I suppose there are places that rebuild them, but I haven't yet needed to go down that path.
Don't forget to chock the wheels and block the frame before you go under the coach (especially the latter whenever the coach air *isn't* dumped and the coach isn't all the way down)
Working Safely around your Foretravel (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=10632.0)
I was leaning towards something more along the lines of the rear travel solenoid or its connection being a possibility.
Rear Ride height solenoid probably has failed. My front ride height and one other were bad
In most cases the build number is handwriten inside the dashboard cover on the driver's position.
This issue is still haunting me. Can't understand why sometimes the coach will go into travel mode just fine and then once in a while struggles to go into travel mode. When it is stuck the rear end is down and won't come up automatically or manually. Where should I start looking? One thing I can add is that when I was in Tulsa Oklahoma a few weeks ago I was in a nearby tornado storm. The actual storm did a lot of damage .8 miles away from us. We were hit with high winds. This was on my way home from FOT after buying my coach. Being new to the air system I did not dump the air in the coach and the coach was being rocked with a lot of wind force. Could this have caused some problems or thrown something out of alignment? I feel I should have dumped the air, turn the leveling system off and let the coach sit all the way down.
I concur with John Duld and D. J. in their posts above. "Intermittent" problem usually means "electrical" problem. The electrical half of the HWH leveling system consists of the touch panel, the control box (located in one of your baggage compartments), the wiring harness, and the electric solenoids at each air valve on the 6-pack manifolds.
You have a good wiring schematic available in the first manual I linked in a post above. In the included trouble shooting section, Repair Sections Part 4-d and Part 7 seem to match your symptoms. Have you followed the investigative steps for those problems?
It has already been suggested that you check the wiring plug behind the touch panel. Unplug and plug it several times. Have you done that? You can also check the wiring harness at the control box in the same manner. Look for any damaged or cut wires when checking the plugs. Check all the fuses in the control box - they can sometimes have a internal flaw and still look good.
Since the 6-packs are mounted under the coach in adverse conditions, wiring damage or faulty connections there are a very real possibility.
WITH SAFETY STANDS IN PLACE
Check the wiring to the solenoids on the rear 6-pack - look for breaks or damage. Check the ground wires from each solenoid - bad grounds can cause many random malfunctions. Hold your hand on each solenoid while a helper operates the appropriate buttons on the control panel. You should be able to feel each solenoid valve opening and closing. With any luck, you might identify a solenoid that does not work every time the button is pushed.
Tracking down electrical problems can be irritating, aggravating, and time consuming. But, if your trouble is indeed electrical, then it has to be done. You can either do it yourself, or pay someone to do it - your choice. I wish you quick and painless success.
Thanks Chuck for the info. I did check the wiring behind the panel. I unplugged and rep lugged connectors. It's hard getting underneath not being at the home base. I am close to Iowa and will probably end up going to HWH to have it checked out.
For a quick check, where would the fuses be located.
That would absolutely be my first choice in your situation. I am never afraid to hand a thorny problem off to the experts, and nobody knows HWH systems as well as HWH. If they will let you "look over their shoulder" while they work on your coach, that would be great. You could gain some valuable insight into how the system works, and tips on how to troubleshoot when it doesn't work.
The fuses are located in the control box. If you refer to the first manual I linked above (reply #4), you will find a diagram of the control box, with the fuses identified. The control box will be found in one of your storage bays, probably mounted on a wall, with a aluminum cover. I'm not sure of the exact location on your coach, but shouldn't be too hard to locate.
Since your problem is intermittent, and the system often works properly, the possibility that a fuse is at fault is pretty slim. I only mentioned it because I have been "bit" by that exact problem in the past. This was on a car - not on our coach. I found a blade type fuse where the metal link inside the fuse had actually broken, but was still making contact (most of the time). It appeared to be good, but at random times would not complete the circuit. I only discovered it when, in desperation, I replaced every fuse in the circuit, and cured the malfunction. Live and learn...
Not really connected to a ride height problem, but to a fuse problem. I had a problem with the refrigerator not going to AC and only operating on LP gas a few days ago. The problem turned out to be one of two fuses that had dirty/corroded ends in the holders on the control board. Cleaned the ends and all was OK.
I hope you problem is as simple, and if not you are going to HWH anyway and they will defiantly fix it.
Best of luck with your new coach.
speedbird1
I am leaning toward a solenoid also. My dad had one fail on the front of his 42' 320. His was stuck in the up position. There is a bank of soleniods in the center of coach just behind the front axle. Several of the solenoids are the same P/N and may be swapped for troubleshooting purposes or compare resistance (ohms) from one to the others.
It just seems that whenever I put that rear end down at a campsite to level is when I have problems. Does anyone think that the storm shaking the motorhome while in level mode could have caused something to get out of alignment?
Most time I do in manually. I look at how unlevel it is. Some times I dump all of the air and then just raise the corner /side that needs raising. When I do it I am almost always lower to the ground then when it auto levels.
Are both left and right sides failing to raise? Or just one corner?
My guess, and that's
all it is...No. What felt like a lot of movement to you, standing up above floor level in the coach, probably did not result in any unusual travel down in the suspension members. The instances I have read (on this Forum) where something has shaken loose or out of alignment, seemed to always involve the ride height control valves. Driving over severe frost heaves on the Alaska Highway, or driving on just about any freeway in California, can deliver tremendous shocks to the suspension. The linkage on the ride height valves can occasionally fall apart or be forced out of proper adjustment by this rough treatment.
The thing is,
any mechanical damage would cause the system to malfunction the same way every time. It would not misbehave on a random, intermittent basis. This is why the Forum members here keep pointing to a electrical glitch as a more likely cause for your problem.
Your HWH control box is mounted to the ceiling in the first curb side bay.
After a few days of checking plugs and connectors I played with the control panel and noticed the travel mode light come on momentarily for about 3 to 10 seconds and go off. It seems the system cannot find it's own level. Initially I thought it was limited to the rear end, but the rear is up now and the front is down. Everytime I would raise the front a little the travel mode light would stay on longer each time. I finally got it up to a level where the light remained on. Something is out of whack, trying to figure out the sequence of events for it to go into travel mode. I almost feel something is wrong in the ride height control sequence.
John,
The "TRAVEL" light on your HWH touch panel has nothing to do with ride height, the attitude of the coach, or if one end is lower or higher than the other. It is
only a indication that the suspension system has reached some minimum air pressure. In the second manual I linked above (reply #4) you will find the following explanation:
The "TRAVEL" Light. This green indicator light will only work with the ignition on. This light is on whenever the ignition is on if the leveling system panel is off, provided there is
sufficient air pressure in the suspension. The "TRAVEL" light only means the leveling system is off and the air system has started to build air pressure. It does not mean the vehicle is at the proper ride height.
The signal that turns the travel light on and off comes from a pressure switch on the rear 6-pack manifold. This switch is usually set at 85 psi. "Sufficient air pressure" in the paragraph above, then, means "more than 85 psi". So, if the ignition is on, leveling system is off, and air pressure is greater than 85 psi, the "TRAVEL" light should be on.
If this is NOT the case with your system, then there is a problem, which may have something to do with communication between the pressure switch and the control box. The light should not be going on and off momentarily - it should either be ON, or OFF.
I still think your best bet is a visit to HWH for a complete system check. I believe I have read here on the Forum that HWH does not charge you anything for a system check. Someone who has been there recently may be able to verify if that is true?
Thanks Chuck. Just hoping I can get it to stay in travel mode so I can go to HWH. I will check all connections on the control box tomorrow and see if I can locate the pressure switches.
You can pull the travel fuse and set the height manually for a temporary fix. Do a search and there is instructions and location to do this
I chased an HWH situation that defied my pay grade. (Easy) Our buddy Keith R @ MOT solved it for me: Mud Daubers built a blocking bit of stuff on the left exhaust port. Like these flying bugs do with propane openings, they like the manifold area. I wasn't charged with this fix by MOT.
I hope that a simple solution can help you out! Good luck. P
Yes, the infamous "Mud Dauber Plug" can certainly cause problems with
lowering your coach. Any of the ride or leveling functions that require "releasing" air from the system can potentially be fouled up by those little buggers.
For the benefit of those who don't crawl around under their coaches for fun (like I do), I will attach a photo below of a 6-pack. The exhaust ports are the 1/4" holes drilled in the manifold, directly below the pressure switches (this is a front 6-pack). There are 2 exhaust ports in each 6-pack (front and rear, + tag axel if you have one). Whenever you are wandering around under the coach, it is always good to check that these holes are unobstructed.
Am I the only one who finds it amazing that a MUD plug can block the flow of high pressure air (100 psi plus) out of a relatively large smooth-bore hole? A engineer (not me) could calculate the force exerted by 100 psi on a 0.25" diameter plug - I bet it would be pretty impressive!
FWIW;
100 psi ='s 100 psi for all intent and purpose in this situation.
Computing pressure drop over distance, is another story. pc
Chuck, are those labels on the air lines visible in photo your addition or are they OEM?
I find it astounding that they plug the exhaust ports... I guess it explains the strength of adobe buildings!
Don
The yellow paper labels are mine. When I installed the new push-to-fit connectors, I labeled all the air lines to be
sure I got them back in the proper place.
Chuck, a 1/4" line (assuming it is ID) has a cross section are of 0.0491 square inches. At 100 psi that is 4.91 pounds of force. Those birdies are tough builders.
Roger
Not birds - we are talking about mud dauber WASPS...freaking tiny little
bugs that can put the air suspension system out of service!
Just drove 180 miles to HWH with the travel light off and the dash warning light on. No issues driving. It was the 85 psi pressure switch that need to be replaced. HWH checked out everything else on the coach as part of what they refer to as a free annual inspection. Good to go for the summer.
Mark,
Thanks for verifying the "Free Annual Inspection" at HWH. I think this is something every Foretravel owner needs to work into their travel plans, at the very least every couple years. You have to live with the leveling system every time you drive the coach - you want it to be right!