Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Topic: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower) (Read 1435 times) previous topic - next topic - Topic derived from Re: nothing at shower

Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

April 18, 2017, 08:38:16 am

Quote from: Mike Minegar – April 17, 2017, 09:12:16 pm

Only one more issue that I know of...air level light on dash and the dinger going...bus goes to travel mode fine...the bladders blow up fine on slides...it levels the coach and it will raise the coach...So God only knows what lies ahead...

If both A and B tanks show good pressure without loss, it could be as simple as the room in sensor on the slide being misaligned.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #1 – April 18, 2017, 08:56:16 am

Mike, if it is a slide pin not locking then when you shift into gear it will not engage, the D or R will flash. There is an override switch for that in the basement bay. The 2001 coaches have a gray box in the dash (or maybe blue in the later ones) that converts electrical signals from the pressure transducers on the tanks to signals for the dash gauges. If that fails the the gauges will read zero and the dinger will ding forever. There is a temp fix for the dinging as well and the fix for the gauges is to replace them with direct read mechanical gauges.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #2 – April 18, 2017, 10:09:00 am

Roger, it goes into gear without issues...There is a solenoid that was replaced on the foremost front tank about a month ago..I can hear a hiss of air out of it but I put my blocks on the suspension and crawled under it. The air was coming out around the side of it where it seems to be adjustable?? I cannot read the gauge because I need a magnifier to see it. It seems to be to be like a "blow off" for the solenoid?? But it is the suspect because it has been fine until now.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #3 – April 18, 2017, 11:17:58 am

Quote from: Mike Minegar – April 18, 2017, 10:09:00 am

Roger, it goes into gear without issues...There is a solenoid that was replaced on the foremost front tank about a month ago..I can hear a hiss of air out of it but I put my blocks on the suspension and crawled under it. The air was coming out around the side of it where it seems to be adjustable?? I cannot read the gauge because I need a magnifier to see it. It seems to be to be like a "blow off" for the solenoid?? But it is the suspect because it has been fine until now.

Small regulator with gauge on it kind of in the middle of the front axle?

It should be set to 65 psi. Keeps the front from airing up faster than the rear.

Replacement regulators can be purchased for about $20 at Lowes in the air compressor department or likely from NAPA (quick forum search for front air regulator)

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #4 – April 18, 2017, 11:33:24 am

Mike, here is the 2001 air schematic.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #5 – April 18, 2017, 12:13:12 pm

Quote from: Michelle – April 18, 2017, 11:17:58 am

Small regulator with gauge on it kind of in the middle of the front axle?

It should be set to 65 psi. Keeps the front from airing up faster than the rear.

Replacement regulators can be purchased for about $20 at Lowes in the air compressor department or likely from NAPA (quick forum search for front air regulator)

Yes that's the one...so hearing it leak off once in awhile is normal??

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #6 – April 18, 2017, 01:19:00 pm

Hi Mike,
You might want to bubble check to make sure it's not just a fitting that's leaking.
Leaking is not normal for the regulator/gauge. A rubber seal inside has probably cracked due to age.
I would suggest replacing it. You want to reuse the fittings by disconnecting the "nut" and leaving the base of the fitting on the regulator. The nut and ferrule with stay with the tubing. You want to get a new regulator and gauge with the same size ports so all you have to do is transfer the fitting bases from the old one to the new one and reinstall. Use paste thread sealer; tape can leave shreds inside that cause problems. Try and read the gauge before your remove it so you know what pressure to set the new one to.
You will need to bleed the air out of the system too so you don't have a loose tube flailing around in your face.

Keeping the same brand of regulator is not important. The selection from what I have seen at our local Lowes and Home Depot is very poor (like only one option and cheap quality). There's Harbor Freight (quality??) in addition to Napa (which is usually good quality).

There's a also good commercial hydraulic/pneumatic place off Overland called Motion and Flow (MFCP): 920 E Overland Rd, Meridian, ID 83642
It won't be as inexpensive but it will be quality and the guys at the desk will get you exactly what you need.
Amazon will be cheaper but of coarse you have to wait to get it and you need to know exactly what to order.
I will send a PM with my contact information again since we only live a few miles apart.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #7 – April 19, 2017, 08:28:14 am

Last evening I visited Mike and tried to solve this issue. (he has a 2001 U320 42', 2 slides, 30k+ miles)
I crawled under the front of the coach and checked the air regulator/gauge that Mike said was leaking. It was just off the front air tank:
- It was brand new and had just been replaced by a local RV dealership that Mike had taken it to. He had a punch list and this was suppose to fix one of the items.
- The TEE it came off of looked original so I don't think this was some previous owner add-on.
- I could not find any air leaking from it. Mike said it was leaking around the adjustment knob area.
- The gauge read 80 psi.
- I adjusted it down to 65 psi
- I could not verify it went to the HWH 6 pack since the output commingled with a half dozen other air lines into a cable way.

We went inside and turned on the ignition:
- A two tone chime came on immediately and stayed on. The volume level was fairly low and it had a more relaxed tone rather than an alarm that carries a sense of urgency.
- Air on both gauges were at about 55 psi with red lights on at the bottom of each gauge illuminated. The HWH "travel" light was on.
- The "AIR LEVEL" dash light was on

We started the engine:
- Air built up
- Red lights on the air gauges went off
- The check engine light came on shortly after starting. I believe Mike said that had been serviced but had turned on again.
- The chime continued and the AIR LEVEL dash light continued to stay on the whole time (about 15 minutes of idling)
- We tried various combination of bringing in the slides, leveling and going back to to travel mode. When we hit the travel button the light next to it immediately illuminated.
- The HWH leveling system seemed to functioning: we dumped air (it went down), went back to travel mode (I verified it raised back up).
- The chime and "AIR LEVEL" dash light continued
- I forgot to try to put the transmission in D or R, but Mike has previously stated that was no problem.

I read the Foretravel manual on leveling and the AIR LEVEL light is supposed to go off when the coach reaches travel height (to me that means not necessarily when the HWH travel button is pushed; it might take a minute or two for the bags to fill or lower). I couldn't find any mention of a chime.

1. Does anyone know why the AIR LEVEL light stayed on?
2. What controls the AIR LEVEL light? (signal wire from HWH?)
3. Does anyone know what this chime is for?
(unfortunately for Mike all I know about the HWH level system is what I have read on the forum - I have a manual air level system on my coach)

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #8 – April 19, 2017, 09:50:57 am

I think the pressure switch on the rear HWH manifold will turn on the level light when air pressure is down to about 65 psi.
That may also turn on the alarm.
You could check the connection on that pressure switch. Also check the schematic to see how you could bypass that switch for trouble shooting.
Also check the connection of the wires to the pressure switch at the HWH computer.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #9 – April 19, 2017, 03:24:40 pm

Thank You John for coming last night. What a great guy. May have made a new friend. He is the right guy for this..we just need a little more time and help from you brainiacs. We will attack it again next week.

Wife and I need to go this weekend and use this thing for the first time..just a two nighter and only 80 miles down the road..but if I don't get to use is..well, I might plant an IUD under it...lol

Thanks again for the fifteenth time for all of your time and patience. We will conquer.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #10 – April 19, 2017, 05:11:53 pm

Don't think an IUD will help. Maybe an IED?☺

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #11 – April 19, 2017, 05:34:51 pm

whatever blows stuff up...lol

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #12 – April 19, 2017, 08:45:48 pm

Quote from: Mike Minegar – April 19, 2017, 03:24:40 pm

I might plant an IUD under it...lol

No more little FT's!!

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #13 – April 20, 2017, 08:02:27 am

Quote from: JohnFitz – April 19, 2017, 08:28:14 am

3. Does anyone know what this chime is for?

On mine the chime is on until the coach levels and red level light is solid.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #14 – April 20, 2017, 10:17:11 am

Once in our Sunday school class a little lady asked prayer for the families of those killed by the IUD the day before. You could have heard a pin drop until the first snicker broke out then the whole room erupted.

Our chime sometimes doesn't quit until I put it in drive and it goes to ride mode.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #15 – April 20, 2017, 04:23:28 pm

So tomorrow the DW, as you call her, and I...are heading down the road for the weekend. We are excited to get to actually spend two nights in our coach. I laugh as we are going a whole 80 miles from home...I'm excited and apprehensive all in the same breath.

I would not be at this point without all of you that have posted on my threads of HELP...So tomorrow night as we sit around the campsite fire..I will give a toast to you..

Thanks again.

Mike

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #16 – April 20, 2017, 08:03:25 pm

Quote from: Mike Minegar – April 20, 2017, 04:23:28 pm

So tomorrow the DW, as you call her, and I...are heading down the road for the weekend. We are excited to get to actually spend two nights in our coach. I laugh as we are going a whole 80 miles from home...I'm excited and apprehensive all in the same breath.

I would not be at this point without all of you that have posted on my threads of HELP...So tomorrow night as we sit around the campsite fire..I will give a toast to you..

Thanks again.

Mike

We used ours a couple weeks ago and went a whopping 30 miles lol.. still had a great time.. I am almost to the point ill sleep in it in front of the house and have a great time!!

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #17 – April 20, 2017, 08:27:13 pm

Once we got home with our coach and we caught our breath we planned out first outing a whopping six miles away. It was grand.

Nothing beats fun for having a good time. Have lots of it!

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #18 – April 25, 2017, 07:47:43 am

Mike,
What did you find that was causing the level light and alarm?

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #19 – April 29, 2017, 08:30:12 pm

UPDATE:
I visited Mike today and troubleshooted the issue: that being a chime that wont turn off and an "AIR LEVEL" dash light that wont go off. I think the chime and light are triggered by the same issue. The HWH panel TRAVEL light is illuminated. Mike went on a trip last weekend said that chime was on all the time and only goes off when the ignition goes off. The HWH system seems to work fine.

A prior suggestion from Mike Duld (reply #8) was to check the 6 pack pressure switches. Everything I have read about HWH pressure switches is they are normally closed at low pressures and "open" when they see pressure above their set point. So for each switch (one on the rear and two on the front) I disconnect the switch at it's connector and Mike M. check for the chime - and it was still there in all conditions.

The HWH travel light comes on (steady) immediately when the travel button is pushed. Does this mean all interlocks for the two slideouts and air leveling have been satisfied? (I have been assuming YES)

We pulled the dash hood off and found the offending chiming device that wont quit. See photo. The power that feeds it comes from a black box that appears to feed the dash indicator lights too (including the AIR LEVEL). I tested this by unplugging the the connector. My current thinking is the HWH is OK to travel but the signal from the HWH to this box has been disrupted by a disconnected wire somewhere.

Does anyone have any insight into this?

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #20 – April 29, 2017, 10:06:10 pm

The HWH green travel light comes on when leveling system is off and ignition is on. It does not mean that the pins are locked or there is adequate pressure. It means the system is seeking travel heights? On my 2001 the yellow words "Level System" are on until pressure reaches about 90 psi and the HWH reports ready to go (pressure and all slide locks report engaged). There is a silver biox on the ceiling of the big bay with indicator lights that show lock status. If any of these fail to lock the "Level System" is on and is the override switch is in the normal position trying to shift into R or D will just get a flashing R or D. The override switch lets the transmission engage. You should be able to see the upper pins above the slide when it is retracted. You can see the lower pins if the bladder is deflated.

If you found the beeper you can add a switch into the line to disable it or disconnect and tape a wire. The top of the annunciator rotates to attenuate the sound level.

Roger

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #21 – April 30, 2017, 12:05:50 am

Roger,
Thank you very much. It sounds like I'm barking up the wrong tree again; the beeper and light are probably doing their job.
My guess is the PO had the override switch engaged since Mike reports no issues with getting it into gear.
On my survey of his coach I did see the main HWH box along with a smaller one with status lights for the room locks. Very hard to get to with a Joey bed on the drives side (with the side structure in the way) and a bolted in freezer on the other. But it looks like that is exact where we need to look to see if there is a lock pin not engaging and then try to fix it.
The forum search function is great: finding info and photos of the override and slide adjustments.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #22 – April 30, 2017, 01:20:31 am

John....I think I will pull the refer/freezer tomorrow and get it out of the way...

I so much appreciate the help on this...

Mike

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #23 – April 30, 2017, 06:48:50 am

John
The green travel light is on when 12 volt power is sent to all travel solenoids to hold them open so the ride height control valves can control the coach height.
The pressure switches on the front HWH manifold don't work any light, they are there to prevent twisting the coach if one side of the front bottoms out during leveling by removing power from the other side dump solenoid.
Those 10 psi switches were put in by Foretravel and the 65 psi switch on the back manifold is an HWH installed switch to warn of low air pressure to hold the coach up.

Re: Air Level alarm (pulled from Re: nothing at shower)

Reply #24 – April 30, 2017, 07:49:04 pm

Problem Solved.
Mike and I humbly bow down for our Dope Slap!
We were not holding down the retract button long enough for the pins to engage fully.
I think Mike was used to his SOB that doesn't have pins and would stop when he heard the motor bog down. I'm just not very familiar with the HWH systems since my coach is HWH-free.

One thing we couldn't find was the override switch. We want to re-active the neutral safety switch as it was from the factory. I looked all over both silver boxes and around the coach.
Looking back at the last post in this older thread: Slide pin disable switch?
Morninghill (who has a 2001 U320 too) states:

Quote from: morninghill – July 04, 2016, 08:51:08 am

...On our coach the override is an unmarked toggle switch inside the control box on roof of the bay.

So think I have the answer to that.
Thanks to all of you!

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