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Topic: Our coach was acting weird (Read 932 times) previous topic - next topic

Our coach was acting weird

1. Hooked up to 30A at home: both furnaces worked. Water heater worked. Generator worked. Toilet held water for almost a month.
2. Drove about 30 miles in the rain to the CG. Furnaces don't work. Water heater didn't work. Generator didn't work. Toilet didn't hold water.
3. Rear furnace started working after two days hooked up to 30A pedestal. Problem is it would run the purge cycle, then burner would light and run for precisely 10 seconds and then purge cycle again. Then cool down until lower limit reached on thermastat and then repeat.
4. Got home. Plugged in to 30A.
  4A. Touched 12V 2 Amp from battery charger to red (hot) wire on gas control on water heater. Fired up and now runs and toggle switch in coach kitchen works.
  4B. Opened front furnace door. Read circuit printed on back of the door. "Jiggled" or pushed on all connections, and then noticed "RESET" button on the circuit breaker was out. Pushed it in and furnace fired up when DW slid thermostat control.
  4C. Generator would start and run as long as I held in the toggle to start--on the dash and on the generator control. "Jiggled" every wire in the compartment then tried to start. Fired right up!!
  4D Toilet-- loosened large strap screw clamp holding top to base and rotated the top about 5 degrees. Then tightened screw clamp. Now holds water.
GO FIGURE!!!
We were so mad about things NOT working at the CG that we talked about selling next summer!!
The new Zip Dee flex key let water thru so it dripped all along the coach under the big awning. Caulked the key today.
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #1 –
Norm,

Sounds like an exorcism is in order.

But, water and electrical devices don't play well together.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #2 –
Quote from: nitehawk –
The new Zip Dee flex key let water thru so it dripped all along the coach under the big awning. Caulked the key today.
I will be changing my flex keys next week. I'll keep that in the background, thanks for mentioning it
Scott
Scott and Kim Davidson
If you're going to be dumb, you got to be tough.
DEGOIWKY
Don't ever get old, it will kill you
June 30, 2020
2001 U320 3610 Barn find
Build 5834

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #3 –
Guess what? Now a different set of issues!!
The LED lights above the sink and couch will only come on very dim.
It is circuit from 15 Amp fuse  and labeled #5.

Another issue: The generator starts really hard. I have to start the coach engine first. Coach battery and engine battery both read 12.6 when we get up in the morning.

Oh well, the pleasure of owning a coach. :))  :'(
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #4 –
Could be a bad connection somewhere-- start at the house battery bank.  Under no load, a circuit may show good voltage.  But if lots of resistance in a connection, as soon as you put a load on it, voltage DROPS.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #5 –
Always start at the batteries like Brett says. Don't just check voltage but pull connectors and clean and double clean. How many start/electrical problems on this forum have been cured by going to the batteries first?

No free rides when you own a motorhome. You learn to live with all the small things that go wrong or go crazy. That's why it's so important to buy a corrosion and rust free coach as possible. The white deposits from driving on a treated road come may come back to haunt you even years later. Vibration, flexing, deposits, and time are no one's friend.

Pierce

Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #6 –
While you are checking the battery terminals, make sure you separate the stacked flat terminal ends, On the back side of the battery post. (House batterys) On my motorhome they had been loose for some time and had created a hard porcelain type build up causing a voltage drop. From what you have stated, I believe you have a low voltage problem. Bad battery's or bad connections.
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Gerry & Brenda
CHARLOTTE HARBOR, FL
1994 Grand Villa - # 4466
U300 Unihome - 6V92 Detroit
4 speed Allison - Jake Brake

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #7 –
Rain, rain, lots of rain. Coach is going to have to wait for a dry day. I'll post what I find out.
Thanks, all.
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #8 –
Found the "bad" ground that was causing the LED lights above the sink and the couch to be so dim.
I decided to try running an experimental ground from the grounding terminal metal block that I found on the back side of the fuse panel at the foot of the bed.
I noticed that one of the set screws that hold the ground wires in place was not as far in as all the rest of the screws.
The ground wires came to the terminal block taped together in units of about 4 wires each.
I backed out the set screw that was sticking out of the block enough so there was room to slip my temporary test wire thru the hole on top of the existing taped cluster.
  I tightened the set screw and, before I could do any testing, the lights were on and bright. I loosened the set screw and pulled my test wire out. I then noticed that there was a "witness" mark on the taped section of the set screw.
Boy, some quality FOT had 31 years ago!! The "shoddy" workmanship finally shows up--and we only went about 10 miles on a rough road!! :))  :))
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #9 –
It seems anytime that 12 volt systems act "weird" or illogical, it can be traced to a ground problem. 
Jan & Richard Witt
1999 U-320  36ft WTFE
Build Number: 5478 Motorcade: 16599
2008 Roadtrek Adventurous RS Sprinter
2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Jan: NO5U, Richard:KA5RIW
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Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #10 –
Went out to our coach and found that the turn signals, the windshield wipers and the dashboard fan all stopped working at the same time. I checked the fuses, all were good. Went out the next day and everything worked normally. Shades of the Twilight Zone.
EMT living in Missouri. Recently purchased 1987 Gran Villa 36 Ft. long,460 Ford engine with 40,000 miles on it, new tranny has 3000 miles on it, coach has 75000 miles on it, new 5000 watt genny new fridge, new tires. Am both excited and scared out of my wits at the size of this beast. Love it but need time to become accustomed to it's size.  I'm sure it will take time to experience all the secrets this RV has to offer. Any and all advice gratefully accepted.

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #11 –
Like I and many have said before me, many electrical problems are caused by bad grounds.  A intermittent bad ground can be a nightmare.  Loose connections can cause a lot of heat.  In the case of a loose battery terminal our batteries can actually discharge instead of charge.  It probably had never been checked in 20 years.

Once a year I torque the automatic transfer switch fasteners to spec.  I've allways checked as many set screws and fasteners as posible on every new to me rv I've owned.  Thank goodness for FTs excellent 12 volt schematics and their use of numbering wires.  I am aware of the fact I bought a production $300,000 new rv used that is now 23 yrs old, and not a $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 rv.

Early on in my possession of my FT my water pump quit working before I got around to that.  That turned out to be a loose screw on the relay for it in the relay box in the bay on the drivers side.

If you have an issue take a deep breath, google your issue, do a search on this forum, if it is happening to you, it has probably happened to someone else.  Check the most simple and basic causes first.  This too will pass.  I own a soon to be 25 year old vintage rv.  My expectations match that, along with I know I must take the neccessary precautions to do my part to prevent issues.

I so appreciate the exceptional quality of FT, and the help I've received from forum members.
97 U295 40, Build #5040, 6C8.3 325 HP
Oregon Continuous Traveler
Samsung Residential #RF20HFENBSR,
Xantrex SW2012, (3)AGM8D Hse, (2)AGM Grp24 Eng, Victron BMV-712, 1800w Solar 4 LG & 2 Sunpower
Extreme Full Body Pt w/hdlmps, new furn/floor, 4 down Lexus 2004 GX470 AWD curb weight 4,740 lbs
Prev: 1990 Barth, 10L 300 2 yrs; 91&92 Monaco Signature, 10 yrs, 10L C 300 &  6C8.3 300; 1997 ForeT 6C8.3 325 since May 2017.  Employed by Guaranty RV 14+ yrs.  Former VW New Car Dlr/Service Dlr, Sales Mgr, Rv Sales, and Service Adviser from 1968-2017
"Don't criticize what you can't understand" Bob Dylan

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #12 –
Gray wolf check the ignition solenoid under the dash panel. Many times this has been discussed in the searches.
previous 1984 35 ft ORED 250 HP 3208 Cat       
previous 1998 40 ft U295 CAI 325 hp Cummins
previous 2003 40 Ft u320 build #6140 450 Cummins M11.                                                         
1999 Mazda Miata
Ron, Nancy, Tipper the cat, Max The dog
1997 U 270 36 ft build number 5174 8.3 Cummins

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #13 –
Unusual story but my buddies at Foretravel on the line had not had a raise for 5 years in the mid 80's and Ray Fore showed up with a new crew cab dually 4x4.  The line boys mis tightened some of the ground screws to get even.  Flickering lights for several years.
"Riding and rejoicing"
Bob & Susan
1997 U320 40' Mid entry, build 5132,  wtbi ce27, 4th owner
2007 Solara convertible
2 prodeco tech outlaw ss electric bikes

1095 watts solar
08 Ls 460 and a sc430
2000 Ford F-250 superduty 4x4

Re: Our coach was acting weird

Reply #14 –
On important equipment like fire apparatus and ambulances we would give the terminal blocks/boards a couple of coats of clear lacquer after everything was assembled.  Kept corrosion at bay and prevented loose connections.  Never spray before making connection or you will isolate the circuit.  Diesels are notorious for shaking things loose.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159