Late Evening Phone Call
Last evening I got a late phone call (22:30) from the RV tech working on my coach. He said that the living room slide works now. (I've heard that before).
The Fix
When I pressured to find out what he found I received an extensive run down of the diagnostics. He found two things. First, he found what he called a "good/bad 20 amp fuse" in the bathroom blade fuse panel. This in turn was allowing the circuit to complete/activate but voltages at the slide motor side of the fuse were low (more on that when I find out more). He said that the fuse looked as if it had been dipped in water then plugged into the board because the interior of the plastic fuse was green an looked corroded. He put a new one in.
If I remember correctly, that's supposed to be a 10 AMP fuse instead of 20amps, I will consult the schematics to confirm that.
Secondly, he found "a wire" that goes from the controller to the motor (had to be a ground or the positive wire, that's all there is at the motor itself) that was skinned back a bit but not broken. He said it appeared that my tool box top came into contact with it and damaged it. He cut it and soldered the wires back together and used shrink tubing over the repair. The problem with this theory is that the top of my tool box is rounded and smooth on all sides.
The motor winding's are good as checked for continuity by and ohm meter. He said to confirm proper controller operation he used the three remaining boards each in turn to run the living room slide. He said the other three operated it fine. He then used the questionable board in the other three slides and it worked there. So it was not the board. His conclusion was the wire that was skinned may have been touching my tool box lid but more than likely it was the bad fuse.
There Is Always Something Else
Now for the real shockers. I had the coaches annual PM done while it was in there. I only had oil the oil and oil filter and fuel filters changed at my first service on the coach last November. My intent was to bring it back in mid May for a complete service before we departed full time.
While greasing the steering linkages he said he had a double take. The steering stabilizer rack was missing all of its rubber bushings. Four in total. This created a steering lag of about three quarters of an inch in the side to side steering wheel turning (steering slop). This revelation certainly explains the steering wander I was experiencing. I am grateful he was on his game as this one could have been a wreck in the making. New bushings come in today or Monday. We should have the coach back tonight or before noon tomorrow (Sunday) or if the bushings are delayed we will get the coach on Monday.
Dirty Rotten Filter
When I bought the coach the P.O. told me it had been about a year since the last change. That was last November. When the mechanic pulled the old air filter, they found a date of service and installation written on the old filter. The date was 1/6/2011. Yes, it had been 6 years on the same air filter. It was absolutely loaded, he tapped it on the shop floor and piles of dust fell out. Not good but he said the manifold where it attached was very clean, at least the clogged filter kept dirt out (along with free flowing air). Maybe I will get slightly better fuel economy?
It appears the coach will be home tomorrow so I can proceed with some furniture removal and re-installation. We camp next weekend at a nearby state park, Lake Fort Smith. It's a pretty place and we're looking forward to being there and testing all of the "fixes" and our new furniture.
Last evening I got a late phone call (22:30) from the RV tech working on my coach. He said that the living room slide works now. (I've heard that before).
The Fix
When I pressured to find out what he found I received an extensive run down of the diagnostics. He found two things. First, he found what he called a "good/bad 20 amp fuse" in the bathroom blade fuse panel. This in turn was allowing the circuit to complete/activate but voltages at the slide motor side of the fuse were low (more on that when I find out more). He said that the fuse looked as if it had been dipped in water then plugged into the board because the interior of the plastic fuse was green an looked corroded. He put a new one in.
If I remember correctly, that's supposed to be a 10 AMP fuse instead of 20amps, I will consult the schematics to confirm that.
Secondly, he found "a wire" that goes from the controller to the motor (had to be a ground or the positive wire, that's all there is at the motor itself) that was skinned back a bit but not broken. He said it appeared that my tool box top came into contact with it and damaged it. He cut it and soldered the wires back together and used shrink tubing over the repair. The problem with this theory is that the top of my tool box is rounded and smooth on all sides.
The motor winding's are good as checked for continuity by and ohm meter. He said to confirm proper controller operation he used the three remaining boards each in turn to run the living room slide. He said the other three operated it fine. He then used the questionable board in the other three slides and it worked there. So it was not the board. His conclusion was the wire that was skinned may have been touching my tool box lid but more than likely it was the bad fuse.
There Is Always Something Else
Now for the real shockers. I had the coaches annual PM done while it was in there. I only had oil the oil and oil filter and fuel filters changed at my first service on the coach last November. My intent was to bring it back in mid May for a complete service before we departed full time.
While greasing the steering linkages he said he had a double take. The steering stabilizer rack was missing all of its rubber bushings. Four in total. This created a steering lag of about three quarters of an inch in the side to side steering wheel turning (steering slop). This revelation certainly explains the steering wander I was experiencing. I am grateful he was on his game as this one could have been a wreck in the making. New bushings come in today or Monday. We should have the coach back tonight or before noon tomorrow (Sunday) or if the bushings are delayed we will get the coach on Monday.
Dirty Rotten Filter
When I bought the coach the P.O. told me it had been about a year since the last change. That was last November. When the mechanic pulled the old air filter, they found a date of service and installation written on the old filter. The date was 1/6/2011. Yes, it had been 6 years on the same air filter. It was absolutely loaded, he tapped it on the shop floor and piles of dust fell out. Not good but he said the manifold where it attached was very clean, at least the clogged filter kept dirt out (along with free flowing air). Maybe I will get slightly better fuel economy?
It appears the coach will be home tomorrow so I can proceed with some furniture removal and re-installation. We camp next weekend at a nearby state park, Lake Fort Smith. It's a pretty place and we're looking forward to being there and testing all of the "fixes" and our new furniture.
