Monacoers Daily News

I recently had a problem with my aquahot. My mobile rv mechanic came out, he pulled up my model from their website and followed the  troubleshooting process. It goes step by step, come to find out it was a plugged nozzel. Great website, he said it works great. Hope this helps. 

Steve

1 hour ago, amphi_sc said:

Is that a picture of yours posted on Sunday morning? The start voltage adjustment knob looks to be way out of calibration to the numbers on the surface if yours is actually starting mid 11's.  Or do those "slots" not have any relationship to the actual settings?  I could reasonably believe Runtime of 2 hrs and Quiet Time 9-6

All of my settings are made on my Magnum remote inside the coach. 

Those little knobs on the AGS module were used in previous years, before the remotes had the ability to setup the AGS.

They do nothing now.

1 hour ago, amphi_sc said:

Is that a picture of yours posted on Sunday morning? The start voltage adjustment knob looks to be way out of calibration to the numbers on the surface if yours is actually starting mid 11's.  Or do those "slots" not have any relationship to the actual settings?  I could reasonably believe Runtime of 2 hrs and Quiet Time 9-6

To clear up a few things....which might not be fully understood...  In the LATER modules...and this impacts the 2012 Dip that was the ORIGINAL failure and probably (most likely)  the Patriot Thunder....and Ben's 2008 Camelot is this way.

When you have a certain level of remote....then the knobs on the AGS are meaningless.  Thus, in the failure case...you could have them randomly set.  When you use the REMOTE and set the AGS parameters...that bypasses all the mechanical or manual programming.  You have to read your MH manual as well as the Manual for your "Rev Level" or version of the remote. 

Thus, tinkering with the knobs on the 2012 does nothing.  NOW..  the TEST BUTTON does work.  BUT, if you want to use the AGS and do the manual programming, you have to DISCONNECT IT...as in PULL the NETWORK cable.  The OTHER cable is the Temp Thermocouple mounted behind the Dometic Thermostat in the interior.

I THINK that you can use it in the manual....or NOT CONNECTED to the REMOTE mode...  BUT, then IF the NETWORK CABLE is connected....it is TOTALLY REMOTE CONTROLLED....

That's the way it works....and Magnum went over this during a troubleshooting.  

I THINK, the even with the NETWORK cable hooked up...  the TEST BUTTON will work.  BUT....IF you use the TEST MODE on the REMOTE....It MIGHT TEST OK...but in reality...it won't work.

OK....A BOGO OR A FREEBIE....IF YOU WANT TO POPERLY USE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR AGS...AND THIS APPLIES TO MAGNUM AND THE 4 KNOB...OR THE NEW AGS-N

NEVER, EVER set the knob nor the Remote setup to lower than 11.7 VDC.  Folks have different opinions...so this is the STRAIGHT SKINNY from Magnum.  Magnum says that what I am about to post is TOO COMPLICATED to put in their manual...and the average owner's eyes would glaze over.  THIS is covered in the BATTERY 101 and the Magnum Setup Files that I wrote...and can be downloaded.

Magnum does NOT guarantee but +/- 10% ACCURACY for the Volt Reading on the Remote.  IT IS IN THE SPECS.

SO, you MUST know the Correlation between the actual VOM Battery Voltage and what Magnum remote displays.  Mine is about 0.15 - 0.20 VDC LOWER on the remote than on the SCREEN.  BUT, the screen value is what drives the AGS...

NOW....when your batteries are running down....and you have them under load....if you measure the Battery voltage....and record the Remote.  That is MY ERROR.  Magnum said it is NORMAL.

Next up.  When a battery is under a normal load, you can read the voltage.  BUT, if you remove the load... then let the battery rest and recover....the voltage will return or recover or POP BACK.  Many phone calls to Trojan and this is a FACT.

SO...if you don't want to get under the theoretical 50% State of Charge (SOC)...  Then most folks will set the Remote to 12.0 VDC.  In reality....they are SHORT CYLING or starting the AGS when their batteries are at perhaps 65 to 70% SOC.  WAY TOO HIGH.  

OK...let that sink in...and again....Trojan and Magnum were my "sources" or the "SHELL ANSWER" man and they BOTH confirmed these two factoids.

It is SAFE to set the Magnum to say 11.8 or so....maybe 11.7 FOR THE AGS Start Voltage.  THAT gets the batteries drained lower.  Magnum says that they don't know HOW bad the batteries are.  IF you do the load tests...and some have, as I did...then knowing the correlation of the voltage readings...  11.8 is safe.  SOME SAY...11.9.  Still to high for me.  BUT, arbitrarily...without understanding HOW the Magnum AGS works and where it gets is signal and also how a battery works....will shorten the life of your batteries.  OK..  every once and a while.  NO ISSUES.  

BUT, if you use the AGS more than a few times each season...or if you really, as you SHOULD, let your batteries drain, under load to 50%, then use 11.8 VDC.

THAT has a second advantage.  By letting your MH actually EXERCISE and discharge or run down your House Bank to a 50% SOC, you do NOT need to do the 3 - 6 months DISCHARGE (3 cycles) that Trojan recommends.  We have members, me included, that get 8 or so longer YEARS from our Trojans buy doing the Preventative Maintenance DISCHARGING.  We use Battery Miser caps so the electrolyte (actually the Distilled Water) does not boil off and is recovered). We rarely add an ounce to each cell.  We load test and our batteries are at 95 - 100% GOOD AS NEW...as in the SOC Specific Gravity and Voltage charge shows that.

THAT is the lesson for today....

Thanks for the info Tim.  I just wanted to make sure that antifreeze was not what I was seeing.

Would you have any idea where to find a guide or steps that show how to remove that box to get to the evaporator coil?

I really want to get the dash AC working again as we live in Texas!!

Warren

50 minutes ago, Steven Schoepke said:

I recently had a problem with my aquahot. My mobile rv mechanic came out, he pulled up my model from their website and followed the  troubleshooting process. It goes step by step, come to find out it was a plugged nozzel. Great website, he said it works great. Hope this helps. 

Steve

You just confirmed what I posted two days or so ago...and what AH always TELLS FOLKS....and what my Tech told me.  Thanks....

Read the post that is about 8 posts UP....

2 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Drive it around a little and then check again. 

 

Are you measuring directly on the upper to lower airbag mounting plates?

Do you 'know' the surface is perfectly level, or it just looks level?

NOTE....This is a FOLLOWUP or the "BTW" or MORPHED question towards the end of the following topic.  Todd, and THANKS TO HIM, did a lot of leg work and actually tested his BIRD system.  So, if you are NOT familiar with that thread....please scroll down to where he asked questions about the charging system...  There will be a NOTE on it referring to this post for the final answer. We felt it was NOTEWORTHY enough to actually start a new topic...

As a background, Todd's 2002 Windsor is different from many others.  how many and what percentage...no one knows.  Todd was able to START the engine with the Chassis Battery disconnected and got a warning on his Victron  Shunt based "Battery Monitoring Kit"...which is what Magnum also calls their system.  Had he NOT had it.....the gauges probably would have been "FUNKY".  This occurred 10 or more years ago and we did a test...with some willing Camelot owners.  TEN (or so....memory...not ONE or TWO) would NOT start with the Chassis OFF.  BUT ONE DID and the Gauges were crazy.

YES....That is NOT how one is supposed to do it.  BUT, like many of us, Todd accidentally TURNED OFF the Chassis....it happens.

OK... Once that was resolved...that, AGAIN, the same model....built within some time frame, will be different..IT happens.  Many use the term SNOWFLAKES...  LOL. 

Todd's Rig has had some "GUTTING".

The PO removed and taped off the Salesman Switch.  He had also disconnected the Lambert Maintainer.  Todd posted pictures and we discussed. Suggest you scroll the other thread if these are not "embedded in your brain"...

SO... Todd agreed to do the testing.  We have spent a week on it due to vacations and such.  I also discussed with Frank McElroy.  I also did a key word search in the PDF of the 2002 Windsor manual.  If you don't know how to do that....I'll explain at the end.  I did this morning.  There are 471 uses of the word BATTERY.  There are over 60 words that start with MAINTAIN.  I ALSO...more carefully, which is what I tell folks to do...but sometimes SKIM...shame on me....the DISCUSSION on Charging.  

BOTTOM LINE.

Todd's 2002 Windsor DID, from the Factory, have FULL BiDirectional of BIRD Charging.  See Page 9-227.  In all fairness, the later manuals used BIRD or DiDirectional terms....and THAT is what I and others that help and pull manual MIGHT look for.  BUT... It DOES Charge the HOUSE while Driving.  It DOES Charge the CHASSIS when on Generator or on AC (Shore) power.  

NOW...Todd has a great Solar system.  He uses it in Dry (no power) storage.  We discussed and when the batteries do NOT NEED charging....and all is WELL....the 100 Amp White Rogers Battery Connect or BOOST Solenoid drops out....as the BIRD (Diesel or Diesel2) module controls it.  SO, the BIRD (Diesel) Module, which is original....WORKS.

He tested the White Rodgers solenoid.  The contacts are GREAT.  There is NO voltage DROP.  OK....BUT NOW THE SURPRISE...It is SUPPOSEDLY a Continuous 12 VDC Solenoid.  YES...WR says so.  Tried googling and looked at many spec sheets, but, you can NOT find the MINIMUM Voltage.  The BIRD Module sends out a Pulsed Band Width or "regulated" signal.  OK...  That means...the voltage is 12 VDC, but the BIRD pulses it so that it is only ON for about 25% or so of the time.  The "Pulse" is sent out...say 25 to 50 times per second.  This is exactly HOW the Injectors work on your car or diesel.  They turn ON and OFF say 35 times every second.  In the ORIGINAL Bosch fuel injectors, used in almost all of the late 80's (the clones as well), that was 50. FACT as I was project Manager to BUILD a Bosch Injector.   NO IDEA, on the BIRD, without a scope, the Hertz or Cycles or Frequency....say 25 times.  That means that the solenoid could see, at 100% ON....the 12 VDC for 40 Milliseconds.  BUT, since this is a REGULATED PULSE and Todd measure the actual VOLTAGE on the coil...it shows up on a DVOM as say around 3.5 VDC.  The ORIGINAL Intellitec tech support guy said 3.0 to 4.5 VDC (read on a meter) was OK.  NOW, for any Dynasty owner....you have a SPECIAL #6 Board that replaces the BIRD Diesel 2...your pulsed or average voltage is higher....around 8 VDC on the meter.

OK....how did I use or understand all the numbers and such.... and what does it MATTER?  GLAD you asked that.  If we divide 3.5 VDC by 12.6 VDC...you get .28 or 28% ON.  NOW if the pulse Hertz is say 35.  You divide 1000 (milliseconds) by 35.  The ON or MAX time is 28.5 Milliseconds.  TO GET 3.5 VDC (on the DVOM), that means that the pulse width or ON time is  28% of 28.6 or 7.2 Milliseconds....and the frequency is 35 TIMES per second.  OK...that means that coil is "EFFECTIVELY" only seeing or has a FULL 12.6 VDC for (35 X 7.2 Milliseconds) or 252 Milliseconds or about 25% of the TIME.  SO, the 12 VDC is on for 25%....and OFF for 75%.  THUS...the voltage on a DVOM is 3.5 VDC.  I KNOW that you are worried about a POP QUIZ....There is NONE.

BOTTOM LINE.  WE DID NOT KNOW that the White Rodgers Solenoid would WORK at this lower or average (3.5VDC) voltage.  SOME Solenoids must have a full 12 VDC.  OK...NOW... for the last piece...I and YOU HOPE...  When the BIRD modules says..  OK... COIL....I'm gonna ENERGIZE YOU....it KNOWS it needs a "2 X 4" to wake up the COIL and get it going.  SO, for a few seconds (how long...read the Intellitec PDF)...say 12 - 15 seconds....it sends out a PURE or continuous 12 VDC Signal PROBABLY PULSED at 100%...but effectively like a DIRECT Non Pulsed signal..  REMEMBER THIS...IT IS IMPORTANT.  Then the Voltage is PULSED down to 3.5 VDC.  THUS, the coil runs COOLER.  Again...SOME solenoids MIGHT NOT WORK with the LOWER Voltage.

OK...WHY is this important....to THOSE of us that have the 200 AMP (most used) PURE Intellitec Solenoid....if we PUT a PURE or 100% 12 VDC and held it on for a minute or so....the coil will start to overhead.  Therefore...on the BIRD  on the Camelot's and the #6 Board on the Dynasty's....the 200 Amp solenoid is always operating at a LOWER voltage.  Now the Dynasty makes more noise and is hotter.  DUH....8 VDC vs 3.5 VDC.  You can NOT hold you hand around the Solenoid...it is THAT HOT...

OK...back to Todd and his 2002 Windsor.  For whatever reason;  Monaco had the Lambert Maintainer as as STOCK or BASE feature......and they sometimes worked or other times did not.  That is very nicely and simply explained on page 9-252.  IT WAS INTENDED for use in DRY storage.  The Lambert (Amp-L-Start or clones) all work the same way.  SOME have more sophisticated...and hopefully MORE RELIABLE... circuits.  BUT, if you had a charged or good HOUSE, the Lambert would steal (they are called THIEVES) voltage.  AND then when the House got too low....as in CANNOT crank the Genny, they would shut down...to keep from draining the House.  In THEORY...GREAT.  Practically....BASED on the comments from over 15 years....marginal.  I talked for a long time....many years ago, to the Plant Manager (maybe Mr. Lambert?) and he explained HOW they worked and the diode circuits and the logic.  BUT, they have and do fail.  Sometimes they quit charging the Chassis.  Sometimes they DRAIN the House. 

OK...Monaco included...as a STANDARD feature a Lambert.  WHY....my GUESS.  That they knew some MH's were in Covered Storage WIHOUT the ability for a Solar to work.  SOLAR was an OPTION....NOT a standard feature.  The BIRD (BiDirectional) and Maintainer WERE.  Have NO idea if the stock 60 Watt Solar, with NO LOAD....would support both...depends on the sun and other factors.

BUT...here's the BOGO from using the KEY WORD SEARCH.... INVERTER is used 146 TIMES.  I learned, and it will help others who have issues, that there IS an ON/OFF switch on the Inverter (Trace).  SO, for SOLAR only Charging, without the Lambert (or such), if you leave ON the HOUSE Switches....then BOTH Batteries will be charged.  By the ON/OFF Switch...being on the Inverter...you can TURN IT OFF...thus the only parasitic drain should be the ECM (ECU) and the Allison Brain. That assumes you don't have any extra goodies hooked up.  I do NOT know if Todd's Victron uses a smidge of parasitic current to keep it "functional".  

NOW a NOTE and a REPEAT to KILL the MYTH for the MAGNUM's.  They do NOT have a HARD ON/OFF switch.  Many will (and have vehemently...unfortunately) that you can "TURN IT ALL THE WAY OFF" by pressing the REMOTE BUTTON.  WRONG (call Magnum if doubts).  The MAGNUM is always, (like a Plugged in TV) in STANDBY.  If you unplug a new smart TV...bet it goes into all sorts of gyrations and screens.  IT HAS TO.  But when you push OFF, it goes to black...but the little RED light is ON....so when you push POWER....INSTANT screen...no Startup.  The Magnum works the same way.  OK>>>>and thanks again...for that question.  IF you do a SOFT RESET.  That actually KILLS and is the ONLY WAY...except for removing cables or power....OK...do NOT fall into the TRAP....turning OFF the 30 Amp breaker is the same as UNPLUGGING from SHORE.  The inverter is STILL in the Standby MODE.  Plug in a phone charger....it works...  

SO, if a Magnum owner wants to REMOVE the Parasitic STANDBY LOAD... Do the SOFT RESET.  BUT STOP...do NOT push the POWER BUTTON, which is the last step.  THAT is how it is done...

BOTTOM LINE....the 2002 Windsor was way MORE advanced as was commonly posted here.  It HAD BiDirectional Charging (per the manual and TESTED on a STOCK or unaltered system).  It HAD a Maintainer.  That was FOR NO POWER or SOLAR in storage...but you had to keep the HOUSE charged or periodically charged....otherwise....the Lambert powered OFF (sometimes prematurely...other times when the HOUSE has been drained) and you SHOULD be able to keep the Chassis Charged.

That's it.

YES...TOO LONG...but this is how it works....and also how the current Dynasty and above work.  IF you have a BIRD Module...then odds are...YES...BiDirectional.  NEVER fully understood that.  Richard (Dr4Film) sent me a hand drawn schematic of how his 2004 Windsor worked.  OK....it was similar to mine.

BTW... ONE MORE MYTH.  The GEN SET Terminal on the BIRD really does, on a Monaco....NOTHING.  Many, but not Todd's, came with a signal wire.... I THINK...so Memory...that some 2002 Windsor's came that way.  Richard's did have the Generator signal.  MATERS NOT....the BIRD works with and without it.  DON'T ASK for more.

WOW...if you made it this far.  If you have a PC or Laptop and use the freebie Adobe reader.  Download your manual and save it on your hard drive.  Open it FROM THE HARD DRIVE using Adobe.  In the UPPER right is a FIND box.  Type in any key word...  Battery;   Inverter;  Maintain or whatever and you get a Word Count of how many times used.  If you use the RIGHT ARROW or hit enter...it scrolls through every page with it.

NOW...that also works on SOME of our prints.  Like the OEM Monaco's.  SOME of the Scanned (from the Manual) support it...but some were saved and that option, for whatever reason...BOMBS...of course BATTERY is used.  BUT when it is, and this is a REAL blessing...on a print.  You can find a switch or a term...  Like..  SLIDE.  Every PRINT (assuming it supports the FIND) that has the word SLIDE on it will then allow you to go directly to it.  That, for me, saves a TON OF TIME.

Sorry about the length...but this is the only topic or post, that I think is out here...that discussed this issue.  MIGHT do it in a FILE....too tired now.

Happy troubleshooting and a shoutout to TODD as well as FRANK.  NOW WE KNOW...

2 hours ago, Steven Schoepke said:

I recently had a problem with my aquahot. My mobile rv mechanic came out, he pulled up my model from their website and followed the  troubleshooting process. It goes step by step, come to find out it was a plugged nozzel. Great website, he said it works great. Hope this helps. 

Steve

Your post substantiates what generally will help folks who have Aqua-Hot problems, FOLLOW the Trouble-Shooting Steps in your manual  in the order that it is listed FIRST, then if no joy, more in-depth trouble-shooting will need to take place.

I asked about my sofa air bed being re-upholstered a while back. I removed it to have that service performed and found a drilled hole in the wall at the floor level with 2 wires sticking out. This is on my big slide. any body ever run into this?

Yes,In retrospect that price would have been ok. The round bolt extension has a pin at one end. The latch has 2 small holes. You insert the bolt and twist it into the latch.I don't think the kwikset part has those holes but it could be modified. I actually thought it was a Shlagge. I will buy one and give it a try. Thanks

In Tulsa Oklahoma there is a company called Tulsa Auto Spring.  They can rearc and heat treat old springs, or add new leaves to spring stacks to level the unit.  See if there is a comparable company close to you, or call Tulsa Auto Spring and ask if they have a recommendation for someone in your area.  Trying to find a new set might be close to impossible.  Or, you might look into after market air springs to give you the lift you need.  Good luck.

Richard

Appreciate the feedback, all

@Cheezee01 There's the salvage yard for same make / model.  Visone has 8 Vacationers in their inventory of various years.  Removing a spring would disable a rolling chassis and not sure how they'd feel about that.  2007 HR Knight. House battery bank questions.
rvendramin 16 hours ago