hitechpete

How much solar do you currently have? We currently live in our Cedar Creek Champagne 38EFK, and our landlord kindly allowed me to install 4x 400 Watt ground mounted solar panels which we use solely to charge our 2 x12V batteries, I have however been able to maximise my 12V usage. I installed a programmable WiFi 120v socket on my converter, which allows my solar panels to power all my 12V appliances according to a schedule. I also installed the same type of device onto the mains input of my inverter, which powers my residential fridge. By programming this second device to interrupt the power (scheduled), it causes the inverter to power the fridge which since the converter is also off, has to pull its power from the batteries and therefore uses more solar power.

As we live in the UK, the opportunity to generate solar power is mainly limited to the summer months, I have however produced 545kWh since 2022 (see the two screenshots below).

I would imagine that any location giving regular sunshine would easily allow almost full power for most of the day.

1 hour ago, Ivan K said:

Thanks for answering my curiosity. That must be some good size transformer, I used to have one when I lived on the other side but doubt it could do 5kw. So the 10Hz drop is not causing issues with the motors and charger etc, it seems. Don't know if the 240V generator was factory or an addition.

The 10hz didn’t seem to to have any noticeable effect, though I suppose that in reality everything was 20% less efficient.

Apparently several of the factory fitted generators had the ability to output 2 x 120 volt 180 degrees out of phase.

1 hour ago, vito.a said:

Wow that's an interesting combination.  

When we lived in the UK we had three 2k transformers as well as several small ones.  Seemed to work well.  

I wonder how the UK ended up with 50 hertz.  

I think it’s because you can’t see the flicker of an incandescent bulb at 50Hz.

Someone on a previous coach asked how my coach had been modified to use UK 240v 13A mains hookup, below is a brief description of what was done, allowing both A/C’s to be run concurrently (when required) along with British 250v 50Hz appliances:

The conversion involved fitting a 5KVA transformer which converted the UK 230/240V into 120V@50Hz to feed the US appliances.

The ATS output fed a secondary sub panel which supplied the 240v electrical equipment and also the 240 to 120v transformer, if the mains power failed our onboard Generac LPG generator provided 240V, it had opposed phase outputs which fed the ATS, the transformer then converted this to 120v again for the US spec equipment.

The US power sockets had been replaced with UK spec 240v 13A using the original US wiring to provide 240v sockets throughout the coach, though several 120v sockets that were fed from the modified sine wave inverter were retained, as was the one feeding the Sharps convection microwave.

On 8/28/2023 at 7:17 AM, diverdown204 said:

Has anyone tried to install one of these in their Monaco Dynasty?  I should have my 1998 Monaco Dynasty mid week, this week. I need to install a washer and dryer. After all that I have read on the Splendide combo, and with my family size, I think I’m going to opt for a residential/apartment combo. Has anyone tried this?  Anyone have tips or suggestions that before I start this endeavor?  Obviously,  I’m new to my rig but my kids and I are super excited to get it. No wife. I was taking applications but a beautiful woman from the Philippines dropped her resume by and passed the initial interviews, so we are moving on to the practical examinations. I have a feeling that I’ll be offering her the full time position!  😬

Thanks everyone!  

I live in the UK, when my washer dryer expired, I fitted a standard size domestic Hoover washer dryer. In my present 5th wheel I have a stacked domestic (Grundig) direct drive washer and above that a Grundig direct drive condenser dryer, both run off 240v.

On 8/25/2023 at 3:54 AM, Romeo84 said:

This was on the list of things to do this year! So funny. The only thing we Use in our camper was the stove. I wanted to remove the tank and make a giant tool storage compartment.  Saw someone at a campground last This year that did the exact same thing so I know it's possible. 

Like the other guy said Need to do a little research on power... in my signature I have an outlet under the sink for a subwoofer. Pretty sure it's a downstream run that could be turned independent. Curious how much a small 2 burner induction stove uses. Can't be more than a microwave?

 

What do you do for heating without the Propane tank?

We have a Fisher & Paykel “dishdrawer” fitted into our Cedar Creek 5th wheel, the best thing I ever bought myself:) The only issue will be water consumption if not on a hook up as they are not very water efficient.

Hi, I’m in the UK, nice coach. Engine parts and service parts, assuming it’s got a Cummins engine should be readily obtainable from Cummins distribution in Germany.

This forum is a wealth of knowledge for any Monaco owner.

19 hours ago, cbr046 said:

If I turn on my headlights my alt gauge goes down to ~10V but normal through other gauges, oil goes to 0 psi . . . . but if the light behind the oil gauge flickers it reads normal.  In my case it's not the system . . . . probably bad ground. 

I'd venture a guess your issue is something common, like bad ground, bad ignition switch, bad day . . . someone mentioned jiggling wires / wire harness while watching the gauges.  That'd be a good start.

Try jiggling wires / harness with ignition on but not running and watching the alt gauge.  That would save irritating the neighbors. 

- bob

I had a similar issue with my 2000 Diplomat, gauges changed readings with headlights on/off, speedometer erratic voltmeter wrong etc. I clipped a known good earth onto the back of each gauge in turn, then wired a new earth to the last place it made any difference to readings. It also fixed my very erratic step cover.

I fitted COB type led bulbs into my rear indicators on my 2000 Diplomat similar to these:

A quick search on google brought up several results for Cummins distributors in Germany, when I needed parts for my 2000 Diplomat I bought them from Cummins in the UK, where I live.

Though the photos aren’t particularly clear it looks like the gel coat has come off to my eyes, if that’s so I would do as Dennis suggested above.

Salvage yard?

On 10/27/2022 at 3:21 AM, Frank McElroy said:

Here is a link to the files in our downloads section.

 

Thanks for sharing the design.

I had a friend print me some of these, unfortunately the specified material is very brittle and several lugs broke., my friend then printed another set in Thermoplastic Polyurethane which solved the issue. 

On 8/11/2022 at 6:04 PM, BradHend said:

Ray, it’s on the 5.9L ISB engine.  If it wasn’t for the dang EGR port on the manifold I could get the part…

The ISB 5.9 engine is fitted to small DAF trucks in the UK, I personally have bought spares from DAF on several occasions for my 2000 Diplomat, it might be worth a try.

On 6/6/2023 at 3:39 AM, Notn2bars said:

We made the unfortunate decision to purchase an Amish 110 volt cooling unit to refurbish our Nevercold about 2 years ago.  The unit was purchased from JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, Indiana to the tune of $1400.00.  This included misc parts, shipping and the cooling unit.  Last fall my daughter came to visit and we took the MH to the gulf and noticed the fridge would only cool at the highest setting.  I noticed some corrosion at the fittings from the compressor to the coil.  Called JC and sent a pic of the corrosion.  The response I received was, "you must have it sitting outside for that to happen."  No offer of help! About 2 weeks ago, went out to the storage lot and turned the fridge on, waited 24 hours, not cooling at all.  Need new fridge.  Decided to install a residential unit, which is what we should have done in the first place.  (hindsight is 20/20).  Pulled the old unit out.  Here are pics of the removal. First, remove hinges between doors.  This will allow bottom doors to come free.  Take pliers and undo the round nuts on top of the upper doors.  Then they can be removed. Second, remove the white plastic piece at the bottom of the fridge, the one with three screws.  Third, remove the trim around the perimeter of the fridge.  It basically pops off.  Fourth, remove the 3 screws from the top of the fridge and 3 screws from the bottom. Fifth, (if you still have an original Nevercold, shut off propane and disconnect the line from the back of the unit, undo water line, disconnect plug from wall, disconnect 12 volt lines, you will find 2 screws going through the bottom sheet metal in the back of the unit, remove those) if not just disconnect plug and 12 volt wires (white and black).  Sixth, disconnect and remove light fixture in front of fridge.  Seventh pull fridge out from the hole and discard. Used a motorcycle jack to help with the removal, worked out great. I took great joy in cutting the Nevercold into two pieces with a saw and throwing it out the door. After removing Nevercold and tossing it outside, I took the compressor off and discovered 2 places where the freon had leaked out.  Shoddy craftsmanship at it's best.  If you were considering an Amish unit, beware.  Will continue tomorrow.  God Bless, Ed & Sylvia

I reused the black trim pieces to finish the opening when I replaced my Norcold for a domestic “Beko” fridge in 2019. The black plastic was used to cover the brackets I had constructed to hod the front of the fridge securely into the opening, I also screwed 3 screws into the floor at the rear for insurance.

I had the same problem with my drivers side panel and to a lesser extent to main dashboard, I epoxied aluminium to the back, making holes in the metal slightly larger than the originals for clip in items (switches), then repaired the damage with car body filler and covered it all with carbon fibre automobile wrap.

Photo 3 shows the end result on the dash, I can’t find my photos of the drivers side console.

AZ Expert on YouTube dis an extensive repair on a Winnebago, which involved peeling back the fibreglass and replacing the rotten plywood still attached to the coach:

My 2000 Diplomat stood idle and unmoved go a similar length of time while our daughter lived in it after her divorce, it started 1st turn of the key. I was also able to drive it off its campsite without any brake binding, though it had been parked with completely dry brakes.

22 hours ago, jacwjames said:

We had a Class C for + 10 years before buying our 2002 Windsor in 2008, so 14 years later I am still learning. 

Luckily the Monacoers.org group is a great resource with a greats parts list and downloads section.

The one recommendation I'd make is to get a copy of the datasheet if you don't have it and use it to start collect as much information on the different components.  I have set up a database on my laptop.  I set up one location with different folders (chassis, house, engine, transmission etc).  Anytime I see something that is pertinent to my coach I save it.  Find copies of your wiring diagram also, luckily I was able to get good PDF copies of house and chassis before Monaco completely folded. 

I also take pictures of everything.  If I start to repair something I take a picture (especially wiring) and have a folder with these in them.  I have pictures of the fuse boxes with labeling, breaker box, and any identification. 

 

X2 on the Schwintek slide, my wifes friend bought a Thor with this type of slide.  One got out of sync and it took a while on how to figure out how to reset.  I spent several hours researching on the internet and found lots of information on different types of failures.  Never saw one where the slide fell out though. 

Someone must have removed the internal fascia   on the slide and then driven it out. With the fascia installed the slide is far too wide to fall through the opening.

20 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

Thanks for that summary.  Ken and I spent quite a bit of time on the phone last night.  We discussed how the Control module works and I advised to figure out if the furnaces required 12 VDC or a “power signal” versus a dry contact (thermostat relay) closure.  I hope he will PM you to discuss.

I took him down the path to understand the MPX system and was hopeful that he could use a relay to close the contacts on each heater

It seems that the Control modules has some sort of boot up or diagnostics where the AC has to be connected to work.  Just curious, did you try to do a parallel 120 VAC line to the Dometic Control module.  I cankt find any good explanation of how they work,  All along I had thought that the 12 VDC alone to each was providing control voltage for the board and that, in turn, provided the Thermostat voltage.

From what you posted, if I understand it, it would “SEEM” that the incoming 120 VAC actually powered the control board and there is a step down transformer that provides the Thermostats DC (Lo voltage AC?) power.  
 

Maybe the incoming 12 VDC is for a “shedding funtion”….so if the Intellitec EMS was properly wired….and Monaco NEVER DID….then killing the 12 VDC should shed or cut off the VAC.  Monaco use the EMS AC power relays, .which is a NONO.

 

The furnace only needs a connection to be made between the Blue wires in order for it to ignite, therefore any thermostat that is powered by a battery and has isolated contacts will work. See the photo below, I added an additional Suburban furnace to my Cedar Creek 5th wheel.

On 2/14/2023 at 1:34 PM, Kungpow said:

This is the one I ordered for my penquin AC off of Amazon, DOMETIC 3314471.001 Penguin Shroud Assembly - Polar White. Perfect fit.

That looks like a Penguin 2 cover.

14 hours ago, Marine Boy said:

Hi Myron,

Yes, my next option is to disassemble the old light and install a new LED strip.  Since this is the original light, the red plastic lens is only in fair condition and I was hoping to have a backup before I do a disassembly, with the risk of breakage.  I would be willing to trim down a light, but as I have said previously much taller than 3/4" and it won't fit in the recess.  Keep the ideas coming.

Best,  John

Can’t you fabricate something to sit in the recess and attach a light assembly to that?

On 1/31/2023 at 9:42 PM, 96 EVO said:

I'll bet they used the same tar-tape they used around the perimeter of slide roofs.

If they were buying bulk Eternabond, you would think they would have used it on slide roofs as well.

I would agree with you, my 2000 Diplomat had an aluminium roof, riveted down the centre and overlapped with an aluminium backed tar tape which was also used on the slide roof joints.

Thanks for the explanation of Bump Tom.

My 2000 Diplomat had a similar issue; I could never get the step cover to reliably move out and always suspected the pneumatic valve fitted to the outside of the front firewall. I also had issues with various gauges not displaying correct information re engine temp, fuel level, speed etc, as a last ditch attempt at a fix I installed an additional ground wire behind the speedometer, low and behold all the issues went away and the step cover began to work reliably!

14 hours ago, jjroxus said:

Very Good Info Guys! Thanks!

Tom, thank you for all the work you put into the site...Much appreciated.  I haven't read Vanwill's article yet.  I will look into it tonight.

If I can put in a Delco,  get it lined up and use the old LN pulley without having to re-engineer the mounting system, that would be great.  It's not going to be a fun job and place to work in for sure... I think I am pretty much committed to a new alternator one way or the other since the foot on the LN is cracked.

All The Best,

JJ

I had my faulty LN alternator replaced with a Delco back in 2013, I believe that the original pulley was reused without issue. My only note would be that in order to turn on charging when first starting the engine, I had to raise the engine revs slightly, which wasn’t an issue for me. The same alternator is still working in 2023.