wamcneil

Magnum owners manual recommends 300a with ms2012 and 400a with ms2812.  The two have the same physical dimensions and wiring layout. 

Yeah, I labored over these same choices and  then settled on ms2012. 
3000w of inverter is not useful unless your battery bank (and cabling) can supply 300a at >11v . Even 200 is a stretch with my configuration. Huge project to change that   

And the original xantrex was set up to pass through and feed 2 legs of power. As far as I can tell, the ms2012/2812 are the only ones available with that setup. I wasn’t willing rewire  

Cheers

Walter

17 hours ago, miacasa_2000 said:

Had same issues with mine replaced it with KE 1701BHC by Essex  also got mine from A1 Electric ( they sell genuine Essex). My coach being a 2003 had the smaller unit but enlarging the hole is a easy task. Best of all if yours is a Essex  then it's just plug and play. In 2015 it cost $180.00  Well worth it.

 https://www.keyless.com/ke-1700/

I replaced mine with the other version that’s similar to original, because I didn’t want to cut the hole bigger. But it required some trimming/modifications to reuse the old aluminum trim piece and turned out to be a hassle. 
If I were doing it again I’d get KE1700  like you did and just cut the hole a little bigger. 
Cheers

Walter

What’s the alternator’s voltage?  Lifepo4 has a charge plateau of 3.5v per cell.  (14v total). As long as the alternator isn’t much over 14v it should be fine as far as voltage, right? 
I can see how amperage might be a problem though.  If the batteries are low they would take everything the alternator can put out, which might be hard on the alternator or be over the max charge current of the batteries. 
Walter

1 hour ago, Dr4Film said:

Ken,

There was no plug so the wires had to be combined together with an electrical union. The wires were all colored coded so I just followed the colors and used the manual as a reference to double check everything  Then you should reprogram the new keypad just to be safe.

VitoA on IRV2 discovered that Essex/A1 has a P/N (not listed on the site) that has the Monaco plug already on it for n-n-p installation 

cheers

Walter

On 7/2/2020 at 7:55 PM, Dennis H said:

If yours is like mine, it's a KE1701 mfg by Essex. It is a sealed unit and not "fixable". That said, if you're not worried about warranty etc. I would disassemble it by cutting it open and see if you can clean the contacts.

There are no contacts to clean in the Essex keypad. The buttons are piezoelectric. That’s why there’s no discernible movement when the buttons are pressed. 
Cheers

Walter

Yeah, I think you're at a place where you just need to start finding splices and testing sections of wire...

Is the PST a triple slide with the galley on the curb side?  If so, it looks like your floorplan from the galley forward is almost identical to  my 2003 dynasty triple.  In which case I'd bet the circuit is wired very similarly (i.e.- not necessarily like the diagram I posted).

The kitchen branch goes from the breaker panels to a junction box under the fridge (the diagram says 'located dinette OHD', which is not right). I beleive it also runs to the cabinet just to the rear of your kitchen slide-out.

On the dinette side: (I'm betting that this isn't part of your problem, but here's what I know about the wiring.) Under the fridge, I've got a 4"x4"  steel junction box screwed to the subfloor with 4 wires coming out of it; 3 are romex and 1 is a black flexible cord about 1/2" diameter. I think the flexible cord coming out of the junction box runs through the sliding conduit into the dinette slide-out.  Which is also different from the diagram. And from the junction box I believe one run of romex  goes on forward to the outlets  in the overhead cabinets up front for TV/stereo. There's also a 2nd circuit inside this box under the fridge (I know it's not the microwave circuit but didn't keep testing to find out what it is).

Over on the kitchen side: I don't have a junction box anywhere visible on either side of the big flex joint where power/water/waste/gas comes into the slide-out. But I can see that the flex conduit comes down from the ceiling at the outboard side of the cabinets at the rear end of the kitchen. There's a false panel inside the cabinet with a label saying "Remove this panel to access electrical".

So I think there are splices behind the false panel in that cabinet.

Inside the slide-out: The flex conduit goes down under the floor of the cabinets and I can't see a termination. I'd bet it runs up inside the wall to one of the outlets above the countertop. And probably runs from outlet-to-outlet on to the forward end of the slide-out.

So... Do you have power in the dinette and at the TV? If so, I bet your problem is inside that false cabinet panel next to the kitchen slide-out, or at the back of one of the outlets above the kitchen counters.

Cheers,

Walter

So... are we done debating the merits of the poster’s choice of battery technology??? 
Maybe get back to the question in his post????

That’s handy, having a continuous side rail to attach to!

21 minutes ago, Chargerman said:

Don’t let the picture fool you. My jackknife sofa was on the passenger side where my sleeper sofa is now. The theater seating is the same length as the desk and associated cabinets were. There is much more room at the dinette than it appears. Same amount as there was from the factory. 

OK, I see what you mean. Now I see the end of the corian top terminating at the end of the recliners.

That setup sure looks a lot more comfortable than my original couches. 

2 hours ago, MSHappyCampers said:

Hi Ed!  I moved the couch out from the wall about 6".   The couch is in our main slideout.  I had to run an HDMI cable from the surround sound receiver to the TV.  I ran the cable down the windshield post, underneath  above the storage bays, through the PVC pipe that carries cables into the slideout, up into the bottom of the cabinets next to the kitchen table, then across to the TV.  That was the hardest part!  

Nice work!

1 hour ago, saflyer said:

I’d like theater seating where the jack knife couch is opposite the main couch where the TV would be behind.  Problem is, though, the space is just a couple of inches too narrow for most double theater seats.  There are a few,if you look hard enough.

Yeah, I don't think I'd be willing to give up use of the dinette...

That picture makes it look like the recliners are right up against the dinette with no room to sit at the table.

On 5/25/2020 at 4:50 PM, Dennis H said:

Water and more water. That's all I use in 11 years full timing. Never had a smell and tanks are clean. ... I don't empty the black until over 1/2 full and I leave the grey water open until the night before we're ready to leave, then I close it and use the dishwater from the night before and the hot shower water from that morning to flush out the black tank.  YMMV...Dennis

X2. If I were putting the RV in storage for several months I might want to 'clean' the tanks and let them dry out, but what's the point if they're constantly in use? As long as there's water in the black tank, bacterial activity should keep everything liquid and prevent accumulation on the bottom and sides of the tank.

Here's what the previous owner did on ours.

This is a 40" tv, but a new 43" with narrow bezel would fit in its place and sit closer to the cabinets. Which would be nice... I occasionally hit the TV on my way into the rig.

The tv box was cut back  close to the cabinet fronts and coped to the back of the TV, with a plywood mount inside the box for the VESA  attachment.

They relocated the cabinet doors on either side of the TV outboard as far as they would go (so they just clear the edge of the TV) and put a 3" filler strip on the inboard edges of the door openings. The filler strips aren't a perfect match, but you'd never notice them back behind the TV.

Cheers,

Walter

That's an odd place for it to crack. Mine cracked above the driver's seat where the cap is glued to the roof panel. I'd be inclined to do like Bob said.

Many years ago I had an paint and body shop. Occasionally we’d get a head scratcher and it was fun to try and reconstruct what may have happened. 
It might help to see the what the bumper reinforcement looks like. I assume the base plates are still attached to it? Are all of the bolts still tight with locktite, or have they loosened?

Without knowing more, I would suspect that your base plates are fastened primarily to the bumper reinforcement?  Looks like there may have been one additional fastener down through the top of the longitudinal members that has also torn out towards the front when things parted .
My guess is that the  bolts that ripped out of the top had loosened, allowing the base plate loads to move the bumper reinforcement back and forth a bit (possibly made worse by the prior accident damage?). That movement would eventually fatigue the metal where the bumper reinforcement attaches to the unibody.  The driver side let go first and pulled forward, tearing off the passenger side. 

I’m glad nobody was hurt!

Walter

On 4/9/2020 at 10:54 AM, saflyer said:

I have a KIB LR9806 relay.  A site I found says “The KIB LR9806 Battery Disconnect Latching Relay is a single-pulse latching relay. It only requires a short "pulse" of voltage to activate or deactivate the relay.”  
 

So does that mean zero battery draw to hold it in either the open or cLosed position?  If so I don’t need to do anything.

Curiosity question.  What is the difference between a relay and a solenoid?

My rig has a latching relay AND a conventional solenoid. The salesman switch is momentary contact that causes the latching relay to toggle state. The latching relay’s output feeds one branch of house loads and also feeds the conventional solenoid to keep it closed to feed the other branch of house loads. 
The latching relay uses no current to stay closed, but the conventional relay draws about 700 mA

Cheers

Walter

Got him!

Well, I'm getting a chuckle out of this one...

Every once in a while when I go to exercise my generator I've noticed that the ATS doesn't cut over to the generator as expected and then find that the main generator breaker has tripped (the one on the angled facet of the genny housing).

This has been very odd since the generator ran fine the last time I ran it, and I don't have any known issues that might explain this. Each time I reset the breaker and everything seems to be fine.

Today I found the breaker tripped again and started thinking again about what on earth could be causing this 45A breaker to trip.  And as I was standing there pondering this question, I noticed the CAT PRINTS right above the breaker!

Cheers,

Walter

5 hours ago, Grampy OG said:

What a great looking setup. Were you able to use the existing cable runs?  I'm not sure what reading I would be looking for coming off of the existing transformers. Is that a reading that can be  checked with a VOM? When you say measure in the panel are you speaking of the circuit panel or the panel up front holding the meters?  Is there any wild chance you still have the links to the meters and transformers that you used as replacements? 

Thanks again - Ken

Thanks!

Here are the meters I used. Not currently available on amazon, but I'm sure there are others with similar dimensions. These are real close to being an exact fit in the original panel, but they require a different scale current transformer than original. So I found those on ebay.  Any new meters you buy will either come with transformers or list a spec for them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016KD4WTK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8K5WHQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If I were doing it again I would probably try and find meters that use the old current transformers and then make a new panel to mount them in. I don't remember exactly what the CTs cost me, but I bought good ones and they were a lot more expensive than the cheap Chinese meters... I bought the meters first to confirm they would work in the original panel, and then figured out the rest of the system later. 

I used the original cable runs back to the current transformers in the breaker box.

To test your CTs, disconnect wiring to CTs, put a known load on the circuit and connect a multimeter to the CT back in the breaker panel. Current transformers provide a certain output current at a specified throughput current.  Something like 50A main current produces 50mA in the CT. The ratio should be marked on the current transformers. 

Like others have said tho, I'd suspect meters, not the transformers.

Walter

Should be able to test the current transformers with your clamp meter for reference amperage and then measure corresponding output of the transformer back in the panel.
I replaced all of the analog meters in my panel up front with digital and was able to find meters on Amazon that fit in the original cutouts. The new ammeters spec a different transformer though, so had to replace them also. 
Cheers

Walter

On 3/15/2020 at 8:10 AM, Tom Cherry said:

Bad cable fitting from the House to the RRB Buss connections.  Van Williams and I talked and he said that he had (as Bill Groves had also reported) a cable with a seemingly GREAT LOOKING terminal.  Shrink was perfect.  BUT, inside was corrosion.  He replaced it and NO MORE GREMLINS.  I ordered a cable crimping tool for the work I will do and also got a variety of  terminals for 2/0 and 4/0 ends.

 

I've been re-crimping and replacing ends on some of mine lately. One terminal on a short cable connecting the batteries in series was nicely heat-shrink'd, but wasn't actually crimped AT ALL.  Other 4/0 terminals were barely pinched down onto the wire.  One of the cables in the battery compartment looked fine on the outside but was all full of corrosion under the heat shrink.

Sure.

Here's the writeup I did on IRV2 about replacing the wireless module, including connection of the overhead lights. The original wireless module didn't have a "Dome Light Supervision" feature, but the Avital unit they sell now does. It's easy to replace and was just about $30 on amazon last I checked.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/essex-1603-keypad-and-wireless-replacement-330319.html

38 minutes ago, Mike H said:

Some good options Walter.  Do you think ALL Monaco's were prewired with a circuit to turn on lights when opening the door?  If the porch light could be turned on with the Key Fob then that would eliminate my issue with trying to have the steps illuminated.

Couldn't say for sure...  but my wiring diagram suggests that all coaches are prewired for the alarm system. Mine did NOT have the viper alarm, but the coach side of the plug has all the wires for the optional viper alarm. My wiring diagram says this wire is used with the viper alarm, but not with the essex keyless entry system.

On my wiring diagrams, the wire is not labeled except its color (BLK/WHT). See attachment. This is from the page titled "KE-1601 KEYLESS ENTRY KEYPAD" and the plug is M12, which feeds plug M60 and eventually connects to the Porch and Ceiling relay.

Have you looked into 12v motion sensors?

https://www.amazon.com/Sensky-BS010WL-Occupancy-Lighting-Adjustable/dp/B00KAB4CRG

Or a cabinet switch? Not sure if that would work with the coach door:

https://www.amazon.com/Sensky-automatic-cabinet-Voltage-Cabinet/dp/B00KVFG9S6

If you're not married to those little battery powered lights, you could get some 12v LED strip lights and connect them through the motion sensor. You can get all sorts of surface mount extruded housings for LED strip lights:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=strip+light+housing&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Another idea... I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for... but the keyless entry/alarm wiring has a circuit to trigger the overhead lights above the entry. I think the viper alarm was probably wired to turn on the entry lights when disarmed. 

I replaced the original essex fob module with their replacement module and connected it to that it turns on the entry lights when unlocked with the fob.  But...the keypad is totally separate and doesn't have a circuit to trigger the overhead lights.

Cheers.

Walter