Just Jim

usually you want to run the engine and take the sample immediately before it has time to settle. Be sure you give them the exact engine specs that you have so they can provide you with good info. Depending upon those specs they can tell you what metals the various parts are made of and therefore which are showing wear by what is in the analysis.

My 95 is the same and I've got the original shocks and air bags.

Surprisingly, I bought an Interstate chassis battery about 5 years ago online. It was a bit strange that the guy sent me down to the Interstate warehouse and I picked it up. Was much cheaper than any other I found and it is still going strong. The warehouse guys looked at me funny, but might be worth a search. I have no record of the website and my memory is not nearly that good.

I think I figured out what you were referring to... the leveling system?

Mine is in the front fuse box that is located in the front, drivers side, pretty much right under the drivers window. May some Dip owners can help you more specifically for your coach.

Oh boy, tons of conversation on this topic already. Check the tire codes for manufacture date... You can't go by tread or looks.

I could have been more clear.... staying below 2007 engine wise, not necessarily coach wise. Certainly would not mind an 07 coach with an 06 engine. Thanks,

familiar with the 600 HP engine issues, and I'm certainly one that is not in a hurry to get somewhere. The 400 horse Cummins would be perfectly ok with me and it seems there are tons of them around. Thanks for the info on the multiplex. I'm staying below 07 for the emissions crap so I'm right there with you on the 06 or older engine. Thanks, again. Jim

Hey Frank, Thanks for the info on the multiplex system. I'm considering upgrading to a new to me 2006 era Monaco Dynasty/Executive/Signature and I thought the multiplex wiring was an advantage. What you described above sounds like a nightmare for someone that is already electrical wiring challenged. Would it be better to find a 2005 model without the multiplex wiring, considering the older they get the fewer parts will be available? Thanks, Jim

Jim J, quoting waterskier "wet cells and AGM require a Bulk, Absorb and Float profile to SAFELY reach full charge". I would not even consider lithium if I only had to run the gen for an hour. However, my experience is that it takes 6 hours or more to get even close to full charge via generator. That is a pain in the you know what.... hence my consideration of Lithium. My FLA batts are still going and I don't have another boon docking trip planned until Spring... so I've got time to research and ponder.

Found this under downloads. Check and see if that is what you need. Jim

No worries Jim J. The more I've explored the Lithium the better they sound to me. Particularly the much quicker charge time they have versus the lead acid battery. However, they do seem to complicate things. I've emailed the inverter/charger manufacturer to see what they have to say regarding mixing the two types. At this point, I think I could make the ML ACR work by using the manual switch to disconnect the chassis when I need to just charge the house batts. Would just end up being a more manual process than an automated one, but will see what they say.

I've looked at the Li BIM 225, but now I'm confused as to how and where it would be placed in the wiring set up. Do I still use the ML ACR and the Li BIM 225? I suppose I could use only the ML ACR and manually separate the house and chassis batts when I need to recharge the house only? I also think I'll check with the inverter manufacturer and see what their recommendation would be. Thanks Van.

Have been following this thread for a while now and had plans to do the ML ACR swap on my 95. I just returned from a week of camping at the Bristol NASCAR race and noticed my house batts were no performing all that well. Once I got home and inspected I had two cables that had become a little bit loose. So I fixed those, but the batts are fairly old and not sure they are going to recover. I'm now investigating switching to Lithium iron. I currently have 4 6v with 75 AH each, so my rudimentary knowledge of batteries tells me I have about 150 AH available to me. An upgrade to Lithium could get me about 200 AH for slightly more money, but they are supposed to last for 10 years. The money seems to make sense, but the real advantage is the faster recharge rate compared to FLA. I switched out my inverter and it has a lithium setting so I think that will work. So, finally a question.... felt like you needed some background. If I install the ML ACR and have lithium house batteries and FLA chassis batteries is the ML ACR "smart" enough to know not to charge the FLA batteries to fast? Is there something else I should do if I go with the ML ACR and Lithium house batts? Thanks in advance. Jim

is there a ballpark on what she charges?

Might be the air horn, but don't have a door bladder, the other is the step. Would there be a valve for the "Air Dump" switch?

Had an air leak and I'm not sure what I've found. On the front firewall, there are three different things. Two look like "mac" valves the other I have no idea what it is. One of the valves that looks like a Mac valve had a tee in it and a line that comes off and runs down to the other valve that looks like a Mac valve and actually says "mac". I assume this is the one that goes to the step well cover? At least it matches the one in the pictures above. The 1st Mac looking valve I have no idea what it feeds and it is so high up and covered by a wiring harness that I can't get a very good look at it. Does the heat/AC use an air line? The other one is located in between the other two but not feed by the same line as best I can tell. Anyone have any idea what these three things are? Second question mostly unrelated to the first...is regarding what I think is the air compressor governor. There are two pictures of it. It is mounted to the frame rail right next to the engine. Third question, where do you source these parts? The mac valves and the governor? Thanks as always. Jim

The original post was asking for something that would not run down the side and stain them. I did my roof the spring that Covid hit. Had to find something to do. I used the Dicor products, but they will most certainly stain metal and the sides. The instructions state that you should tape off and hang plastic around the sides. I did not realize the cleaner would affect the metal and did not protect the ladder, etc. Anyway, it is a long and fairly difficult process and timing is important also unless you have a covered area to work. First you remove all the old caulk, etc. Wash the roof, sand the roof, wash the roof again. Then paint with their fiberglass paint, but you can't let any water on it for about 10 hours... that is where the timing comes in. In order, to wash the roof and get it dry, then paint it two coats with drying in between then no water including dew... it can be a challenge. The end result was very nice... my fiberglass had some very small checks in it and the sanding and painting really filled those in nicely. Also, be careful up on a slippery roof!!!

Nope, that powers the wobblin shaft for the smoke grinder.

I think just magic elbow grease is what most people use. I invested in a cover and it is a wonderful thing.

I little more success. I found some black wires in the back near the engine and batteries. It appears the solenoid that goes to the "salesman switch" is the culprit. I jumped a known positive wire to one of the black wires and have operable dash fans and basement compartment lights. Now my question is... can I eliminate that solenoid? I really hate having that power switch up by the front door. Whenever you are carrying something wide or your inadvertently hit the switch it kills all the power. Just a PIA place to have that switch. So, can I just tie all those power cables together on one post of some kind? Other than not having a switch to turn off the power is there any other negative? I currently don't have any kind of battery cut off back by the batteries. Would installing a switch there be the same thing? I can take pictures of that area if you need them. Thanks again to everyone that has replied. It is so helpful to have this group of people that can share their knowledge!!! Jim

small success. I disconnected the black wire that comes in and jumped a positive and the basement lights and dash fans worked. Now the bigger issue is I have no idea where that large black wire comes from. I do not have battery disconnects and the other 12v house circuits work. Any suggestions where I might look for a large black 12 v wire running from one end to the other? It comes out of the top of the FRB, but cannot see anything looking down through the driver's left side controls (I can remove the cup holder and see a mess of wires but none of them are the size of the black one). Any suggestions/guesses as to where that wire runs would be appreciated, I really have no idea where to even start to look.

Thanks so much for the replies. Cleaning and making sure they were tight is on the list to do. There is no power coming to the large looped around black wire, so I'll see if I can trace a source of where it is coming from. The solenoid side seems to be working fine. I'm thinking if the black wire is a positive, then I should be able to disconnect the black wire and jump a known good positive to that terminal to see if the dash fans, etc work? I would at least know the direction I had to go to run down a break or blown fuse or something.... from the FRB back to the batteries. Does that sound reasonable? Ivy, I was curious about that positive jumper wire myself. No idea why that is there, but that is how it came from the factory. The clearance lights work, but they are not your normal lights. That must be the interrupt switch so you can use the ICC switch on the dash to flash the lights??? Just a guess. Thanks again everyone. Jim

Upon further review... It appears that the dash fans, compartment lights and step are all on this upper block with the large black wire coming in and looping down to the bottom. This particular electrical block appears to be wired opposite of the other blocks in the FRB as all the others have a large red wire coming in. So, it would appear to my limited electrical mind that the small wires are the positive side and the large black wire is the negative? If so, where do the small wires get their power? I would assume that all those circuits are not switched with the ignition and are powered somewhere else, so any suggestions where to look for that power source?

so, I read a couple other threads that indicated an intermittent lack of dash fans, cruise control, dash lights, step retraction, etc. might be a bad ignition solenoid located in the FRB. So, short of replacing it, is there a way to test the solenoid? As in jumping from one side to another to see if the dash fans work? Also, all the 12v lights in the basement do not work. I have no idea if these are related as I rarely used the lights and when one didn't work, I assumed it was a bulb that needed to be replaced. When I finally got around to checking bulbs, I figured out that none of them worked, but no idea if the timing was the same as the lack of dash fans. Again, the dash fans are not something I used very often. I've checked the fuses and they are good. To replace the solenoid, remove it and find a part number? Is it likely a local auto parts store will have it? Thanks a bunch. Jim 95 Dynasty.