So, I poked my head under the coach this afternoon.  I found a big bundle of zip tied wires in front of the rear axle on the passenger side and thought I'd found the spares.  All of them went to air system components...  Couldn't find any other bundle of wires there.  Behind the front axle I found what I think is conduit.  Its about an inch diameter with a red cap?  I could not locate the other end of a conduit in the back, but the holes are all sprayed with some kind of insulating foam, so the conduit might be covered over by that.  I also don't see any obvious bundle of wire in the front axle area either.  I'll look around the generator and under the dash.  I'm at least encouraged to find what I think is the conduit.  Pulling wires through it should be pretty easy... at least that is what I'm telling myself.

Jim

I wondered about isolating the genset and the chassis engine, but I thought those instructions were more for marine applications that have two or more engines that propel the boat.  Is there a benefit to isolating the chassis and genset?

Frank had said that same thing Ivan,  I'm going to check and see if they are there, before running new wires.  If they are there...  I've got 7 50ft rolls of wire that I'm not going to need.  LOL.  I think he also said that there is a conduit?  I've also got the FASS install to do and may need some additional fuel lines run.  The next nice day that I have free to devote, I'm going to jack up the coach again and do the air dryer and check for the spare wires or run the new ones.  Thanks for the great help as usual!!!

This a project that I'm planning on doing soon.  I have the switch wired up in the back and have waited for better weather to run wires from the front to the back.  The instructions below for cross connect/isolate battery banks indicate the red wire from the ML ACR harness goes to position 2 on the included switch.  The yellow goes to position 7 for the LEDs.  Power from the house side goes to position 8 and position 1 and 3 go to ground.  Does that look correct???

It appears I only need one wire from the back run up to the front (for Yellow LED) as there is an existing wire that I can use for the remote red.  Everything else can be sourced from the front?  I'm going to run several wires from the back up to the front for any future projects, so if you think the power should be sourced from the rear run box would be easy enough?  I would appreciate another set of eyes on this.  Thanks in advance.  Jim

Frank,  I've looked at the wiring diagrams and don't see any mention of spare wires or extra conduit?  I've purchased wire and was just fixing to run some extras, so your comment is very timely.  I've looked but have not found any.  I have two rear run boxes; one on each side.  There is so much wiring that it could be right in front of me.  Any idea what it would look like and a more specific place to check?  I've looked under the dash and don't see any spare wire.  Again, any specific location to look and what to look for?

Jim

That is long enough for it to get warm.  Check the coolant and oil level.  Might want to make sure the air filter is not restricted as well.

It was my understanding that the BB would join the two battery banks together momentarily.  Most of the coaches I've seen had to have a trickle charger to charge the chassis battery as shore power only charged the house batteries.  I've heard of people putting a tooth pick or some other type of wedge into the boost switch to keep it connected while parked to combine the battery banks and charge them both, but I never tried that.  I too have replaced with the ML-ACR.  No issues with battery charge or boosting anymore... Knock on wood!!!

I don't think so.  Mine is several years older, but nothing like you describe.  I'm not long away from needing to replace mine... thinking maybe a straight pipe.  LOL

I don't think that a 98 Dynasty has a workhorse chassis.  I think it is a Roadmaster chassis.  My 95 Dynasty was a Roadmaster.

I could not find mine either, but it was located behind the lines coming out of the top of the tank on the passenger side.  use a mirror or your phone to peek over those lines and more than likely it is right there.

I had this happen on my 95 dynasty.   Check the fuel shut off solenoid.   They have a history of coming loose from the engine.  On mine it was on the passenger side under the engine access/bed.

thanks Ivan,  Yes, I do have solar.  The eyelet is so small that it did not make sense that it went to one of the battery posts.  So, just tape it to the side of a battery like the other one?

So... was checking the batteries to make sure they had enough water and noticed this loose wire hanging in the back.  It also has a wire attached to one of the batteries... see the pics.  Any idea where that loose wire should be attached?  I don't see any connection point on the back side of them.  The wire has two small wires inside the protective plastic wrap.

Very jealous of that display, Scotty.  I'm going to have to prioritize my future projects once I get a few of the ones I've already started completed!!!  I would love to see how you have it mounted.

You are correct.  I just did the maintenance on mine and I'm at $1800 and counting just for fluids and filters.  I just keep thinking of all the money I saved by doing it myself.  LOL.

I occasionally have trouble starting the genset.  It has acted like the batteries were weak when I knew they were not... now I know why.  I love this group!!!  However, now I have another project to work on.  LOL.  IF, you had a battery for just the genset, will all the switches inside still work to start it?  It seems it would be more complicated than just wiring in a battery???

A little more info would be good.  When you press the start button, you hear the fuel pump come on?  Every time or just sporadically?  Is the outside temp changing significantly from when it starts to when it will not?  Colder temps will require longer pre heat times.   You obviously have plenty of fuel in the tank as it will not run when the fuel level is low.  It cranks every time but does not start?  The oil and coolant levels are where they should be? Lets get some of the basic, easy things eliminated first. Please be a little more specific with what is happening.

I went through this process last summer and found the company that made the original paint.  I can't recall their name at the moment, but I think I could do some searches here and find it.  I do remember it was expensive and they said that it likely would not match the older paint.  I went the route of taking a panel and getting it scanned, but that was not all that great either.  My particular coach seems to have about 3 different shades of gold that all look different depending upon the angle and amount of light.  Needless to say it was a nightmare to try and match.  I settled for fixing some of the worse spots and I plan on just painting the entire thing once I retire and have the time to do it.  One thing I will note... my original intent was to just sand off the clear coat and spray that in the areas that were peeling.  However, I quickly found that the paint is very thin and you are down to primer in no time at all.  If you sand... use 2500 or 3000 grit and go easy.  Again, in my case I decided it was not worth it to spend the time.  I found the paint codes on a paper in the owners box.  Let me know if you still need the original paint supplier and I'll do some looking.

4 hours ago, Benjamin said:

Jim, the panels won't "produce" power if it's not being absorbed by the batteries, and if the batteries are full, then they are not absorbing much.  Think of the solar charge controller like a voltage regulator on an alternator, the PWM controller is nothing more than a switch, if the battery voltage is below it's set point, it connects the panels and the battery.  When the voltage rises above the setpoint, it disconnects the battery.  It does this so fast that it maintains an even voltage, but the panels are shut off some of the time at rated voltage and full batteries. 

On the other hand, 36W from a FLAT 85W panel is not bad.  Panels are rated for full sun, that is FACING full sun, not sitting flat, so you'll never get full output on a typical RV setup.  Also high temp cuts production, so if you'll ever tip your motorhome on it's side in arctic conditions, you'll raise the voltage ABOVE the panels label and could fry your controller. 

The biggest difference between current panels and the original ones, is voltage.  In the old days panels were so expensive that 12V panels were common, now most panels are 36v, so if you hook a 36v panel to a 12V system with a PWM controller you'll never exceed 50% because the PWM can only deal with the high voltage by turning it off.  An MPPT controller can transform whatever voltage is coming in into whatever voltage it feels is best for the batteries, and is relatively efficient at doing that.  So the panels can be wired in series for 100-400V with the existing small wires and the MPPT will convert that high voltage to battery voltage while conserving most of the wattage.  You'll want the wires from the controller to batteries to be short and sized for the amps of the new controller.  Probably a good time to consider lithium also, or at least any new controller that can be set for Li. 

If you can find some 12V (18V max will be the rating on the label) then you can add more panels with the existing one and controller.  Or you could center tap any 36V panel if you're that kinda guy, but then you probably wouldn't be here asking.

So... today I checked the display again with the coach having been on shore power overnight and it said 3.2 amps.  When I checked the voltage on the chassis and house they were at 14.5.  So the display is a reading of the amps that are going out, not what the panels on the roof are actually generating.  Correct?  I am thinking I'll cut the power to the coach tomorrow morning when I wake up so the batteries can be discharged some and then see how the solar does as far as maintaining the batteries. 

Thanks very much everyone for the above information.  I think I've got a good frame of reference on this old system now.  It was bright sun today and I got up and cleaned the solar panel.  At the highest sun, the controller said 3 amps.  So, if I understand correctly... 3 amps times 12 volts is 36 watts of power, from a panel that is rated at 85 watts?  Is that the inefficiency of the old style controller?  Would a newer controller squeak more power out of the panel?

I have had the coach plugged into shore power, so I imagine the batteries are topped off.  Does it make sense that the amperage read out on the controller would go up when I turn off shore power?  What exactly is that read out?  The amount of power coming from the panel or the amount of power the controller is allowing to go out?

I like how the current controller is built into the wall.  It seems like the newer controllers are more of a surface mount type arrangement???

Thanks again.

If the ignition checks out... I'd still check the rear fuel solenoid.  I have not noticed if you said you had checked it or not.  Sorry if you did.  I assume the throttle works when you press it? 

There is a fuel shutoff solenoid that may have gone bad or come undone.  Look for where the linkage attaches at the engine.  I had a much older coach that this was the problem.  Hope this helps.

I have been considering switching to a residential fridge as well... but I thought I would need to change to a pure sine wave inverter and possibly add more batteries?  My coach has auto gen start, but I've never taken the time to figure out how to use that.  That might be an option instead of adding more batteries. 

I think the only thing that gives me pause is the 425 hp engine...  I think that is the DEF engine which is a no go for me.  2008 was still kind of the figuring out period for that emissions system. 

Yes, I would say that if the reset button is beeping, then it is getting power and the keypad is bad.  Some here have reprogrammed keyfobs, but I just replaced the box and got two new keyfobs that were already programmed to it.  Was a fairly easy swap out and a nice convenience.  If you don't want keyfobs, then just replace the keypad and you should be good to go.  I did find the new keypad was larger and required a larger hole to be made, but that may not be the case for you if you have the newer model keypad.

If you are not getting any lights or beeps from the pad then more than likely it is dead.  You can get access to the back of the keypad under the armrest on the passenger side.  Checking to make sure you are getting power to the keypad will verify.  If you don't have 12 volts going to it then check fuses, etc.  I'm going to assume the viper alarm is under the dash access panel, but that is just a guess.  The key fob system should be under the dash access panel as well.  Do a search of this forum as there is a good discussion on exactly how to do a replacement.  I changed out my keypad and the keyfobs about 11 months ago.  Just as a note... the two systems lock and unlock the doors, etc... but a not an integrated system.  They are two separate systems.  At least that is the case on my 2003.

This was the name of the thread that I followed when I did this fix.  It is really a nice option to be able to open/lock the doors with the keypad or fob. 

Key Fob Programming - 2003 Executive