MyronTruex

I have to keep a notepad nearby anytime I drive my coach. Or at least it seems that way. Turn the ignition key and something needs to be fixed. Owned it since new too. The only really major problem was years ago with a DPF failure that required a tow and plenty of cash. Forgot about the transmission control module getting wet and failing but that was basically a self inflicted wound. But something is always broken or needs maintenance. Richard you have a lot more guts that I have jumping into a monster unknown machine miles from home. My hat is off to you and others that do this.

This might help Alternator.pdf

Six volt relay would likely be an alternator fail light relay. I'm sure more help is on the way shortly.

We had a portable ice maker for a couple of years but when we went full timing there was just no room. Replaced the ice maker three times, water valves a couple of times, defrost strips and a couple more problems I do not recall. Loved the refer but hated fighting it all the time. The new residential is massive compared to it. Almost CF more. The ice maker takes off in minutes and makes a couple of gallons of ice at least in a big hurry. Water and ice in the door is a must for me. The wife didn't care but I do. The new refer probably weighs 1/3 or less than the original. I did not connect it up to the inverter circuit. Ours is a modified sine wave so didn't want to risk it. Just too easy to fire up the generator after 4-5 hours and usually we need the AC's anyway so it is a mute point. The refer was really easy to get through the window. The old one was a beast. Took it out the front door in pieces. Just too heavy for wife and I by ourselves.

The defrost strip in ours went bad. Many moons ago. Had many many problems with ice maker. Put at least three in. It was a nice refer but we finally gave up and installed a residential. Absolutely love it. I'm guessing at your model refer but supplying that would be useful. BTW, we have a 2008 SKQ so same layout I highly suspect. If you decide it is time to swap it out I have a ton of information on it and lots of pictures. https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqrv2TUdbV6xw3k2MmYddfJ7rC5N?e=anVhKj Here is a link to a lot of information you might like to sort through.

Using some velcro in various places around the edges we use them in our mobility scooter baskets. Works great for the Food and Wine festival at Epcot.

It is amazing how fast the air can be let out and if you think you can get out before being crushed you are wrong. Even if you have the hydraulic jacks lifting the RV there are so many things that can take it into the emergency retract mode and it can drop like a rock. Just for fun when you are clear of everything for those that have the leveling jacks, put your foot on the brake and put the transmission in D and take the parking brake off. I can tell you from experience that a crazy thing like water getting to the Transmission Control Module can activate the same emergency situation. If in doubt, use jack stands. Even with jack stands you are at risk, says my trip to the emergency room to be checked out after my little Ranger pickup came down off the jack and jack stand and pinned me under the truck. I was only bruised but gained a valuable lesson. Stuff happens. Be careful. Just got out from under mine a few minutes ago. Used jack stands of course. I really like the pipe thing and a welder could put some tabs on it or cut it so they actually cannot kick off sideways. One of my Bilstein shocks was leaky and it took six months to get a replacement. Little do they know the old one is going to get warranted because of the leak. Guess I will have a spare. Suckers went up a bunch of course.

As I begin to remember slowly, the new wand I built I believe I took it inside with the element removed and blasted things loose. Then screwed it back in tight enough to let me flush that out. It took some time but based on my bore scope it came out very clean. I am about to embark on our first real trip in almost two years, even though we live in it full time. Health and Covid has kept us down but out for a three week adventure in a couple of days. When I get back it is time to check my tank. I have not cleaned it since putting the new element, mixer, and thermostats. My wife says this is about the best "modification" I have ever done. She can take a long shower now with almost enough water. If I kick the propane on to help it about keeps up. Why it takes her that long mystifies me. She doesn't play in the dirt like I do then needing two or three showers a day in the Summer. Of course as a Gi and growing up with lots of brothers we learned to shower quickly. She can take all the time she needs because she comes out beautiful as always.

As I recall when doing the boiler upgrade with the mixer valve installation I opted for the higher wattage element as well. With a strong light I could see the heavy build up as mentioned and was surprised at the amount. I do not remember clearly if I tried to flush it from inside the RV but do remember making a new wand myself by smashing the end of a copper tube soldered to a fitting. The tiny hole in the new wand really made a water pic out of it and cleared out the tank. I used a bore scope for inspection.

It is amazing how fast the air can be let out and if you think you can get out before being crushed you are wrong. Even if you have the hydraulic jacks lifting the RV there are so many things that can take it into the emergency retract mode and it can drop like a rock. Just for fun when you are clear of everything for those that have the leveling jacks, put your foot on the brake and put the transmission in D and take the parking brake off. I can tell you from experience that a crazy thing like water getting to the Transmission Control Module can activate the same emergency situation. If in doubt, use jack stands. Even with jack stands you are at risk, says my trip to the emergency room to be checked out after my little Ranger pickup came down off the jack and jack stand and pinned me under the truck. I was only bruised but gained a valuable lesson. Stuff happens. Be careful.

Go buy a cheap meter and start at the batteries. Run the engine while metering. Your comment about voltages going over a certain point and the Sony acts up screams of a voltage regulator issue. Batteries low on water may be contributing to the issue by not putting enough of a load on the alternator. If you see the voltage higher than it should be at the batteries you need to inspect them as suggested and putting a load by turning the inverter on and running the microwave might give you a clue if the voltage comes down a bit with the load. Those inexpensive usb chargers are screaming of a problem you do not want to ignore. Your Sony may have paid a price already and hope it is only a fuse. When voltages go higher or lower than components are designed for they can have runaway currents flow where they should not and let out as much smoke with low voltage as they do with high voltage. Again, forget the expensive meter left behind. Borrow or buy another one. It does not have to be Nasa grade

Weak headlights is a very common complaint. Make or find a good ground for your meter. Run an extension cord and plug your meter negative lead into the ground hole if needed. But get a good ground for the meter. It does not matter if you have shoreline or generator power, just battery power is fine. What is important is to get measurements at the input to the bulbs and then on the ground side of the bulbs. IF you have any voltage at all on the ground side of the bulbs you have a ground problem. However, the most common issue is the voltage to the hot side of the bulbs. Take a reading on your battery terminal and then on the hot side of the bulbs. Of course do this with them turned on. You will see a difference between battery voltage and the voltage at the bulb. How much is determined by the resistance of the long long run of wires, the size of the wires, the condition of any connections along the way such as a headlight switch etc. Lets assume your ground side voltage is zero. Ok, ground function is fine. But your voltage is a couple of volts or more lower at the bulbs hot side. You may find below the driver in the outside compartment some heavy battery cables coming in to post there. Use your voltmeter to find one that is close to battery voltage. Do this with headlights on still. Once you establish a good source of power there compared to battery readings you can run a temporary jumper to the hot side of the headlights. If you feel better go ahead and cut the wire to the bulb or just buy a replacement bulb for the test but feeding power in parallel this way should do no harm. I do like to put a fuse inline with a setup like this. Make sure you don't use a wimpy alligator lead for this test. It has to carry 5-15 watts of power. Don't get confused here with the watts. Just my point that it takes some current carrying capacity. IF you notice a significant improvement in the brightness we can go from there. If just a bit better then you need to measure the voltages again with that jumper in place and look at the ground side voltage as well. If that has come up to some readable amount you need to address the grounds as well which is very common. Getting those voltage readings is paramount but as I mentioned, this is a very common complaint and yes from folks that bought theirs new. There are just too many long skinny water hoses in the path of the sprinkler so you have low pressure there.

Open the packing boxes and take the covers off as soon as you get them. Inspect very closely for any damage. They do a terrible job of packing them and can do a terrible job of assembly as well. Look carefully for any pinched wires or misaligned covers or cracked housings. Not fun to put them on the roof and take them back off again. New control boards and new thermostat should function great but do look at the manual for the dip switch settings. They may be the same on the old ones so you can reference that. While you have them off be sure to have some metal duct tape to clean up the intake areas of the ducts. They did a poor job and had lost of air going into my roof originally. As an added tip to improve things overall. Pull one of your ceiling outlet/vents out and see if they trimmed their heights. Mine had not been trimmed and stuck a couple of inches into the duct work which really reduced the air flow. It made a huge difference trimming them to fit properly. Don't panic when you fire them up and it seems like a week before they come on. Those darn delays are scary sometimes.

Are you using a voltmeter or a test light??? How did you check fuses??? A test light is a great way and simple to use.

Order a replacement for that solenoid and in the mean time just bolt the cables together and tape them up. Of course turn power off when doing this. Your clues are sufficient to not even have to take a voltage measurement. 1> Does not start when pushing the aux start button .. (That engages that solenoid which is a very very common problem part) 2> The Solenoid is warm or hot to the touch. This solenoid takes a lot of power while activated and will get warm or even hot to the touch.. This tells me it is being commanded to energize. But even if it goes clunk and seems to energize that does not mean the contacts are working. 3>Using jumper cables works. If you either leave one jumper cable in place to bypass the solenoid while it is on order both banks will charge but it can take hours to catch up. After charging for several hours you can then check the voltage on the starting batteries after turning on headlights for ten minutes. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, it is just another computer that gets confused sometimes. I would not worry about it. Myron 08 Endeavor

Tool on right is definitely a Demco tool bar device. My Aluminator tow bar came with one. Once is a blue moon the thing will be jammed a bit too tight for me to release the locking mechanism on the arms so this device does the trick. The one on the left is a mystery to me but sure looks like it would fit a brake pedal when using a portable toad brake. Myron 08 Endeavor

Great thread: At 17K miles on our 2008 HR Endeavor the monroe shocks could be pressed down and pulled up by a four year old. Wife was complaining about motion sickness and I did not like the ride either. Had read about the Bilsteins that had been tested I believe in the Sacramento area. I already had the Source Sway bars that had made quite a difference in ride. I dare not use the word "handling" or the experts will slap my hands. Don't know another word to use but I first installed the rear Sway Bar and liked it. The Front one went on very soon after that. The shocks were replaced with the Bilsteins but what a pain. Can anyone tell me why they didn't put a welded nut on the top stud so you can hold them while tightening them??? My wife no longer got motion sick: I will leave that part alone for now. Additional things done later of course. While in Oregon I had the check valves in the airlines installed. A tiny bit of improvement in the cornering is about all. I would not spend the money again on that. To date I have a new steering box, watts links, cross bars, sway bars, check valves, and sway bars. The wife is grumbling about motion sickness again. I figure after 30-40K miles the Bilsteins could be tired. Thinking they have a lifetime warranty was a hoot. They have to leak or break. Nothing covers any wear and tear of course. I think I will just take the front ones off one at a time and see if any are mushy and just replace those. Now if someone can share how they easily took theirs off. Stem on top. Bottom eyes are easy. Stems were a bugger. Myron HR Endeavor 2008

Looks like the pictures are already posted but I would like to add my two cents. 30 lbs is probably going to be far too much. 10-15 lbs seems about perfect on mine. When you get the rod, try to unscrew the end of the rod that the piston comes out of. At the end of the shiny bit that is. I have found they like to unscrew so my last go round I added some epoxy. No more dangling rods after falling out from unscrewing. Once you get the size piston you really like be sure to stock one if you use the rv a lot. We full time so the things get a real workout. Ebay for about 12 each. I just replaced all nine of my compartment pistons.

Appreciate it. Over 50 yrs as a tech and managed and owned electronic service centers. Senior Certified Electronic Tech. FCC 1st class ....

Starting at the pedestal is a great suggestion but getting measurements while plugged in can be difficult. You can measure any adjacent outlet holes of course. Finding your transfer panel is a good idea for general maintenance and getting to know it before problems is helpful. Taking measurement there will tell you a lot in a hurry. Take pictures first and print them out. Then write the readings down for future reference. When not in the troubleshooting mode remove all power and tighten everything up in the transfer panel.

I can't help with an electrical drawing but can help you identify the issue weather it is low voltage or a bad ground. You need a voltmeter and a known good ground. Oh sure you say, that may be my problem. So you must get scratch a good ground on some metal place. A dremel with a sanding drum works well. I have actually places some connectors in a couple of places in my RV and have a long wire to plug into those ground spots. Once you have a nice shiny spot and can put a metal screw into a predrilled hole or use self tapper you can attach a scrap piece of wire to it and then strip and wrap that around your negative voltmeter lead. The goal here is to avoid getting fooled or in taking faulty measurements:: With this settled you can move on to taking only two measurements at first. Find one of the guages or devices that is going wanky and figure out how to measure the hot wire going into it and the ground side. Sharpening your positive meter probe on a bench grinder to a needle point is a good way to let blood out of your fingers but sure ensures you will get a good measurement probing wires. Tape up most of the positive probe so only a small tip shows. You don't want to shorting things as you work. Only two outcomes from these measurements. IF you have close to battery voltage on the HOT side of the instrument or bulb you are measuring and the device is reading wanky then I would bet you will find some voltage on the ground side of the device. This means you have a bad ground. If the voltage is low on the input side then time to chase that. If your ground is the culprit you can use the nice temporary ground you just made to prove it. Skin the insulation back on the device being tested (ground side), and tie your jumper to that. Conversely you can substitute your own hot lead but must take great care doing so. I have a wire with an inline fuse to do just that. I can put a fuse in that is just enough to do the job. Don't want to cram a 40 amp fuse in something that is only going to draw a couple of amps. I hope this is clearer than mud. First post from me on this new forum platform. Myron T. 08 Endeavor