MyronTruex

Jim, Tom mentioned that one breaker can or could cause issues. Which breaker did you switch on? I believe the washer/dryer breaker, when off can confuse things a bit. This has been discovered a couple of times. Per Tom's response. """BTW....there have been some "FUNKY" switching or issues if one of the breakers are OFF. SO, turn them ALL ON. But, typically, you WILL have lights and the remote might look strange....BUT NOT TOALLY DEAD. SO... there are no guarantees, except that if you have NO power (12 VDC) it ain't gonna work"""" If you know which one, can you duplicate the problem by turning it off again? If not, then you may have just allowed the board to reset itself.

Just to be clear. It is NOT this panel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L04Z6U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is a service manual that might help. intellitec ems service manual.pdf

Loose connections can allow those nasty stray signals to creep into the ground side of things. I do understand it is isolated to a few circuits, but sometimes simple maintenance solves strange problems. As you work your way through things, tighten any coax connections you find and make a mental note of the feel. That is, does it take a 1/4 turn for example to get them tight?

Good eyes Steven, I suspect most of us assumed he meant 6 volters. There would likely be some smoke involved with four 12 volters . In addition, he stated things worked on generator as well as on a 50 amp shoreline. Not 100% clear on your batteries. Your previous owner had two 12 volt batteries in place of where four 6 volters previously lived? That is possible. Living on shoreline a person really does not need a load of heavy batteries to get by with. In any case, your charger would likely continue to charge, even with bad batteries. It will do its best to fill up the empty electron bucket, however the bad battery will never come up to the proper voltage and the charger will keep trying to get it up to a charged state.

"""To fill in some more info, I have three dogbones--two 50->30 and one 50->20--as well as a 30->20 plug adapter. They all test good on DC resistance, and I tried all possible combinations before posting. However, street sense also tells me to agree that they still shouldn't be trusted """" DC resistance testing is just about useless. Any ohmeter will and can fool you. One wire from a stranded pair will carry enough current and voltage to make the meter read zero ohms. From one Klysitron changer to the other, get your voltmeter onto the input of the charger. This should eliminate all of the systems inline with it. This will eliminate weak shoreline voltage/current. IR drop from a heavy load that is. You charger is inverting because it does not see the proper shoreline voltage, or it is broken. Heck, you could pull the inverter/charger out and set it on a workbench with a cheater cord and check it. I am NOT suggesting that. I just want to make the point that you may be shooting in the dark without real measurements. You would never change a klystron without measuring the B+. If it satisfies your need. Start the generator and go into the Magnum setup and turn the charger down to 10 or 20 percent if yours has that feature. I do this when on light weight shorelines. 30 amp or less for example. Once the batteries are full, 10% will keep them up just fine.

If you have a 50 to 30 amp adaptor, or 50 to a normal 110 plug, or some way to get down to a normal three prong plug, connect that to shoreline. Before doing so, turn off any major electric hogs, such as the water heater. See if your charger comes alive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A voltmeter on the input of the inverter/charger would be where I go for my first voltage measurement if the above does not cause the charger to come to life. -------------------------------------- I do not trust that your shoreline is functioning correctly. There are two 110 volt paths that come down the 50 amp connection. Using adaptors makes that voltage come down both lines at the same time. Your system knows what is coming down those lines and makes changes as needed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The inverter/charger is a pretty dumb animal. It just needs to be fed 110 volts. If is sees that, it charges, if it does not see that and you have the inverter button on, it drains your batteries. ---------------------------------------------- You probably have a (30amp), or so breaker in your main breaker panel that feeds the charger. You can take a voltage measurement there with the generator running and on shoreline. Comparing should sort this out in just a few measurements.

The only hard part of changing the fan was finding a way to get to it. After some real digging and thinking I was going to have to do major surgery, I found the hidden hatch cover. It was covered by carpet and in the closet, mostly. The closet doors had to be removed along with the bottom track. The bottom track was a pain and was reinstalled with screws in a place easy to get to. Monaco made beautiful tight fitting cabinetry. The sconce/valence above the closet doors was a tight fit getting out. There are hidden finishing nails so it was a bit intimidating taking things apart. That panel was trimmed 1/4 inch for future removals. It now only takes minutes to get the closet doors out and the carpet covered hatch off. I believe just three drywall screws hold it in place now. Not noticeable and much easier to remove. The hatch was incredibly well hidden with carpet. The carpet had not been sliced around the deck area. We have the 40 SKQ so your layout may be simpler. I have pictures on the changeout if you are interested. Getting the fan off was easy. Being prepared with a breaker bar and the right socket it took just a couple of minutes to remove the bolts. I just remembered that taking the fan belt off was not necessary. The fan blade was carefully lifted out from above. The new one dropped in and bolted on. One of the first of hundreds of modifications made. The new fan is one of the best mods. I did notice that in downhill driving that the less draggy fan required me to use the tranny in a lower gear or the brakes much more. The fan I believe reduced the hp needed by some 35 hp. An astonishinig amount of drag. Check out the specs. It has been nearly fifteen years so would need to verify.

In the middle of Covid shortages, my front AC died. It was also the middle of Summer in the middle of Florida. Buying a noisy portable unit was the only thing available. After some time and at least three, maybe four, returns to Amazon due to damaged units. I got one installed. Two were not available so I had to make the new one backwards compatible to the 5 button thermostat. The conversion was indeed a $130 board at the time. I’m an ET so the changeout was not difficult. It was a bit distressing capping a wire or two and folding them back out of the way and not knowing the function of those wires. My AC’s have heat pumps. My AC’s were 15K units. Only 13K units were available at the time. When the new AC, with a new backwards compatible board fired up there was a lot of relief in the air. Some time later another AC unit (price increase of course of $200), became available. Same issues with damage in transit and horridly built units. Loose wiring, pinched wiring, misplaced things. Penguins were horridly built. With both old AC’s on hand they, along with the new boards removed from the new units, were listed on either Craigs list or the Market place. Some human person, only described by me as a human forklift showed up with a trailer and cash in hand. He picked up one of the units like it was a bag of trash, threw it over his shoulder and put it in the trailer. I should now replace my 5 button with the Microair. I think my thermostat has a bit of an intermittent. It will go wonky, (technical term to be used only by highly qualified ET’s with a half century of experience)) Changing the new boards out in a new unit is a bit unnerving, even for an old tech. The instructions were quite good. Far better than most.

As mentioned, the fan may not have a clutch. My 2008 Endeavor does not. I believe changing the idler pulley is recommended at a certain point. I have not changed mine but only have 55K miles on the coach. I have changed the belt and the fan itself long long ago with one from Source Engineering. The fan is far quieter and eats up a lot less hp. It is substantial. I did acceleration testing before and after. My mileage increased and the noise dropped 5 db at the rear of the RV.

LED"S require little power so leakage voltage can cause some very strange symptoms. As suggested, bad ground can cause untold craziness, not to be confused with wonkiness. Get a voltmeter and a long piece of wire to connect to the negative terminal of your battery bank. Using this long wire will ensure you have a proper ground for your meter and for the following test. You can fuse the long wire near the battery with a very small fuse, such as a 5 amp. This fuse will protect things as you can potentially hit the wrong wire. Measure your led voltages and write them down during the various scenarios you mention. Measure the ground side of your lights during those tests as well. If you see any voltage on the ground side of the lights, use your long long wire to temporarily make a solid known ground for the lights. Hopefully this will help. If you can simply unplug the led strip light you mention AFTER the tests above, I would do so.

So to be clear, the original alternator is in right now? Did you get stuck with the one they used to replace it? The link I provided shows how the alternator could have been damaged. A bench check of the alternator will tell you if yours is actually working. If not, it would not be that hard to convert to a self excited one. Your existing wiring would need some testing while disconnected to check for any shorts.

This group has a deep knowledge of your EMS system. I have a 2008 Endeavor which is the sister ship to the Diplomat. I also have a ton of files to provide if interested. There are tons of files on this forum as well. Glad you joined us.

How is your boost pressure? If a mechanic did not check the hoses and connections in and around the turbo there could be a small leak. Hopefully anyway.

Steve, it sounds like you have a self exciting alternator. The small white is likely an ignition sense. You should get 14+ right at the alternator. You should be able to "see" your battery voltage right at the large red wire. That is, it is likely connected at the starter area (stacked), with the heavy wire to the starter. Of course it could go directly to the battery. Hard to know if yours was a factory self excited or modified later. I prefer self excited for simplicity but the remote sensor probably gives you a better/more accurate charging. Either system is just fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzJ0-r_QE4o Watch this video to find out why your old one may not work now. In a moment, I will find a link to a ton of information you can review and come to a better understanding of your yours work. I'm not a fan of the remote sensor but it does make sense in many applications to assure the proper voltage is at the batteries. Long runs and tired connections can cause the voltage to be a bit low for proper charging. The remote sensor looks at the batteries very closely, much as you would with a voltmeter, then compensates for the reading it senses. https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aqrv2TUdbV6xgfJOjqvaRe3is_tAqQ?e=E0CZ0q Check these files out.

Looks like the leveling jack container to me as well. Only fill when the jacks are up or it will overfill. Mine always seemed to have some spillage/dirt colleting until cleaning it spotless one day and placing a small bead of silicon around the fill plug. Not against it or connected to it. Just kind of made a round dam and things do not seem to get all greasy any more.

To lose all of the functions on the plug is not likely related with anything you were doing. Making an assumption here that you have tested both battery banks to see that they are charge? Start the rv and give it a couple of minutes. Then test both large terminals on the old solenoid you put back in place. The reason or goal is to be sure you have power to the relays involved with the plug. The ground could be a separate issue but here is what I feel might be the problem. They build these chassis with a basic wiring harness, and then they add to those to accomodate different length coaches and different layouts. Put some safety goggles on and grab a headlight. Start right at the back of the trailer plug and follow the harness to wherever head bumping knuckle bleading place you can. Somewhere you are likely to find a heavy duty plug that needs some exercise. I know this seemed to happen when you were in the battery compartment but I cannot count how many time these seemingly strange events occurred in my shop. Had a customer leave and come back with a problem we seemed to have caused. It turned out his old trailer wiring had shorted out and we got the pleasure of another hour of repairs on us. But that stuff happened so often I would ask my techs, "did you fix the other three things that are broke".

Feel that large solenoid on the back wall. Then measure the voltage on the purple wire. If the solenoid is warm or hot it is engaged. If there is voltage on the purple wire the solenoid is engaged and providing engine battery power to the house side. From there things can be further diagnosed. I don't want to muddy the waters just yet.

Either your switch is bad or you miswired it. Remove the switch and use an ohmeter to identify how it works. A picture always helps of course. To prove it is the house batteries at fault you should be able to carefully remove the positive source from them or the ground side. The ground side is safer of course.

If you choose to go the 101 route here is a suggestion I have posted many times over the years. So many that I saved it. Disregard the title of Ft. Bragg. Just follow the instructions until you get to 101 and go North. Don't make the turn towards Ft. Bragg when you get to that part of the scenario. It has been ten years since traveling this route (bailed out of Kalifornia), so hopefully any changes would be corrected by this group,. I highly recommend using Google Earth and print out the turns so you will recognize them. Just a note for history. There is an old abandoned mine on the right side of the hwy 20, three lanes going up. I am one of the few people that lived in a mining camp in Calif. Well, after the gold rush that is. That is a mercury mine. Some heavy stuff for sure. While taking this route 20, keep your eyes out for Elk. There are a couple of herds running around and they can be right off the road. Go slow enough to enjoy the views. It is beautiful country for sure. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Route to Ft Bragg area Take Highway 20 West out of Williams. 37.1 miles. Watch for Highway 53 as you drop down a hill after a fairly long climb. Easy climb and multiple lanes. Turn what would be South onto 53. You will go about 8 miles. Look for the sign to Highway 29 which leads to Kelseyville. This is a nice road and will become freeway in a few miles. Eventually you are back to two lane for a short distance and will come to a stop sign. You are back to Highway 20 again. This leg is about 30 miles. Turn left and enjoy the beautiful drive right to 101. This route will bypass the two lane twisting and winding on the North side of Clear lake. If you want a good view of the lake go ahead and stay on 20 all the way to 101. Disregard this part for your journey: Do NOT go to Ft. Bragg and then try to go North out of there. Sheesh. Been there. Won't do that again. Take the freeway ramp towards Willits. Once in town stay in the left lane and be patient. Traffic can back up a bit. You will come to a large intersection that has a shopping center on the right and fuel stations on three corners. Turn left and relax and enjoy a beautiful twisting and winding road that has plenty of pull outs to rest, calm queasy stomachs and stretch the pets. This section may take you an hour. Use your shifting lever to keep things in a lower gear so you don’t get hot brakes. Nothing steep, just lots of slow curves. After the 33 miles you will come to a stop light. Two ways to go, right or left. Left will take you to Mendocino and right will take you to Ft. Bragg. Be sure to make reservations in advance. Turning left there is a really nice campground “Pomo”, that we have used many times. Further down is Casper beach. My wife does not like the cramped spaces but I liked being able to walk across the street to the beach. Adding to this. Keep an eye out for Elk along the road from Williams to the Clear Lake area. Another interesting place along the way on the right is an old mining camp. You will come to a three lane road, two lanes going uphill. On the right you will see an old slag dump. This is Abbot mine. It was a mercury mine in the 50's and 60's. "Quick Silver", is an incredibly heavy liquid metal at room temp. There were about a dozen families living at this mining camp at one time. A cook house, bunk house and showers were provided for many miners. Ore was trucked to the crushers, then entered furnaces. The slag was dumped over an embankment. The site was cleaned up several years ago so mostly memories are the only things left.

Be careful to not overheat your brakes. The drive is indeed beautiful. But I do prefer the 101 if possible.

These days a signal tracer can be a time saver. They are cheap enough and will usually get you into the ball park. Putting the signal on the "famous blue wire" at the rear, (electrons are color blind), and then useing the sniffer behind the dash should lead you to the plug or tied back wire. Fortunately my wire actually has the writing on the side of it. Dang, that must have been expensive for Monaco to have the wires done this way but what a great idea. Quality for sure. Another vote for NOT using the Scotchlok connectors. I threatened my technicians that if I found them using them they would get canned. They are fine for the weekend U-haul situation but not for a permanent situation. You don't want an intermittent brake connection. Just a side note. When I first went through this post the pictures posted by Tom did not pop up. Strange. After posting this and coming back just a couple of minutes later, the pictures showed up. As mentioned by Tom, an ohmeter is a perfect tool for nailing down the wire precisely. Finding that wire can be a bit of hide and seek and the signal tracer should help get close, if not right on

Not a fun road in the best of times for a full-size setup. And the state was unable to tell me how an RV would be measured. Probably a lot shorter after a wreck. I spent six months chasing departments down trying to get a definitive answer. One office told me, "You're in luck, we have the expert here just leaving". After thirty minutes he excused himself and gave me a place to send a letter. Fell on deaf ears.

Grab a standalone voltmeter and check right at the batteries and then at the connections on the charger/inverter. Nice feature on the Lumos Harry Potter. Now Nox and go to sleep.

That is enough to run them down, but not enough for me to chase it in an RV. In a car that would be terrible. 150 ma is about as much as I would want Doing the math at 1/2 amp over X amount of hours will show you how quickly the electron buckets will empty.