Blacknight

I have a 2007 Monaco Knight 40 DFT. I recently acquired a 2009 Lexus GX470 which I have been working on to set up for flat tow. The problem I'm having is connecting the motorhome to the Lexus to have working brake/tail and turn signals. I purchased two pig tales to avoid altering the Lexus system.( did not want to cut into the harness etc). I ran the four wires, white (ground), yellow (left turn), green (right turn) and brown (running lights). The first time I tried the setup the left turn signal, tail light and brake light worked fine. I then went to the right side, connected the pig tale and I got nothing-tried the left side again and it did not work. I went to the coach 7 way plug and found only 1 contact point had any power. I believe this is a factory Monaco installed 7 way plug- I replaced it because #1 the door was broken and #2 I thought maybe the wires were damaged inside the plug, but the end on the plug, it is sealed so I just changed it. I went on line to find out where the 7 wires go ( color code) and set the plug to that schematic. ( I just assumed Monaco would be set up the same way). I double checked everything, plugged in the cable to the Lexus and nothing! I put new bulbs in the Lexus-nothing. I then went back to the 7 blade connector with a bug light and only 1 blade had conductivity. I checked the wire from the connector to the chassis plug connector and found no broken of chaffed wires. We used the old plug last year with no problem so I'm stumped! Any help would be appreciated-Thanks Steve

We just bought a 2009 Lexus GX470 SUV. This model is 4 wheel drive with a manual transfer case. The owners manual says they can not be dingy toad, however, I have seen RV sites that mentioned they were able to tow their GX470 without issue. I have not been able to get in touch with anyone that can provide any information. I will need to know all the equipment needed to add to the car and any additional operating information. Thanks Steve

Thanks to Tom for the few hours he spent walking me through my situation. You just don't find the level of knowledge and expertise everyday anymore and that goes for everyone that contributed and helped with my problem. Hope I can return the favor someday.

Well, I have crawled under the bed and found were the yellow romex enters a junction block and checked the connections are all tight, found three junction boxes under the table with one marked frig and one ice maker all connections are tight. I wonder if I should add an inverter to run the frig by itself.

On 6/14/2023 at 3:51 PM, Tom Cherry said:

Plug in something at the GFCI.  If it works, then you should have power at the icemaker circuit.  That is on Genny or Shore.

IF you have power then, the wiring from the inverter to the GFCI is OK.  Then, that means that something is wrong and the inverter is not on or running right and inverting.  You should also have all the interior outlets.  See if you can snake a long 3 prong extension cord out a window or under the Samsung and plug it in there and run it off the interior outlets.

Report back…

Ok Tom- finally getting back to hopefully solving the problem. I followed your instructions and plugged an extension cord to another inverted outet and the fridge works on inverted power. The plug that the Norcold was plugged into works while on generator or pole power. There are tow recepticals, one for ice maker and one for fridge. niether of these recepticals work on inverted power. What's next?

Tom- went to the GFCI  reset it, then plugged in a hair dryer-nothing. i did go outside to the inverter and pushed the two  breakers . nothing changes

i’m away from the coach now but all worked fine with the old fridge-inverter is msw

4 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Is your inverter turned on???

The inverter probably has a pass through function, it will pass power when plugged in.  If the inverter isn't on it will still let power pass, but when you unplugged not power going through and if inverter not on then no power produced.

 

i did turn on the inverter at the wall panel if that’s what you mean 

Ok-so I installed a new fridge replacing the nevercold fridge. I read thru many posts that explained to hook up the power for the fridge to the ice maker plug. I did that and the fridge works great when hooked to shore or generator power, however, last night I unplugged from shore power to test how long I could last in "boondocking" situations. I never thought to look inside the new fridge after unplugging from shore power to see if it was working. Went out this morning after 12 hours to see my results and the fridge was off. Unplugged the fridge and tried the other plug and still not working on the inverter. I replugged to the former norcold ice maker plug and still nothing. I checked the GFI plug and all is well. I looked in the manual for a fuse but cold not find anything. So where should I begin to solve my problem? p.s. the new fridge's freezer was half full of frozen goodies and once plugged in, the temp was 31 degrees after 12hrs! p.s.s- I also noted a steady draw of 3amps after I unplugged from shore power last night- I figure that is the T.V.'s still showing power to them? or what else should I turn/unplug? 

Thanks Steve

funny-We have owned ours for three years as well. I found the outlet that I didn't know was there and sure enough the heater was plugged in. I know it's been plugged in for since I've owned it. no wonder why the bathroom was always warm! for the help.Thanks everyone 

37 minutes ago, Marine Boy said:

If your plug into shore power.  Sounds like aqua hot engine heat is on or block heater is on?  If you have those features????

I am plugged into shore power at home. I do not have the Aqua hot feature and I don't think I have a block heater. The way I understand things, when you activate the key there is a light thats says "wait" so I do till it goes out and then crank it up. Years ago, my father had a diesel Mercedes Benz and you had to hold a "glow plug" warmer before you started the engine-I guessed the "wait" light was a modern glow plug. i think something is definitely is on. Is there a switch to turn on for an engine block heater? Where would I find it? thanks

I just made a repair on the cooling system by replacing the over flow tank and the two return lines that go to the engine. I live in middle Tennessee and it was around 85 degrees today-nothing special. I opened the rear engine cover in the rear bathroom to install the new lines but when I went to connect the hose, I pulled off the line plug and the coolant was hot coming out of the head. The head was so hot that I could not rest my hand on it for more than a minute-hot! The coach has not been started for 4 days but 4 days ago I happened to check the temp gauge and when I turned on the key, it registered 1/4. I have a 2007 Monaco Knight dft with a 330, 8.3 Cummins. I have opened the rear hatch before over the last 2 years or so and it's always seemed warm but I never put hands on it. What could be the problem?

3 hours ago, johncvandoren@gmail.com said:

Ours is a 2006 Knight.  The rear closet has stair-step ledges at the rear and the floor is factory carpeted.  Not sure there’s enough space for a second hatch.

well mine is stair stepped also-in the picture i posted, the area where the red is showing is the floor of the closet and there is a step behind it about 18" to 24" high

Mine was $515.00 shipped to my door. Looks like a quality piece and fit was perfect.

57 minutes ago, Steve P said:

Steve - thanks for posting this.  We also have a Knight 40DFT.   I had no idea there was a second hatch in the closet.  Sooo glad you brought this up!!  I need to pull up carpet too.   If you can take another minute to post, would you mind including a pic and the measurements of the hatch?   

Thanks - another Steve

Steve- I would post pictures here but I do not know how-I've searched the site for the information but can up empty. I can describe what I did- take the two closet doors out, the wood base at the bottom of the closet( where the rail is for the closet doors) has two srews on each end. Remove the 4 screws and take the wood base out. In the base of the closet, right had side, I pulled up the carpet about the same distance as the main access panel and located 4 phillip screws, took them out, removed the main access door and then the second access door. 

If you have replaced you radiator hoses or thermostat  and have the part numbers that would be awesome. 

Thanks for the replies-I pulled up the glued down carpet and found the other access door. Now the fun begins.

I have a 2007 Monaco Knight DFT. I had a coolant flush done and found the overflow tank leaking and in need of replacement. I replaced the tank with one from Source Engineering and it fits just perfect. The two hoses on the top of the tank are barely long enough to attach and after reading what others have done, I would like to replace those two hoses. The problem I'm having is i can't find where those hoses attach to the engine, plus I would like to look at the engine side of the radiator. I have an access hatch in the bathroom that only allows me to see the rear of the engine. The only way I can think of is to remove the CAC and radiator to gain access but thats a huge job. How do you gain access to the front of the engine?

I just replaced my overflow tank with a unit from Source Engineering and it fits perfectly. Can anyone tell me where the two hoses on the top of the tank go to?

9 hours ago, Jim Pratten said:

The defrost clip mentioned is popular item on eBay.  Search for DA61-06796A Refrigerator Clip.

It's a fairly easy install with the bonus of getting to clean out your refrigerator.

Do you know what years this mod is intended-I mean I just installed a new rf-18-I would guess if this was a problem they would have corrected this?

10 hours ago, Ivylog said:

I did much the same as Richard^^^. 1000W PSW inverter with a transfer switch as the other was MSW. Added 2 more 12V batteries and a 100A charger to decrease the generator run time. 

Dick- I just installed my rf-18 and simply pulled in into the inverter plug. I understand what you'd but how did you go about it? Did you plug into the other receptacle behind the frig with your 1000w inverter and transfer switch or? How did you route your setup?

9 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

If you put “refrigerator” no quotes in the search box and select topics you will get many hits.  Read them.  The need for an inverter to power it is mandatory.  Also, you must insulate the roof vent and the lower access area.  If you don’t, then odds are it will quit running.  When the newer, more energy efficient models were designed, they have a much lower range. So when you put the ones that you purchase now will not work on an unheated back porch when the nighttime temperature drops below freezing, they shutdown.  Mine did and I installed the recommended 18 CF Samsung.

Lots of info here….find it an$ read it.

Tom-thanks for taking your time to share your knowledge. I was lucky installing my rf-18 as all I had below was a 4" floor with nothing underneath but the floor. I have two outside access doors so I sealed the top access and and put some insulation in that opening. I used plumbers tape from the top of the new frig hinge and went over top and tied into the metal frame that surrounds the upper access door. everything seems ok but I have not traveled on the road yet. I will look at some of the other posts to see if I missed anything. It is great to have this resource, this forum, to keep these Monacos rolling!

On 2/24/2023 at 1:20 AM, Idoc57 said:

Gary, check your Personal Messages.

Carey

Carey-I would like to get some of these covers-can you send me the info please?

I considered doing the conversion but I did the dollar bill test on the seals and they were not tight like they should be and I understand they can't be replaced.

Good morning All- My Norcold has cooked it's last meal! After reading many of the posts about similar problems, I have ordered a Samsung Rf18 which I will be installing in our 2007 Monaco Knight DFT. I love the convenience of propane and have for years but I will give that up for the fear of fire. The install looks to be straight forward but I would like to know how to secure the new rig from moving around? Any additional tips on this install would be great.

Now that i'm replacing the frig, my thoughts are how to power it when not plugged in and off the generator. I do not know how old my Interstate batteries are so I think it's best to replace them (4 x 6v). I talked to Deka battery and they suggested I go to AGM style as they are maintenance free and will provide longer power cycles. Our coach has the magnum 2000 ME2012 inverter charger unit.

With the information given so far, will this be a simple replacement system and all be capatable we each other?

My next question is, with the information I have given so far, what would I need to change-or keep the same-to add some solar to the roof for charging the new battery bank when we boondock? I know very little about solar so it would be best to explain what I would need to buy to make it work correctly-

Thanks for your time and knowledge-Steve

Frank, What is the name of the steam cleaner you have. Ive wanted one for interior cleaning  and other areas. Never thought about using it to clean the engine. Thanks Steve