Dear LaserWorks

Any hints on where to look for the grounds? Are they all large or small gauge grounds? Are they in the bay below the driver or under the dashboard or both? Thanks.

We see the same thing, 2000 Diplomat. I've just relied on the ScanGauge D output for accurate readings. I noticed recently, however, that the analog tachometer bounces a bit, so have been meaning to look closely at the wiring. I'm sure it doesn't help that one of our cats climbed up under there on a recent trip. But the shift in the gauges has been there for the 18 months we've owned the coach.

I swapped the old headlight bulbs for LED bulbs in our 2000 Diplomat and they work great, nice & bright. Now I need to do the same for our Ford Fusion toad, but that requires a lot more work because Ford requires taking the front trim off the car & removing the entire headlight assembly to do a simple bulb swap.

I replaced the bulbs in my 2000 Diplomat reaching in behind from inside the generator door, as someone mentioned above. Then I polished them in-place without any trouble. It's a bit of reaching blind from behind. You may also be able to reach up from underneath, which I noticed more recently when crawling around for one reason or another.

That's what I was thinking.

The flexible panels aren't designed to be left out, won't hold up in the weather over time I'm sure. But they are super easy to stow & deploy. They would be easy to steal. They measure about 84"x29" when deployed, 21x29x1" folded. Here are a few photos. The panels have velcro on the back for folding, so I put mating pieces on the PVC pipe to hold them in place. I also have a few photo sandbags that I can set on the PVC legs if I feel it needs some anchoring. The tilt legs are in 2 pieces which allows for just about any angle. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P217V6H/ Tilt on the roof is nice, but it's often not worth the climb & fuss. It's so easy to move the ground panels to point or tilt for early or late in the day to boost a fair amount, or to get them out from under shade.

We had a couple 100 watt hard panels that we hinged together and used in the ground. About $250 in panel kit & parts. That was nice, but a bit heavy (30 lbs) & cumbersome to stow. This month we bought a folding flexible 200w panel and moved the hard panels to the roof. So much better this way. We have the hard panels always available and the folding panels weight 9 lbs and store anywhere at only 1" thick. In our case, they stow in a small gap next to our sofa behind the driver. I built a simple PVC pipe tilting stand so I can tilt them if I want. Happier camper. https://www.amazon.com/DOKIO-Foldable-Monocrystalline-Inverter-Controller/dp/B075SZMFP2/

Sounds like what happened to us (2000 Diplomat). We used a part off Amazon with a different connector, so I made my own wiring to the new pump which has worked great for at least 12 months now. I also bench tested the old pump & it was clear the motor was shot, made odd noise & blew a fuse when I put my finger over the hole so it would attempt to draw a vacuum. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KQF6PC/

We had the same symptom (air out the windshield vents) due to the vacuum pump failing in our 2000 Diplomat. It was tripping a breaker, which on ours is shared with the steps. Our fuse is labeled "VAC SENSE" on the inside of the cover in the outside electrical bay below the driver. It's pretty easy to swap out the pump.

Thanks! We already carry a set of jumper cables, so that would work. Appreciate the input.

Rick, how do you wire in a DC-DC charger and retain the ability to boost with both batteries if needed?

One good way to protect your alternator is to replace your solenoid with a LiFePO4 Battery Isolation Manager (BIM) for $175. https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/lifepo4-battery-isolation-manager/ Click on the "Features" tab & you'll see how it cycles ON/OFF to prevent your alternator from overheating. "Under normal charging conditions, the BIM will connect for 15 minutes every 35 minutes. That means that the BIM will connect for 15 minutes, disconnect for 20 minutes, and repeat this cycle until the coach battery is charged."

Not a lot to lose, for sure, relatively. Please keep us posted on the cells, seller, shipping time, etc. Thanks!

Vito, yeah, I've watched way too many of his videos. 🙂 He's in a league of his own for sure. I'm mostly wary of winding up with used cells, really, more than grade B. There are sellers that stock Grade A, new, in the US for immediate shipping. It's not cheap, but still less than half the cost of Battleborn, and no waiting for your ship to come in, literally, from China.

Just be sure you know what you are getting. We would only purchase cells that are guaranteed to be both "New" and "Grade A". Also, we are avoiding 300Ah or higher as those seem to bulge for everyone when fully charged. Shipping costs from China have gone through the roof as well and may not recover until 2023.