11 minutes ago, DrDon4u said:

Clean your GROUNDS!!!!

 

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.

1 hour ago, Larry and Donna Maida said:

Hi I have a 2002 Monaco Diplomat.  I just did my headlights but what I did was just go to the rear of the housing and pull the bulb.  I replaced it with a silver tip bought in local Orieily auto supply.  Then I got 1500 grit sandpaper and I wet sanded the lenses.  You can use 2000 which works even better. Then I got a lense polish kit and did both lenses again.  My lenses are like glass and my headlights shine perfect.  My experience is that the electric system in this older coach may not support LED.  I tried LED bulbs for my brake light and signals and they would not work.  Something about they dont pull enought juice to activate the relays.

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.

41 minutes ago, hex_nut said:

That is what water drips look like after the water seeps down through a laminated wall and becomes stained from dissolved adhesives ( I think you understand how I know that).  I would be looking up above for water intrusion issues.

Richard

That's what I was thinking.

1 hour ago, jacwjames said:

This looks interesting, how big are the panels. 

Can you provide a picture of the PVC frame.

This might be what I'm looking for.  Price seems reasonable for the whole system and since you can move/tilt the panels would be more efficient then roof/flat mounted. 

Any concern on theft, do you leave them out if you are away from coach?

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.

10 hours ago, waterskier_1 said:

I have looked at the wiring diagrams I have.  I don't have a good copy for 2000 Diplomat, but found one for a 2002 which I think is the same as far as the Boost Circuit goes.  I believe the purple wire going to the Isolator Relay (R6 in my drawing) is the input from the Boost Switch on the Dash.  That Isolation Relay connects the Chassis and House Batteries together.  It is there primarily to charge the house batteries from the alternator, and secondarily to add the Boost function.  The Red wire from the Isolator Delay Module which has a yellow wire going up the the FRB is the control to make the Isolator Relay connect both sets of batteries together.  You no longer want that function (alternator charging the house batteries) so that wire should be removed from the Isolator Relay and securely taped or better yet heat shrink over the end so it can't short out.  That will leave only the 16 gauge purple (violet) wire on one terminal, a ground wire on another, and the two big 2/0 Red cables, one to each battery bank connected to the Isolator Relay.  This will allow the Boost switch to engage that Isolator Relay, but not the alternator charging circuit.  

One thing to note, most people are replacing this relay with the Blue Sea ML-ACR device, which does have a feature called Boost, but it won't work with the DC/DC Charger installed.  I realize that this isn't the greatest way to accomplish your goal of Boost, but it doesn't require any new hardware.  

If it were me, I'd just carry a set of Jumper Cables, and jump the two batteries together if that is ever needed.  To be perfectly honest, the only time I had to do this, and I did not have Lithium batteries for the house yet, I used my Jeep to jump the chassis battery.  In that case, my Chassis batteries (2- 12Volt) were shot, and I was dry camping and didn't want to use my house batteries, and wasn't sure they would jump my Detroit Diesel in any case.  

Please ask if you have more questions.

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

On 9/28/2021 at 3:39 PM, waterskier_1 said:

I have not been able to tell if the Victron DC/DC Charger is able to allow charging chassis battery from shore power.  Not many would want to do this, but it would be good to know.

I personally don't recommend this.  Yes, it will protect your alternator, but it still only provides 14.4 (or whatever your alternator charging voltage is) to the Lithium batteries, even if only on for 15 minutes and off for 20 minutes.  The Victron DC/DC Charger is a full fledged 3-stage battery charger.

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

49 minutes ago, Ivylog said:

I have 880 AH of AGMs and will run the generator for an hour in the morning before getting on the road. That still puts a good load on the Alternator so I put a remote temperature probe on it. Unfortunately I cannot monitor charging amps from the drivers seat, just voltage, but 185 is the highest temp I’ve seen in a engine compartment that runs 280 degrees. 
I’m not going to use a DC-DC buffer to start with and if the alternator doesn’t get hotter than 195 charging the Lithiums, I will not add one. 

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."

2 minutes ago, Ivylog said:

I figure nothing ventured, nothing gained… finally got payment confirmation of the 310AH cells.

 

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

5 minutes ago, vito.a said:

David, if you watch the Will Prowse YouTube videos he tests some "B" grade cells with very good results.  The problem is within a few days after his video is published the price skyrockets or they run out of stock.  

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.

Progressive Dynamics PD52V 5200 Series Automatic Transfer Switch - 240 VAC, 50 Amp

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VAWNVK

Ouch. You must have a serious inspection checklist up there. It's like $15 here in NC and they said nothing about that fogged up driver's window I need to get cleaned up. Down here, the shops offer inspection in hopes you'll come back for service, so they treat you well.

6 hours ago, Joe E. said:

 

I found a bean bag mount for the RV890 on Amazon.  Less than $10.  Weighs 1lb-3oz.  2lbs-10oz with the RV890 attached.  The disc is 3 7/8 inches (95mm) in diameter.  The RV890 suction cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Has a rubber pad and a sticky ring on the bottom to minimize slippage.  Works like a charm.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Dashboard-Magellan-Portable-Navigators/dp/B0772CR74K/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=bean+bag+dash+mount&qid=1626114350&sr=8-3

Amazon also has 95mm dashboard discs to mount to the dashboard to use with the RV890's mount's larger suction cup.  Two for less than $10.

 

Nice! I just ordered one to mount my RVi display mount which falls off my dash when it gets too hot. Now I'll be able to move it around, too, not stuck in one spot. Thanks for sharing what you found.

Lo

18 minutes ago, wamcneil said:

Here's my old thread on the subject:

 

Nice! That's just what I want to do. Custom fabricate some simple L brackets to mount & get 2 for 1 tilting from one set of Renogy tilt mounts. Since my roof is aluminum, I'll sand the paint off to expose some clean smooth aluminum for VHB tape to adhere. The epoxy paint might hold, but I'd rather not find out other otherwise rolling down the highway. Thanks!

2 hours ago, wamcneil said:

3m VHB does a great job with no drilling. I bought 1/16” 2” aluminum angle and cut 3” lengths for mounting feet. Each one has 6 square inches of VHB tape. Very secure. 
The am solar mounts have 2 square inches and claim they’ve never had a problem 
cheers

Walter

My concern with VHB on an aluminum roof is that the paint has to hold, unless we remove the paint to bond directly to the aluminum roof. But I'd rather not drill holes, so what to do?

8 minutes ago, Mark B said:

They don’t make a bean bag mount for the RV890 yet. I’ve been looking. We used a sticky pad under the screw down adapter for now because the wife wants to see the screen too. It holds ok but not a long term solution. The RAM mounts are 17mm for the 7 series, the RV890 uses a 25mm (1”)ball. I’m open to suggestions too.

Ugh. Not cool. Bean bag works so well on our 770.

This works great for us. Stays put, but you can move it around.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LRMS66/

Our 2000 Diplomat is new to us and the Onan 7500 isn't loud, but if I sit up front it starts to get kind of annoying after a while. Is that typical?