JJMonaco

To follow up and for future reference- I removed the Leece Neville DuVac alternator from my 2002 Signature coach. The mounting ear that was cracked fell away from the alternator when I removed the lower mounting bolt. So the alternator is toast! The good news is that I ordered a new 200 amp Delco Remy 28si (Long foot) from Find it Parts on the internet. Only $275.49 tax and shipping included. In my research to figure out what to do for a replacement, it lead me to the 200 amp Delco Remy 28si. I wasn't sure if it would be an exact drop-in replacement. Luckily it was. The belt lines up perfectly. I used my impact wrench to take the pulley off the old Leece Neville and it fit the Delco. The Delco Remy 28Si alternator is several inches shorter. Mounting it was much easier than working with the Leece Neville. In hooking up the original accessory/control wiring harness, I used the red wire (constant 12v) for the optional sense wire connection on the Delco 28Si and the grey wire to the R (relay) connection on the Delco 28Si for the tachometer. I did not connect the yellow wire. (key switch ignition 12v) The Delco 28Si is self exciting and needs no ignition switch signal to start. Something that is important to note, and a prime reason I went with the Delco, was last year I upgraded the house battery system to a 600 amp Lithium Ion (LifeP04) battery bank. I also added 700 watts of solar panels and a Victron Solar charger. In addition I upgraded original the Trace 3012 inverter to the 3000 watt Victron Multiplus II Inverter/Charger and a Victron Orion DC-DC charger along with other Victron monitoring accessories. For this reason I no longer needed a DuVac type alternator since the Delco is only charging one chassis battery bank. Once I got everything hooked up, I have 14.2 volts charging the chassis battery. I have the Victron Orion DC-DC charger's input connected to the chassis batteries. I also have the Victron Orion DC-DC charger on a switch. That way I can control when I want it to charge the LifeP04 house battery bank when the engine is running. For reference, I no longer connect and use the original 200 amp battery isolator to separate the chassis and house battery banks. I also disconnected the Big Boy combiner solenoid. Time will tell if the Delco Remy 200 amp long foot will give the 20+ year service life the Leece Neville did. Thank you to all that gave me advice and make this so valuable to me. All The Best, JJ

Very Good Info Guys! Thanks! Tom, thank you for all the work you put into the site...Much appreciated. I haven't read Vanwill's article yet. I will look into it tonight. If I can put in a Delco, get it lined up and use the old LN pulley without having to re-engineer the mounting system, that would be great. It's not going to be a fun job and place to work in for sure... I think I am pretty much committed to a new alternator one way or the other since the foot on the LN is cracked. All The Best, JJ

Thanks for the comments. I do plan on keeping the old one. Unfortunately in my inspection I discovered a crack in one of the feet. Since I have not removed it yet I'm not sure if the crack is able to be repaired.

The Leece Neville alternator stopped charging the batteries again yesterday. When I got the coach a couple of years ago I had a no-charging problem. It turned out to be the battery isolator was bad and I had to replace it to get the batteries charging. After that, I had a couple of times over the past year where the alternator would stop charging, but for some reason after sitting for a few hours or overnight it would be charging again-- no further issues. That became a mystery! I thought this could be related to the ignition key switch and had planned to change out the switch. However today I unplugged the connector going to the alternator in the engine compartment. When I check for voltage between the three wires-red-black & yellow with the ignition key switch turned on there is no voltage. When I check for voltage with my meter with the ground wire touching the frame and red wire to individual wires, the red wire has twelve volts + all the time, the yellow wire has 12 volts +just when I turn the ignition key is turned to the first click before engaging the starter and nothing on the black wire. I did check the input at the battery isolator and it measures 12.5 volts. From my understanding this would indicate the alternator is bad. Is there anything I am missing in my testing ? Where is the best place to get a new alternator? Your comments and suggestions are much appreciated. Thank You JJ

I ordered one of those camera cameras that will hook up to my phone yesterday. Thanks Ivan, JJ

I checked the nylon slider in the rectangular tubes the rail rides on both slide outs, they are both there and look the same. There doesn't seem to be an issue there. I've been trying to visualize how the slide out rolls. I don't have a good understanding on how the roller is mounted since it only has one adjustment bolt in the center of the roller area. I suppose there could be something broken on the roller mounting structure or like you say something shifter or rotted away. However I don't seem to senses there is any rot evidence visible on the bottom of the floor. Is there is a board connected to the bottom of the slide out room that rolls on the roller, or is the slide out floor itself that rolls on the roller. Either way something has changed. The real question is how do i check this? Does the slide out room have to be removed for repairs?

I got tied up in the Christmas responsibilities and finally got to take the false floors out under the kitchen sink on the slide out. Unfortunately there is no access to the rollers that I can see from under the false floor-just wiring and hoses. When I look under the slide out from the outside between the rubber seal and the floor, I have very limited visibility of the rollers. However, from what I can see they are not deteriorating. So I got inspecting in the basement under where the rollers are and found plastic boxes that are covering the hole where the steel slide out support arms come through the wall into the basement. I took boxes off and found here is an adjusting bolt up there that looks like it’s under where the roller is. I was excited to see that! I got out a big bottle jack and some 4x4‘s and jacked the slide room up to take pressure off the rollers. Then adjusted the bolt about a half inch upward (as much as it would go)on the farthest aft roller. I was thinking that would would raise the back roller and raise the room. Wrong! Absolutely no difference when I move the room in and out. I don’t know what that adjustment bolt is for?? It’s getting to be a big mystery. I hope someone can give me info on what those adjuster bolts are for and where to go next to get this room squared up. I don’t see any damage to the floor of the slide out or damage to the steel arms that support the room. So to recap, my living room/ kitchen slide out is not sitting level. The aft part of the room is about a half inch closer to the floor than the front side. So the room is not square in the opening. I measured about 1/2” difference between what the front slide wall to coach wall difference is between the front and back openings at the top corner. This is causing the top area distance between the slide out and the wall to be so close at the aft top corner of ther room that it pulls off the rubber seal. The distance is just large enough for slide room and its slide lock to pass through. I have temporarily removed the slide lock mechanism and that had really helped keep the rubber seal on. Thanks for your insight.

Ivan, As always, you have some great knowledge to share. I will remove the floor under the kitchen sink in the slide out room and see whats going on under there. Hopefully I will see the problem. . . Thanks Again!

(MODERATOR EDIT. This post was a repeat of an earlier post and has been merged with the the original one) My 2002 Signature coach’s kitchen / living room slide out room is out of adjustment. Its a hydraulic slide out mechanism. The room has moved towards the back of the coach in the opening about 1/2” in the top vertical area. This causes the slide seal to bind on the slide lock and get pulled off at the top area on the aft side of the room. I had to remove the slide lock mechanism to be able to close the room. It is still is very tight and will pull the slide seal off in the top area. When looking at the bottom edge of the room (from inside the coach), the distance between the floor and the bottom edge of the aft slide room is about a 1/4" lower than the front side. It appears the slide room is not sitting level in the opening…The slide out aft corian counter top has also rubbed on the wall when moving. What to do to get it level again?

My 2002 Monaco Signature living room/kitchen slide out room is out of horizontal adjustment. This has caused my recently replaced slide seal to get pulled off the channel strip in the area at the top corner side of the rear slide room opening. I have tried to put the seal back on several times but there is just not enough clearance around the top corner vertical area to get it pushed onto the rail. The slide room seems tilted and to have shifted back about a half an inch towards the upper rear corner of the coach. When moving the room in and out, the aft slide lock pushes the slide seal off the channel. The clearance at the top area and corner of the vertical opening has just enough room for the slide lock mechanism to pass through, but but no room for the slide seal. When looking at the slide room from inside the coach, the aft part of the room (towards the back of the coach) is closer (almost dragging) on the floor compared the front side the side behind the drivers seat. I suspect the problem could be caused by the support under the aft roller to be lower and causing the upper area along the aft vertical wall to be closer at the top? So the seal gets pushed in and off when opening/closing. It's a mess and makes the coach unusable at this time as even when the room is closed it does not seal properly. I'm looking for advice on what to do, and if this is something I can possibly repair myself or find a qualified repair business to do the job? I believe the slide out mechanism is an HWH. It's a hydraulic system but haven't found any drawings or info on how it works, repairs, etc. I would like to get this repaired at Talin RV in Brooksville, Florida as they are only a couple of hours away. However the problem is they are booked into March or April. Thank You, John J 2002 Monaco Signature

I have a 2002 signature as well. Check your foot switch continuity with a volt/ohm meter when pressed. If it shows any resistance it doesn’t work correctly. That was the case with mine. I replaced the foot switch and the jake works as it should. All the Best John J

Actually you were correct on your location call on my 2002 Sig coach. It's on the ceiling above the fuel tank door opening on the passenger side... However it's dry as a bone-no leak there. Thanx- Ivan

Murphy has struck again! He always seems to have something new for me… I think I have a couple of different 12v grounding issues. The first one must be an incorrect ground connection to my kitchen florescent lights above the sink (photo enclosed). Whenever I turn one or both of them on, that turns on some of the hockey puck ceiling lights throughout the coach and bedroom. It also messes up the operation of the other light switches. As long as the florescents remain off, the rest of the lights and switches work as they should. I haven’t been able to figure out how to get the lens off the florescent light to check where the wires come from that power them. Any insight on removing the lens and what would cause this to turn on the other lights in a dimmed state? The second issue is an intermittent one- out of the blue all the interior lights go off as well as the power for the in-dash stereo and back camera display. They stop working for 30 seconds to several minutes or so, and then magically come back on. It has happed when driving and while camped-but only two or three of times. It’s a real pain…I think it is probably in the salesman switch circuit and suspect it is a loose ground. I’ve checked the 12v+ connections and they seem fine and I have serviced the negative buss grounding strip under the dash behind the gauges-cleaned the connections with DeoxIT, and then retightened. It’s working fine now until it doesn’t-but I really didn't find any bad connection that would cause the problem. I can’t seem to find where the large white buss ground that connects to the grounding bus goes after it disappears in the lower dash-I suspect the problem is in that line somewhere. So that’s the question- where is the major ground for the dash coming from? I have recently replaced the salesman-switch and changed out the two solenoids in the rear high current box for two Victron non-smart battery saver relays. Everything works fine for weeks until Murphy shows up! Thank You, John J 2002 Signature 40

I will have a look tomorrow. That would be good luck for me if it is i the same area as your coach. However, about six weeks ago, before we left on our trip, I installed a T fitting on my propane hose and ran that hose across to the fuel tank side to come out the diesel fill door. I was in the area for quite some time and don’t recall seeing any hydraulic lines…time will tell. I’ve got another issue I would like your insight on about grounding of the interior house lighting. I will start another post on that issue. Thanks Ivan, JohnJ 2002 Signature

The more I thought about it, since the hydraulic fluid tank is basically empty and it must hold at least a gallon or more fluid, there has to be a leak somewhere. I can’t understand if that much hydraulic fluid is missing-where did it go? So I carefully inspected all the areas in the basement again where I could easily remove the ceiling panels and I found no sign of a leak. I could not remove the ceiling in some areas without a major disruption as we are currently staying at a different camp ground each week and we have had rain and no where to put the basement contents. Still with that much fluid missing it should leave a trail and be a major mess. But there is none. I’m hesitant to fill the tank and test it and open pandoras box while on the road at a campground. At the end of the day, I decided to let the sleeping dog alone and leave the slide closed and wait till we get home in about three weeks and then fill the tank and see what happens. Thanks You Guys, John J

Jim, That sounds like a mess! Hopefully I won’t have to face that one. I just checked the slide’s hydraulic reservoir and it is pretty much empty. When I took the breather cap off the dipstick had bit of fluid on it. When I cleaned it off and checked it a second and third time it comes up dry. I checked the area under the slide tracks in the basement and there is no signs of a leak. So off to the store for a gallon of hydraulic fluid. See what that brings! More to follow…

Tom, Thanks for your insight. Sounds like you’ve had a lot of service experiences over the years with your coach over. I’ve only had mine a little over a year now and have repaired a lot of issues and learned a lot from this site —- thanks to everyone involved... I wasn’t able to locate a local service tech who was familiar with the HWH hydraulic slide out system. They all seem to be tuned into electric slides on later model fifth wheels and trailers… I did take all the wires off the solenoid again and cleaned the connections thoroughly. This time when I tried the slide switch the solenoid activated the pump. The sound is a constant spinning rather than a varying sound of a load on it. It seemed to be working to some extent and there was a small jerk movement of the slide. After that it now just makes a constant drone without a load sound. I got four of us big guys to push in the slide as my wife operated the switch and we got it pushed in all the way and it is locked. That was great! So I’m not concerned anymore about rain getting in there and can live without it extended if needed. Since it did seem like there was some pump pressure to assist our pushing effort, that makes me think that Ivan may be on to something there about low fluid and air messing up the equalizer cylinder’s ability to synchronize the pressure to both rams in the system. The big question is if it needs fluid, there must be a leak somewhere. I have looked in the basement areas. The slide tracks are not visible without taking down the basement ceiling or removing a plastic cover on one side. No signs of leaking hydraulic fluid as yet. (Keeping my fingers crossed) Where are the slide rollers located? Thanks Ivan for your insight and mention about the hydraulic tank breather cap removal and the dip stick…I was afraid to mess with it thinking it was not made to be removed. It’s a really tight space and I can just barley see the cap when I get under there. Looks like I will need some special hand pump to get fluid in there if I need to add some. I assume it would use the same Dexron I put in the large tank in the engine room the side radiator pump uses? Vince-I don’t have any leveling jacks-wish I did! Tomorrow I am going to to check the hydraulic level in the tank and see what that looks like. Thanks Again.

This morning after a week at a campground here in Asheville, NC, when I started bringing in my living room slide it stopped in the middle of the operation. When pushing the switch either in or out, I could hear the solenoid clicking. I checked the connections on the solenoid, cleaned them and retightened. Still no movement. If I jump the large 12 volt input from the battery to the motor connection on the solenoid the motor runs. I did changed out the solenoid about six months ago. I checked the slide room visually on the outside of the coach and noticed the back of the room’s slide seal was binding up in an area two feet near the top. The front and back had not moved evenly. I got out my tools and was able to reposition the seal. When I tried the switch again, the slide moved unevenly in about 6 inches and stopped again. The switch just clicks the solenoid again when being pushed. Now the front top was close to being closed but the bottom was a couple inches farther open. On the other end of the room-the back end of the slide did not move the same amount and was not even with the front. By this time the campground manager was at my coach telling me I need to leave and make room for the next camper. I tried turning T - handles on the hydraulic pump but they would not turn. So myself and couple of neighbors tried pushing the slide in with my wife running the switch. We managed to get the room to almost close at the top but still open a couple of inches at the bottom. We left the campground and drove three hours to our next stop in the Hiawassee, GA area with the slide ajar. I pretty sure the problem is not related to the switches/sensors on the basement doors under the slide as I tested them at my new camp ground. I also was under the coach checking the solenoid connections again. I tapped on the hydraulic reservoir and couldn’t tell if it had fluid in it. Could it be I need to add hydraulic fluid ? The slide out had been working fine until today? At this point I am looking for advice on how the hydraulic system works, troubleshooting ideas, etc. Anyone know of a company around hear that has expertise in this type of repair? Thank You JohnJ 2002 Monaco Signature

Fantastic news! Thank you for all you do. John & Roxanne

I received the replacement basement door handle / lock for my 2002 Monaco Signature 40. It was an easy install and it seems to be the exact replacement. Here is a drawing of the part from the Trimark website. 18481-xx.pdf John J

I don’t think it would work if you could get it JB welded. The piece that broke off is only about 3/8 of an inch long. It’s made of what I know as pot metal aluminum casting. That handle piece has a flat spot that mates with a flat area on the rod. When the door handle is lifted that small area that broke off the handle takes all the torque to turn the rod that releases the locking mechanism. It’s a faulty design in my opinion to have such a small area take that much pressure at only one end of the handle. The good news is that I located the replacement. It took a-lot of internet searching over a couple of days, but luckily I came across s photo of of a similar looking item and the manufacturer was listed as Trimark Industries. I looked up the Trimark’s website and found s lot of info. I called them and found it is still available. They have an amazing customer service person that helped me identify the part number. They make a lot of versions of the model 030-0850. For my 2002 Monaco Signature the Model is 030-0850 with a part # 131110146T They do same day shipping and FEDEx would have it to me in three to four days for a total cost of about $135. I will report back if when it arrives and I get installed.

Thanks Frank. Do you remember what the torque should be? When I checked the oil level it was just above the add mark so I filled it back to the full mark with Lucas Hub Oil. We drove for two hours yesterday and it didn’t show any leakage so far.

Today when I tried to open a basement door on my 2002 Signature, the pot metal handle broke away from the rod that it is supposed to turn to actuates the lock mechanism. Does anyone know the correct name for this part and where to find a replacement? John J

Thanks for the suggestions. It’s definitely the tag axle that has the leak. I’m going to take the cover off and see what it looks like. Hopefully there is still enough oil in there to travel back to civilization.

Today at the camp ground, I noticed there is oil that has leaked around the bolts on the driver's side tag axel and rim of my 2002 Signature. Is this a sign of a seal that is failing? I supposedly had the oil level checked by a repair shop before we left on trip as part of the pre-trip maintenance. From what I remember from reading the coach manual, the cap can be removed to check the oil level. What to look for and what to do about it? Thanks, John J.