CaptPat

I think I'll be changing to the soft lines next time I do my annual service, being able to change the nozzle without disconnecting the fuel lines seems like a win to me.  I wonder how AH determines which option (hard or soft lines) goes in a particular unit, seems a bit random to me.

I have an AH 450D and it came with hard lines.

I just came across a kit to convert my existing hard-piped AH fuel lines for flexible lines (https://www.heatmyrv.com/product/flexible-fuel-line-conversion-kit-johns-custom-kits-jch-flx-kit/) and was wondering about folk's experiences with the conversion.  A flexible fuel line should allow completion of the annual service without disconnecting the lines, that would be a big improvement IMO.

Maybe it's fixed????

I disconnected the power and batteries overnight.  Today I connected the power and the batteries and all seems to be operating normally now.  Including seeing the low voltage light, which I reset at the panel.  As expected a lot of smoke initially was reduced significantly during the first burner run.

As I read the manual the low voltage light and reset are operating as expected, though the manual says that as an alternative the low voltage light can be reset by cycling the diesel switch in the coach to the off position for 30 seconds then turning it back on.  I've never done it that way so I can't confirm it.

I'm always a bit suspicious that cycling the power to the unit is a final fix, will be monitoring closely in the near future, and hopefully the situation is resolved.  I did talk to an AH tech about this after is up and running, and he thought maybe the high temp thermostat or possibly the igniter coil might be the culprits.  Fingers crossed at this point.

7 minutes ago, Ivylog said:

I have a hard time seeing which lights are on… can at night. Are you sure no fault lights are on?

Unlike the electric side, there are many things that stop the boiler lighting:

Easiest one, low on fuel… less than 1/4 tank not these gauges are accurate.

Blower motor running means you have fuel and air so why no spark? Easiest possibility is the high temp Tstat that can be pushed to reset behind square metal box near the top once you remove the covers.

From here it requires removing the boiler motor.

 

It's dim enough in the bay to clearly see what lights on the control panel are lit and their color.

I have a full fuel tank and the AH has worked fine on several occasions following completion of annual maintenance.

I'm beginning to think that it's not getting fuel, I don't smell or see evidence of diesel after each aborted cycle.  Other possible culprits after the T-stat are the fuel solenoid and fuel pump.

I may check a few simple things like the T-stat and flame sensor, we'll see after I talk to a local tech today.  There are a few T/S procedures in the manual that I don't have the equipment for, there's only so far I can go.

I had heard on this forum and others that AH Tech Support was... well useful. I guess that changed with their new corporate name.

Well doesn’t look like AH will be of much help, here’s their response 
 

Thank you for reaching out to Aqua-Hot! 

I am sorry to hear you are experiencing difficulties with your Aqua-Hot, there are a couple options that you can do, the first option we would recommend is that you have an Authorized Service Center look at the unit and troubleshoot the issue. If you are not wanting to go that route, another option would be to go to Aqua-Hot Manuals (aquahot.com) and review your manual for more information or visit our Aqua-Hot - Frequently Asked Questions (aquahot.com) for more information.

When you restore power the light is illuminated and it needs to be reset. That’s how it has operated since 2009. 

44 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

Pretty sure your house batteries would need to be down about 11.0V for the red low voltage light to come on, or, are you shutting down the battery disconnect, and used to see it on?

It’s the latter, as I said in the OP

Ran the electric element for an hour, water got hot electric element and heating status light both green. I’ve looked through the manuals, could be a number of things I was hoping to narrow the list of candidates some. I’ll start with some of the easier things first. Still bothered by the low voltage light, is it a separate issue or part of the diesel burner not firing. 

12 minutes ago, GranPrix said:

The symptoms sound like the flame sensor is bad.  My diesel switch has a red light strip in it and the red light started flashing instead of steady red, flame sensor was the culprit.

I'm not getting any red lights.  The issue with the low voltage light makes me suspect something in the control board, but I'm not ready to purchase a replacement yet.

Just now, 96 EVO said:

Did the boiler fluid eventually get hot on electric? Should take 45- 1hr.

The stir pump doesn't run on electric, until I 'believe', you run hot water.

I didn't let it go that long. 

I have an AH 450-DE2, annual service was performed in March 2023 and the unit has run several times since then without issue. I normally store the coach without power and the batteries disconnected.

Today I powered up the coach and noted that the Low Battery Voltage Fault light was not lit, as it normally is following power restoration.  I depressed the Low Voltage Reset with a non-conducting insert from a Bic Pen just in case the light was burned out.  I turned on the Diesel Burner in the coach, the green light came on and the AH motor started as normal.  However, it would not ignite, the following lights on the control board panel were lit green: Low Temp Cutoff Status, Diesel Burner Status, and Heating Status.  After about 30 seconds the green light inside the coach for the Diesel Burner extinguished.  After turning off the Diesel Burner switch the unit runs for several minutes and then shuts down.  I've tried the sequence several times with the same results each time.  I also tried the electric element, the light on the switch in the coach turns green, I observe an increase of 11A AC on my power monitor, and the Electric Heating Element Status light is green, though no other lights are lit on the control board.  The boiler water overflow tank level is filled to about halfway between the hot and cold lines, external temperature is 70 degrees.

I called AH and they apparently are only responding to email inquiries, no response so far.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the next steps?

TIA

Timing is everything I guess I just received notification from Cummins Coach Care that they are discounting their services, which would have saved me ~$200.

See: https://app.noreply.cummins.com/e/es?s=1480&e=768578&elqTrackId=dfa63cb061a14f8e9727345c70e9c05f&elq=1f47d3f77fd64f46892c2febea49c2e4&elqaid=16448&elqat=1

I've heard that some Coach Care facilities are better than others, and the few reviews of the Kenly location I could find were generally positive. It's too bad they don't do Allison maintenance as I'll need to take it to another place to get the transmission filters changed.  I'd do most of this myself but there's no safe or convenient way for me to get under the coach for greasing or changing the oil, plus I'd have to collect and deal with 8+ gallons of waste oil.

A few days after Valentine’s Day I called to set up an appointment for the annual Coach Care service for my MH and Generator at Cummins Atlantic, Kenly NC.  We settled on a day that would work for the shop and us.  We arrived mid-afternoon on a Monday, the day before our scheduled appointment, to drop off our MH.  The facility was clean, had plenty of parking and there were ~6 other RVs in the area marked for RV parking.  There are at least 4 RV parking spots with 50A service I did not think anyone was staying in their coach.  There are separate lounges for truckers and RV’rs, these were clean and well furnished.  Overall the facility looked new and well-kept. While checking in the service writer said he was down two techs (difficulty finding folks post-COVID) and thought he’d get to it later in the week.  Unfortunately, service was delayed a few more days as another tech had an unexpected medical issue.

The service was completed for about the advertised price by Cummins, the cost seemed consistent (accounting for inflation) with maintenance at my previous shop.  The service writer was professional, knowledgeable about RVs, and responsive throughout, and there were no unexpected charges. Part of the service is to check for outstanding campaigns/recalls on the engine, luckily I did not need any of that sort of work.  The cost seemed consistent (accounting for inflation) with experience at my previous shop.  It’s a lot of money to maintain one of these beasts, a factor folks considering a DP purchase need to keep in mind.  It was nice to see the coach plugged into one of the 50A outlets when we went to pick it up.

I would go there again, it was a good experience.  If you have a schedule constraint then that’s clearly something to discuss with them ahead of time, I was pretty flexible so the delay wasn’t a huge deal for us. 
 

Looking for service center recommendations (or places to avoid) in Eastern NC.  I need a location that will perform periodic transmission service on an Allison MH3000.  The local Cummins Coach Care place won't work on the transmission (even to change filters) otherwise I'd have it done when I take my coach in for its annual service.

Allison service centers in my area are Whites International, Velocity Truck, Lilley International, and Clark Power Services.

Okay, looks like I'll need to troubleshoot w/o prints for now. First order of business is to connect up the disconnected wires now if only I had a 7 foot arm with 3 or 4 elbows....

13 hours ago, 96 EVO said:

Possibly cause the passenger shade can be controlled from both seats. The drivers shade, only from the drivers seat.

We have a single privacy screen and single sun shade that covers the entire windshield are.  They are controlled by individual switches on the driver's left hand console.

4 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

If Full Length, then find a 2010 or 2011 Camelot/Scepter diagram as it SHOULD have the single switch.

 

I thought 2009 was the last model year before Monaco went out of business, I know we got our MH either just before or just after they closed shop.

16 hours ago, OhReally said:

CaptPat, the relay that you see is most likely a circuit to prevent the opaque visor from coming down and blocking your vision while the engine is running. The relay should feed the power to your visors only when sitting still or engine running.

-Jamie 

Can't see it only feel it, the only way to see it would be to remove all of the front cabinetry above the driver.  We're the original owners and I can't remember a time where a visor didn't work (until recently of course) because the engine was running or the transmission not in neutral. 

Still looking for a circuit diagram. 

I don’t know what brand of shades I have.  I have ID’d the fuse in the front electrical bay and it appears to be good.  I suspect that it’s either the switch on the drivers left console or the wiring the behind the cabinetry above the driver.  I’m betting it’s the latter as there appears to be several connectors from the shade motor that are not connected to anything.  Can’t really tell how to connect things back up due to lack of visibility, there appears to be a relay (at least it feels like an automotive relay) up there as well how that fits in I don’t know.  I may get a boroscope to snake up there to get a better view of it. I’ve checked the download section and so far all I can find is a diagram of the front electrical bay that has anything pertaining to the visors, so far I can’t find a diagram of the wiring to the shade itself.  Once I verify that everything is wired correctly then I can figure out where the fault is.

The front sun screen on my coach has stopped working, troubleshooting is difficult as there appears to be several connections and perhaps a relay above and behind the cabinetry above the driver seat.  Hard to reach and harder to see what's going on.  If someone can point me to a wiring diagram I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

I replaced all 8 of my tires with Toyo M144 (285/80R-22.5) about a month ago.  When I called the tire shop I was told a shipment of 32 tires had just arrived at the distributor, so I lucked out on the timing.  If you can suggest waiting a bit to see if some stock shows up, if not try motorhometires.com sometimes they have stock when others are out.

@MalcolmH Thanks, I think I’ll use clear silicone which matches the original installation. My initial question was whether to use silicone or something else. 

12 hours ago, 1nolaguy said:

On this subject, I need to change my running lights also and would like to change them to LEDs. For those who have already done so, if you have a good source or LED replacement running lights please let me know.

 

I found direct replacements (full set front and rear) at PDX RV LLC.

They are L14-0026 style lights that can be found at other places as well, like Amazon for slightly more.

While the new lights came with a rubber gasket I don't think it will be sufficient to keep out the elements long term, it doesn't seal completely around the screws for example.  Sounds like most are using silicone caulk to seal up around the lights.

Brand?