lake49068

Finally all fixed! Was both the actuator AND the shift pad. Discussed the problem's earlier diagnosis at Fort Myers and their non-fix...and Fort Wayne agrees with their approach to replace the internal harness. Guess I should have tested the shift engagement periodically while in Fort Myers during our stay there to make sure all was well. Very happy with the techs in Fort Wayne and have to retract any criticism of the Fort Myers techs. Deep problems require time...

The Arens actuator is located/bolted to the "curb side" of the Allison 2000 series in my 2010 Neptune. Depending on application. it may have a vertical or horizontal orientation and it looks like a windshield wiper motor assembly. If you don't have an Arens shift pad you probably won't have an Arens actuator. The part number is SBW-ACT 1000 for the horizontal and SBW-ACT 2000 for the vertical orientation. Arens also sent me 3 PDF files the content of which is overwhelming unless you're a real gear head. If anyone wants a link to the PDF's, let me know at aghyobo at aol com and I will email to you. Adam

"Going into gear" problem persisted even after repair in Fort Myers. On our way back to Michigan (5 overnight stops, I never turned engine off for fuel or personal breaks), the transmission would not go into "D" but sometimes would go into "R" unless the shift pad keys were played like a cheap piano. Would hold mode button, hold both up/down buttons, the D/R buttons and eventually it would go into gear. Made it home, completed a number of other repairs and contacted the Allison shop supervisor in Fort Wayne, the gentleman who conducted the Allison seminars at the Ramblin' Pushers/Chapter 419 Maintenance Sessions in Goshen, IN as well as customer/tech services at Arens. Between the 3 of them, it was concluded that the problem is caused by the Arens actuator that translates the electronic signal from the shift pad to a mechanical engagement in the transmission. Drove the coach to Fort Wayne and within a day they confirmed that the actuator had failed (water and road debris intrusion) and is being replaced. Bottom line, my positive comments about the Fort Myers Allison shop were way premature and the big bucks spent there were probably a waste. A new actuator is on order and the coach should be ready by mid week. Will confirm with them that the Fort Myers diagnosis and repair was wrong and if that's correct, I will try to recoup some of the $$ spent there. Hope this is problem has finally been resolved.

20 years using a bypass filter without issues plus enjoyed the benefits. Just got back to Michigan, snow forecast for tomorrow so winterized and happy to speed up the procedure using the filter's bypass feature.

My suggestion is to get a filter assembly with a built in bypass valve. Being able turn the filter off allows you to change the filter without turning off the water. Using the bypass position allows you to winterize without wasting the "pink stuff" in the housing as well as preserving the filter if it is not ready for a change. I've installed this type of filter in my '98 Endeavor and now my '10 Neptune. It is also a Watts brand and accepts standard replacement filters available anywhere as well as a selection of filters (sediment, carbon, etc.) depending on your water quality. It is not difficult to fabricate a bracket since it can not be mounted as a typical top mount. Adam 2010 Neptune 37PDQ

Whatever the selection, make sure they connect to the condensation drain tubes or you will have water running onto and off the roof. Drain cups are an option on the Penguins.

If you decide to remove the large nut rather than the push nuts, you still have to make sure the shafts are free turning. And looks like the nut is gone already! Missed that and now wondering what's keeping the assembly in place. Block of wood and hammer required...!

Googled and found "push nuts" available at Auto Zone.

In your next-to-last picture showing the shaft/knurl, the shiny ring inboard from the spline is the spring clip holding the shaft in place. Try prying it loose with a knife or other sharp blade (maybe a little rust dissolving spray first?) to salvage the ring. Not sure where you might get a new one if it has to be cut off.or not salvageable. That should allow the shaft to be pushed into the cowl cavity. Suggest a good pasty waterproof lube in the hole when ready to reassemble.

Had a similar problem and found that the wiper shafts were binding. Try moving the arms manually...if they easily move then not the shafts. If they don't move, remove an arm, spray lube down shaft. Look for the push on spring clip and make sure it isn't binding, repeat on other arm. If not binding, check movement on arms from motor. If all is free, might be a bad motor.

The leveling system installed on my coach is a Lippert...may have different operating parameters than a 2005 Exec or other models/generations. I went to the manual cited by Paul and it states: "Drive-away Protection: When the ignition switch is set to the RUN position with the jacks extended, the JACKS DOWN indicator will light and the warning bell will activate if the transmission is taken out of park or the park brake is released. The system will then automatically retract all jacks until jacks are fully retracted or the park brake is reset and the transmission is placed in Park. A full visual inspection is required to confirm full retraction of jacks before moving motorhome." My manual does not have this paragraph and I cited what's in mine in my previous post. Not sure what model/year manual is to be reviewed on pages 127-129...mine covers the water system. I'll make sure that I don't try to put the coach in gear if any of the slides are out or the jacks down. That negates the need for a guaranteed response to my original question. And do agree, the thread did go into the deep weeds!

Slides do not move when engine is running/key on, all fine. Always have been able to start the engine with jacks down and slides deployed...assume that's so you can build up air before retracting the jacks (and makes it easier to disconnect water, sewer and electric line). Plus we have always been told that an HR/Monaco of this generation is supposed to be "aired up" before extending/retracting the slides. All fine there. Question was whether you can engage either "R" or "D" with jacks down. See my quote from the manual...don't move the coach while jacks in contact with ground...that's my question/inquiry.

Highly recommend visiting Wisconsin's Apostle Islands! Beautiful area and the boat tour around the islands is a great way to see/learn about the area. We did not take the ferry over to Madeline Island (did not leave enough time) so would suggest making any stop there more than 2-3 days. And any time spent in Michigan's UP is special. Live in south central Michigan and usually make a late September trip to NW Iowa where my wife grew up...always go through the UP on the way west to avoid Chicago in at least in one direction. UP offers many wonderful things to see and the smoked white fish and pasties are an added bonus.

Timely topic! Had a transmission issue that was repaired by Allison in Fort Myers 2 weeks ago. Decided to test the repair by starting the coach and putting it in gear while the slides were out and with the jacks down (I think). ..did engage the foot brake. Engine started but wouldn't go into gear. Called Allison (I panicked!) and by the time they arrived I had raised the jacks, brought in the 2 hydraulic slides and voila...went into gear. Would like confirmation that the 2019/2020 vintage Neptunes do operate in this manner. Owners manual states "Do not move the motorhome while jacks are still in contact with the ground or extended" so a little conflict between the manual and actual operational experience. I'm on my second been HR coach over 24 years, owned this 2010 since new and continue to run into "things" that I need to learn about!

Thanks gang for correcting some of my reply info from this morning. I was hurrying to get my 2cents in before the welding began! Tom's history on recalls is right on (my 2010 Neptune is a "Navistar") and was delivered with the reengineered arms. I inspected several coaches at the Ramblin' Pushers/Chapter 419 Maintenance Session in Goshen, IN last May and found one that definitely had "suspect" arms. I'm no expert but savvy enough to send the owner a long email (he didn't return my calls) about Source Engineering and the potential for failure, possibly catastrophic. I asked the guy via email after going home whether he confirmed if they were good or bad but he never got back to me. In a ditch somewhere?? And still surprised that there are coaches out there that may have the bad arms. Thank goodness for sources like this site, the Ramblin' Pushers site and the Pushers/419 MS! Adam 2010 Neptune 38PDQ

Don't remember if the Caymen is on the same chassis as my Neptune but there was a major recall of all R4R chassies for cracked trailing arms. Both sides should be visually checked and both replaced if not the redesigned arms. Welding a suspect arm (and not replacing the other side) is an accident waiting to happen. Can't comment on a weld repair of the new design arm. And Source is the go to place for info and parts.

Our site at Cypress Woods RV Resort on the NE corner of Fort Myers is for sale. Site has full hookups, large concrete pad, unfinished 8' x 12' shed, large footprint and mature landscaping. This is a highly rated RV resort with all the amenities. See PDF below... RV Site.pdf

Fort Myers Allison did the repair yesterday...new internal wiring harness and detent lever. Even got a fresh load of Transynd and a new filter which takes care of the almost-due every 2 year maintenance. They also found that the filter magnet was missing...will bring this up with my regular annual maintenance shop in October! The coach was dropped off at 8am, picked up at 3:30pm and all is well. Their shop is only 3 miles from our RV site which really took a lot of pressure off getting it fixed and they were very accommodating and easy to work with. Worry gone and got a good night's sleep! Oh, and got a bunch of Delta miles...

Research I did 4-5 years ago with Magnadyne...they also made harnesses to adapt to other radio brands. At the time they were very helpful. I had trouble with the XM function which required a work around (stand alone receiver).

Tom, the "dead" neutral is the white "line" neutral that is in the box located in the bathroom and was connected to the neutral "line" post on the GFI. It is currently not connected. There are 2 black output/load romex cables that are wire nutted together with the black line wire. The remaining 2 white load neutral wires are connected and also connected to the 3 bare ground wires, one of which is part of the "line" romex cable. With this setup, the downstream circuits (TV, entertainment, dining and dash plugs and icemaker) all work. I'm in a pause mode and will probably not do anything more until we get home late March. Goofy problems like this one on top of the tyranny issue covered in another posting have me tuckered out!

Tom, printed out your responses, annotated line by line and think we're now in sync! I'm giving the problem a rest and there are a few more things to do. Since the "line" neutral appears to be inop, I will contact Magna again to see if I can jump to an adjacent neutral (hot water plug nearby) or the inverter "needs" the line neutral to return to their box. Will try to verify that the neutral returning to the inverter is dead...but my "toned" circuit tester is at home. Will be getting the wiring CD out to see if the neutral has a junction/splice somewhere and make sure it's not compromised. And will check the ice maker circuit per your suggestion. I did purchase a non-GFI receptacle as the backup to install with the current setup. More later!

Gave the problem/resolution some additional thought. 1200-1300 miles wandering home in March with a unit that has gremlins and the potential for breakdown, towing, finding a repair facility, parts and temporary lodging is not high on my wish list. Visited Florida Allison yesterday, discussed the issue (internal wiring harness) and decided to spend the $, get some peace of mind and do it on my schedule locally (under 3 miles). They can complete the work in a day so authorized getting the harness which they're guessing will take 7-10 days. Still pretty impressed with the people at the shop and have confidence that they will get it right.

Agree that line/load connections are reversed on the replacement GFI but I was on top of that! Flashing green light on inverter was flashing "good" per the Magnum diagnostic instructions. Pulled the access panel on the inverter and all the screws were tight and 120v and grounds checked "good" on all the appropriate posts. Input/black line at GFI box had 120v so tried various combinations of the hot combo to the 3 neutral/white wires. Connected the 3 black wires (line & load), connected the 2 white load wires together and jumped them to the bare/ground wire...power to all the outlets, TV, etc. was restored. Doesn't make sense...line return white/neutral has a break somewhere since it doesn't complete the circuit? Made a temporary cover for the box and will do a deeper dive when we get home. No outlet in the bath but can live with that for a while.

Allison Fort Myers was here yesterday, hooked up their diagnostic computer and checked for fault codes. Nothing showed up, the coach started, the idle was perfect and tyranny went into drive and reverse without issue. And no harness issues. The tech said there is an internal harness buried in the sump that may have been the cause and replacing it would take a day at their shop. He considers the problem as an anomaly and recommended no immediate action be taken. He will prepare a detailed diagnosis report with my bill for future reference should the problem reoccur. He was pretty positive so will wait a bit to see if it happens again on the way home in late February/early March. Hopefully! I was impressed with the tech and would recommend Allison Fort Myers for any tyranny work in SW Florida.

Found the transmission control box in the rear most curb side compartment on wall above & to left of inverter. That's one question off the list. Fort Myers getting hammered by rain and don't want to check out the "idle speed" suggestion until we get some clearing in case I need to go outside. The coach did go into reverse so if the idle is too high I would think it would not go into reverse either. Allison tech still not scheduled but they did get the billing info they wanted! Not sure how this thread got into the "electrical" topic heading but had started the day with another entry about my 120v inverter circuit problem. Guess that category carried over since I didn't have an option for selecting another pigeon hole. Maybe one of the moderators can put this one in the "transmission" folder.