Steps, Slides, Battery Disconnects Inoperable after trip to mechanic.

Hi All. Finally got our 2005 Bounder 33R back from Camping World where it received a tuneup and some services. When we initially went to pick it up, the steps didn't work so we left it for them to investigate. A week later they reported it was a switch, which they couldn't replace, so I had them disconnect & tie them up so we could get going. They'd had the MH for 10 weeks at this point (long story.) Once home we further discovered that the 2 slides are not working (no response at the switch) and also the battery disconnect switches are unresponsive. All worked well before we took the MH in for service. We will likely have to take it back to CW, but as I am tired of dealing with these folks, I wondered if there was some commonality to these issues, something I could fix.  I've checked the fuses that I could find, house batteries appear charged... The levelers work and the coach starts just fine. So any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
   

My 2?.

I would be looking for any wires that might not have been reconnected after they worked on it.
Start at the batteries and look to see if a wire was left unattached anywhere.
Also check any batteries that you can for proper water levels and re-charge them if you can. 

Can you hook to shore power?  Does that make any difference? 

You said the battery disconnect switches are unresponsive - If they are not ON then then many things shouldn't work - However you said
the motor starts just fine.  I believe that my coach uses the chassis batteries for the slides and steps and you say the engine starts.
That's why I think it's possible they left a wire off or loose or something.

A switch they couldn't replace?  Really?  Sounds like they didn't want to do the job as most things are fixable one way or another.
Good luck.  Please report back when it gets fixed.

I can't think of anything in common, except that they are all 12v powered.

I can't imagine why a step switch could not be replaced, nor why it would necessary to "tie them up" if the switch was bad. The steps only move under motor control, so if the motor doesn't run they should stay in place.  Now you say they have messed up other wiring as well, i.e. slide, battery disconnect switch, etc.  Obviously they should fix their screw-ups, but how can you trust repairs somebody who has already demonstrated incompetence? And taken 10 weeks to do mess up a simple repair?

I think I might bite the bullet and go elsewhere, at my own expense.

Appreciate the replies... I'm running the gen to make sure the house batteries are topped off. Have looked for orphaned wires but no joy. Contacted CW to give them one last chance to make this right (I may be nuts but we're all human, mistakes can happen. The location in Wentzville, MO appears to be having some management issues.) I figured I'd fix the steps myself when the only solution they could come up with is a $250 upgrade. But when I found these other issues, I called 'em. Waiting to hear back. Oh, one other item has also cropped up... backup monitor isn't receiving power. Granted this is a 12 year old coach, but everything worked before. Maybe its a gremlin... ha!
Beginning to think I should have kept my old '94 Southwind... Great motorhome. Traded it last year for the Bounder.     

I believe it's unfair to paint the quality of work performed by such a large organization as Camping World with one brush, but as soon as I read that Camping World performed your maintenance, I thought, "There's the source of the problem."  I also cannot figure out what single thing would cause all those problems, but I doubt that I would give CW the opportunity to do further damage. If it were me, I'd take it to another RV maintenance facility, and I might even look into finding a good mobile mechanic. Some of them are good at what they do. You just have to do some research to find the right one.

Kev

I had similar issues after having serviced one time (not CW)..

I started checking things out and found a ground bus where a number of grounds were broken away.

One of the things that gave me a hint was a switch wouldnt  do what it was supposed to unless another switch was in the on position (back fed through another ground?).

Might be something to look for.

All of the functions that you listed are fed power from the chassis battery through the BCC.  You might want to check the battery connections of all batteries very closely.  Check the battery connections going into the side of the BCC box also.

Do you have 12V power to Terminal P-13 on the side of the BCC?
Did you check the fuses within the BCC box? 
Your BCC has several 12V DC manually reset circuit breakers inside that need to be checked also.

I have a 2005 Itasca 37B. Your engine battery operates your slides, leveling jacks, and starter. My engine battery kept going low to the point it wouldn't start the engine. There is a battery boost switch on the dash that you can push that will tap into the house batteries temporarily. When pushing it in. That may help to start the engine, slides etc.. I got a battery router that borrows current from the house batteries to top off the engine battery. Fairly easy installation and keeps everything charged well. I would start with the batteries and check current at the switch with a multi meter.

Just out of couriosity, what kind of services were performed?  A good rule of thumb is that if you start having problems after you or someone else has worked on your car, MH, etc. is to start at that point and closely examine what was done and maybe even reverse, if possible,  what was done to return things to a point before the trouble started.

2kGeorgieBoy said:

Just out of couriosity, what kind of services were performed?  A good rule of thumb is that if you start having problems after you or someone else has worked on your car, MH, etc. is to start at that point and closely examine what was done and maybe even reverse, if possible,  what was done to return things to a point before the trouble started.

Click to expand...

It was shortly after I had bought. There were a LOT of things that just weren't right and the coach went back to the dealer. They had it from October through to April.
We picked it up and about a week later headed down to Myrtle Beach where I found the grounds had been broken, pulled out etc.

Since you know what the problems were that had to be corrected, is it possible for you to inspect/examine each item they worked on for damage/disconnected wires/broken wiring, etc. It may take some time but this may your best plan of attack in order to track down and fix your problems.

Thanks again for all the replies. After checking everything I could think of and we eventually took the MH back to CW. A week later, we got a call that they had found the problem... A fuse in the engine compartment. What fuse I asked, but the service person didn't know and the tech who worked on it wasn't available... Asked if the correction fixed the steps... She stated she would find out and get back to me... called the next day and was told they'd been busy and no one had checked... aaarrrggghhh! Decided enough was enough and went to get the MH. Checked the slides and they worked and the backup camera was also now getting power. But the Aux disconnect switch still didn't appear to function and the panel on the dash had been left hanging out, so I went back in to the service desk. I felt somewhat sorry for the poor service desk lady... the look on her face when she saw we were back again was one of pure depression. However, she went back into the shop and brought out the tech who had initially worked on the MH before going on medical leave. He went to the coach, was disheartened to see and learn what had transpired, and proceeded to fix the issues. Not quite sure what he did to fix the Aux disconnect switch, says he flicked the Aux start switch a few times, but it works now. He also reconnected the steps, which wasn't easy as he was pretty stout and had to crawl under the vehicle, and voila!.. they worked. SO.. all seems to finally be in order. If they had taken a little while longer a few weeks back to check things out, much of this could have been avoided. On the good side, I now know a whole lot more about steps, slides and several other things on this MH. 

Sadly, that sort of thing is all too common at RV shops in general.  Some feel that CW in particular is poor in that regard.

Sounds like that CW has a management problem in the service department. Knowing, I'm sure, that the tech who was working on your unit, was going to be out on leave for a time, they should have ensured that another tech was briefed on your unit and what was left to be done.  At the very least, they should have explained the situation to you, which would have probably relieved some of your anxiety. People can say what they want about military mentality, but after spending 24 years in the USAF, I will say that they have their act together when it comes to ensuring continuity and having at least a "2 deep" policy so there is always a back up when problems raise their ugly heads. And, communication with other people was highly stressed.  Most problems and misunderstandings can be solved/prevented with a simple phone call or face-to-face conversation.