Power Gear Air Leveling System Problem

I recently purchased at 2006 Fleetwood American Eagle motor home. This was a major step up for us as we traded in a 2001 Itasca Sunflyer. I have never owned a diesel pusher or air leveling system prior to this so everything is different. On the trip home from the dealer, something apparently got hot as we detected a distinct odor in the front of the coach and various lights began flashing on the Power Gear leveling panel and an audible warning alarm began to sound. I had what I now know as an error code on the panel with 4 red warning lights in the center of the panel on the front of the coach. I immediately pulled over and went into error detection mode. The hot smell began to diminish, went away and has not returned. I got out of the coach and checked everything I could. All the jacks appeared to be fully retracted and I couldn't find anything else obvious. I wound up just turning the panel off and then back on and everything went back to green. After a phone call and discussion with tech reps at an RV dealership that just happened to be at the next exit where this all occurred, I brought it on home.

I now have two problems that I don't think I had before. The Power Gear panel just sends me that same error message and alarm intermittently. It usually takes a while and can be many miles between failures. The other problem is that the front air pressure gauge cycles between its normal pressure of about 125 lbs down to 80 lbs or so, then the compressor cuts in and it goes back to normal. this happens approximately every 10 miles or 10 or 15 minutes.

The coach is currently in an RV repair shop and they have had it longer than I have since I have owned it.

They are waiting on an air sensor part from Fleetwood that is supposed to fix the air gauge problem. They are trying this as they tell me they could not find any air leaks in the system. Hopefully this will fix that problem but I am waiting to see that happen.

I have talked with representatives at Valid (they own Power Gear) and they tell me the problem is an "intermittent communication failure" between the dash panel and some control box in the rear of the coach. The RV facility determined that the coach is "safe" to drive and we made a previously scheduled trip in it. The panel error occurred several times during that trip. There doesn't seem to be any pattern other than it just decides to "fail". The "fix" is to just reset the panel and get on down the road. This can't be good.

The RV people can't find anything wrong and apparently are not buying the "communication" issue that Valid is telling me. Valid says it is a wiring/bad connection/bad ground problem. That is pretty vague and would be extremely difficult to find especially since the panel only fails when it wants to. They have not been able to find any "burned" parts or connections and since that is what started all of this, that concerns me. Something got very hot and it would seem that it either burned or melted. I also suspect that somehow the air pressure fluctuation and panel error problems are related even though the "experts" tell me they aren't. I hate coincidences and they don't happen all that often. The RV repair people want to replace the panel and another control box. I don't know if that will fix it or not, but just "trying" swapping parts to see what happens gets expensive and usually doesn't work. It would be better to really find the cause of the problem and fix that.

I have talked to a friend that owns a 2006 American Tradition with the same panel and he has the same problem. I find it strange at best that I only know two people with 2006 American coaches with Power Gear leveling systems and they both have the same problem that nobody can fix.

Has anyone else out there had this same problem and been able to correct it? I am very uncomfortable with waiting for the warning lights and alarm to sound and just resetting the panel. Sooner or later there is going to be a real problem and it will most certainly happen in a bad place at a bad time. Murphy is still alive and well out there.....

First is this a hybrid system with both Air Leveling and Hydraulic Jacks?

The header to this thread says Air Leveling but in the message you say the Jacks are all fully retracted (Air leveling systems have no Jacks).

Power Gear makes a Hydraulic system and in partnership with Valid they make a Hybrid system (both) and an Air Leveling only system.

I have the Valid/PowerGear Air Leveling on my Monaco. I do have an issue with the rear sensor when the engine is hot, but it is different than what you describe.

Valid has told the RV techs that the rear sensor is not effected by heat, but both Monaco and Alliance RV disagree based on issues they have faced - but again the symptoms are different than yours.

If the replacement parts don't fix it, then Valid is probably correct. Wiring issues can be a real pain to track down and sometimes it is faster to just replace the cables in question.

Yes, it is what you describe as a hybrid system. I have both air leveling and hydraulic jacks. Please bear with me as I am learning as much as I can as quickly as I can.

I got my problem fixed. Since so many have veiwed this, I thought I'd share the fix.

I got technical bulletins from both Valid and Fleetwood and I don't understand why they are not included in the Owner's packet information. The most comprehensive one is titled "4-Leg Air +Hydraulic Leveling System Installation Guide and Trouble Shooting". The other one is Fleetwood "Service Bulletin SBA0266".

After looking through the information and following the instructions, I reset the two plugs on the Pneumatic I/O Module in a compartment at the rear of the coach and the problem has not reoccurred. Turns out one of the keeper tabs had vibrated loose and although the plug looked like it was seated properly, it must have been vibrating just enough to cause the "communication error". Amazingly simple fix for something that caused so much headache.

The thing that really concerns me is that the RV repair shop where it was being looked at would not even try reseating the plugs, even after I provided them with the documentation about the error and the above referenced documents. Very disappointing.

I still have my air gauge problem even after they changed the control module that was the prime candidate. I am working with Fleetwood technicians on fixing it myself and we'll just have to see how that turns out.

I can't say enough about how helpful representatives at both Valid and Fleetwood have been. They all get gold stars!

Thanks for the update Steve. Sometimes shops don't want to admit that they spent tons of time and money to track something that was truly a 30 second fix.  They are afraid that it will make them look silly/incompetent.