Adventurer 32T - the ongoing adventure (AKA issues) :-)

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rvsjimbo

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Posts
10
Location
New Hampshire, USA
Hello,

Belated Happy New Year to everyone here - and thanks for your earlier help and advice with other issues.

The good news is that our generator is now running very happily, and once it has been running for a little while, it runs very quietly and seems very happy - even under about 15A load.

We are still having issues with the levelling system. It works... Sort of... some of the time. My wife, Dawn, levelled the vehicle, where it is currently being stored for the winter. We came back a few weeks later to check it out, run the generator, etc, etc. We saw that the left, front jack was retracted. Very strange, we thought. Re extended the jack and re-levelled the vehicle. Came back about a week later and the left, rear jack was retracted. Anyone seen anything like this before?

This vehicle is fitted with a small solar panel to trickle charge the batteries (I am assuming the aux batteries). There is an LED just aft of the dining table which says that solar charging is active when it is lit. We have never seen it lit. Obviously this is a very low priority problem, since it will only provide a relatively low charge current, but I would like to get it working. Does anyone have any advice on fault-finding this?

When the generator is running does it charge the main engine battery? Recently (in very cold weather), we have always had to use the aux-start function.

Service engine soon light has recently come on. What exactly causes this? Is it time/mileage based, or is it more complicated?

Thanks again for all your help and opinions!

Dawn & Paul.
 
rvsjimbo said:
...We came back a few weeks later to check it out, run the generator, etc, etc. We saw that the left, front jack was retracted. Very strange, we thought. Re extended the jack and re-levelled the vehicle. Came back about a week later and the left, rear jack was retracted.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming HWH jacks?  Please create a signature with your year/model/floorplan of your unit.  Perhaps a solenoid(s) aren't shutting completely off, could be some crud in the lines.

This vehicle is fitted with a small solar panel to trickle charge the batteries (I am assuming the aux batteries). There is an LED just aft of the dining table which says that solar charging is active when it is lit. We have never seen it lit. Obviously this is a very low priority problem, since it will only provide a relatively low charge current, but I would like to get it working. Does anyone have any advice on fault-finding this?
Click to expand...
Actually that little panel is not even worth your troubleshooting time.  You probably have a 12V breaker for the solar panel output somewhere - check your wiring diagram.

When the generator is running does it charge the main engine battery? Recently (in very cold weather), we have always had to use the aux-start function.
Click to expand...
Probably not.  The gen set powers the 12V charger which charges the batteries.

Service engine soon light has recently come on. What exactly causes this? Is it time/mileage based, or is it more complicated?
Click to expand...
What chassis? I don't have a clue but knowing if you are on a Ford or Workhorse chassis might help others help you.
 
Hi John,

Thanks very much for the reply. I've done what you suggested and put a signature together with the details of the vehicle, so hopefully that will help.

Reading a few other posts, it looks like the main engine battery is probably dead. Today I couldn't initially start the engine even using aux start, but the aux batteries had enough charge to the start the generator, so started that, and then about ten minutes after there was enough power to start the engine :)

Regarding the solar panel, I think you are right - it is a bit minimal. There does seem to be acres of spare roof space up there, and I do wonder about fitting a larger, modern (i.e. more efficient) panel in the future, but there is no point in trying to do this until I understand how the current system is meant to work, and so I will try and work through the wiring diagrams - I know I've seen them somewhere in all the documentation.

Still curious about the service engine soon light, and I now wonder if it may be related to the (almost certainly) dead battery.

Cheers!

Paul.
 
Yep, gonna get that done as soon as there is a prolonged end to the freezing weather. This is definitely a learning process. Next winter I will do at least three things differently:

1) Take of the gutter ends that have been trashed by the RV cover

2) Tie the RV cover down in a more secure manner

3) Remove the batteries indoors before the weather gets to the freezing stage :)

At least my wife got all the plumbing systems winterized so that should all be happy come spring :)


Cheers!

Paul.
 
On my 1999 Win Adventurer 37G, I replaced my batteries, and came back 5 weeks later to "new" dead batteries.  So I put a cut off switch at the battery boxes, such as this;

http://www.zoro.com/g/Battery%20Disc%20Switch/00046378/None

Later when tracing the wires from the MOM switch that is located on my dash, I found a blown circuit breaker.  It looked like it had been cooked, so I'm thinking some of my grounding problems that existed when I first got the MH caused that, which is why it started every time I came back, even after sitting for over a month, but then after my last ground repair, I started having starting problems after sitting.  Now, even though I have fixed the problem that I believe was causing my battery drain, I still switch off my batteries when I leave the coach. 

In addition, I boondock a lot of the time on underdeveloped land, ie. no electric.  I may be there anywhere from just a weekend to a week, and always disconnect the starting battery, so a worse case scenario I can use the starting battery to start the generator to charge everything back up.  I've not had a starting problem since I incorporated a battery cutoff on each the house and start batteries.
 
Hi,

That sounds like a good idea, isolating the main engine start battery. Might look into doing that.

Must admit, these vehicles are (electrically) more complicated than I thought they would be!!

Cheers!

Paul.
 
The generator only charges the house batteries via the 12 volt converter, which also supplies 12 volts to the house accessories while running.  The same converter charges the house batteries and supplies 12 volts to the house when plugged up at a campsite. 

The engine battery is only charged by the engine alternator.  Unless you install an aftermarket device.  Some newer motorhomes come with such device.  They make devices you can install to charge the engine battery from the house side, which also will charge the house batteries when the engine is running.  I installed a constant duty relay (same that is used on the MOM switch) to do this...it was a cheaper option, but not as 'smart' as the expensive after-market devices...so anytime my key is in acc or on, the 12 volt house and 12 volt engine battery is 'one.' 

The solar panel provides 10 watts (less than 1 amp) of trickle charge to the house batteries only.  Not worth the time or money in my opinion.  My charge indicator light use to come on or off.  I have no idea whether it works or not.  Plan to install a newer panel that provides more power at a later date. 

The best option for long term storage is to disconnect the batteries or install a disconnect switch at the batteries.  Otherwise, there is always a small drain on the batteries even with everything off. 

If your motorhome is sitting on a 99 Ford F-53 chassis (and probably applies to other chassis models), the Service Engine Light only comes on for exhaust related problems.  So unless you are worried about your 6-8 MPG contributing to the global warming (insert sarcasm), it probably isn't worth the time or money to figure out what part of the exhaust system it is.  Mine has been on since I bought it (year ago) and I have been 10,000 miles with it... 

Quoted from the 1999 F-53 Operator Manual: 
Service engine soon (Federal only)

Your vehicle is equipped with a computer that monitors the engine?s emission control system. This system is commonly known as the On Board Diagnostics System (OBD I).

This OBD I system protects the environment by ensuring that your vehicle continues to meet government emission standards.

The OBD I system also assists the service technician in properly servicing your vehicle.
The Check Engine/Service Engine Soon indicator light illuminates when the ignition is first turned to the ON position to check the bulb. If it comes on after the engine is started, one of the engine?s emission control systems may be malfunctioning. The light may illuminate without a driveability concern being noted. The vehicle will usually be drivable and will not require towing.
 
The 1999 F53 has OBD-II. Check Engine Light is for more than exhaust related problems. You must read the codes with a code reader.
 
John Hilley said:
The 1999 F53 has OBD-II. Check Engine Light is for more than exhaust related problems. You must read the codes with a code reader.
Click to expand...

Where did you get that from?  Because I quoted and am looking at the factory Ford Manual for the 1999 Ford F-53... 

Are there 2 99 F-53 models by chance?  Kind of like cars do split year models sometimes... 
 
I am going by what I have used. It is more likely that they used an old manual. I use a ScanGuage II on my 99 Ford F-53 V-10, it only works with OBD-II and if you look on the right hand side of the steering wheel under the dash, you will see it is an OBD-II connector

OBD-II
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.obd2allinone.com/graphics/pinout.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.obd2allinone.com/products/obd2cable.asp&h=320&w=460&tbnid=f6T1RCHSs-MZ0M:&zoom=1&docid=qycDxaVG7Urh7M&ei=oAzJVLGlJ8ylyATd9YHYBA&tbm=isch&ved=0CCgQMygGMAY&biw=1708&bih=789
 
Well good news today!

We went to check and run the RV engines up. Generator started first time, as usual. I decided just for giggles to try and start the main engine without aux start, and it worked! And no more service engine soon light!

We are officially happy bunnies! Must have been at least partially temperature related, I think.

Thanks again for all the advice - especially regarding battery cutoff switches.

Dawn & Paul.
 
John Hilley said:
I am going by what I have used. It is more likely that they used an old manual. I use a ScanGuage II on my 99 Ford F-53 V-10, it only works with OBD-II and if you look on the right hand side of the steering wheel under the dash, you will see it is an OBD-II connector

OBD-II
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.obd2allinone.com/graphics/pinout.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.obd2allinone.com/products/obd2cable.asp&h=320&w=460&tbnid=f6T1RCHSs-MZ0M:&zoom=1&docid=qycDxaVG7Urh7M&ei=oAzJVLGlJ8ylyATd9YHYBA&tbm=isch&ved=0CCgQMygGMAY&biw=1708&bih=789
Click to expand...

Interesting...I have been operating under the assumption of what the manual says.  I guess I should look for my connector finally and run the code scanner. 
 
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